jmcmonigle@longlevit.com



Professional Liability, Civil Trial Practice and Employment

A New Way to Go: Arbitration of Legal Malpractice Claims...

Lawyer Liability: Can You Limit Your Personal Exposure...

Navigating Partnership Perils: Many Firms Choose LLPs or LLCs as a Preferred, Though Hazardous, Course...

Smart Practice Not Malpractice...

A Defense Lawyer's Perspective on Lawyers' Professional Liability Insurance...

Coming Soon to a State Rules Committee Near You: How Will Ethics 2000 Affect Lawyer Liability?...

Joseph McMonigle will participate in the ABA Standing Committee National Legal Malpractice Conference Plenary Session Program titled "Can This Law Firm be Saved" on April 21, 2005 in Boston, Massachusetts.
 
The program examines the key elements of successful law firms, big and small and focuses on surviving difficult times.

Joseph McMonigle participated in a recent seminar ---Attorney Fee Agreement-- Recent Appellate Decisions mandate a review.

Long and Levit returns to its roots-- Long and Levit formed its partnership 77 years ago and opened its doors at the Merchant Exchange Building, 465 California Street and now returns to the same location.

Joseph McMonigle named top legal malpractice defense lawyer--The California Lawyer-- Top Legal Malpractice Lawyers

Joseph McMonigle featured in Lawyers' Lawyers.

  
   
 

JOSEPH P. MCMONIGLE

Mr. McMonigle, maintains an active civil trial practice specializing in professional malpractice and complex civil litigation. He has been with Long & Levit since 1977 and was elected to its partnership in 1981. His practice focuses on the defense of lawyers in professional liability cases as well as partnership counseling and litigation. He is active in professional organizations on the local, state and national level that concern lawyers' professional liability. He served as the chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Lawyers' Professional Liability for three years.

Mr. McMonigle has had the opportunity to try legal malpractice actions to verdict and judgment in many counties throughout the state including, but not limited to, San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Sonoma, Alameda, Contra Costa, Riverside and Stanislaus counties. Most civil matters resolve short of trial but Mr. McMonigle's experience in trying cases to conclusion enhances the prospect of achieving a successful resolution of litigation short of trial.

Long & Levit does not volunteer names of clients nor does it submit summaries of trials to jury services in order to preserve the confidentiality of its clients. We can, however, provide names of general counsel and clients that have given us prior approval to be used as references upon request.

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND ACTIVITIES

Elected to the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), 1998

American Bar Association 

Standing Committee on Lawyers' Professional Liability
Chair: August 1997-August 2000 
Member: 1994-2000

Tort and Insurance Practice Section 
Council Member: 1991-1994 

Professional Officers' and Directors' Liability Law 
Committee 
Chair: 1987-1988 
Member: 1983-1990

Committee on Professionalism 
Chair: 1993-1994 
Member: 1991-1994

Member of ABA Special Coordinating Committee on Professionalism: 1993-1994 

Task Force on the Improvement of the Civil Justice System 
Member: 1991-1994 

California State Bar
Member since 1975 

Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct 
Member: 1982-1985 

Bar Association of San Francisco

Legal Malpractice Committee 
Member: 1980 to the present

Member of Consumer Attorneys of California

Member of International Association of Defense Counsel and Defense Research Institute

EDUCATION

SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY, Santa Clara, California 
B.A., History, 1972 

UNIVERSITY OF PUGET SOUND, now SEATTLE LAW SCHOOL, J.D., top 1% graduating cum laude top one percent, 1975

BAR ADMISSIONS

State Bar of California, December 1975

PUBLICATIONS

"A New Way to Go: Arbitration of Legal Malpractice Claims," Defense Counsel Journal, July 1997. 

"Lawyer Liability: Can You Limit Your Personal Exposure," ABA Standing Committee Advisory, February 1997. 

Navigating Partnership Perils: Many Firms Choose LLPs or LLCs as a Preferred, Though Hazardous, Course," ABA Journal, September 1996 

"Questionable Tactics - Lawyers Can Protect Against Suits that Second-Guess Litigation Choices," ABA Journal, March 1995 

"Immunity For Tactical Decisions", ABA Journal, March 1995 

"On Suing For Fees: Don't," Legal Malpractice Report, Vol. 2, No. 4, 1991 

"The Best Advice On Suing Client for Fees: Don't," California Law Business, December 16, 1991 

"Preventative Measures In The Lateral Hiring Process To Avoid Disqualification," Legal Malpractice Report, Vol. 1, No. 4, Spring 1990 

"Malicious Prosecution: The Disfavored Tort," Legal Malpractice Report, Vol. 1, No. 2, Fall 1989 

"Arbitration Of Legal Malpractice Actions," Legal Malpractice Report, Vol. 1, No. 1, Summer 1989 

"Recent Decisions," Legal Malpractice Report, Vol. 1, No. 1, Summer 1989 

"Lawyers Guide to Limitations and Deadlines," California Trial Lawyers Association, 1983 

"The Use of Expert Testimony in Actions Against Attorneys," Insurance Counsel Journal, 1980 

"An Overview of Expert Testimony in Legal Malpractice Actions," The Journal of the Section of Litigation, American Bar Association, 1979 

"The Attorney's Dilemma in Defending Third Party Lawsuits: Disclosure of the Client's Confidences or Personal Liability?" Willamette Law Journal, 1978

PROGRAM PANELIST

"Smart Practice Not Malpractice", program presented to lawyers throughout California including Irvine, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento and Salinas/Monterey, 2003-2004

