Matthew K. Flanagan, General Attorney in Melville, New York

Matt is a highly skilled litigator with over 30 years of trial and appellate experience and serves as Co-Chair of the firm's Disciplinary Board Representation Practice Group. His practice is concentrated on the defense of lawyers against malpractice actions, Judiciary Law 487 claims and grievances. He also defends other professionals and handles general litigation matters on behalf of corporate clients. He has successfully tried cases in New York City and its surrounding counties and has secured dozens of victories in attorney liability cases in New York State’s appellate courts.

With a career-long focus on professional liability litigation, Matt lectures throughout the state on legal malpractice prevention and defense, ethics and professional responsibility. His articles relating to attorney ethics have been cited in the authoritative codification of the laws of New York, as well as New York’s leading treatise on the Rules of Professional Conduct.

Among his numerous professional memberships, he is President of the Theodore Roosevelt American Inn of Court and is a member of the New York State Bar Association's Law Practice Management and Insurance Committees. He is a longtime member of the Nassau County Bar Association and served as Chair of the Association’s Ethics Committee from 2019 to 2022. He is also a longtime member of the American Bar Association.

Matt has been recognized annually as a New York Metro Area Super Lawyer for over a decade and is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest peer-review ranking for an attorney's professional and ethical competence. A graduate of St. John's University School of Law and Fordham University, he is admitted to practice before the courts of the State of New York, the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Honors & Awards

•AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell
•New York Metro Area Super Lawyer (2012-2026)

Classes and Seminars Taught

•Attorney Discipline, Theodore Roosevelt American Inn of Court (with program chairs Hon. Randall Eng, Appellate Division, Second Department (ret.), and Hon. Helen Voutsinas, Appellate Division, Second Department), November 15, 2023
•Risk Management and the Rules of Professional Conduct, Nassau County Bar Association, May 12, 2022
•Cybersecurity: Are You and Your Firm Compliant: A Checklist for Lawyers, Joint Presentation of Nassau County Women’s Bar Association and Nassau County Bar Association Ethics Committee, March 3, 2020
•Navigating Malpractice and Ethical Concerns for Trusts and Estates Attorneys, St. John’s University School of Law Continuing Legal Education Weekend, February 8, 2020
•Legal Malpractice: Elements & How to Avoid It, Suffolk Academy of Law, December 12, 2019
•Legal Malpractice: Reducing Your Risk and Strengthening Your Defense, St. John’s University School of Law Spring Continuing Legal Education Weekend, February 10, 2018
•Lawyers’ Ethics: Escrow Accounts (with Hon. Leonard Austin, Appellate Division, Second Department), Theodore Roosevelt American Inn of Court, December 12, 2017
•Judicial Ethics, What’s a Judge to Do? (with Hon. Vito DeStefano and Hon. Randy Sue Marber, Supreme Court, Nassau County), Theodore Roosevelt American Inn of Court, April 27, 2017
•Legal Malpractice: Professional Liability Claims, Litigation Strategies and Attorney Discipline Procedures, New York State Bar Association, Melville, New York, March 31, 2017
•Attorney Ethics: A Discussion of the New Statewide Procedures for Attorney Discipline Matters (with Abraham Krieger, Chairman of Grievance Committee for 10th Judicial District), St. John’s University School of Law Continuing Legal Education Weekend, February 25, 2017
•Legal Malpractice Update, Nassau County Bar Association, February 1, 2017

Published Works

•“Escrow Cleanup: Taking Care of the Money Left Behind,” NYSBA Journal, Vol. 90, No. 8, New York State Bar Association, October 2018
•“On Ethics: Agreements Not To Grieve - Are They Ethical?” - Nassau Lawyer, November 1, 2017
•“On Ethics: Addressing Claims Against A Client's Settlement Funds,” Nassau Lawyer, March 1, 2017
•“Bowing Out Ethically: Ending the Attorney-Client Relationship Before the Matter is Completed,” NYSBA Journal, Vol. 88, No. 7, New York State Bar Association, September 2016
•'Follow the Money - Escrow Accounts: The Dangers of Excessive Delegation and Deference,' NYSBA Journal, Vol. 87, No. 5, New York State Bar Association, June 2015

Results

Dismissal Secured in New York Legal Malpractice Matter

We secured a decision granting our motion to dismiss an attorney malpractice matter in Orange County, NY. The plaintiff and daughter of the co-defendants sued her parents and our client for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty denominated as promissory estoppel, and constructive trust and sought damages of $800,000. The co-defendants allegedly purchased a property for the plaintiff to live and work in and agreed to deed the property to the plaintiff once she paid the mortgage in full. Our client created a family trust naming the plaintiff as trustee, in which the property would be transferred to the plaintiff following the death of both parents. However, following a family dispute, the co-defendants replaced the plaintiff as trustee with our client. Upon the request of the co-defendants and in accordance with the terms of the trust, our client transferred the house to another beneficiary. We filed a motion to dismiss on all counts which the court granted in full.

