Haley Mathis (Of Counsel-McLean, VA) and Erin Haney (Associate-Mclean, VA) obtained dismissal of a legal malpractice claim in Fairfax County Circuit Court, Virginia, on behalf of Wilson Elser’s attorney-client. The plaintiff in this matter retained our client to represent her in a 2022 divorce action but terminated the representation several weeks before trial. The plaintiff later alleged she was left without counsel during a complex divorce proceeding wherein the Circuit Court divided and distributed the couple’s property in accordance with Virginia law governing equitable distribution. Dissatisfied with the result, the plaintiff sued our client, claiming she would have received a more favorable equitable-distribution outcome had he represented her more effectively prior to her terminating him. The court sustained Haley and Erin’s demurrer, agreeing with their arguments that an alleged violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct does not give rise to a civil cause of action or a basis for liability, and that the plaintiff failed to adequately plead a breach of any purported duty and a proximate cause of damages beyond conclusory allegations.