"A Defense Lawyer's Perspective on Lawyers' Professional Liability Insurance", presented at the First Annual WSBA Conference on the Law of Lawyering, Seattle, Washington, December 2003

"Coming Soon to a State Rules Committee Near You: How Will Ethics 2000 Affect Lawyer Liability?", presented at the ABA Standing Committee on Lawyers' Professional Liability National Legal Malpractice Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, April 2003

"Steering a Safer Path: Risk Management for Lawyers", presented to lawyers throughout California including Monterey, Sacramento, San Francisco and Los Angeles, 2000-2002

"Where is the Insurance Industry Going?", presented at the ABA National Legal Malpractice Conference, Washington, D.C., April 2001

"Ethics for Business and Intellectual Property Lawyers", presented jointly by the Business Law Section and the Intellectual Property Law Section of the State Bar of California, La Jolla, California, April 2001

"The Live Mock Trial of a Legal Malpractice Action", presented to the ABA Standing Committee on Lawyers' Professional Liability, New Orleans, Louisiana, March 2000

"For Whom Do Lawyers Really Work?" presented at the ABA National Conference on Professional Responsibility and 15th National Forum on Client Protection, June 1999

"Protecting the Public - What's the Bar's Responsibility", presented at the ABA Midyear Winter Program for the National Conference of Bar Presidents, Los Angeles, California, February, 1999

"Trial Tips from Top Trial Lawyers", presented at the 36th Annual Convention for the Consumer Attorneys of California, November 1997

"The Impact of Lawyer Advertising on Liability Risks", presented at the ABA National Legal Malpractice Conference, New York, New York, September 1997

"Emerging Trends in Lawyers' Vicarious Liability", presented at the ABA National Legal Malpractice Conference, Colorado Springs, Colorado, April 1997

"Legal Malpractice - An Overview", presented at the ABA National Legal Malpractice Conference, Dana Point, California, April 1996

"Making the Most of Your Expert Witness", presented at the ABA National Legal Malpractice Conference, Tempe, Arizona, April 1995

"Malpractice Claims Against Litigation Lawyers", presented at the Professional Issues Committee of the Tort and Insurance Practice Section of ABA, February 1991

"Professional Negligence: Blueprints for Success", presented at the Annual California Trial Lawyers Association Convention, November 1990

"How to Stay Out of the Target Zone", presented at the New Mexico Trial Lawyers' Association, San Francisco, California, June 1990

"Legal Malpractice", presented at the California Trial Lawyers Association 25th Annual Tahoe Seminar, March 1990

"Admissibility of Evidence in Attorney Malpractice Trials: A Trial Within a Trial", presented at the ABA/TIPS National Institute on Legal Malpractice in Litigation, San Francisco, California, November 1989

"When Do You Try Legal Malpractice Actions Setting the Stage - the Rules Relating to Trying Legal Malpractice Actions", presented at the ABA Section of Tort and Insurance Practice: Trial and Avoidance of Claims, November 1989

"New Theories of Liability - Asserting Them And Defending Them", presented at the ABA Legal Malpractice Litigation, Section of Tort and Insurance Practice: Trial and Avoidance of Claims, November 1989

"Avoiding Malpractice in Family Law", presented at the Legal Malpractice Committee of the Bar Association of San Francisco, November 1989

"The Attorney-Client Privilege Under Siege - The Self-Defense Exception to the Attorney-Client Privilege: Disclosure of the Client's Confidences or Personal Liability", presented at the ABA/TIPS Spring Meeting, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, May 1989

"Malpractice in the Real Property Area", presented at the Legal Malpractice Committee of the Bar Association of San Francisco, March 1989

"Conflicts and the Role of Counsel for the Insured", presented at the ABA/TIPS Annual Meeting, Toronto, Canada, August 1988

"Recent Developments in Legal Malpractice", presented at the ABA/TIPS Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California, August 1987

"The New Techniques of Lawyers Prosecuting Legal Malpractice Cases", presented at the ABA/TIPS Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, August 1983

"Conflicts in Handling Personal Injury Cases - The Plaintiff's Perspective", presented at the ABA/TIPS Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California, August 1982

PROGRAM CHAIR

"The Trial Of A Legal Malpractice Action", presented at the joint session of the ABA Standing Committee on Lawyers' Professional Liability and the ABA Section of Tort and Insurance Practice, New Orleans, Louisiana, March 1997 

The National Legal Malpractice Conference :"Making It Work: A Successful State Bar/Insurance Company Partnership", presented at the ABA Standing Committee Fall 1995 meeting, Naples, Florida, September 1995

FEATURED IN

"Every Lawyer's Nightmare - Legal Malpractice Claims Barely Succeed But That Doesn't Mean You Won't Lose Sleep Over Them", California Lawyer, February 2002 

"Risky Business - Some corporate lawyers will opt for solo life, but attorneys unfamiliar with running their own practices may find themselves susceptible to malpractice lawsuits", California Law Business, February 2002 

"The Lawyers' Lawyers", California Law Business, November 1998

MISCELLANEOUS

Listed in "The Best Lawyers in America", 2002 to the present, Legal Malpractice

Serves as Panelist for the Bar Association of San Francisco, San Francisco Superior Court Early Settlement Program and the Alameda County Early Settlement Program.

Serves as ADR Panelist for Contra Costa County Superior Court

PERSONAL

Born: Norfolk, Virginia

 

   

465 California Street 5th floor San Francisco CA 94104 TEL 415-397-2222 FAX 415-397-6392