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12 January 2024
Issue: 8054 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Insurance / reinsurance
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NLJ this week: Claims without cover

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Solicitor professional indemnity cover may be wide in scope, but firms still find themselves facing claims for which they are not covered

In this week’s NLJ, Frank Maher, partner in Legal Risk, writes that solicitors in England & Wales are often said to ‘have the widest cover of any profession in the world’ due to the breadth of their regulator’s Minimum Terms and Conditions.

However, he also points out: ‘All-embracing though solicitors’ insurance may appear to be, it is not without gaps.’ Maher, whose firm specialises in professional indemnity insurance law and professional regulation, presents examples of such gaps, gleaned from a wide range of cases where he has acted for firms.

Risks include insurers’ rights of reimbursement, and aggregation of claims arising from similar acts where a single policy limit applies.  

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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