In order to sustain a cause of action for legal malpractice, the plaintiff must show that the defendant 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 plaintiff to sustain actual and ascertainable damages. An attorney's conduct or inaction is the proximate cause of a plaintiff's damages if but for the attorney's negligence the plaintiff would have succeeded on the merits of the underlying action. or would not have sustained 'actual and ascertainable damages. A defendant seeking summary judgment dismissing a legal malpractice cause of action has the burden of establishing that he did not fail to exercise the ordinary reasonable skill and knowledge commonly possessed by a member of the legal profession, or that the claimed departure did not proximately cause the plaintiff to sustain damages.
D'Angelo v. Kujawski, NY Slip Op 05200 (2d Dep't October 23, 2024)
