How E&O Insurance Gives You the Freedom to Grow Your Practice

For many small firms or solo practitioners, survival depends on taking a diverse array of cases rather than focusing on one narrow practice area.

Practicing a new area of law, however, not only broadens your experience but can also increase your risk.

Errors and omissions insurance (also called professional liability insurance or malpractice insurance) can help you expand into new areas of practice with confidence.

An Ounce of Prevention …

Whether you’re building a new law firm from the ground up or expanding your practice, practicing in new areas of law can be fraught with risk. From complying with deadlines and filing requirements to knowing the controlling case law, branching out involves a lot of potential for error. Inexperience with the requirements of particular types of cases can lead to missed deadlines, incomplete or erroneous filings, improper motions and trial practice, and errors in strategy that experienced practitioners would be much less likely to make.

These kinds of attorney errors can lead to adverse outcomes for your clients—and potential lawsuits or bar complaints.

Besides you, no one cares about preventing malpractice claims or disciplinary complaints more than your E&O insurance carrier. In addition to legal liability insurance, a high-quality insurer provides educational resources such as links to practice guides, sample forms, sample client retention letters, advisory materials, and blog posts to get you up to speed on requirements and tips for different practice areas. Many also offer referral services that can match you with experienced attorneys from diverse practice areas, giving you access to seasoned professionals who can mentor or associate with you while you gain experience and skill in a new field.

A Complete Defense

Comprehensive professional liability insurance protects you across the board, giving you peace of mind and security. In the event you find yourself facing a malpractice claim, E&O insurance covers the cost of experienced defense attorneys to handle your claim, settlement, or award as well as compensation for any lost income that results from responding to the claim.

As your practice grows and you gain experience, you’ll likely start taking on cases that are larger and of higher value and greater complexity. Your professional liability insurance coverage should expand to match your increased risk. You can add defense endorsements for generally risky practice areas or particularly high value cases, too. This ensures that you have the proper amount of protection for defense and indemnity costs, even when the stakes are high.

The ProDefender team has more than 40 years of experience producing and underwriting lawyers professional liability insurance. For information about our comprehensive E&O insurance plans and attorney services, contact us today at (866) 434-8557 or info@prodefender.com.