Risk Management & Claims Prevention
Arrests made in the U.S. of fraudsters involved in email impersonation scams
Here’s a rare bit of good news when it comes to fraud and cybercrime. Housingwire.com reports that several fraudsters have been arrested in the U.S.. The scams they are accused of running include hacking firm email accounts to redirect funds from real estate transactions to their own bank accounts. See Danger: When a Hacker Emails… Read More »
Categories: Fraud PreventionMalpractice claims regarding wills double in a decade
While wills and estates may never rival litigation or real estate as a risky practice area for lawyers, LAWPRO has seen the average annual number of wills claims double over the past 10 years. Growth in property values renders these errors more expensive and growing complexity in family structures, family law and tax law makes… Read More »
Categories: Biggest Claims Risks, Communication Errors, Wills & Estates, Areas of Law, Risk Management & Claims PreventionWills: Why you should send clients detailed reporting letters
While the will itself is the product of the collaboration between lawyer and client, the reporting letter serves a separate purpose: it’s the record of the context. To the extent that the reporting letter documents the process of crafting the will, it can bolster validity, shield the lawyer from malpractice allegation and demonstrate the value… Read More »
Categories: Communication Errors, Wills & Estates, Areas of Law, Risk Management & Claims PreventionThe new Fraud Fact Sheet for Cybercrime and Bad Cheque Scams
There has been a huge growth in cybercrime attempts against lawyers and firms, who must now be on guard against bad cheque frauds, phishing, funds transfer frauds and attempts to hack firm information. We have published a new 4-page Cybercrime and Bad Cheque Scams Fraud Fact Sheet (PDF) to help lawyers spot the red flags… Read More »
Categories: Fraud PreventionNew practicePRO resource: The immigration law malpractice claims fact sheet
The tenth in our series of “malpractice claims fact sheets” covers immigration law. The number of malpractice claims flowing from immigration matters, while not many, has been trending up in recent years. Lawyer/client miscommunications cause 42% of these claims. Immigration clients have a great deal at stake, and many pin their hopes on the efforts… Read More »
Categories: Biggest Claims Risks, Risk Management StrategiesLSO Resource Centre: Conflict of Interest When Acting Against a Former Client
The LSO’s March 2018 e-Bulletin Resources for Lawyers discusses situations where a conflict of interest can arise when acting against a former client. Here’s the discussion, reproduced in whole: Situations often arise where a lawyer is asked to act against a former client. In such cases, the lawyer must assess whether he or she is… Read More »
Categories: Conflicts of InterestBeware Phony DocuSign Phishing Scam
The Alberta Lawyers Insurance Association released this warning on March 5, 2018. The Alberta Lawyers Insurance Association (ALIA) has learned of a very convincing email scam that is trying to lure lawyers into giving away their passwords or installing malware by way of fake DocuSign requests. Lawyers have been receiving emails from a sender who… Read More »
Categories: Fraud Prevention, Risk Management & Claims PreventionNew Standard (Residential) Lease Template in Ontario as of April 30, 2018
The Ontario government is requiring all landlords to use a standard lease template for all new leases beginning April 30, 2018. Lawyers are encouraged to make themselves familiar with the terms of this new lease so they can advise clients of their obligations and rights under the new lease. The information below is taken from… Read More »
Categories: Uncategorized, Precedents, Real Estate, Risk Management & Claims Prevention