Managing Legal Malpractice: A Professional Liability Risk Management Handbook for Lawyers has been published by the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies.

As many as one in five lawyers will face a malpractice suit this year—and the financial harm and the damage done to reputation has the potential to bring down the entire firm,” said James Rhyner, assistant vice president and lawyers professional liability product manager.  “Lawyers are focused on protecting their clients’ interests, but many are not watching their own backs as well as they should.”

Many small and medium-sized firms do not employ professional risk managers and legal staffs are stretched too thin to take on the role.  Rhyner suggests that law firms collaborate with their insurance agents or brokers or other risk management professionals to help reduce their liability exposure.

Some steps a firm and its risk managers can take are:

• Review the legal ownership makeup of the firm for clear definition of management structure, duties and responsibilities.
• Establish financial management protocols in line with the firm’s business strategy and philosophy.
• Ensure that the firm’s risks, its appetite for risk and its risk management practices are aligned.
• Establish a formal client intake process.
• Develop a policy to help firm lawyers avoid conflicts of interest.
• Install sound docket control and calendaring procedures to minimize missed deadlines—a leading source of malpractice suits.
• Make sure the firm’s professional liability insurance policy broadly defines “insured” as well as key terms such as “professional” or “legal” services, “loss” and “claim.”  The policy should also offer a choice of counsel and advancement of defense costs.

For further information about the Handbook, visit www.chubb.com. 

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