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Serving on Boards: Blurred Lines May Blind Lawyers to the Risks
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Lawyers contemplating board service must weigh the potential benefits against the risks inherent in such appointments prior to acceptance and throughout the tenure of any board service.
Client Intake and Proper Client Selection
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Client intake should never be dismissed as an unimportant but necessary task when taking on a new client. Creating a thorough client intake process is essential in order to establish a strong foundation for an attorney-client relationship whether the relationship lasts for weeks or years.
Lawyers Professional Liability Risk Control
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With more than 60 years of experience providing lawyers professional liability insurance, CNA offers a broad range of insurance products and solutions through its Underwriting, Claims and Risk Control teams.
Ten Tips to Assist in Avoiding a Malpractice Claim
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There is little doubt that the legal profession can be a risky one. According to the ABA the likelihood of a private practice attorney being sued for malpractice in a given year runs between 4 and 17 percent.
Advance Conflict Waivers: Use Them or Lose Them?
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"In Practice... With CNA" explains that when relying on an advance waiver, practitioners should be cognizant of the speficity of such waivers, and would be prudent to re-evaluate their scope as conflict arises.
Alert: New Scam Targeting Lawyers Wiring Funds
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Lawyers should beware of a sophisticated new hacking scam the FBI refers to as Business E-mail Compromise. Lawyers in multiple states have recently reported being victimized by this scam.
Lawyers Professional Liability Policy Highlights
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CNA is the nation's leading underwriter of Lawyers Professional Liability and Federal and State Judges Professional Liability coverage.
What Lawyers Need to Know About New Reporting Required Under the Corporate Transparency Act
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This edition of In Practice...with CNA identifies new reporting requirements enacted by the Corporate Transparency Act and the associated ethical considerations.
Retiring from Practice: Understanding Your Options
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An attorney like anyone else looks toward retirement with mixed emotions. Retirement means bidding farewell to angry client phone calls and late night brief writing but it also means stepping away from your life's work.
This edition of CNA Professional Counsel takes an in-depth look at lawyer advertising through new methods as well as some of the associated risks and best practices to consider.
For Your Eyes Only: Securing Lawyer-Client Communications
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While acceptable response times were once measured in days modern communication channels have clients counting the hours or even minutes since they sent their email or text. File sharing also has accelerated with clients able to review revise and approve documents instantly.
This edition of Professional Counsel addresses where nontraditional legal malpractice exposures exist so attorneys may take steps to avoid the unexpected exposures.
Billing Blues: Best Business Practices for Fee Collection
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As attorneys we routinely litigate arbitrate and negotiate on behalf of our clients. With regularity we analyze synthesize and scrutinize certain facts precedent and regulations. Managing accounts receivable however seems to befuddle the best of us.
This edition of Professional Counsel emphasizes how attorneys must be aware of how the use of ChatGPT would impact their practice, client matters and ethical concerns that may lead to allegations of legal malpractice.
To Avoid or Embrace? Navigating Third Party Legal Opinions
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This edition of Professional Counsel® discusses different practices and tools lawyers should consider when offering legal opinions for third parties to help mitigate potential risk.
This edition of Professional Counsel® provides the 2023 most popular risk control resources for CNA-insured attorneys.
How to Handle an Ethics Grievance
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Attorneys who practice long enough may encounter the prospect of receiving a letter from a bar disciplinary office containing notice of a complaint from a client or third party.
CNA has compiled professional liability Claims data from recent years to analyze trends and provide tips for mitigating the risks associated with legal malpractice claims in Plaintiff’s Personal Injury/Property Damage.
Rule 8.3 - Reporting Other Lawyers
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ABA Model Rule 8.3 requires every lawyer to report certain professional misconduct by other lawyers to the appropriate disciplinary authority. So when do you report another lawyer's ethical misconduct and how do you do it?
More Money More Problems
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The frequency of Alternative Litigation Financing (ALF) where a third party provides money to cash-needy claimant in exchange for a financial stake in the outcome of the case is growing rapidly. This article examines the risk exposures of ALF.
This edition of Professional Counsel addresses referral and fee splitting agreements and the risks associated with them.
Subcontractor Prequalification Guide
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When developing a prequalification form or application the hiring contractor should consider the following.
CNA CyberPrep Brochure
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CNA CyberPrep is available to all CNA cyber policyholders, providing them with a network of cybersecurity professionals and services to actively identify, mitigate and respond to their cyber risks.
Ethical Pitfalls in Non-Traditional Attorney Roles
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In today's market more attorneys are looking beyond traditional legal counsel assignments and taking on rolls as mediators and arbitrators. Download our guide to learn more about vital risk control techniques to effectively manage the risks of accepting these appointments
Phishing Attacks Use Bar Complaints and HIPAA Audits as Bait
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Attorneys have access to sensitive information and large sums of money, and although they are experts in many areas, they are seldom on the cutting edge of technology. It should come as no surprise, then, that a growing number of email scams are targeting attorneys and other similar professionals.
