Expert Witness – Legal Malpractice

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WI Court of Appeals – District II

Case Name: Village of Slinger v. Polk Properties et al

Case No.: 2015AP1473

Officials: Neubauer, C.J., Reilly, P.J., and Hagedorn, J

Focus: Expert Witness – Legal Malpractice

This appeal addresses whether a witness is qualified to give an expert opinion. Polk Properties, LLC and Donald J. Thoma (collectively “Polk”) sued their former law firm, Schloemer Law Firm, S.C. (Schloemer), for legal malpractice, alleging that Schloemer negligently drafted/negotiated their developer’s agreement. 1 Polk named Attorney Richard Jacobson as its expert witness on Schloemer’s legal malpractice. Schloemer moved to strike Jacobson as not being qualified to offer an expert opinion as to the drafting/negotiating of a developer’s agreement. The circuit court determined that Jacobson lacked the expertise required to offer such an opinion, struck Jacobson as a witness, and granted summary judgment to Schloemer as Polk had no proof that Schloemer committed legal malpractice. We affirm.

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.