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To receive compensation through legal malpractice insurance, you need to prove
three important things. First, you need to establish the lawyer-client relationship,
where the lawyer provides a minimum standard of service. Second, you must prove
the damages you have suffered. Finally, you need to prove that these damages
are the result of legal malpractice.
Legal malpractice insurance provides you protection against damages
caused by negligent or wrongful act of your attorney. Legal malpractice can
harm a client in many situations in a legal case. You may be in trouble if your
lawyer fails to pursue the case properly or fails to secure witnesses and experts
for the case. Failing to act before a deadline or a statute of limitations may
also land you in difficulty. Again, your lawyer may force a settlement in a
case that may harm your interests. In such circumstances, legal malpractices
insurance can help you claim compensation for damages.
It is not mandatory for legal professionals to obtain legal malpractice insurance
except in the state of Oregon. According to statistics, approximately forty
percent of attorneys do not have insurance. The victim of legal malpractice
will not have legal recourse if the lawyer does not have insurance.
When a victim files a legal malpractice case against his or her lawyer, the
insurance company of the lawyer negotiates the compensation. The legal malpractice
insurance company will designate a law firm to represent the defendant in the
lawsuit. In case the victim wins the case, the insurance company allocates money
to the victim.
In a few states, like South Dakota, lawyers need to disclose on letterhead
if they do not have legal malpractice insurance. Clients may check a lawyer's
insurance status through the state bar's website in Virginia. In most states,
the only way to know the insurance status of a lawyer is to ask him or her directly.
Efforts are on to include a special provision within the American Bar Association
Model Rules to ensure client protection through insurance. It will make it mandatory
for the lawyers, to inform their clients if they do not have insurance.
