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Keep malpractice and disciplinary problems at bay: to reduce the risk of legal malpractice lawsuits and ethics complaints, take a hard look at your firm's weaknesses and vulnerabilities, starting with the way you keep track of substantive issues and how you take care of your clients.

Article Excerpt
An American Bar Association survey of legal malpractice claims from 2000 through 2003 revealed an interesting statistic: 47 percent of the claims reported involved substantive legal errors. (1) This means that almost half of legal malpractice claims were due to such lapses as failure to know or to properly apply the law, failure to know or ascertain a deadline, inadequate discovery, or a planning error. And beyond malpractice claims, there also is the possibility that a related ethical grievance will be filed. (2)

Such substantive mistakes are typically caused by poor lawyering, not failed office procedures. To reduce the risk of substantive claims, you need to stay on top of all case deadlines and documentation, and you need to know your clients and how to treat them with professionalism at all times. Taking care of your personal life is important, too.

Missed deadlines remain the leading cause of malpractice claims, and yet they are among the easiest mistakes to avoid. Here are a few tips that can help.

If you aren't using an automated calendaring system, get one. Practice-management software or a jurisdictional rules-based-calendaring program can make it simple to change filing and other deadline dates, create recurring events, keep others informed, and conduct searches. This doesn't mean that you can't also use a paper calendar; it's just that paper calendars are far less versatile.

Key attributes of an effective calendaring process include automation, the use of reminder dates for critical deadlines, limiting critical deadline data entry to one person, provisions for a review to check the accuracy of calendared entries, and a backup system that is maintained off-site.

Invest in training, for you and your staff, to learn how to use any new calendaring system fully. This investment of money and time can help ensure that you never miss another deadline.

Setup a file-review cycle. Have a strict policy that no active case file can be filed away until a date for future review is recorded in the calendar or in a separately maintained software- or paper-based tickler system to ensure that a matter can never be overlooked. Files should be calendared for review at least every 30 to 45 days.

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Consider conducting weekly or monthly file review with your staff to give them a heads-up about case files that have upcoming deadlines. The more your employees know, the more they can assist you.

Set aside one night each week to plan for the upcoming week. Look over everything you have to do in the days ahead. Synchronize your hand-held device with your automated calendaring system so you will always have an updated calendar and task list with you. This practice will ensure that you don't miss court deadlines and that you keep the promises you make to your clients.

Documenting your work

Insufficient documentation accounts for many errors associated with legal malpractice claims. "There didn't seem to be a need" or "it takes too much time" are common reasons attorneys give for failing to keep accurate and thorough records. Some simple procedures...

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