Every now and then a single word in a legal document can mean the difference between successful client service and a costly legal malpractice lawsuit. In a case involving a divorcing couple, Frank and Jamie McCourt, who own the professional baseball club Los Angeles Dodgers, the lawyer for the couple prepared ownership documents with a discrepancy involving a single word. Three of the six documents prepared for the couple during their marriage indicate that Dodger ownership, an asset that Frank McCourt purchased during their marriage, is “inclusive” to their joint marital property, whereas three nearly identical documents describe the ownership interest as “exclusive.” Lawyers for Frank McCourt believe that Larry Silverstein, the lawyer who prepared the documents, added the word “exclusive” to correct the original documents that were drafted in error. Jamie McCourt has already testified that the notion she would surrender her rights to the professional baseball team is “preposterous” and the document limiting ownership rights ought to be thrown out. The divorce trial is ongoing in Los Angeles Superior Court. Here are a few things that Silverstein could have done to avoid this problem:
- A matter involving identifying marital property probably requires that all parties involved be represented by separate legal counsel. Silverstein’s action to “correct” the document, if done upon the request of Frank McCourt, has the appearance of protecting one party’s interests over that of the other.
- All changes to legal documents should be done with notice to all parties involved in the matter. Silverstein may have taken instruction from Frank McCourt to correct the error but the change he made should have been accompanied by document notifying everyone involved in the matter that a change has been made.
- If extra copies of a document have been produced after a change has been made, the attorney should make efforts to collect and destroy prior copies of the document. A note to the legal file indicating how many copies of the document were produced and who received them would help in recovering any of them at a later time.
- During document production, always keep prior versions of the document in electronic or paper format. By implementing version control policies within the firm, you may be able to identify which version of a document that the client has and identify quickly whether the client has the most current version of the document.
- Comparison software tools such as Diff Doc allows you to make quick and thorough comparisons of documents in many file formats including MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, text and HTML. Whenever an attorney finds themselves wondering if a change has been made after a document has been in someone else’s hands, software tools that can quickly find the slightest differences between two documents will give the attorney peace of mind that nothing was unnoticed.
