May 1-5, 2023 marked the fourth annual Well-Being Week in Law (“WWIL”). Occurring in conjunction with Mental Health Awareness Month, WWIL is an industry-wide initiative supported through the Institute for Well-Being in Law to address general health, mental health, and problematic substance use in the legal profession, often frequent but unspoken factors in professional liability claims. WWIL provides concrete, actionable ideas and resources to encourage innovation and improved well-being for all involved in the legal profession. In recognition of the importance of these issues, our live webinar includes a section devoted entirely to addressing lawyer well-being and offers helpful resources for our insureds. Our previously published article also discusses data and resources related to well-being and mental health, and can be found here ...
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It is an everyday occurrence. Attorneys refer cases to one another and then collect the fees for those same referrals. Client referrals and the income generated from fee splitting agreements are not only an important revenue stream, but also serve to assist those clients in need of quality legal representation when the attorneys are unable to take on all prospects themselves as a result of availability, retirement, or differing practice areas. However, these fees are not simply easy and risk-free money; there are strict requirements that the referring attorney must satisfy in order to collect the referral fee, and proactive risk management pertaining to fee splitting agreements is critical. The failure to meet these requirements may result in an ethical violation, may cause the loss of the fee, and may result in vicarious liability being placed upon the referring attorney for the misdeeds or negligence of the working attorney ultimately involving the referring attorney in a legal malpractice matter or disciplinary proceeding. Why Refer? Referral fees and fee sharing agreements play an important role. They incentivize lawyers to seek out or partner with other lawyers to ensure that clients obtain competent representation. They make good business sense in that an ...
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Lawyers serving on a board of directors may derive many benefits from such service, including honing one’s business skills, developing professional relationships, enjoying the prestige and recognition of board membership, and strengthening the lawyer’s ties with an existing or potential law firm client. Lawyers contemplating board service must weigh the potential benefits against the risks inherent in such appointments prior to acceptance and throughout the tenure of any board service. Ambiguity concerning the lawyer-director’s precise role, as well as inattention to conflicts of interest and other liability issues may lead to negative consequences for the company, the lawyer’s law firm, and the lawyer herself. There is no rule or law that prohibits lawyers from simultaneously serving as legal counsel and board members for an organization. Comment 35 to ABA Model Rule of Professional Conduct [“ABA MRPC”] Rule 1.7 cautions, however, that if “there is a material risk that the dual role will compromise the lawyer’s independence of professional judgment, the lawyer should not serve as a director or should cease to act as the corporation’s lawyer when conflicts of interest arise.” Moreover, if the lawyer contemplating board service determines that conflicts probably would arise frequently and be significant, the lawyer ...
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As with every other aspect of our lives, technology continues to redefine how lawyers practice and how firms operate. In view of that basic premise, the pace of changing technology provides the opportunity for firms to regularly reassess their processes, operations, and systems. Routine system-wide assessments permit greater operational efficiency and productivity, improved client service, increased new client generation, and ultimately improved financial success. Moreover, a systematic reevaluation of law firm operations (which should typically occur at least once a year) is one tool out of many that firms have at their disposal to help minimize the risk of potential malpractice claims or claims of ethical impropriety. With pervasive and ever-evolving ethics rules, opinions, and legal malpractice precedents, this protocol becomes especially important. This challenge creates a number of questions. The questions lawyers ask themselves should not be “Must I accept electronic payments?” or “Should my solo practice need an incident response plan?” Rather, those questions are better phrased as “How do I improve my practice?” Or “How do I more efficiently track and follow up on my accounts receivable to free up more time to devote to clients?” “How can I organize my documents to be more accessible?” “Drastically ...
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Introduction: People often ask, “When is the right time to retire?” But like so many questions about important decisions, there is no “right” answer. To find a meaningful answer, the questions should be reframed as, “When is the right time for me to retire?” And the only person who knows the right answer to that question is you. The key is to ask yourself that question now and then revisit it from time to time throughout your practice. The earlier you begin to think about it, with an eye toward retirement someday in the future, the more likely you are to be ready for a smooth transition out of practice whenever the time comes. Lawyers tend to work longer than the general workforce. While some lawyers retire in their 50s, others continue into their 80s and even older. According to the recent ABA report, “Profile of the Legal Profession 2021”, roughly 14% of lawyers are 65 or older, double the number of that age group in the general workforce (7%). The Covid-19 pandemic has caused about a third of the lawyers over the age of 62 to reconsider their retirement plans; of that group, about half decided to accelerate retirement ...
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