Legal Malpractice Insurance

"The need for legal malpractice insurance isn't going away. Unlike some other professions, plaintiffs in legal malpractice actions need only a filing fee and the ability to get their complaint filed; the complaint does not necessarily need to have merit. Having an insurance policy in place to provide and pay for experienced defense counsel and, if need be, an indemnity payment, can provide the peace of mind no lawyer should be without. [This book] will open your eyes to the many coverage options available to you under your legal malpractice policy of insurance. JoAnn L. Hathaway, a state bar association practice management advisor, licensed insurance agent, and registered professional liability underwriter, will teach you how to: choose deductibles, select the right coverage limit, wisely choose your insurance carrier, learn about the claims process, and protect your practice." -- Publisher's website.

Unhappy clients bring thousands of legal malpractice claims every year, against mega law firms and solo practitioners, for simple errors or egregious misconduct, and for losses than can reach $100 million or more. This in an industry, legal services, generating nearly $300 billion a year in revenue and touching every facet of American society. Yet, scant if any scholarly attention has been paid to the questions and consequences of lawyers' professional liability. This book is the first to fully explore the mistakes lawyers sometimes make, the nature of these mistakes, the harm they do, and the significant disparities in outcomes for corporate and individual victims of lawyers' errors. A systematic, empirical study of legal malpractice, When Lawyers Screw Up employs both quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the frequency and nature of claims, the area of practice producing them, the amounts at stake, and the resolutions. The authors also use a range of data sources to study the frequency and outcomes of legal malpractice trials, whether bench or jury. Their comparison of legal malpractice cases involving the corporate and personal service sectors reveal the difficulties confronting claims coming from the personal sector—difficulties that often deny victims redress, even when they have suffered significant harm. When Lawyers Screw Up draws on a series of interviews to describe the practices of lawyers with expertise in handling legal malpractice claims, even as it notes how few such experts are available to prosecute these claims. In light of their findings, the authors suggest a range of reforms that would help victims of legal malpractice, particularly individuals and small businesses, in pursuing their claims.