The America Invents Act (AIA) alters numerous laws affecting IP protection for a broad range of applicants and affects almost the entire range of prosecution activities. The AIA was intended to modernize the patent system and promote innovation job creation and economic growth.

As we approach a second year of remote law practice this is a good time to pause and reflect on what works and what doesn't work. While we are becoming comfortable in this new normal the circumstances have raised a number of practical and ethical concerns for attorneys.

Lawyers Professional Liability statistics on Business Transactions/Commercial Law: Includes sales agreements agency agreements entertainment contracts commercial transactions including financing where real estate is not the major subject.

This edition of In Practice...with CNA addresses tax laws and regulations and risk management tips to avoid election deadlines or managing filing errors.

In this Professional Counsel^®, CNA has developed this guide to assist attorneys in creating documents that will enable them to better manage their interactions with potential and actual clients.

Few attorneys were prepared to adapt to a pandemic. In today's environment lawyers have been required to chart a changing course in order to provide competent legal services to their clients. This information is intended to identify some potential effects of the pandemic on the legal profession.

Lawyers contemplating board service must weigh the potential benefits against the risks inherent in such appointments prior to acceptance and throughout the tenure of any board service.

This edition of Professional Counsel® discusses the importance of attorneys maintaining proper LPL coverage throughout their career.

Client intake should never be dismissed as an unimportant but necessary task when taking on a new client. Creating a thorough client intake process is essential in order to establish a strong foundation for an attorney-client relationship whether the relationship lasts for weeks or years.

There is little doubt that the legal profession can be a risky one. According to the ABA the likelihood of a private practice attorney being sued for malpractice in a given year runs between 4 and 17 percent.

With more than 60 years of experience providing lawyers professional liability insurance, CNA offers a broad range of insurance products and solutions through its Underwriting, Claims and Risk Control teams.

"In Practice... With CNA" explains that when relying on an advance waiver, practitioners should be cognizant of the speficity of such waivers, and would be prudent to re-evaluate their scope as conflict arises.

This Professional Counsel® explores the ethical concerns associated with lawyers charging success fees by examining a lawyer's obligations under the American Bar Association's Model Rules of Professional Conduct.

This edition of In Practice...with CNA® discusses professional responsibility concerns that lawyers endure when sharing an office space and how to take necessary precautions when in this space.

Lawyers should beware of a sophisticated new hacking scam the FBI refers to as Business E-mail Compromise. Lawyers in multiple states have recently reported being victimized by this scam.

This edition of In Practice...with CNA identifies new reporting requirements enacted by the Corporate Transparency Act and the associated ethical considerations.

An attorney like anyone else looks toward retirement with mixed emotions. Retirement means bidding farewell to angry client phone calls and late night brief writing but it also means stepping away from your life's work.

CNA is the nation's leading underwriter of Lawyers Professional Liability and Federal and State Judges Professional Liability coverage.

This edition of CNA Professional Counsel takes an in-depth look at lawyer advertising through new methods as well as some of the associated risks and best practices to consider.

While acceptable response times were once measured in days modern communication channels have clients counting the hours or even minutes since they sent their email or text. File sharing also has accelerated with clients able to review revise and approve documents instantly.

As attorneys we routinely litigate arbitrate and negotiate on behalf of our clients. With regularity we analyze synthesize and scrutinize certain facts precedent and regulations. Managing accounts receivable however seems to befuddle the best of us.

This edition of Professional Counsel addresses where nontraditional legal malpractice exposures exist so attorneys may take steps to avoid the unexpected exposures.

This edition of Professional Counsel emphasizes how attorneys must be aware of how the use of ChatGPT would impact their practice, client matters and ethical concerns that may lead to allegations of legal malpractice.

This edition of Professional Counsel® discusses different practices and tools lawyers should consider when offering legal opinions for third parties to help mitigate potential risk.

This edition of Professional Counsel^® provides the 2023 most popular risk control resources for CNA-insured attorneys.

