Risk Management & Claims Prevention
Finding success in loving (and not loving) law
It is a stroke of fortune to arrive at a career where you love what you do. Perhaps you were born into the world a baby lawyer. As you grew up, your parents and teachers would say, “you should be a lawyer” – and your high school yearbook would identify you as Most Likely To… Read More »
Categories: Career Management, Law Practice Management, Risk Management & Claims PreventionAvoid (and Recover From) A Ransomware Attack
No matter how good your law firm’s cyber security systems are – firewalls, passwords, anti-virus, and backup systems- the weakest link remains the human being sitting in front of the computer who clicks on the wrong link or opens up an infected file. The typical ransomware attack is the result of phishing, where an email… Read More »
Categories: Legal Technology, Risk Management & Claims PreventionAvoiding communication-based claims: some tips for litigators
Claims against litigation lawyers often involve allegations of communication errors. In this article, we consider steps that lawyers can take to avoid such claims right out of the gate – at the outset of their retainers. When we attribute a claim to a communication problem, what exactly do we mean? Here are some examples: a)… Read More »
Categories: Civil Litigation, Communication ErrorsFraudsters continue to target lawyers and their staff in relation to trust funds
See below for a fraud alert circulated by the Law Society of British Columbia today. We are seeing similar fraud attempts in Ontario. Fraudsters continue to pose as individuals working in law firms or as clients or clients’ lenders, all with the goal of tricking lawyers into transferring trust funds to them. A number of… Read More »
Categories: Fraud PreventionThe mysterious magic of routines
As a child, did you step carefully over every sidewalk crack? Tap each post of the hockey net before settling into the crease? Wear your lucky socks to every law school exam? Even those of us who scorn superstition rely on routines and rituals for our own protection: we swallow a daily multivitamin, fasten our… Read More »
Categories: Risk Management StrategiesNew York Times feature “The Lawyer, The Addict”
The New York Times has published an excellent article called “The Lawyer, The Addict” about a lawyer who succumbed to a secret drug addiction and his ex-wife’s attempts to piece together how he could maintain a successful legal career while hiding his problems right to the very end. The article explores the toll drugs and… Read More »
Categories: Wellness and BalanceRecognizing the red flags of real estate scams involving corporate identity theft
Frauds targeting real estate lawyers are getting ever more sophisticated. LAWPRO has seen several attempted frauds involving corporate identity theft. The properties involved may be commercial or residential, but are always owned by a corporation. How these frauds work These frauds start with the fraudsters changing or stealing the identity of corporate property owners. This… Read More »
Categories: Fraud PreventionGood 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 Prevention