Smith v. Lewis

In Smith v. Lewis (1975) 13 Cal.3d 349, the California Supreme Court explained that the judgmental immunity doctrine does not apply unless an attorney establishes both (1) the unsettled state of the law that was the subject of professional advice and (2) the attorney's efforts to perform "reasonable research in an effort to ascertain relevant legal principles and to make an informed decision as to a course of conduct based upon an intelligent assessment of the problem." (Id. at p. 359.)