Attorneys who practice long enough may encounter the prospect of receiving a letter from a bar disciplinary office containing notice of a complaint from a client or third party.

This edition of Professional Counsel® discusses the potential exposures and best practices for lawyers to consider to avoid stumbling into an unintended client engagement.

CNA has compiled professional liability Claims data from recent years to analyze trends and provide tips for mitigating the risks associated with legal malpractice claims in Plaintiff’s Personal Injury/Property Damage.

ABA Model Rule 8.3 requires every lawyer to report certain professional misconduct by other lawyers to the appropriate disciplinary authority. So when do you report another lawyer's ethical misconduct and how do you do it?

The frequency of Alternative Litigation Financing (ALF) where a third party provides money to cash-needy claimant in exchange for a financial stake in the outcome of the case is growing rapidly. This article examines the risk exposures of ALF.

This edition of Professional Counsel addresses referral and fee splitting agreements and the risks associated with them.

This In Practice...with CNA® defines ethical principles that govern attorneys' behavior in bankruptcy cases. These help attorneys work to avoid problems, establish strong risk management procedures and serve their clients' interests successfully. 

CNA CyberPrep is available to all CNA cyber policyholders, providing them with a network of cybersecurity professionals and services to actively identify, mitigate and respond to their cyber risks.

Attorneys have access to sensitive information and large sums of money, and although they are experts in many areas, they are seldom on the cutting edge of technology. It should come as no surprise, then, that a growing number of email scams are targeting attorneys and other similar professionals.

In today's market more attorneys are looking beyond traditional legal counsel assignments and taking on rolls as mediators and arbitrators. Download our guide to learn more about vital risk control techniques to effectively manage the risks of accepting these appointments

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act's constructive intent has resulted in unintended consequences that create exposures for attorneys who may not be conversant with its ramifications. This article focuses on the issues surrounding the Act that are most likely to affect attorneys.

When developing a prequalification form or application the hiring contractor should consider the following.

Appellate work is traditionally regarded as a risk-free area of practice and while they do not generate a significant number of legal malpractice claims they still bear a risk. Download to learn more about how to successfully manage the unforeseen risks

The responsibility of being a trustee carries with it multiple duties. This article includes a list of the most common trustee duties.

A client's past misdeeds are rarely a dealbreaker for a prospective attorney-client relationship. Every day lawyers help clients address the consequences of illegal conduct and analyze the legal aspects of questionable conduct.

Times arise particularly in litigation where a lawyer for an entity might find it useful to represent an employee or other constituent of the entity for some limited purpose. This dual representation of an entity and its constituent raises a number of practice issues.

As financial pressure from the Great Recession becomes the new normal and even the least tech-savvy Americans tackle most errands from behind a computer screen consumers have cast a critical eye towards the traditional attorney-client relationship.

An overview of available tools, services and expertise to help mitigate risk.

Learn about CNA's School of Risk Control Excellence (SORCE) online and onsite resources to help your clients manage their exposures.

This month's InBrief® is designed to help owners of medispas and aesthetic practices, as well as associated providers, address major risk factors and consistently deliver safe, high-quality care.

Lawyers must balance their duties to their client against both express legal duties to adversaries and general duties of truthfulness.

CNA’s Epack 3 Employment Practices Liability (EPL) insurance coverage helps shield businesses, business owners and employees against loss from claims alleging wrongful employment practices.

Courts uniformly have held that the attorney-client privilege survives the death of a client. Complex issues arise regarding the lawyer's duties to her former client when the personal representative seeks files that are unrelated to the administration of the estate.

Claims against lawyers arising from trust and estate engagements are skyrocketing in both number and severity. CNA data reveals that claim frequency is 25% higher for trust and estate representations compared to other areas of practice.

As more people live longer and work longer attorneys will encounter more clients who have reached an advanced age whether they are seeking to purchase real estate sell their business pursue a personal injury claim or get married.