Lawyers

What does it cover?

Lawyers Professional Liability Insurance coverage is designed to pay for damages alleging negligent acts, errors or omission in legal services rendered, including claims alleging personal injury for which lawyers and their staff may be found legally liable. Most lawyers' professional liability policies are written on a claims-made and reported basis.

Cost and applications:

• Premiums start at $5,000.
• Deductibles start at $1,000.
• Limits are available from $500,000 to $10,000,000.
• Please click here to download the Lawyers' application.

Claim Scenarios

NOTE: The claims scenarios summarized are offered only as examples. The examples are not intended to establish any standards of care or to serve as legal advice appropriate for any particular factual situations. Coverage depends on the actual facts of each case and the terms, conditions and exclusions of each individual policy.

1. A small law firm in San Jose, California was hit with a cross-claim brought by the insured's expert witness. This witness had been sued by the insured's former client for adversely impacting the underlying wrongful death suit. The claimant alleged the witness gave testimony that fell below the standard of care during his expert witness deposition.

Outcome - The law firm paid more than $800,000 for defense costs and $200,000 for indemnity.

2. A lawyer, a short time after being admitted to practice, met some friends at a local athletic club. These friends were very active in the business community. They asked for Lawyer's advice as to what she thought about a very complicated investment scheme. She casually advised them that it looks okay to me. Lawyer believed that they were simply showing her the documents to see if she was interested in investing. It turned out that the investors, including the Lawyer, were mistaken as to the nature of the loan. Each of the investors had unknowingly executed personal guarantees. When the investment scheme went sour, there was a deficiency of $500,000 which was pursued against each of the investors. The investors, in turn, looked to the Lawyer, indicating that it was in reliance on her advice that they became involved in the transaction.

Outcome - Indemnity was for $450,000 with defense costs of $125,000.

3. Attorney was retained to handle a wrongful death medical malpractice action on behalf of the heirs of the decedent. Attorney, after reviewing the entire file, determined that it was far beyond his expertise and that he would refer the matter to another lawyer. The other lawyer was a medical malpractice specialist. Attorney advised the client that the matter was beyond his expertise and obtained the client's consent to refer the matter to the subsequent attorney. All this occurred one month prior to the running of the statue of limitations on the wrongful death action. The subsequent firm alleged they never received the file. Thinking that the subsequent firm was handling the matter, the Attorney did nothing further. The statute of limitations ran on the action, and six months later, the Attorney was sued by the client for legal malpractice.

Outcome - Indemnity of $185,000 and defense costs of $35,000.

• Full prior-acts.
• Defense Expenses Outside the Limits of Liability.
• Pro Bono.
• Definition of insured to include firm's current and past attorneys.
• Insured versus Insured coverage where an attorney-client relationship exists.
• Defense Costs for Disciplinary Hearings.
• Specified loss of earnings.
• Fiduciary liability claims arising from legal services.
• Final adjudication wording for fraudulent/intentional claims.
• Punitive Damages where Insurable by Law.
• Bi-lateral ERP.
• Personal Injury.

• Law firms with up to 40 attorneys.
• Loss-free and non-standard/distressed practices.
• Employed lawyers.
• Solo practitioners.
• Part-time lawyers.
• Class action lawyers.
• Plaintiff litigation lawyers.
• Intellectual property lawyers.
• Most areas of practice considered.