Willard Reis v. Margaret Zonia Morrison

This is a diversity suit for legal malpractice. Willard Reis consulted attorney Margaret Morrison in connection with his claim for social security disability benefits; at the time the claim had been denied by an administrative law judge, and Reis’s appeal from that denial was pending before the Appeals Council of the Social Security Administration. Reis told Morrison that he thought that certain medical records were missing from his social security file. He paid her $800 to examine the file and determine what if any further action should be taken. Before Morrison received the file, the…