Note: Also see the three ten-minute videos on risk at the bottom of this archive.
Legal sector risk soundbites 2024 Q1 (final quarterly video in the series)
In this video Paul Smith of Travelers reviews 2024 Q1, considering the implications of Miller v Irwin Mitchell for pre-retainer communications with clients. (15 April 2024)
- Retainers can be implied retrospectively
- This creates a risk of implied obligations beyond those intended
- At the information-gathering stage, be clear that there is no retainer
Legal sector risk soundbites 2023 Q4
In this video Paul Smith of Travelers reviews 2023 Q4, summarising the threats analysed in both the Government's 'National Risk Register 2023' and the SRA's first annual assessment of continuing competence. (11 January 2023)
- National risks include a pandemic, chemical and other attacks, power grid failure, etc
- The top issue from the SRA assessment was ethics and professionalism
- Residential conveyancing, probate and immigration led to the most reports referred to the SRA
- So the SRA will focus its inspections on firms practising in these areas
Legal sector risk soundbites 2023 Q3
In this video Paul Smith of Travelers reviews 2023 Q3 from a risk and claims perspective. (4 October 2023)
- Residential conveyancing, Building Safety Act 2022
- Extending a pre-14.2.22 lease, pitfalls
- Wills, trusts and probate claims; Boult vs Rees
Legal sector risk soundbites 2023 Q2
This episode was not recorded.
Legal sector risk soundbites 2023 Q1
In this video Paul Smith of Travelers reviews 2023 Q1 from a risk and claims perspective. (5 April 2023)
- Recent trends in notifications from different areas of law
- What the causes of these claims are, e.g. faulty searches, missed deadlines, failures in managing investments
- What the solutions are, e.g. checklists, dedicated post-completion teams, diarised actions
Legal sector risk soundbites 2022 Q4
In this video Paul Smith of Travelers reviews Q4 and explains the strict liability and the likely impact on negligence claims that could result from the new rules on economic crime, the sanctions regime, and rules on foreign ownership of land. (20 January 2023)
- Economic crime: financial and criminal penalties
- More sanctions affecting transactional legal advisory services since 30 September
- Serious consequences if act for 'designated individuals' without authority (see The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation list)
- Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act and land registration
Legal sector risk soundbites 2022 Q3
In this video Paul Smith of Travelers reviews Q3 and explains how inflation leads to pricing pressure which ends up leading to more negligence claims being made against law firms. (31 October 2022)
- Pressure to increase fees
- More claims and litigation expected (examples)
- Avoiding ‘scope creep’
- Overcoming stress and the mistakes that it leads to
Legal sector risk soundbites 2022 Q2
In this video Paul Smith of Travelers reviews the claims fallout from Covid-19 (and Brexit): corporate insolvencies and failed deals in the corporate and property space, leading to contracts being put under the microscope and some being found to be defective. (20 July 2022)
- Loss of Opportunity claims
- Defective advice claims
- Commercial rent debt related claims
- AND how to prevent the errors that lead to all these claims
Legal sector risk soundbites 2022 Q1
In this video Paul Smith of Travelers notes the continued rise of cyber-related insurance claims in Q1 2022 and suggests the practical steps every firm can take to minimise the risk of becoming a cyber victim. (3 May 2022)
- The rise in cyber claims
- Malware and ransomware
- Social engineering, eg phishing
- Reasons behind law firms' increased vulnerability
- Suggested controls, eg communication protocols
Legal sector risk soundbites 2021 Q4
In this two-part video Charles Attwell and Paul Smith of Travelers reflect on what they saw in Q4 2021 and risk in the legal sector going forwards. (10 January 2022)
Part 1: Charles Attwell covers:
- Remote working
- Wellbeing
- Regulatory changes
Part 2: Paul Smith covers:
- Larger firms: sources of claims, impact of lockdown
- Small and medium firms: sources of claims, impact of lockdown
- What's on our radar: property, the economy, cyber/fraud, retainer management issues
Risks for lawyers introduction - Video 1
This 2020 video by Paul Smith is the first in a series of “Ten minute briefings”, to share Travelers' knowledge around risks in legal practice. It is based on our claims experience during almost 20 years, covering all law firms from sole practitioners to global law firms.
The video takes a helicopter view of risk and is organised into three parts.
- Cause: People, product, process, risk maturity
- Effect: Advice, dishonesty, drafting, retainer management
- Consequences: Clients, damages, regulation, reputation
Advice risk in legal service delivery - Video 2
This 2020 video by Paul Smith is the second in a series of 'Ten-minute briefings', to share Travelers' knowledge around risks in legal practice. It is based on our claims experience during almost 20 years, covering all law firms from sole practitioners to global law firms.
The video is organised into four parts.
- Advice failure: the types of advice failure we see
- Where, how often: where and how frequently advice failures arise
- Causes: what causes advice failure
- Managing risk: how the risks in giving advice can be managed
Dishonesty risk in legal service delivery - Video 3
In this 2020 video Paul Smith, a solicitor and risk management consultant at Travelers, reveals 36 dishonesty scenarios – where a law firm's staff, clients or external criminals can potentially steal money or assets during various legal transactions.
The examples cover residential property and lending, trust and probate, commercial litigation and many other situations.
By the end of the video you will know how these different risks can develop and what measures to use to control them.
This is the third in a series of 'Ten-minute briefings' on YouTube, to share Travelers' knowledge around risks in legal practice. It is based on our claims experience here at Travelers over almost 20 years, covering all law firms from sole practitioners to global law firms.
Why do law firms choose Travelers?
It’s because Travelers has unmatched expertise and longevity in the legal sector, with a dedicated team of experts in underwriting, claims and risk management.
