It is not easy to be a lawyer. Every day attorneys have to be diligent and focused so that they do not make a serious error that could affect their client’s outcome. If this were to happen, they could face a malpractice claim and risk losing their legal license! The four most common types of legal malpractice errors are:
1. Administrative Errors
Although it seems simple to manage your time and create a working calendar, the most common cause for legal malpractice claims is calendaring issues. Calendars can hold crucial information such as paperwork deadlines and court dates. If one of these deadlines is overlooked or forgotten about, a malpractice claim could result. To avoid this issue, attorneys must manage their time wisely and stay up to date with all calendar events.
2. Substantive Errors
Lawyers face harsh deadlines in their daily work. The work they preform can be highly stressful and require a tremendous amount of investigation and discovery. Failure to adequately research a case in the time allotted can result in a malpractice claim against the attorney.
3. Intentional Wrongs
The consequences of intentional wrongs can be lasting and detrimental to an attorney’s future success. If an attorney has a malpractice suit filed against them due to an intentional wrongdoing, they can even face disbarment!
4. Client Relations
Surprisingly, about 9% of all legal malpractice claims result from client relation errors. These are things such as failure to obtain a client’s consent or failure to present a client with proper instruction. Although these errors are not as common as administrative or substantive errors, they can still result in extreme losses for the firm.
If you are an attorney who does not yet have legal malpractice insurance, you should look in to purchasing it. The right policy could save your career. Contact us today at 800-373-3839 to learn about what we have to offer.