Receiving notice of a professional liability claim can be shocking, daunting, and worrisome. Familiarizing yourself with the process of responding to Claims and Potential Claims will help make facing them easier, and reduce stress, should they ever materialize. The following is an explanation and guide for a typical claim process... Read more →


You’ve just been advised that a subpoena has been served. So what do you do? Ignore it? Refuse to comply? Produce all the requested documents without question? Subpoenas serve a very important function in the litigation process, and the wrong response to one can have very serious ramifications. Here are... Read more →


Last Fall, the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a “High Impact” warning regarding increased ransomware attacks on U.S. businesses and organizations.[1] This is notable because, the last time the FBI addressed ransomware was in 2016. Ransomware is software used by cybercriminals to encrypt a victim’s electronic files, preventing access to... Read more →


The current Coronavirus pandemic (“COVID-19”) has caused unprecedented disruption to the practice of law, some temporary and some possibly permanent. This disruption may lead to increased legal malpractice and disciplinary exposure. Attorneys face increased health dangers and personal obligations caused by the virus. However, attorneys have the same ethical and... Read more →


The legal malpractice plaintiff generally has to prove: (1) the existence of an attorney-client relationship; (2) negligence on the part of the attorney; (3) proximate causation of the injury; and (4) that the plaintiff suffered actual and ascertainable damages. See Carmel v. Lunney, 70 N.Y.2d 169 (1987). Failure to establish... Read more →


Originally written and published by USI Affinity Professional Liability Practice Leader Mike Mooney on August 17, 2020. The current COVID-19 pandemic has shaken how, when and even where lawyers do business. With that said, we need to look forward and prepare for the reality of a post-COVID world. Solo practitioners... Read more →


With a significant portion of the current U.S. workforce having shifted to a remote environment, many businesses, law firms included, are finding that their employees may not return to the “actual office”. This disruption has opened the doors for Cyber Criminals to do what they do best - mayhem. From... Read more →


The New York Court of Appeals recently issued a favorable decision affirming the dismissal of a Judiciary Law §487 claim in the case Bill Birds, Inc. v. Stein Law Firm, P.C., _ N.Y.3d __, 2020 N.Y. Slip. Op. 02125 (March 31, 2020). Under Judiciary Law § 487 (1), an attorney... Read more →


On an almost daily basis, almost every one of us provides sensitive personal information electronically to businesses, including law firms, simply assuming that cyber attackers will be unable to access the information. Often, they can, regardless of the reasonable safeguards in place. Criminals seeking to profit by misusing, unlawfully acquiring... Read more →