SOS

By Jett Hanna, RPLU
Senior Vice President, Texas Lawyers’ Insurance Exchange

Every now and then we go back to the Claims Department and ask, "what’s been causing you guys trouble lately?" When we asked the other day, they said it is the SOS (same old "stuff.") For those of you who may not know what the same old stuff is, here is what the Claims Department said.

1. Statutes of limitation. There are many ways to miss a statute: Forget to put it in your calendar, calendar the wrong date, assume you know the correct date before investigating the claim, rely on your client for information about when an accident happened, or wait until the last minute to file suit. We see them all.
   
   
2. Not completing work timely, or at all. There are so many things to do in the law practice. Many lawyers tend to deal only with the emergency items when their plate gets full. When you put too much stuff on the back burner, it often boils over all at once.
   
   
3. Over reliance on support staff. You can’t live without them, and they may be smarter than you. They haven’t gone to law school, however, and you do need to supervise them. We see many claims arise when attorneys fail to carefully review pleadings or documents prepared by support staff. Some times we see support staff given the authority to accept cases, which is a very dangerous practice.
   
   
4. Conflicts. When we last checked, about 22% of our losses involved claims with an alleged conflict. Any time two or more people are in your office without another attorney from another firm, you must think about conflicts. Entities and individuals often have conflicts, too. Oral waivers of conflict are worthless; written ones only work if well drafted and the attorney withdraws if an actual conflict arises. It’s pretty simple, really: in any given matter, either you have one client, or you have more. If you have more, then the conflict rules come into play.
   
   
5. Sue for fees. You really deserve to get paid. Get paid up front if you are working hourly. If you get behind and have to sue for fees, few good things can happen. Malpractice claims are mandatory counterclaims to suits for fees, and clients often get another a lawyer who figures that out. Remember that members of a lay jury probably will not understand how you could be worth over $100 an hour, especially if your client doesn’t get an obviously good result.