Sanford F. Young has honed a reputation as a tenacious, skillful litigator and appellate lawyer. As an experienced advocate, Mr. Young handles a broad range of complex lawsuits and appeals for other lawyers, businesses, entrepreneurs, corporate executives, individuals and families. Both a street fighter and an academician, Mr. Young regularly represents clients in complex litigation matters, legal malpractice claims and substantial fee disputes, among other matters, in both state and federal courts. If you need an attorney to represent you in complex litigation or an appeal in New York or New Jersey, you should consult Mr. Young for guidance.

Our firm typically handles lawsuits and appeals that require a deep understanding of a particularly distinctive or technical field. Among these are breach of contract actions, warranty claims and insurance disputes, business litigation, complex, high asset/income divorce proceedings (typically involving hidden assets and income) and consumer class actions. Due to our familiarity with state and federal litigation and appeals, we can also provide reliable second opinions related to how your present attorney is handling your lawsuit. In addition, we can offer knowledgeable advice regarding disputes over fees charged by attorneys, experts, or forensic accountants. Mr. Young represents clients before a variety of trial and appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Second and Third Circuits, the New York Appellate Division, the New York Court of Appeals, the New Jersey Appellate Division, and the New York Appellate Term, as well as the trial level New York Supreme and Civil Courts, New Jersey Superior Court and the federal District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the District of New Jersey.

Appellate representation requires laser-sharp focus on strategy and assessing the work of other attorneys. When considering whether to appeal, it is important to consult an experienced legal professional who can objectively assess the record and look at your case with fresh eyes. We distill complex issues so that they are thoroughly clear and powerfully persuasive to the court. Mr. Young also helps other attorneys draft and edit complex briefs, as well as prepare for oral argument.

In order to recover damages for legal malpractice, a plaintiff needs to prove four main elements. First, the attorney must have failed to use the ordinary reasonable skill and knowledge that is commonly held by a lawyer. The lawyer’s breach of duty also must have been the legal cause of the damages, actual damages must have been incurred, and the plaintiff must have been able to prevail on the merits of the underlying legal matter "but for" the attorney's negligence.

Some common mistakes in civil lawsuits that may give rise to a malpractice claim include missing a statute of limitations, failure to file a timely notice of claim against governmental entities and municipalities, allowing a case to be dismissed for failure to prosecute, disregarding conflicts of interest, settling a case without the knowledge or authority of the client, ignoring court deadlines or rules, bringing suit in the wrong court, misappropriating funds or charging excessive fees.

In addition to being knowledgeable about the laws and rules for malpractice cases, a successful malpractice attorney should also have a deep understanding of the underlying practice area of the lawyer being sued. Only lawyers with substantial litigation and appellate experience will be able to spot whether errors have occurred and evaluate the strength of a legal malpractice claim.

According to the rules of professional conduct in New York and other states, lawyers may not charge excessive legal fees. With regard to some types of lawsuits, the amount an attorney may charge is strictly regulated, such as for personal injury suits and medical malpractice claims. . For other areas where there are fee disputes, the courts should look at factors such as the difficulty of the case, the risk taken by the attorney, the attorney's skill and experience, the time and effort expended by the attorney, the result achieved, and the fees usually charged in similar circumstances. In New York, the maximum fee for a plaintiff’s lawyer in a personal injury case is generally one-third of the client’s recovery. If a client wishes to contest fees, however, fee arbitration is often available.

If you are seeking a diligent lawyer for complex litigation or an appeal in New York or New Jersey, Sanford F. Young is available to assist you. Some of his clients are attorneys seeking help on challenging cases, while others are individuals who have been abandoned by their prior attorneys. Mr. Young frequently fulfills the role of attorney of last resort. Contact us at 212-227-9755 or by filling out our online form to set up an appointment. We are located near Wall Street in Manhattan's financial district, easily accessible by public transportation or car. We also have an office in Morristown, New Jersey. Our firm represents clients throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn (Kings County), Nassau Westchester and Rockland Counties in New York, and in New Jersey, Morristown, Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Middlesex Counties, among other areas.