Legal malpractice.

Practice point: To recover damages, a plaintiff must demonstrate that the attorney failed to exercise the ordinary reasonable skill and knowledge commonly possessed by a member of the legal profession, and that the attorney's breach of this duty proximately caused the plaintiff to sustain actual and ascertainable damages.

Student note: To establish causation, a plaintiff is required to show that he would not have incurred any damages, but for the lawyer's negligence, and that he incurred actual damages as a direct result of the attorney's actions or inaction.

Case: Humbert v. Allen, NY Slip Op 08125 (2d Dept. 2011).

Here is the decision.

Tomorrow’s issue: A property owner’s duty to protect.