Professional Liability Matters

January 8, 2014 Design Professionals (A&E)

When Negligence = Murder: Follow-Up Report

On February 26, 2013 we posted this piece regarding an architect facing manslaughter charges arising from the death of an LA firefighter. At the time we posed this unprecedented issue: Can defective design lead to criminal liability? We’re now in a position to definitively answer that question: “yes,” given that the architect just received a one-year jail sentence.

As previously posted, the case concerns an architect/builder, Gerhard Becker, who was charged with involuntary manslaughter after the $11 million Hollywood home he designed and …

January 7, 2014 Legal Malpractice / Technology

Virtual Offices may Violate Ethics Rules

Recent technological advances have made it relatively easy for professionals to maintain a virtual office. A wireless connection may be all that is needed to practice, without the stress of lease payments, utilities, commuting expenses and other costs. Some attorneys have taken advantage of technology to maintain out-of-state offices in order to appeal to a larger client base. But, despite the various temptations to utilize a virtual office, there are serious risks of doing so.

Don’t tear up your office lease just yet. Even though …

January 2, 2014 Cyber-Liability

Cybercrime Strikes Target Corp

Target Corporation, the nation’s number two general retailer (after Wal-Mart), was recently the center of a cybercrime attack that may have compromised as many as 40 million credit and debit card accounts. Target revealed that a third-party had breached its security safeguards during the height of the holiday shopping season and gained access to private customer data, including shoppers’ names, credit card numbers, expiration dates, and three-digit security codes. This highly publicized debacle highlights the risks of cyber exposure.

Target’s large scale data breach is …

December 31, 2013 Risk Management

New Year’s Resolutions for the Professional

Maybe 2014 will be the year that you stick to your New Year’s resolutions. While weight loss, charitable giving, drinking less, learning something new, and quitting smoking top the list of most common goals for next year, your friends at PL Matters suggest adding a few resolutions. We’ve taken a close look at what has interested you the most in 2013 and based on that data we’ve compiled a list of lessons taken from our collection of posts for you to incorporate into your 2014 …

December 20, 2013 Professional Liability Monthly

Special Edition: Professional Liability Monthly Compendium 2013

Click here for this special edition of the Professional Liability Monthly Compendium 2013. We have compiled all the Featured Articles from the past year along with the year’s most popular blog posts.. For your convenience, we have linked each author’s name in the newsletter to their online biographies in the event you would like more information regarding the article or post. We encourage you to share the publication with your colleagues. If others in your organization are interested in receiving the publication, please contact …

December 18, 2013 Insurance Products / Risk Management

Application of the Innocent Insured Clause

Professional Liability Matters has repeatedly stressed the importance of accurate, timely and careful reporting of potential claims. Whether it be during the application or renewal process or somewhere down the road, most insureds are contractually obligated to report threatened claims. This requires that the organization solicit responses from all professionals (which can be a logistics problem for larger organizations). Many firms submit a short questionnaire that must be answered by everyone. But how is coverage implicated for the organization when one bad apple knowingly conceals …

December 17, 2013 Employment Practices Liability

It’s All Relative – The Risks of Office Nepotism

Federal authorities recently commenced an investigation targeting a global financial services firm’s alleged practice of hiring the children of powerful Chinese officials, often through a program that used lower hiring standards for those with elite pedigrees, to help the firm win lucrative business in China. The investigation provides an excellent backdrop to discuss the risks associated with nepotism in the workplace.

Nepotism is not generally illegal unless it crosses the line into bribery. In recent years, the SEC and the Justice Department have increased their …

December 11, 2013 Employment Practices Liability

Third-Party Harassment Could Lead To Employer Liability

Most employers understand the significant consequences of sexual harassment at the workplace and take proactive measures to train employees about proper conduct. However, liability is not limited to the conduct of employees. Employers also have a responsibility to prevent sexual harassment by third parties such as clients, vendors, patients, and customers, when the employer knows about the conduct and fails to take any corrective action. Although third-party harassment is reportedly just as common, many employers do not take appropriate steps to prevent it.…

December 10, 2013 Legal Malpractice

Transfer of Malpractice Claims? Sometimes…

Many states do not permit the assignment of legal malpractice claims. This anti-assignment rule is based on the well-rooted policy that legal malpractice claims are uniquely personal and therefore cannot be assigned. Since malpractice claims typically involve the nature of the attorney’s duty to the client and the confidentiality of the attorney-client relationship, the theory goes that malpractice claims should not be subject to assignment out of fear of creating a “market” for these claims to the highest bidder. A recent decision suggests …

December 6, 2013 Employment Practices Liability

Does a Corporation have Religious Freedom under the ACA?

Those with conflicting political views may still agree that many questions remain unanswered regarding the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, a/k/a “Obamacare.” The US Supreme Court recently agreed to address at least one of those lingering questions when it granted certiorari to hear Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores. The issue in Hobby Lobby is whether an employer may be subject to fines under the ACA for failing to provide health insurance coverage that includes the provision of birth control to employees. The …