Author : David Curran
Author : Bill Holohan
Publisher: Round Hall
Publication Date: 05/12/2012
ISBN: 9781858006703
Jurisdiction: Ireland

Lawyers? Professional Negligence & Insurance encompasses all of the relevant information, knowledge, including know-how, and the law.

Brings clarity to the following complex areas:
* Helps you understand the often complex nature of the professional relationship with the client that comes into being as part of the solicitor-client/counsel-client relationship.
* Ensures you are completely up to date, and up to speed with the obligations that the solicitor-client/counsel-client relationship involves.
* Get to grips in a practical way with the liabilities that are incurred as a result of agreeing to act on behalf of a client in any given situation.
* Details the practices, procedures and methodologies which should be engaged in by legal practitioners with a view to good risk management in the conduct of their practices,
* Gives a detailed and clear analysis of the nature of professional indemnity insurance, and the Professional Indemnity Insurance Regulations and requirements, both in the North and in the South.
* Analyses in detail recent case law.

Answers key questions
* When, and in what circumstances and to what extent do practitioners have a liability?
* To what extent can or should practitioners limit their liability?
* How can practitioners limit their liability in the absence of limited liability partnerships?
* What issues and factors which are considered by an insurer when conducting an insurance risk assessment and considering a proposal for professional indemnity from a practising lawyer?
* What and how extensive are the disclosure obligations of a practitioner in proposing for insurance?
* What are the consequences of failure to make material disclosure, (whether innocent, negligent or fraudulent) when proposing for insurance?
* What are the insurer's rights to deny indemnity cover and/or seek reimbursement from a solicitor?

CONTENTS
The Nature of Professional Indemnity Insurance; Creation of the contract of retainer; The Conduct of the Contract of retainer; The Termination of the Contract of retainer; The Nature of the "Dual Retainer" of the instructed defending solicitor/counsel; The Nature and Genre of Claims; The Minimum Terms for Solicitors in the Republic; Aggregation, Subrogation and The Successor Practice; Material Issues and Policy Interpretation; The Qualified Insurers? Agreement; Retaining and reliance on Counsel; The Northern Ireland Master Policy ? Minimum Terms; Risk Management & Claims Prevention

Appendices include
Sample S.68 Letters (ROI), for both private and corporate clients; Sample Client Care Letters; Sample Terms of Business; Risk Management Checklist; Potential Claims Reporting Guidelines

About the authors
David Curran is a solicitor who initially qualified as a solicitor in Northern Ireland, and is also qualified in the UK and in the Republic of Ireland. Having worked in recent years in the professional claims handling industry in the UK and Northern Ireland, he is currently working in the professional lines claims department of a leading professional indemnity insurer, based in Dublin. He has, for a number of years, dealt on a daily basis with claims against solicitors and other professionals for alleged professional negligence and claims for indemnity by solicitors under their professional indemnity policies.
Bill Holohan is the Senior Partner of Holohan Solicitors, Cork and Dublin, and has acted for some years, on the instructions of insurers, in the defence of professional negligence claims against solicitors, and other professionals and also in respect of advising insurers on their rights when faced with claims for indemnity by solicitors under professional indemnity policies.