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Posted on: May 15, 2018 by Huntersure
This blog was originally published on December 23, 2014. It was updated on May 15, 2018.
Lawyers studied long and hard to get to where they’re at in representing clients and running their own firm or being a part of a bigger mission for the community. They do their best to keep professionalism to its best qualities and to avoid something scandalous like malpractice claims. If any attorney falls short of providing the legal services and professional focus in which they promised to their client, they can in turn be sued for legal malpractice. In order to insure these professionals, it is crucial to understand the most common sources of claims in this sector.
Legal malpractice claims remain frequent in the legal system. Claims brought against attorneys on a year-over-year basis remain similar and don’t seem to be slowing down. This continued march from clients to rail against legal professionals has brought attention to what lawyers can do to protect themselves like looking into professional liability insurance for lawyers, which can safeguard attorneys in a controversy.
Besides investing in protection against these kinds of claims, it’s important to know the main reasons why some clients feel like they have a case against an attorney in terms of malpractice. Here are a few common claims made against legal professionals.
This is a common grievance brought to light by clients who feel like their attorney(s) did not relay the correct or right amount of information related to their case. This usually come sin the form of unexpected costs or conclusions to certain cases. In an age of cell phones, social media and instant connectivity, lawyers have fewer reasons to stay away from sufficient contact and information.
Another common reason for malpractice claims is due to an attorney’s failure of addressing conflict of interest. For instance, if a lawyer is being used in a multi-client case like a wrongful death case, they are open to conflict of interest by representing different perspectives. Think of an auto accident where the lawyer represents both the driver and the passenger, where the driver may share fault.
A conflict of interest points to compromising influence that can negatively affect the advice a lawyer would give to another client. In other words, this kind of claim highlights the possibility that a lawyer’s judgement can be altered concerning certain clients.
Another common claim comes in the form of fees. Money is always a touchy subject when it comes to legal issues, and there’s plenty of opportunity to find some fault in legal services. Clients must know exactly what they’re being charged for and how much or lawyers open themselves up to plenty of trouble. Having a clear cut fee structure and transparency around fees and services offered can save a firm plenty of trouble.
Huntersure LLC is a full-service Managing General Agency that has provided insurance program administration for professional liability products to our partners across the United States since 2007. We specialize in providing insurance solutions for businesses of all sizes. Our program features can cover small firms (grossing $2.5 million annually) to large corporations (grossing $25 million annually or more). We make doing business with us easy with our breadth and depth of knowledge of E&O insurance, our proprietary underwriting system that allows for responsive quoting, binding and policy issuance and tailored products to meet the needs of your insureds. Give us a call at (646) 751-3030 to learn more.
Posted in: blog Lawyer Professional Liability