Thought Leadership

Legal Updates for Lawyers' Professional Liability

California Supreme Court Rejects Automatic Expungement of Attorney Disciplinary Records

January 1, 2026

Last year, we reported on a California State Bar initiative to expunge attorney discipline records, other than disbarment, after eight years. See Legal Updates for Lawyers’ Professional Liability - February 2025. The proposed change was intended to lessen the impact of what was perceived as racial disparities in attorney discipline in California. A 2019 State Bar-commissioned study had found that Black male attorneys in California were more than three times as likely to be placed on probation than white male attorneys.This past October, the California Supreme Court rejected the expungement proposal, without any explanation. The court may have been persuaded by opponents of the measure, many of whom felt that the public is entitled to complete transparency when hiring an attorney. The court may have also been influenced by more recent studies which showed that the racial disparities highlighted in the 2019 study were already narrowing. A study released by the California State Bar in May of 2025 found that while some racial gaps remained, “the discipline system is trending in the right direction.”Whether relied on by the California Supreme Court or not, the report from the 2025 study has some interesting findings which could benefit all attorneys faced with disciplinary complaints. The report suggested that sending letters to encourage attorneys who are subject to disciplinary proceedings to retain counsel may have helped narrow the racial disparities found in the 2019 study.Any attorney facing a disciplinary complaint is well-advised to consult an attorney who is experienced in handing such complaints. Many attorneys are not aware that their lawyers’ professional liability policy likely includes supplemental coverage to pay attorney fees incurred in responding to grievances. The carrier can also help find an attorney to help defend against the grievance should the responding attorney need one.The California Supreme Court’s rejection of the expungement proposal opens the door to the expanded use of the less controversial (and, perhaps, more effective) methods highlighted in the report from the 2025 study, including sending letters to attorneys subject to disciplinary complaints. In addition to encouraging attorneys to retain counsel, the letters could also advise them of the supplemental coverage available under their LPL policies.Legal Update for Lawyers’ Professional Liability - January 2026 is prepared by Marshall Dennehey to provide information on recent legal developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. We would be pleased to provide such legal assistance as you require on these and other subjects when called upon. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING pursuant to New York RPC 7.1 Copyright 2026 Marshall Dennehey, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm. For reprints or inquiries, or if you wish to be removed from this mailing list, contact MEDeSatnick@MDWCG.com.

Legal Updates for Lawyers' Professional Liability

California Initiates Automatic Expungement of Attorney Disciplinary Records

February 1, 2025

In a first-of-its-kind move, the California State Bar endorsed a plan to expunge attorney discipline records-other than disbarment-after eight years. The practical effect of the move is that public discipline would no longer appear on the lawyer’s state bar website profile. The change is intended, in part, to lessen the impact of what was perceived as racial disparities in attorney discipline in California. A 2019 state bar-commissioned study had found that Black male attorneys in California-who currently make up just 1% of the state’s lawyers-were more than three times as likely to be placed on probation than white male attorneys.Will other states follow? Many of the actions taken by the Attorney Grievance Committees in New York are not public. The Committees issue Letters of Advisement, which are not considered discipline, or Admonitions, which are considered discipline but are not public. The public forms of discipline-censure, suspension and disbarment-are only taken after formal proceedings are initiated in one of the four Appellate Divisions. There have been no studies in New York addressing racial disparities in the administration of public discipline against attorneys in New York, and with a recent rollback in DEI initiatives (AP has reported that McDonald’s is the latest company to eliminate diversity goals), it seems unlikely that there will be anytime soon. The California proposal was not universally supported. In fact, Reuters reported that 445 comments were received during the public comment phase and 74% of those comments opposed the change. “Non-attorney members of the public [were] most heavily against it,” according to Reuters.Some may argue that the public is entitled to complete transparency when hiring an attorney. Others may argue that the measure does not address the root cause of the problem it purports to address. What are your thoughts? Legal Update for Lawyers’ Professional Liability - February 2025 is prepared by Marshall Dennehey to provide information on recent legal developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. We would be pleased to provide such legal assistance as you require on these and other subjects when called upon. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING pursuant to New York RPC 7.1 Copyright 2025 Marshall Dennehey, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm. For reprints or inquiries, or if you wish to be removed from this mailing list, contact tamontemuro@mdwcg.com.

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