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Five ways to boost your chances of a successful repair
What’s a repair? In some cases, LAWPRO counsel can help an insured lawyer head off a lawsuit by “repairing” an error (e.g., by assisting with a motion to reinstate a dismissed action to the trial list) or take steps that substantially reduce the losses that an error might lead to. While not all errors are repairable, lawyers can increase their chances of avoiding irreversible mistakes.
Here’s how:
- Most importantly, report real or possible mistakes immediately: Early reporting gives us the best chance to help put things right. Late reports often allow small problems to become big ones, and they can jeopardize coverage.
- Co-operate with repair counsel: Help your LAwPRO counsel by promptly providing all necessary background information. You should also ensure that your file is prepared and transferred to repair counsel as quickly as possible.
- Document your work: written evidence of the work done on a matter helps support your credibility and can help confirm what happened on a file when memories have faded.
- Maintain good overall work practices: where a lawyer has good time management skills, documentation, and quality control systems in place, it can be easier to convince a court that an error was just a slip and worthy of repair.
- Treat clients with courtesy and professionalism: Clients who feel respected and valued are more likely to be tolerant of minor oversights, and to support the efforts to get the file back on track. And talk to us before you talk to your client about an error. we can help you prepare for that conversation.