Lawyers Professional Liability is designed to provide legal professionals with protection from claims against them for issues such as breach of conduct, missed filing dates, improper/inadequate representation, conflict of interest, etc. While most attorneys are in the habit of following careful guidelines, keeping multiple calendar schedules, and assuring continuing education requirements, they are always open to losses arising not only from their own clientele, but also, in some cases from outside third parties who have been affected by the attorneys actions.
Who should buy Lawyers Professional Liability Insurance? Lawyers specializing in:
- Administrative Law Defense of Admirality
- Bankruptcy
- Collections
- Corporation Litigation
- Criminal Matters
- Defense of Personal/Bodily Injury
- Defense of Workers Comp
- Elder Law
- Employee Benefits
- Family Law
- Immigration
- Labor/Employee Relations
- Mediation/Arbitration
- Plaintiff BI/PI
- Taxation
- Wills and Estate Planning
- And many others!
Though harder to place, the following types of specializations also need Professional Liability Insurance:
- Class Action/Mass Tort
- Entertainment Law
- Environmental Law
- Financial Institutions
- Intellectual Property Law (Patent, Copyright or Trademark)
- Investment Counseling
- Real Estate
- Securities Transactions
Claim Example
A former client filed a lawsuit against his attorney who represented him in a criminal prosecution. The plaintiff, who had a history of DUI citations, was involved in a motor vehicle accident that claimed the lives of all three of his children. He was intoxicated at the time. The suit against his former attorney arose because the plaintiff was disgruntled when he received a sentence of 15 years in prison. He alleges his attorney led him to believe he would receive a lesser sentence. Lawsuit is pending