Preventing Legal Malpractice and Disciplinary Complaints: Ethics Audits as a Risk-Management Tool
Business Law Today, Vol. 2015, Issue 3 (March 2015), pp.1-2
Posted: 15 Sep 2015
Date Written: March 2015
Abstract
This column examines the value of firm lawyers conducting and supporting ethics audits as an integral feature of a comprehensive risk-management program. For decades, legal malpractice experts have urged lawyers to implement systems, policies, and procedures related to the delivery of legal services. Once a firm adopts systems, policies, and procedures, a meaningful risk-management system requires a periodic examination to monitor lawyers’ compliance. Rather than waiting for a professional liability insurer to recommend or require such a systematic examination, proactive firm leaders and lawyers should seriously consider devoting time and resources to periodic ethics audits.
Keywords: legal ethics, law firms, professional responsibility
JEL Classification: K19, K39
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation