Category: LAWPRO Magazine
Is anyone listening? Preventing communications claims
It’s easy to prevent communications breakdowns: So why is this consistently the #1 source of claims for LAWPRO? No matter what the area of practice, the number one source of claims at LAWPRO is a breakdown in communication between the lawyer and client. And those numbers are increasing. Between 2005 and 2010, more than 4,200… Read More »
Categories: 2011 Fall Communications, Articles, Civil Litigation, Communications Errors, Corporate Law, Family, Features, Inadequate Investigation, Real Estate, Wills & EstatesLet’s get talking – A look at communications breakdowns
Humans communicate from the time they are infants until the day they die. At its heart, communication is all about the same thing – whether we speak, write, gesture, sign, listen, or tweet. It’s a way of telling someone something. So why, if lawyers have been communicating for as long as they have, are the… Read More »
Categories: 2011 Fall Communications, Articles, Communications Errors, Features, Practice TipsEditorial: A clean slate
Perhaps it’s the crisp quality of the air at this time of year, the early evenings or the fact that vacation time is generally behind us. Or perhaps it’s a hold-over from the excitement we felt as we embarked on a new school year or a new course of study – or watch our offspring… Read More »
Categories: 2011 Fall Communications, Articles, EditorialsMandatory professional indemnity insurance & a mandatory insurer: A global perspective
The recent lawyers’ malpractice insurance crisis in the United Kingdom offers a stark reminder of the value of Ontario’s scheme of universal access to professional liability insurance. Crisis in the UK In the spring of 2010, UK bar associations warned members that the fall insurance renewal deadline was expected to be “difficult.” As many lawyers… Read More »
Categories: 2011 Fall Communications, Articles, Errors & OmissionsCasebook: Communication is a two-way street
Some solicitors may think that the responsibility for maintaining appropriate solicitor/client communications lies solely with them. It is true that solicitors who fail to adequately communicate with their clients risk losing those clients – or even facing a malpractice claim. But it is also true that clients have reciprocal obligations to disclose relevant facts, to… Read More »
Categories: 2011 Fall Communications, Articles, Casebook, Communications ErrorsBeware the Ides of Rule 48
The following scenario is familiar to all plaintiffs’ counsel. Consider it, for example, in the context of a slip and fall claim. Upon being retained and after having reviewed the relevant factual background, counsel chooses, wisely, to explore the prospect of resolving the claim without the need for formal proceedings. The liability insurer is like-minded… Read More »
Categories: 2011 Fall Communications, Admin dismissals/Rule 48, Articles, Civil Litigation, Limitation Periods, Practice TipsSix technology tools for improving client communication
Technology is becoming an ever greater part of our lives, both personally and professionally. On a daily basis most of us use a cellphone or smartphone, a desktop computer and the Internet. Many of us will have an iPad or other tablet device and be posting updates on Facebook, Twitter or other social media tools…. Read More »
Categories: 2011 Fall Communications, Articles, Communications Errors, Legal Technology, Tech Tips