Legal

Our Lawyers for the Profession® practice group, consisting of 60-plus lawyers, is devoted to representing and advising lawyers and law firms on all aspects of the “law governing lawyers.” We focus on four broad areas: legal malpractice defense; ethics and professional responsibility representation and counseling; law firm organization and structure; and risk management services. We have 12 states well-covered and try lawyers’ cases nationally wherever needed. Our lawyers anticipate and preempt professional problems, but when disputes occur we offer sound solutions or, where necessary, effective advocacy.

Our leading position as lawyers for the profession is further evidenced in the published works of our team, the professional appointments and bar association positions we hold, the frequency with which members of our group are invited to serve as expert witnesses, and the large number of lectures and presentations we are invited to give annually. In fact, we have chaired virtually every bar-related organization and committee concerned with legal ethics and professional responsibility. Three of our partners have served as President of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (APRL), a nationally prominent bar group, and another partner was the former Chief Counsel for New York’s disciplinary system in the First Judicial Department (encompassing more than 100,000 lawyers in Manhattan and the Bronx).

Legal Malpractice
Hinshaw has long been recognized as a leader in counseling and defending lawyers, law firms and their insurers in legal malpractice cases. The 60-plus Hinshaw lawyers practicing in this area have contributed to shaping the law and litigation of malpractice claims, handling more legal malpractice cases through trial than any other law firm in the country. We are also a leader in the number of published appellate decisions in the area of legal malpractice.

Our attorneys have co-authored the leading treatise in the field, “Legal Malpractice” (5th Ed., West Publishing), and have written the leading book on risk management, “Risk Management: Survival Tools for Law Firms” (American Bar Association).

Additionally, every year Hinshaw holds the Legal Malpractice & Risk Management Conference (LMRM), which has become the premier annual event focused on important and current developments in the law and litigation of malpractice claims, legal malpractice insurance and risk management strategies.

Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility
When disciplinary complaints are made against lawyers and law firms, they threaten not only an individual attorney’s ability to practice law, but also the firm’s capacity to operate effectively. We understand the nature and potential consequences of disciplinary complaints on every level, and have the practical knowledge and experience to vigorously represent our clients. In particular, we regularly represent and counsel our lawyer and law firm clients with respect to the following matters:

• Bar disciplinary complaints
• Bar admissions and reinstatements
• Fee disputes
• Disqualification motions
• Sanctions and Criminal Contempt proceedings
• Expert consultants and testifying witnesses with respect to all aspects of the law governing lawyers

Law Firm Organization and Structure
Hinshaw lawyers have wide ranging experience counseling law firms from creation through dissolution. Members of our practice group, working closely with our Labor and Employment practice group, have advised law firms on all aspects of mergers, lateral hiring, partner separation and law firm compensation structures.

Selecting and Structuring the Appropriate Business Model
Choosing the legal status of a new or existing law firm can be complex. Compensation structures, liability concerns and tax issues are but a few of the matters that need to be weighed in making the appropriate business model selection. Whatever choice is made, written agreements clearly expressing members’ understanding of all aspects of the firm’s operation and structure are essential. Our Lawyers for the Profession® practice group contains attorneys who are experienced leaders in the field of advising and assisting law firms in selecting a business model and in drafting their basic structural documents. Where a change in a firm’s structure is contemplated or required, as the result of a merger or other significant event, our attorneys are available to guide the firm through the alternative choices in order to arrive at the most efficient and appropriate outcome.

Managing Expansion through Lateral Hiring or Mergers
Our Lawyers for the Profession® practice group provides practical advice in preparing for and managing expansion through lateral hiring. In the case of a full-scale merger, our team helps clients develop processes for the smooth integration of the new individuals or entities into a coherent whole. In all cases, we are mindful, however, that although law firms may outwardly appear similar, each law firm is unique. We tailor our advice to the client, the specific stage of development it has reached and the particular circumstances presented.

