Legal Malpractice Insurance is professional liability insurance for attorneys and law firms. This sort of coverage protects attorneys and law firms, and their staff, against claims of professional negligence. Some of these policies cover the cost of having representation by independent counsel when an ethical complaint turns into a lawsuit.
Firms and sole practitioners alike should have legal malpractice insurance. Any lawyer or firm is a target for malpractice suits at any time --- no matter how good the attorney or the firm is. With legal malpractice insurance, you can be assured of both an aggressive defense as soon as any suit might be filed against you, and a massive reduction in the legal fees often associated with such cases.
The jurisdiction in which an attorney or law firm practices can influence the need for Legal Malpractice Insurance. This sort of coverage is mandatory in some jurisdictions, but not required in other jurisdictions. And, there are those jurisdictions which mandate that attorneys without Legal Malpractice Insurance give prospective clients, at the start of their engagement of legal services, written disclosures about the fact that the attorneys do not have Legal Malpractice Insurance.
Here’s a glance at what is and isn’t covered in a typical Legal Malpractice policy issued by Dumont Insurance Brokers Corp.:
Covered
- Allegations of Negligence
- Price of Defense
- Slander, Libel, and Personal Injury
- Infringement of Copyright
- International Coverage
- Subcontractors and Temps
- Claims and Damages
Not Covered
- Damages and Injuries
- Fraud
- In-house Employment
- False Advertising
- Patents and Trade Secrets
- Information of a Personal Nature
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