No Lien On Me

The New York Appellate Division for the First Judicial Department has held that a trial court improperly granted a charging lien to a law firm as a result of the former client's settlement of a damages claim by other counsel:

The Laskin firm cannot have a charging lien on the settlement proceeds in the Ascot action where it never commenced an action against Ascot and thus was never attorney of record for the Papaioannous in the Ascot action, but instead commenced an action against other parties, months after the Ascot action was filed and settled. Rather, the remedy available to the Laskin firm is a plenary action.

(Mike Frisch)