According to this National Law Journal article, How Small Firms Can Ward Off Malpractice, most legal malpractice actions are filed against small firms, with one to five attorneys:
Solos and small-firm attorneys find themselves particularly vulnerable to charges of malpractice. According to the American Bar Association,
most malpractice suits are filed against lawyers in firms with one to
five attorneys. Without the information technology departments, big
administrative budgets and large numbers of support personnel that
large law firms have at their disposal, solos and small firms must be
creative and proactive when it comes to anticipating and preventing
malpractice suits.
As always, the article portrays the small law firm not so much as incompetent but lacking the resources to stay abreast of cases and avoid malpractice like our large firm counterparts.
It’s true, many small firms are strapped for resources and should pay attention. But I’m sick and tired of articles harping on these deficiencies of solo practice without ever demonstrating that they’re the cause of the large number of claims. In fact, my guess is that a decent portion of many malpractice actions against small firms arise when lawyers try to recover payment for services rendered and are faced with a malpractice counterclaim.
Large firms commit legal malpractice just as much as small firms – two more recent examples against large firms are demonstrated here(Kirkland Ellis) and here (Perkins, Coie pays $4.5 million to settle malpractice claim). What’s worst about the large firm claims is that their size; judgments like this one are going to drive up the cost of legal malpractice more than the collective number of piddly claims against small firms. So why don’t we ever see an articles on large firm malpractice?
I’m glad to learn about articles that help solos and small firms avoid malpractice. But surely, there’s a way of educating solos and small firms without the gratuitous negative commentary that only makes us look bad and has the potential to drive potential clients away.
Related posts:
- Real Progress: Biglaw Commits Malpractice Also
- More Suits Against Biglaw Firms
- The Bigger the Firm, The Bigger the Mistake
- Malpractice Insurance: Don’t Start Practice Without It
- Good News for Solo and Small Firm Estates Lawyers?
