Today I want to share something important: tail coverage. No, not the wagging kind—but retirement tail coverage for lawyers.

Retirement is supposed to be a time to relax and enjoy the rewards of your hard work. But for lawyers, retirement can come with lingering risks. Even after stepping away from the profession, retired attorneys can still be sued for legal malpractice—sometimes even 2, 3, or 5 years after retirement.

What Is Retirement Tail Coverage?

Retirement tail coverage, also known as an extended reporting period endorsement, is a provision in your professional liability insurance that protects you from malpractice claims made after you retire. The good news? If you have an active policy, most insurance providers will offer a free retirement tail—provided you meet their qualifications.

Do You Qualify for Free Retirement Tail Coverage?

Here’s where planning ahead becomes crucial. Most insurance policies require that you:

• Have continuous coverage with the same provider for at least three consecutive years before retirement.
• Officially retire from practicing law.

If you meet these requirements, your insurer may grant you a free retirement tail. But if you don’t qualify, purchasing tail coverage can be expensive—typically 250% to 300% of your last premium. For example, if your final premium was $2,000, you could pay $6,000 or more for retirement tail coverage.

What Should You Do Next?

If retirement is on your horizon—whether in the next few years or further down the road—make sure you check your policy at least three years in advance. Talk to your broker, review your coverage, and ensure you qualify for free tail coverage.

Need help navigating your options? Call me at 412-563-2106! I’d be happy to review your policy and make sure you’re set for a stress-free retirement.

Remember, planning ahead means you can truly enjoy your retirement—without constantly chasing your tail. 😉🐶

Wow, is it cold outside! This Arctic freeze has really taken us by surprise, freezing everything in its path. Hopefully, you’ve been able to take some precautions, like dressing warmly and leaving a drip running from your faucet to prevent frozen pipes. But as I stand here thinking about how the weather can catch us off guard, I realized that something else can freeze your law practice just as suddenly—unexpected legal malpractice claims.

Just like bad weather, legal malpractice claims can come out of nowhere. However, there are steps you can take to protect your firm and avoid getting caught in a legal storm. Here are a few essential strategies that will help prevent your law firm from freezing under the pressure of a malpractice claim:

1. Implement a Dual Calendar System

Much like the need to bundle up when temperatures drop, having a dual calendar system in place will help you stay organized and ensure that nothing slips through the cracks. This system helps you manage deadlines and appointments more efficiently. Using a computerized calendar makes this process even easier, allowing you to keep track of all your important dates at a glance and avoid potential scheduling conflicts.

2. Use a Conflict of Interest System

Just as you would avoid stepping out into a blizzard unprepared, avoid taking on cases with potential conflicts of interest. Establishing a robust conflict of interest system ensures that your firm is not inadvertently engaging in cases that could result in a legal malpractice claim down the line. Regularly reviewing and updating your system will help ensure you are always ahead of the game.

3. Keep Clients Informed with Engagement and Disengagement Letters

Clear communication is key, especially when dealing with clients. Much like you’d keep an eye on the forecast during an Arctic blast, you need to keep your clients informed about what’s going on with their case. Use engagement letters at the start of a relationship to clarify expectations and disengagement letters when ending a case to officially document the conclusion of your involvement. This helps prevent misunderstandings and ensures that your firm is protected.

4. Maintain Constant Contact with Clients

Speaking of communication, regular updates with your clients are crucial. Let them know exactly what you’re working on and where things stand with their case. This will help minimize any surprises and reduce the chances that your clients will feel frustrated or abandoned. If they understand what’s happening, they’re less likely to feel the need to take legal action.

5. Stay Prepared—Like You Would for Bad Weather

Just as you prepare for cold weather by having the right gear and precautions in place, you should stay vigilant about protecting your practice from potential legal malpractice claims. By implementing these systems, staying organized, and communicating effectively with your clients, you’ll be far less likely to find your law firm caught off guard by a claim.

Stay warm, stay safe, and remember: I’m Don, your insurance guy. If you need help protecting your practice from potential risks, don’t hesitate to reach out.

When it comes to legal malpractice insurance, you might have heard the saying, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” While it’s true that nothing in life is entirely free, your legal malpractice insurance policy may include valuable features known as ancillary coverages. These are not “free” in the traditional sense, but they are part of the package you’re already paying for — and they can provide significant benefits. Here’s why you should take full advantage of these offerings.

