8 Tips to Avoid Malpractice Claims

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In most areas of law practice, problems with lawyer-client communications are the number one cause of malpractice claims, followed closely by basic deadline and time management issues. From a claims prevention point of view, Dan Pinnington of Attorney at Work suggests attorneys get more for their risk management efforts by focusing on improving client communications and getting things done on time.

With this advice in mind, here are a few more recommendations for your clients from our claims department to help you steer them clear of a malpractice suit.  Remind your attorney clients to:

1. Screen out cases with poor liability, early. These tend to be the cases where a statute of limitations is missed
2. Remember that any error that they wish to argue on appeal, needs to be properly presented and preserved in the record of the trial court proceedings
3. They shouldn’t take a case when they don’t have either adequate time or capital to take it to its completion
4. Solo attorneys should arrange to have access to a mentor attorney with whom they can talk over new legal and practical case control problems
5. If they are not practicing in a partnership, they need to make their independent status clear to clients and make sure that any associates do so as well to avoid liability on the theory of a “defacto partnership”
6. In drafting legal documents, they should use a comprehensive up-to-date checklist as a guideline to their own document
7. If they suspect that a legal associate has a drinking or drug problem, they need to get professional help as this situation is a time bomb.
8. They need to reinforce the elements of their firm’s client-service strategy by posting it in the office and making it part of an annual company event where everyone is reminded and protocols are highlighted.

For more information and help with your professional liability insurance accounts, call us at Pat Moore.  We focus on E&O for attorneys, accountants, architects, engineers, real estate, media & tech, and healthcare professionals.  We partner with independent agents like you to leverage our resources providing your clients with superior malpractice coverage.

We have deep insurance knowledge and access to key markets to help you with solutions for your hard-to-place clients too.  It’s easy to get a quote.  Call Kaycie Berley at (800) 214-9294 x228 or send submissions to submissions@patmooreins.com.  Call now!

Get Powerful, Strike a Pose.

In the future, “the most successful leader will be the one whose policies, actions, behaviors, and body language are strategically aligned with his verbal messages,” according to executive coach and behavior consultant, Carol Kinsey Goman, Ph.D.  But if you want to win new clients and persuade team members, it’s not just a matter of sending a signal of power in a meeting by leaning back in your chair. You can actually change your body chemistry by assuming and holding that power pose for a few moments prior to the meeting.

Harvard Business School professor, Amy Cuddy, explains in an Inc. Magazine interview, that you can prepare yourself for success by assuming simple ‘power poses’ prior to a meeting or interview.  She says, “if you want to be an effective leader, watch the way you sit, stand and posture.” In other words, this power posing is not just for people who want to appear powerful. It’s for people who want to be powerful.  To enlighten us, Cuddy revealed these four classic poses:

• The Performer: Mick Jagger –“This is a classic expression of feeling powerful in the moment-it causes you to physically expand.”
• The CEO: Oprah Winfrey–“The body language naturally projects dominance. It’s unusual to see a woman in this position.”
• The Classic: Wonder Woman–“She’s really opening up. The feet spread, the hands on the hips. She’s taking up space.”
• The Loomer: Lyndon Johnson–“Johnson was 6’4″, and he used his stature very thoughtfully-to both intimidate and seduce.”

Before you strike that pose, give Pat Moore a call. No posers here, just an honest assessment about your client’s liability risks and how we can help. We have your back when it comes to errors and omissions for architects, engineers, lawyers, accountants, tech & media and healthcare professionals.  Got a hard-to-place client?  They’re our speciality.  Give Kaycie Berley a call at (800) 214-9294 x228 or send submissions to submissions@patmooreins.com.  Call today!

P.S. Interested in more details? Here’s Amy Cuddy’s TED performance, on “Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are.