Natl. Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, PA v. Wuerth

{¶ 1} The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has certified one question of state law for our resolution: “Under Ohio law, can a legal malpractice claim be maintained directly against a law firm when all of the relevant principals and employees have either been dismissed from the lawsuit or were never sued in the first instance?”

{¶ 2} We answer the certified question in the negative and hold that a law firm does not engage in the practice of law and therefore cannot commit legal malpractice directly and that a law firm is not vicariously liable for legal malpractice unless…