Collect with Caution
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The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act's constructive intent has resulted in unintended consequences that create exposures for attorneys who may not be conversant with its ramifications. This article focuses on the issues surrounding the Act that are most likely to affect attorneys.
Trustees and Investing: Best Practices to Avoid Liability
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The responsibility of being a trustee carries with it multiple duties. This article includes a list of the most common trustee duties.
Successfully Managing the Unforeseen Risks of Appellate Practice
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Appellate work is traditionally regarded as a risk-free area of practice and while they do not generate a significant number of legal malpractice claims they still bear a risk. Download to learn more about how to successfully manage the unforeseen risks
Spyware Schemes & Sticky Fingers: Reacting to Client Misconduct
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A client's past misdeeds are rarely a dealbreaker for a prospective attorney-client relationship. Every day lawyers help clients address the consequences of illegal conduct and analyze the legal aspects of questionable conduct.
Conflict of Interest Issues in Representing the Company/Employee
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Times arise particularly in litigation where a lawyer for an entity might find it useful to represent an employee or other constituent of the entity for some limited purpose. This dual representation of an entity and its constituent raises a number of practice issues.
This edition of Vantage Point presents a variety of strategies intended to help healthcare settings of every type improve clinical integration following consolidation.
Inside the lines: Scope Limitations and Legal Ghostwriting
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As financial pressure from the Great Recession becomes the new normal and even the least tech-savvy Americans tackle most errands from behind a computer screen consumers have cast a critical eye towards the traditional attorney-client relationship.
Risk Control Capabilities Brochure
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An overview of available tools, services and expertise to help mitigate risk.
School of Risk Control Excellence (SORCE) Catalog
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Learn about CNA's School of Risk Control Excellence (SORCE) online and onsite resources to help your clients manage their exposures.
Thorny Issues Involving the Concealment of Information
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Lawyers must balance their duties to their client against both express legal duties to adversaries and general duties of truthfulness.
Epack 3 - Employment Practices Liability
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CNA’s Epack 3 Employment Practices Liability (EPL) insurance coverage helps shield businesses, business owners and employees against loss from claims alleging wrongful employment practices.
Lawyers' Duties Regarding Legal Files After a Client's Death
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Courts uniformly have held that the attorney-client privilege survives the death of a client. Complex issues arise regarding the lawyer's duties to her former client when the personal representative seeks files that are unrelated to the administration of the estate.
Watch Out for Trust and Estate Risk
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Claims against lawyers arising from trust and estate engagements are skyrocketing in both number and severity. CNA data reveals that claim frequency is 25% higher for trust and estate representations compared to other areas of practice.
Clients with Diminished Capacity
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As more people live longer and work longer attorneys will encounter more clients who have reached an advanced age whether they are seeking to purchase real estate sell their business pursue a personal injury claim or get married.
Wills Trusts and Estates - Third-Party Beneficiaries Claims
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Wills trusts and estates lawyers should be concerned about liability and duties to both their own clients and third-party beneficiaries. Download to learn more about documentation and how it can be effective in client service and practice management.
This edition of AlertBulletin® examines causes and effects of social inflation, how insurance can be affected, and offers several risk mitigation strategies to minimize exposure to social inflation.
Resident Patient Handling: Creating Effective Safety Program
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This edition of AlertBulletin® examines the issue of manual lifting and handling techniques are a major source of risk for healthcare organizations.
Navigating Policy Limit Demands to Avoid Malpractice Exposure
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This edition of In Practice...with CNA addresses how settlement demands may constitute a rejection if it does not strictly comply with the terms of the demand and how an attorney should react.
This edition of In Practice...with CNA examines the best practices for assisting a client who receives a Legal Hold Notice or preservation letter.
Evolving Models of Care: New Delivery Methods Present New Risks
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This edition of Vantage Point® identifies the elements of new healthcare delivery methods, describes the benefits and risks of these innovations, and suggests strategies designed to protect patients/residents and reduce liability exposure.
Multi-passenger Vehicles: A Brief Guide to Fleet Safety
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This edition of AlertBulletin lists basic risk control strategies, describes common driver-related risk factors that contribute to accidents and suggests specific countermeasures.
Staffing levels are one of the most tangible measures of quality care but often fall well below the expectations of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
2023 Strategic Business Resilience Report
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CNA’s 2023 Strategic Business Resilience report was created to help leaders build a resilient culture and develop a sustained ability to endure disruptive events.
2022 Strategic Business Resilience Report
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Strategic Business Resilience Report: Position your organization to endure and thrive through adverse business conditions.