Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Badly Drafted Documents: Two Deleted Paragraphs Cost Law Firm $150 Million

Poorly drafted documents by a Connecticut attorney can sometimes be the source of significant liability for clients. We can help with issues associated with the improper handling of important legal documents. Poorly drafted language may provide insufficient compensation for a breach of contract. Additionally, if contractual language is not carefully selected it may unintentionally provide a contract party with a way to void the entire contract. Badly drafted documents by Connecticut lawyers can end up costing clients a lot of money.

For example, recently a law firm was representing a company looking to enter the national cable market. The law firm was charged with the duty of drafting and reviewing the contracts for the transaction. An associate of the law firm accidentally deleted two paragraphs from the transaction document which ended up costing the company millions of dollars. The company sued the law firm for legal malpractice and the firm settled the lawsuit for $150 million. The National Law Journal reports the entire story here.

That’s 150 million reasons for lawyers to make sure they are properly drafting their client’s important documents. If you need help with drafting important transactional documents or if your Connecticut lawyer’s badly drafted documents have cost you money, we can help.

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