Continuing Education (CE) Classes: Boost Your Credits at No Extra Cost

One of the most useful ancillary coverages included in many legal malpractice policies is access to free Continuing Education (CE) or Continuing Legal Education (CLE) classes. These classes are typically available online, making them convenient and flexible for your schedule. Even better, in states like Pennsylvania, these classes often qualify for ethics credits.

Think about it: If you’re currently paying out-of-pocket for these courses, why not save that money? Whether it’s $10, $20, or even $50 per credit, those savings add up quickly. This is an excellent example of utilizing the resources already available to you within your policy to keep your hard-earned money where it belongs — in your pocket.

Disciplinary Coverage: Protection When You Need It Most

Another key feature of ancillary coverages is disciplinary coverage. No attorney wants to receive that dreaded letter notifying them of a disciplinary charge, but if it happens, it’s reassuring to know that your policy may help cover some of the costs associated with hiring legal representation. Having access to a lawyer who can help you navigate the disciplinary process and prepare a defense is invaluable. This support can make a challenging situation a bit less stressful.

Risk Management Resources: Tools to Help Prevent Claims

Risk management websites provided by your insurance carrier are another great resource you might be overlooking. These websites offer a wealth of information, including sample engagement and disengagement letters, updates on legal trends, and best practices for minimizing your risk of malpractice claims. By tapping into these resources, you can stay informed about the latest industry developments and enhance your practice management — ultimately helping to reduce your exposure to potential claims.

Don’t Miss Out: Review Your Policy Today

Your legal malpractice policy likely includes a highlight sheet listing the various ancillary coverages and resources available to you. Take a moment to review it. You might be surprised at the number of valuable tools and services you already have access to, all included in your policy.

In conclusion, while there may be no such thing as a free lunch, there are plenty of beneficial features baked into your legal malpractice policy. Make sure you’re taking full advantage of them to save time, reduce costs, and protect your practice.

Titles in business are considered very important: President, CEO, VP etc……law firms the same thing…Partner, senior partner, member, associates.  But did you know there is one title in a law firm that can cause confusion and sometimes affect insurance coverage?  The title OF COUNSEL. 

I’ve been told, ask 10 lawyers the definition of OF Counsel and you’ll get 10 different answers.  At some point, we can discuss and try to narrow down a more specific definition of what an OF Counsel is but today I want to point out how the term OF COUNSEL may affect your legal malpractice insurance coverage at retirement.

Most policies provide what is called a free retirement tail endorsement when an attorney from the firm retires.  Usually there are a few requirements that must be met in order to qualify for that free tail.  On some policies OF COUNSEL attorneys are not eligible for the free tail strictly because they are titled OF COUNSEL.  This usually is not an issue for a solo but for firms with 2 or more attorneys it can cause great concern.

I have seen instances where firms with 3 or 4 attorneys give the title OF COUNSEL to the founding member of the firm with no consideration of how this could affect the founding members coverage, his or her estates coverage or the retiring attorneys financial position during retirement.  Usually the change to OF COUNSEL is a result of the attorney working less hours and nothing more.  In this case it seems a shame for the attorney to lose coverage and in some cases not be able to get back because of working less time?  

So before changing anyone’s “title” to OF COUNSEL and printing new letterhead check your legal malpractice policy. Contact your broker/carrier and ask them for an interpretation of the coverage.  Make sure the change to OC won’t affect the retirement tail coverage. OR if it does you know and are ok with any change.  Who knows, maybe it won’t change but then again maybe it will.  Better safe than sorry.

I’m always surprised at the number of people who don’t take full advantage of the ancillary benefits that come with malpractice insurance programs. I know that most of the carrier programs we market have several useful benefits outside of the policy that can help a firm.

Items like: online risk management classes, some of which are eligible for free CE and possible premium discounts, samples of engagement, disengagement, and non engagement letters, as well as suggestions on how to implement a conflict of interest system.

You can also find examples of how to implement a dual calendar system and comments on the latest programs available in the marketplace for calendaring, client intake, and billing. Not all outside the policy benefits have everything we mentioned, but they do have some combination.

Keeping Your Documents Secure and Accessible

As an agency, we’ve developed a client portal with 256-bit encryption for your security. Current clients can use this portal to gain access to the previous applications you’ve submitted to us as well as your past and current legal malpractice insurance policies.

I get calls, some urgent, from insureds asking if I can resend the policy as they cannot locate it in their office. Imagine how convenient it would be if you could just go to the client portal and see all the information you needed online!

