Smith v. Haynsworth, Marion, McKay & Geurard
Court of Appeals of South Carolina
472 S.E.2d 612 (1996)
Relevant factsFree
After a real estate development collapsed, investors Smith and Murray (plaintiffs) sued the law firm Haynsworth (defendant), which had represented conflicting parties in the deal, for malpractice; the trial court excluded a law professor's testimony about the state's professional-conduct rules because he was neither licensed in South Carolina nor a real estate practitioner, and the jury found for the firm.
IssueFree
Whether, in a legal malpractice action, an attorney who is not licensed to practice in the state of jurisdiction and does not practice in the relevant area of law may testify about the relationship between the state's rules of professional conduct and the applicable standard of care.