Legal malpractice principles arose in medieval common law. It is linked with and has become more clearly intertwined with ancient deceit statutes with the Court of Appeals’ determination that Judiciary Law §487 controls over attorney conduct are not merely statutory. Control of attorney conduct is rather a part of the common law imported into New York law with the formation of our state and nation. What are the ancient origins of legal malpractice and controls over attorney deceit?
The broad body of “law” consists of the common law and statutory law. Legal services have an ancient and noble heritage in the common law. Well before the founding fathers and determinations of their original intent in federal constitutional cases came the “common law” which arises from ancient law and custom from earlier than Greek and Roman law. Much went on in the law before even England existed. Evolution from Babylonian to Assyrian to Hebraic to Greek to Roman law to Justinian and then to English law took place eons before the United States existed. Nevertheless, what was old became common law. American law was early distinguished by its liberal reliance on the common law in the absence of current vast statutory frameworks. Legal malpractice litigation today is strongly affected by this history, its antecedents and the lack of statutory underpinning.
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