Biggest Claims Risks
Time management tips Tuesdays – Getting started by setting goals
Lawyers and law firm staff are busy. Time management is a real risk factor – with time management issues accounting for 20% of claims reported to LAWPRO over the last decade. Time management errors include missed deadlines, not considering or miscalculating limitation periods, and not promptly responding to clients. At times, time management errors are… Read More »
Categories: Risk Management Strategies, Limitations Claims, Biggest Claims RisksCommon Limitation Period Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
It is one of a lawyer’s worst nightmares: missing a limitation period. It can be a very easy mistake to make and yet the consequences can be enormous. There are numerous “pitfalls” that can lead to missed limitation periods and other limitation period problems. Some of these pitfalls are relatively easy to avoid whereas others… Read More »
Categories: Biggest Claims Risks, Civil Litigation, Limitations ClaimsMalpractice 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 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 StrategiesNew in the practicePRO Library: Unbundled Legal Services – A Family Lawyer’s Guide
Focusing on family law practitioners, Unbundling Legal Services is a particularly appropriate resource given the unique promise that unbundling holds for family law litigants. In many jurisdictions, self-representation rates are highest in family cases. But, as any family law attorney (or family court litigant) knows, these are the case types that arguably benefit most from… Read More »
Categories: Risk Management Strategies, Family Law, Biggest Claims RisksGood Practice Habits: Taking Instructions & Giving Recommendations
Lawyer/client communication-related claims are the number one source of malpractice claims in all areas of practice. These claims can arise when there is a mis-communication or no communication at all. The lawyer and client can be confused over who is doing what. Were instructions received but ignored? Was the lawyer supposed to do something which… Read More »
Categories: Biggest Claims Risks, Communication Errors, Law Practice Management, Risk Management & Claims PreventionLitigation claims on the rise
In recent years, the growth in civil litigation claims has outstripped the overall growth in claims. For example, from 2006 through 2010 LAWPRO received an average of 708 civil litigation claims each year, and during 2011 through 2015, the average increased to 948 each year. This growth of 34 per cent vastly exceeds the 7… Read More »
Categories: Biggest Claims Risks, Communication Errors, Civil Litigation, Limitations ClaimsA Simple Habit To Avoid Missing Deadlines
Here at Claims Prevention & practicePRO we often talk about “baby steps”. The big idea is that taking baby steps can help make you a more effective lawyer. There isn’t necessarily One Big Thing that will magically turn you into a great lawyer. The elements of a habit are explored in Charles Duhigg’s The Power… Read More »
Categories: Law Practice Management, Risk Management & Claims Prevention, Biggest Claims Risks, Legal Technology, Practice Aids, Civil Litigation