The American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Lawyers Professional Liability recently completed its “Profile of Legal Malpractice Claims” from 2000 to 2003.  The study analyzed claims by area of law, numbers of attorneys in firm, type of activity, disposition of claim, type of alleged error, expenses paid, indemnity dollars paid to claimant, total dollars paid in defense and indemnity/settlement, and time interval from alleged error to closing of file.  This article will review some of the more significant results from this study. 

Claims Trends

The profile showed certain consistent trends from earlier studies.  Claims against plaintiffs’ personal injury practitioners were at the highest rate, representing nearly 20 percent of all claims.  Real estate practitioners received the second highest number of claims.  Claims for non-litigation related activities are still relatively low, consisting of less than a quarter of all claims.  Most of the claims were against firms with five or fewer attorneys.

The study revealed differences from earlier claims data.  Claims against firms with 40 or more lawyers were up nearly 15 percent.  Claims against personal injury defense lawyers were up almost six percent.  The study also showed the pace of resolving claims may have slowed.  The number of claims pending for more than three years jumped by almost 12 percent.

Types of Claims

The study broke down categories of errors into administrative errors, substantive errors, client relations, and intentional wrongs.  The highest number of alleged administrative errors was for procrastination and performance/follow-up, which accounted for nearly 10 percent of the total.  The highest categories of substantive errors involved failure to know or properly apply the law (11 percent) and inadequate discovery/investigation (10 percent).  In the area of client relations, failure to follow client’s instructions made up nearly seven percent of alleged errors and failure to obtain consent or adequately inform a client accounted for approximately six percent of the alleged errors.

Amounts Paid

An interesting category of the study involved numbers of claims by indemnity dollars paid to claimants.  The overwhelming majority of claims (approximately 80 percent) were resolved without any payment to the claimant.  Of the claims that did involve indemnity payments, less than seven percent involved payments of more than $50,000 and less than four percent involved payments of more than $100,000.

Conclusion

The profile of legal malpractice claims is based on nationwide statistics from insurers who provide legal malpractice insurance.  The data did not involve all insurers who provide such coverage; nor was the survey intended to provide a comprehensive review of all malpractice claims against lawyers during the period.  Nevertheless, this study, which is available from the ABA Standing Committee on Lawyers’ Professional Liability (visit http://www.abanet.org/abastore for “Profile of Legal Malpractice Claims 2000-2003.” Cost is $60) provides interesting insight into legal malpractice claims across the country.

John C. Kissinger practices with Nelson, Kinder, Mosseau & Saturley, P.C. in Manchester.  He frequently writes on issues of professionalism, malpractice, and ethics.

Home | About the Bar | For Members | For the Public | Legal Links | Publications | Online Store
Lawyer Referral Service | Law-Related Education | NHBA•CLE | NHBA Insurance Agency | NHMCLE
Search | Calendar

New Hampshire Bar Association
2 Pillsbury Street, Suite 300, Concord NH 03301
phone: (603) 224-6942 fax: (603) 224-2910
email: NHBAinfo@nhbar.org
© NH Bar Association Disclaimer