Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/45522
a controversial representation, leading to the firm's withdrawal as counsel and the originating partner's resignation. An Internet search for "law firm disqualified," limited to pages updated just this year, brings up numerous examples of law firm disqualifications, primarily for failure to disclose conflicts of interest. The insurance brokerage firm Ames & Gough recently surveyed six leading insurance companies that provide liability insurance to a combined 75 percent of mid-sized to large U.S. law firms. The results are published in their "Lawyer's Professional Liability Claims Trends: 2011." With the exception of only one participating insurer, "conflict of interest" was cited as the first or second largest cause of all malpractice claims in 2011. Insurance carriers are also seeing an increase in malpractice claim levels and the payouts involved. Four of the carriers surveyed indicated malpractice claim levels were up six to 10 percent in 2011 compared to 2010, while one saw an increase of 11 to 20 percent. Five of the carriers indicated similar increases in the number of claims with reserves above $500,000, with five of the six also involved in paying a claim in excess of $50 million. As with a mythical beast, a direct encounter with a malpractice claim can be extremely unpleasant (i.e., costly), so it's best to find a path that avoids such a meeting altogether. In law firms, that path is paved with a thorough, well-conceived automated business intake process. By implementing an automated intake process, first and foremost, you are able to define the rules that dictate which reviews and approvals are obtained prior to opening a new matter in your systems — and require that all new requests be submitted through this process. RISKS THAT LURK If you are still using paper, email or an older system to manage your intake process, then you are incurring several risks. You are reliant on requestors and staff to obtain the proper reviews and signatures and to catch instances where they have not been obtained. It's likely you have personnel duplicating efforts by manually entering information into conflicts, financial and other systems. You are probably also spending time shuttling back and forth between staff and requestors to obtain all of the information that should have been provided with the initial request. All of this exposes your firm to increased risk through errors in judgment and errors of omission, as well as increasing the time it takes to open up new business. An inefficient clearance and approval process generally leads to frustration with lawyers and increased costs for the firm. If preliminary checks cannot be completed quickly, new business opportunities can be lost. While new matter requests are in process, work generally cannot start, delaying the firm's ability to start billing. AUTOMATION: YOUR BEST DEFENSE With an automated system, you reduce the opportunities for human error and, in turn, reduce your firm's risk profile. You can define which individuals or groups must review and approve a request based on the information provided. If you require practice-specific approvals, requests can automatically be routed to the appropriate practice chair. If you require a review of all matters proposed with alternative www.iltanet.org Risky Business 29