Legal Professional Risk

Make sure the scope of each client and case is clear before you commit to it. Don`t hire a client unless you believe your company has the resources to provide them with the professional services that justify their situation. Researching clients before committing to serve them should be a top priority in your risk management process, as it helps you avoid risks such as a conflict of interest that may not have been clear and obvious at the beginning of your relationship with the client. The technology risk assessment process can be completed in three steps: For more information, check out our comprehensive guide to data security for law firms. In addition to technological risks, your law firm should investigate risks that occur in people such as clients and employees, when sharing information, etc. Read on to learn about risk management techniques for law firms elsewhere in your firm. Due to the nature of the work, every law firm should take erroneous and injunction actions, also known as legal professional liability or legal error. Whether your law firm is accused of misinterpretation, offering adverse legal advice, lack of deadlines, failure to protect classified information, conflict of interest, or any other possible client reason for filing a claim against you, good legal error insurance should cover legal defense costs, settlements, and litigation costs (experts, research costs, etc.). The cost of your legal error insurance is determined by the size of your law firm, your areas of business, claims history, location, etc. Missy has been a member of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society, a member of Cambridge Who`s Who List of Executives and Professionals, and has spoken at legal events on risk selection and exposure. She is an active business partner with various chapters of the Association of Legal Administrators. This guide highlights the need for an informed assessment of ML/TF risks faced by legal professionals so that initial and ongoing client due diligence policies, procedures and measures can mitigate these risks.

This risk-based approach (RBA) is essential for the effective implementation of the FATF recommendations on combating money laundering and terrorist financing. PRSG acts as both a program manager and broker for many insurance companies. The company has a proven track record in professional liability insurance and has been serving the needs of lawyers, doctors, accountants, architects and engineers, insurance agents and other professionals for over two decades. Once technology risks have been assessed and prioritized, it is possible to move to technology risk management, which can help organizations control technology risks by implementing technology controls. Once the risk is identified, you need a risk management plan for law firms: The risk management process for law firms starts with communication, time management, and planning. Communication includes ensuring that deadlines are set appropriately and that all parties involved in the case are aware of them; meetings are held on a regular basis; regular telephone calls or other forms of communication to keep the client informed; Finally, risk management should include training staff to become familiar with client cases and not assume that everyone is on the same page. Once the technology risk assessment is complete and all potential technology risks have been identified (usually based on technology risk priority, technology risk exposure, and technology risk severity), the next step is to mitigate technology risk. A technology risk assessment typically results in a list of recommended technology risks that need to be mitigated. One of the biggest paradoxes surrounding the practice of the law is that law firms take a huge risk of being sued. It is not uncommon for current and former clients to make claims against their legal representative for a variety of reasons. However, disgruntled clients are only scratching the surface when it comes to law firm risk management and the many risk factors associated with practicing law.

And while these claims pose a real threat to lawyers on a day-to-day basis, there are many other risks to consider. Our team therefore offers continuing education presentations in legal ethics and legal risk management on a private, internal or firm-specific basis. This allows the audience to speak freely with us and allows our team to focus the program on the topics the audience wants to talk about the most. In addition, lawyers` travel time, associated costs and disruptions are minimal when we host presentations in our clients` offices or via video conference. Time management risk control involves ensuring that case formatting, electronic submission protocols and evidentiary presentation guidelines are consistent. Lawyers work in a wide range of business structures that vary from country to country and even within a country. From individual practitioners to multinational companies, they offer a wide range of services. Given the different scope and activities, some legal professions may be more vulnerable to money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) than others. The risks of human error can also be related to technology and cyber threats, given that the vast majority of social engineering and phishing attacks rely on tricking company employees into downloading or clicking on something to infect their networks and systems. However, there are many more risks associated with human error and negligence that can lead to compliance issues and serious legal errors. Missy Rodriguez is Executive Vice President and Program Manager for the insurance program activities underwritten by the Professional Risk Specialty Group, but she also serves as a key advisor to the team and its clients on retail risk selection and exposure. Missy has been a lawyer since 1992.

Missy leads a team of professional liability insurance specialists whose primary task is to select and underwrite profitable businesses. Their proven underwriting experience is a key driver of profitability and growth for the current program in Florida and Louisiana. Missy has been recognized by carrier partners for its superior hedging analysis and risk selection techniques and has been awarded by the airline`s highest authority. In general, here are some legal best practices you should incorporate and preach as part of your law firm risk management training: For law firms, technology risk management is typically associated with data security and technology governance. Some of the most common technology risk mitigation activities include: Lori Dean is a production underwriter for the Lawyers Professional Liability Program in Florida, South Carolina and Louisiana. Lori brings to the team her experience in the financial industry, commercial insurance and professional liability insurance. She has been active in the insurance industry since 2016 and has served small and large business insurance clients. She is a resident of FL Property & Casualty Agent licensed as a non-resident in various other states. Communication errors can easily lead to complaints. If, for any reason, a lawyer does not inform their client of an issue relevant to their case, or even does not stay in regular contact and answer your client`s calls, the risk is present and risk management must be addressed. This is just as important in both large and small law firms, but risk can be reduced in your small firm if you pay close attention and value to following law firms` risk management processes.

Professional liability insurance below. While each policy is carrier-specific, something as simple as a missed deadline is another human error that poses a real risk to your law firm. Missing hearings or failing to file documents due to poor time management or botched scheduling can also lead to claims if your clients feel these mistakes have hurt their case. While law firm risk management is just as important for a small law firm as it is for a large one, the risks in your small firm can be reduced if you pay close attention and appreciate the following: While technology has certainly made communication with clients easier, there are still unexpected technological risks that can arise when working on technology projects. This is especially true in the legal world, where technology is often used to supplement or support legacy paper-based systems. These are some of the most common ways lawyers can slip professionally and deal with claims for legal errors. How can lawyers minimize these common mistakes and their chances of being prosecuted? With our team`s extensive litigation experience and in-depth knowledge of legal law, we also represent clients in disqualification requests, sanctions, solicitor-client privilege disputes and conflict issues. For cases in which we are not lawyers on file, we also provide expert opinions. We are particularly appreciated for our work defending lawyers, accountants, architects and appraisers and regularly intervene in disputes involving policyholders at the top of their profession. We also handle claims against insurance intermediaries, investment and retirement professionals, IT consultants and other diverse professions. As one of the longest-serving legal teams in the insurance industry, we are proud of the long-standing relationships we have with many of our clients.

It is important to us that you trust us and feel that you have the right people on your team who are paying attention to your interests.