So if you’re one of the insureds that are using the additional benefits available to you from your legal malpractice insurance program, good for you. It can and will make your law practice better and maybe even reduce the chances of being sued. If you’re not, I would encourage you to at least take a look at what is available; you might be surprised. Oh, and did I tell you it is usually free?

Our July Legal Malpractice Awareness Month would not be complete without some discussion about legal malpractice claims. I get asked a lot about claims and if there are really a lot of lawyers who get sued for legal malpractice. I always answer the same way: yes, there are a lot of claims filed against lawyers.

I recently had a discussion with a legal malpractice claims analyst, and he commented that the insured’s question or concerns today should not be “if I get sued, but rather “when I get sued and how many times.” I think that sums it up: lawyers being sued is not uncommon, and it does happen with frequency.

I believe that the reason most people don’t hear about lawyers being sued that often is that most lawyers don’t want to talk about it. It is not a pleasant experience to have your work questioned or accused of making a costly mistake. I understand that.

If you do find yourself in the position where someone is alleging that you made a mistake on their case or you find on your own that you made a mistake, don’t make it worse by ignoring it or hoping it goes away. It never does, and refusing to acknowledge it will only make it worse.

There is no scarlet letter, no stoning, and no public humiliation for reporting a claim. Chances are, several of your colleagues have gone through the same thing. Call your carrier, the hot line, or your broker. Get the issue reported immediately so you can get the right people involved early on. You will be glad that you did.

One of the harder questions that lawyers face when purchasing or renewing a legal malpractice insurance policy is: what policy limits and policy deductibles should I choose, and are those limits sufficient? 

No one wants to buy more coverage than they need or have a deductible that never gets satisfied. Unfortunately, there just isn’t a stock answer. Since every law firm is different, the policy limits and deductible chosen should be based on the individual characteristics of the firm. Never choose limits and deductibles based on what your friend or the law firm down the street has. Take some time to consider the matter. No one knows your practice any better than you do. 

Consider the type of law or cases your firm handles. What is the value of the cases you handle? What is the largest case value that you handle? What is the smallest? Is there an “average” value? How many lawyers are in your firm? What is the economy like? Lawyers seem to get sued more often in a bad economy than in a good one. These are just some of the questions you should ask yourself before deciding on your limits and deductible. 

Once you have gathered the relevant information and thought about it, you’ll be in a much better position to decide, and I think you’ll find the decision becomes a little easier. Not easy, but a little easier.

Every year, most insured lawyers are asked by their carrier to complete a renewal application. Now, I can hear the collective moans coming from the offices before we even send out the renewal application. I’ll be the first to admit that the applications can be long and contain confusing questions. But keep in mind, this is the only time the carrier can get a complete picture of your firm, you need to take advantage of this. 

You need to let the carrier know what your practice is, how your practice is doing, and what you are doing to reduce risk in your office. You do this by answering all of the questions on the application completely. Unanswered questions or incomplete details only cause more questions and increase the back and forth between client and carrier. Take the time to read each question. Don’t assume you know what the carrier is asking for. 

There is one question on the application that I think causes concern, or at least causes me concern. And that is the area of practice grid. That’s the chart on the application that you are asked to put a percentage in, in the areas of where your firm is playing. Now, some carriers will ask for that percentage to be listed as a percentage of your time spent. Other carriers will ask for that percentage to be listed as a percentage of the revenue of the firm. Answering that question one way or the other will create a substantially different picture of your firm and definitely have an effect on the premium that you pay. 

So please, again, make sure that you’re reading each question and answering those questions completely. You’ll be glad that you did.

Many of our risk management video tips are surrounding the need for early reporting of claims and potential claims. A very important risk management tip. In this same vein, I want to talk about the angry client. 

Many insureds have had this situation where a client unexpectedly shows up at the office, or calls you on the phone to express their displeasure about something you did or something that has happened. 

Perhaps their case is taking too long. They haven’t heard from you in a few weeks, their phone call wasn’t returned, or they’re just not feeling the love from your office. Don’t just shrug this off as that’s just Joe being Joe, or they just want to blow off steam, or you convince yourself that nothing you did was wrong or incorrect and it’ll blow over. 

Unfortunately, many insureds take this approach and find themselves embroiled in a legal malpractice suit down the road. As with any claim or potential claim, report the issue, let the carrier know about it and let them decide if it meets the definition of a claim or potential claim. And if you don’t report it, at least call the malpractice hotline that may be available to you from your carrier. Most insurance carriers do provide a hotline for this type of situation and you would be well advised to use it. It is part of the benefits program of being an insured.

Don’t be the cautionary tale of an unhappy client.