After a disaster strikes, many people are left struggling with how to pick up the pieces. As an attorney, if something happens to your office, you need to know how to avoid a malpractice claim. This checklist will give you a place to begin.
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The Missouri Rules of Professional Conduct (Specifically 4-1.1-Competence and 4-1.3-Diligence) require lawyers to plan for disaster related events to protect their clients’ interests. Some types of disasters are specifically mentioned in the Rules as events lawyers are ethically obligated to plan for (see, M.R.P.C. 4-1.3 COMMENT [5]:
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Many lawyers accused of malpractice learn too late that minimal risk management procedures could have prevented the costly claim. Performing a self audit of your law firm’s risk management procedures is an efficient way to determine your firm’s malpractice risks. The new year is a great opportunity for lawyers to perform a self-audit on their current firm risk management practices and procedures.
In order to make the self-audit more manageable, firms may want to consider breaking the project down to a month-by-month audit. The following information offers suggested areas of review and proposed risk management procedures for law firms to implement throughout the year.
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Missouri Formal Opinion 128
The Advisory Committee of the Missouri Supreme Court recently issued a Formal Opinion 128 regarding nonrefundable fees. Please click here to read the Opinion.
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Ethically Dividing Fees
Application of the Rules of Professional Conduct on division of fees when a lawyer leaves the firm. SUPERCEDED by Rule 4-1.5 in Missouri.
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