Partnership Disputes, Partner Withdrawals and Dissolutions
Partner withdrawals, partnership disputes and law firm dissolutions are an unfortunate but recurring reality in the legal profession. That does not mean that these events need to be “messy.” To the contrary, their potentially negative consequences can often be significantly mitigated. Our Lawyers for the Profession® practice team has broad experience in representing both individual attorneys and law firms in these situations, and in dealing with the many ethical and legal issues that necessarily arise when they occur. Where there is room for negotiated solutions, our team seeks them. In the event of an unavoidable law firm dissolution, our practice group can facilitate the winding-up process so that it is conducted in as orderly a manner as possible. And when there is no choice except to resort to arbitration or litigation, we are there to help.

Advising on Compensation Structures
No single, internal issue is more crucial to a law firm’s success than the way it compensates its members. Properly thought out and implemented, a compensation policy can be the essential glue that binds lawyers to each other, encouraging the success of the organization’s individual attorneys and thereby assuring the success of the enterprise.

On the other hand, a compensation structure that does not fairly reward every constituent group within a firm can be a catalyst to costly defections, or even the premature and otherwise unnecessary demise of the firm. Succession planning and changes in a firm’s compensation model can be essential if the law firm is to survive and prosper as generational changes occur. Moreover, many law firms do not understand how their compensation system can materially affect their exposure to legal malpractice claims. Compensation structures unduly emphasizing billing lawyer credit, without adequate controls, are a primary source of malpractice claims as well as large, unpaid accounts receivable. In contrast, compensation systems designed to provide fair rewards for appropriate contributions to a firm’s success are a mark of an organization that has a strong foundation for maximizing success and minimizing risk.

Recognizing that when it comes to compensation structures, one size does not fit all, or even any given firm at different stages of its existence, our Lawyers for the Profession® practice group members assist clients in reviewing existing arrangements or projected changes, and in designing solutions that meet their needs.

Risk Management Services
Adequately preparing for unanticipated as well as unforeseeable events is vital in today’s complex legal and business world. Doing so benefits law firms by improving both insurability and the quality of services delivered to clients; enhances firm profitability; and minimizes the risk and cost of professional liability and disciplinary complaints.

Helping law firms manage risk is a central focus of our practice. Our comprehensive services in this area set the standard in the industry. They include:

• Electronic and hard copy legal malpractice prevention newsletters and timely electronic alerts on noteworthy developments
• Access to the Model Law Firm Risk Management Manual, as well as assistance in customizing the manual to accommodate the needs of individual firms, and related training
• Access to our lawyers’ risk management website (www.lawyeringlaw.com), a powerful tool that enables lawyers to complete electronic testing to comply with jurisdictional CLE requirements, houses easy-to-use and useful checklists, forms and information, and is continuously expanded with new legal developments and additional risk management content
• Consultation hotlines
• Law firm audits
• Loss prevention consultations
• Seminars, including retreats and practice group presentations, tailored to our clients’ needs
• Counseling with respect to lawyers professional liability insurance

We do not purport to tell other lawyers how to practice law or how to run their business, but instead identify systems and policies that can be improved or better utilized. We thereafter remain available to help develop and implement our recommendations; to assist with both continuing and new professional responsibility and risk management issues; and to advise law firm clients on other aspects of the law governing lawyers.

With respect to audits, Hinshaw offers a comprehensive range of risk management audit services, from one-day, on-site visits, through full-scale reviews of a law firm’s systems, policies and procedures. Working with our clients’ risk management counsel and managing personnel, we develop tailored audits. We can also conduct electronic audits of associates and staff to identify the extent of familiarity and compliance with firm risk management rules.

We regularly advise law firms that have identified areas in which they wish to improve their policies, procedures and systems. This work ranges from counseling on targeted projects designed to review and restructure specific elements of law firm risk management, including client intake systems, calendar and docket controls, timekeeping and billing structures, and all of the elements of firms’ risk management manuals, policies and procedures.