Risks Facing In-House Attorneys
Employed Lawyers’ Professional Liability Coverage
• Attorneys at private companies face exposures when performing contract negotiations, giving advice to Human Resources professionals, assisting with mergers, reviewing contractual language, etc.
• For public companies, Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) increases potential exposure (for publically-traded companies only).
• Since electronic information is discoverable, it must be stored and preserved just like paper documents once were. In-house attorneys should work with IT professionals to assure compliance with this rule.
• Clients may sue over a contract that did not work in their favor in which the attorney had a hand in writing.
• Termed employees may sue the employer and name the attorney for negligence.
• Attorneys are at risk when performing moonlighting services or pro-bono work.
The adage “You can be sued for anything these days” may be all too familiar for attorneys. However, many in-house attorneys fail to purchase Employed Professional Liability Coverage to protect themselves against potential lawsuits. Even though most claims are brought on by clients, employed lawyers are also subject to suits from third parties, such as employees, shareholders, government agencies, etc. So, what’s an organization to do? Well, it is imperative that a successful organization and its legal staff recognize their real legal risks and then purchase coverage to protect against those risks.
