Loss Prevention Tip #24

The practice of law is laden with risk. The difficult problem that lawyers face is what they can do to reduce risk without devoting so much time to risk management that it interferes with the practice of law. The Lawyers’ Insurance Programme has developed a Loss Prevention Self-Assessment Checklist that members can use to identify particular risks that may have developed in their practices. Once those risks are identified, members can then take steps to eliminate or reduce risky practices.

This Checklist has been developed with a particular focus on addressing the following top three causes of insurance loss, which together represents 95% of insurance claims:

1. Systems/Procedures/Administration: missed deadlines (ex. limitations), poor office procedures and time management errors (51%)
2. Communication: Failure to follow client’s instructions, poor communication with client/others (33%)
3. Law: Failure to know and properly apply the law (11%)

Completion of the Self-Assessment Checklist will qualify for a one hour credit towards the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education activity for 2018.