Ex-Hogan Lovells partner fails to prove to court that drive home was work time

The partner, now at Bancroft, had sought to persuade the court that the Hogan Lovell partnership insurance should cover an accident he had on the drive home as he also worked at home and so was commuting between two work locations.

The proximity of a BlackBerry did not win the day in court for a lawyer claiming it meant he was working Svetlana Dikhtyareva

H Christopher Bartolomucci, former Associate Counsel to George W Bush during his presidency and now a complex litigation partner at Bancrofts, was involved in a car crash but was covered by his own insurance for just US$100,000. An injured driver claimed $1m - so Mr Bartolomucci sought extra cover through the Hogans policy. 

Unbilled commuting time

Part of his evidence was that his BlackBerry was always near him as he drove between office and home and also that he thought about work. However, no evidence was produced to suggest that he billed clients in relation to that commuting time. The Virginia Supreme Court held against him, after a jury had decided in favour of him in a lower court but was over-ruled by the judge. To qualify, he would have had to be using the car for the business or personal use of the partnership - for paid or unpaid work relating to the firm. Source: ABA

Email your news and story ideas to: news@globallegalpost.com

Top