Legal malpractice claims just keep coming. Rarely does a week go
by without another article about a new high-profile legal
malpractice lawsuit. Sometimes, these claims are the result of a
simple mistake. Claims can arise when an attorney is overworked and
may be tempted to pay less attention to the details of his
practice. Yet most claims do not involve any mistake or error by
the attorney. Well over one-half of all malpractice claims against
attorneys lack any merit.1
While meritless claims are usually dismissed or abandoned,
that's little comfort to attorneys who have had a claim brought
against them. After all, when a claim is made, attorneys must deal
with it, investing time to defend the claim, reporting it to
colleagues and insurers, and paying whatever deductible might
apply. Needless to say, it is a distraction from the practice of
law.
