The Risk of Malpractice for Attorneys

DANGER - DANGER - DANGER DANGER - DANGER - DANGER The Risk Of Malpractice For Attorneys Being an attorney is a risky profession, but you probably knew that when you entered law school - risk comes with the territory. And each year you stay in practice, your risk increases. The American Bar Association (ABA) calculates the likelihood of a private practice attorney being sued for malpractice in any given year runs between 4% 17% Attorneys who are establishing their firms today can expect, on average, at least three malpractice claims over the course of their careers. Claims are rising 52,982 malpractice claims were filed from 2008-2011 reflecting almost 12,500 more claims than the previous four-year period 2008-11 2004-07 Top 5 Most Common Alleged Errors: 2 Failure to know Procrastination in Inadequate discovery & investigation or apply law performance/followup 4 Planning error/ procedure choice Lost file, document or evidence N- CAUTION- E Areas With The Highest Risk Of Malpractice -- CAU Real estate (10,772 claims) 20.33% Personal injury-plaintiff (8,260 claims) 15.59% Family law (6,432 claims) 12.14% Estate/trust/probate (5,652 claims) 10.67% Collection & bankruptcy (4,876 claims) CAUTION - 9.20% EE --- - - CAUTION - CAUTION CAUTION - CAUTION - CAUT Firm Size Impacts Malpractice Claims 32% 34% 10% malpractice claims malpractice claims malpractice claims OVO Solo Attorneys 2-5 Attorneys 6-10 Attorneys Represent 48% in private practice Represent 16% in private practice Represent 7% in private practice Lawyers with 11-20 years experience 35% of all malpractice claims 8 Tactics To Minimize Malpractice Risk Simplify and automating client onboarding 123 Avoid trouble with trust accounting Eliminate the Close the risk of missed communication deadlines gap Follow real Establish a routine, and adapting to new technology and virtual paper trails Find the tools that best fit your firm's growth Generate 4 8 airtight documents Sources: ABA Profile of Legal Malpractice Claims (2008-2011) Todd C. Sott, J.D., Vice President of Risk Management and Member Services, Minnesota Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company LexisNexis LexisNexis and the Knowledge Burst Logo are registered trademarks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc, 0 2012 LenisNexis. Al Rights Reserved. LEFF +12,500