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Professional Liability Committee Highlights

2023

April

The LPL Committee recently held their Spring 2023 National Legal Malpractice Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico from April 19-21, 2023.  The Committee offered expanded registration and sponsorship opportunities to maximize the Conference’s visibility.  The Conference was very well received and attended.  There were approximately 311 attendees, including Timothy Basista, the 2023 Edward C. Mendrzycki Award winner.  The Mendrzycki Award, a scholarly writing competition focused on promoting excellence in legal ethics and professional responsibility, offered a $5,000 cash prize, free round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations to attend the Spring 2023 National Legal Malpractice Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  The Mendrzycki Award is open to law students and young lawyers.  Timothy Basista is a 1L at Arizona State University School of Law.

The Conference also included varied programming, including a keynote presentation by David Gerger, a nationally recognized criminal defense trial attorney who represented the CFO of Enron, Boeing airline technical pilots arising out of the 737 MAX investigation and BP engineers related to the Deep-Water Horizon Oil Rig explosion. The Conference also had panelists present on Nuclear Verdicts for Lawyers, Dealing with Bad Evidence, and Insurance Market Update.  The Spring Conference also hosted the annual Meeting of Bar Sponsored LPL programs, which drew approximately 70 registrants.

Staff finalized and rolled out a new publication, A Lawyer’s Guide to Selecting Legal Malpractice Insurance, which was released to coincide with the LPL Spring Conference.  The publication provides practical information to help attorney consumers understand the various provisions of a professional liability insurance policy.  The publication also contains an updated directory of liability insurance providers throughout the U.S. and allied territories.

The LPL Committee had its first webinar of 2023 last month.  Strategies for Defending an Underinsured Lawyer or Uncovered Claims was presented on March 29th and was offered as part of the Committee’s LPLC subscription benefit.  The two other webinars of 2023, Ethics: A Mid-Year Review (June 28th), and A Guide to Dissecting the LPL Policy. Tips & Tricks to Placing the Right Coverage for Your Firm (October 25th), offer targeted educational programming to LPL practitioners and focus on LPL related issues.

March

The LPL Committee is preparing for its first webinar of 2023, being offered as part of its LPLC subscription benefit.  Strategies for Defending an Underinsured Lawyer or Uncovered Claims will be presented on March 29th at 1:00 p.m. EST.  The two other webinars of 2023, Ethics: A Mid-Year Review (June 28th), and A Guide to Dissecting the LPL Policy. Tips & Tricks to Placing the Right Coverage for Your Firm (October 25th), offer targeted educational programming to LPL practitioners and focus on LPL related issues.

The LPL Committee selected a winner for the 2023 Edward C. Mendrzycki Award, a scholarly writing competition focused on promoting excellence in legal ethics and professional responsibility.  This year’s competition drew approximately 14 participants from throughout the country.  The annual writing competition offers a $5,000 cash prize, free round-trip airfare, and hotel accommodations to attend the Spring 2023 National Legal Malpractice Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to the best scholarly writing on a provided fact pattern.  The Mendrzycki Award is open to law students and young lawyers.  The winner will be announced at the Conference.

Staff is finalizing details for the Spring 2023 National Legal Malpractice Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, scheduled to take place on April 19-21, 2023.  The Committee has expanded sponsorship opportunities and deadlines to maximize the Conference’s visibility.

Staff has finalized insurance carrier data for a new publication, Selecting Legal Malpractice Insurance, which is being finalized for printing next month.  The publication will provide practical information to help attorney consumers understand the various provisions of a professional liability insurance policy.  The publication will also contain an updated directory of liability insurance providers throughout the U.S. and allied territories.  The Committee will target release of the publication to coincide with the Spring Conference.

Planning has begun for updating the LPL Insurance Directory hosted online on the ABA website.  Staff hopes to develop a new user-friendly platform from which to showcase updated insurance provider data.

February

The LPL Committee announced three new webinars for 2023, as part of its LPLC subscription benefit.  The three webinars, Strategies for Defending an Underinsured Lawyer, or Uncovered Claims (March 29th), Ethics: A Mid-Year Review (June 28th), and A Guide to Dissecting the LPL Policy. Tips & Tricks to Placing the Right Coverage for Your Firm (October 25th), offer targeted educational programming to LPL practitioners and focus on LPL related issues.

The LPL Committee closed acceptance of submissions for the 2023 Edward C. Mendrzycki Award, a scholarly writing competition focused on promoting excellence in legal ethics and professional responsibility.  The annual writing competition offers a $5,000 cash prize, free round-trip airfare, and hotel accommodations to attend the Spring 2023 National Legal Malpractice Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to the best scholarly writing on a provided fact pattern.  The Mendrzycki Award is open to law students and young lawyers.  The winner will be announced at the Conference. 

Planning continues for the Spring 2023 National Legal Malpractice Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, scheduled to take place on April 19-21, 2023.  The Committee has expanded sponsorship opportunities and deadlines to maximize the Conference’s visibility.

Staff has completed collecting insurance carrier data for a new publication, Selecting Legal Malpractice Insurance, which is expected to go to layout and print shortly.  The publication will provide practical information to help attorney consumers understand the various provisions of a professional liability insurance policy.  The publication will also contain an updated directory of liability insurance providers throughout the U.S. and allied territories.  The Committee will target release of the publication to coincide with the Spring Conference.

Planning has begun for updating the LPL Insurance Directory hosted online on the ABA website.  Staff hopes to develop a new user-friendly platform from which to showcase updated insurance provider data.

January

The LPL Committee began accepting submissions for the 2023 Edward C. Mendrzycki Award, a scholarly writing competition focused on promoting excellence in legal ethics and professional responsibility.  The annual writing competition offers a $5,000 cash prize, free round-trip airfare, and hotel accommodations to attend the Spring 2023 National Legal Malpractice Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to the best scholarly writing on a provided fact pattern.  The Mendrzycki Award is open to law students and young lawyers.  The deadline for submissions is February 15, 2023. 

Planning continues for the Spring 2023 National Legal Malpractice Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, scheduled to take place on April 19-21, 2023.  In order to increase conference attendance and participation, staff rolled back conference planning timelines to complete many essential planning tasks prior to the year’s end.  The expanded calendar will allow for additional time to focus on marketing and sponsorship solicitation.  Registration opened prior to Christmas.

The LPL Committee closed out 2022 by hosting its final educational webinar, the sixth of the year, in the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.  The webinar was titled, I Didn’t Know That! Little Known Facts and Common Misperceptions About Ethics and was provided as a benefit in the LPLC subscription program.  The program featured a young professional from the lawyers’ professional liability industry and other notable LPL professionals.  The December webinar had the highest attendance rate of the 2022 LPLC webinar programs.  The LPL Committee anticipates new webinar programming in 2023 and has begun planning for at least 3 new productions.

Staff has completed collecting insurance carrier data for a new publication, Selecting Legal Malpractice Insurance, which is expected to go to layout and print next month.  The publication will provide practical information to help attorney consumers understand the various provisions of a professional liability insurance policy.  The publication will also contain an updated directory of liability insurance providers throughout the U.S. and allied territories.

Planning has begun for updating the LPL Insurance Directory hosted online on the ABA website.  Staff hopes to develop a new user-friendly platform from which to showcase updated insurance provider data.