PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY DEFENCE
The Defence of Solicitor’s Negligence Claims
We know that lawyers can find themselves the targets of claims where, through no fault of counsel, clients are dissatisfied with the outcome of a transaction or a case. We also know the importance of looking at these claims through an objective lens.
We are lawyers’ lawyers.
We are Preferred Counsel to LawPRO, the primary professional liability insurer for Ontario lawyers. In that capacity, our firm is regularly retained to defend high-stakes professional liability claims involving complex commercial and real estate related mandates. We are also retained to investigate and, where possible, take remedial steps to minimize the likelihood of a claim and the damages that would flow from it.
Our expertise and experience in this area allows us to quickly get up to speed on the underlying mandate, and the nature of the client dynamic and issues that lead to the claim or threatened claim. We take on your professional liability problem so that you can continue to focus on serving your clients.
We are acutely aware of the reputational risk associated with professional liability claims. We work with our lawyer clients and their insurer to arrive at pragmatic solutions to bring closure to these claims, whether that entails the vigorous defence of the claim in the court room, or by exploring options for private resolution.
The Defence of Directors’ and Officers’ Liability Claims
Serving as a director or officer of a corporation carries with it a host of risks and exposures. All too often, directors learn of those risks for the first time after claims are made against them. By then, the company is typically insolvent, and any indemnities it may have given are of little value.
Directors should proactively obtain independent advice as to the nature of the risks they face, and the ways in which they can minimize those risks. We offer that counsel.
We also have significant experience defending claims brought against directors by, amongst others, former employees, employment standards regulators including the Ontario Employment Standards Branch and the federal Labour Program, and taxing authorities.
We have successfully defended claims brought against the former directors of companies in, among others, the aviation, resources, manufacturing, and financial services sectors.
When claims are advanced against directors, a deep understanding of D&O insurance issues is essential in order to ensure that directors maximize the nature and duration of the coverage available to them, and therefore minimize or avoid personal exposure. We know our way around the D&O insurance policy. We have successfully litigated D&O coverage issues. We are regularly retained to review and explain in plain language the nature and sufficiency of the D&O coverage in place before claims are advanced. That allows directors to work with their brokers to ensure they have an adequate D&O coverage in place.
If you find yourself being rewarded for your efforts to shepherd a company through challenging times by being sued for the debts and obligations of the business that you served, call us first, and call us early.