City Research Online

Abstract

In England and Wales the arrangements for compensating victims of lawyer default, fraud, incompetence and misconduct, are extensive. Solicitors, the largest profession, maintain a compensation fund. Both solicitors and barristers require practitioners to carry professional indemnity insurance covering liability to clients. An agency deals with complaints about all regulated lawyers. This article outlines the jurisdictions dealing with lawyer default and the mechanisms for delivering compensation. It uses publicly available data generated by insurance claims and complaints to identify the causes of lawyer default. It analyses the volume and value of claims, the incidence of liability by areas of work and by different types of complaint. The article concludes by considering the relevance of, and current limitations of, default data in understanding lawyer default and in shaping regulatory policy.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of the Legal Profession available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/09695958.2016.1227261
Publisher Keywords:	Liability, Regulation, Professional Indemnity Insurance, Compensation Funds
Subjects:	K Law
Departments:	The City Law School > Academic Programmes
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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