Assignment: Liability in a Partnership

This assignment supports the following lesson objective:

Compare the advantages and disadvantages of operating a business as a partnership

Assignment Overview

In this case study and writing assignment, you will assess whether an individual partner in a general partnership is liable for the professional malpractice of other partners.

Deliverables

A one- to two-page (250- to 500-word) paper

Assignment Details

Perform the following tasks:

Step 1: Review the case study below.

Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe are partners in a law firm operated as a general partnership. Dewey and Cheatham agreed to represent (as co-counsel) Annabelle Adams (as plaintiff) in an automobile accident involving approximately $500,000 in medical costs, lost wages, and other consequential damages. Howe did not "sign on" to represent Ms. Adams, and aside from hearing about the case and his law firm's involvement in it, he did not have any affiliation with Ms. Adams.

Just today, Howe discovered that Dewey and Cheatham missed the filing deadline for Ms. Adams' lawsuit (the statute of limitations period for her lawsuit expired one day before the complaint was filed). Upon motion soon to be filed by the defense attorney, Ms. Adams's case will be dismissed on the statute of limitations defense. Ms. Adams is considering filing a legal malpractice claim against the Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe partnership, as well as against Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe individually, as partners of the law firm. Howe has over id="mce_marker" million in personal assets, while Dewey and Cheatham are spendthrifts and have only minimal personal assets.

Step 2: Write a letter to attorney Howe.

Write a one- to two-page (250- to 500-word) letter advising attorney Howe of his potential personal liability in Annabelle Adams's legal malpractice lawsuit against the law firm and its individual partners.