If the Bar really cared about protecting the public …

If the Bar really cared about the public, we would see a move toward mandatory malpractice insurance. AND we would see a mechanism for such affordable malpractice insurance being available to lawyers from the Bar. See the following description of the current Oregon Bar Association program.

"The Oregon State Bar Board of Governors created the Professional Liability Fund in 1977 pursuant to state statute and with approval of the membership. The Fund first began operation on July 1, 1978, and has been the mandatory provider of primary malpractice coverage for Oregon lawyers since that date. The Professional Liability Fund provides coverage of $300,000 per claim/$300,000 aggregate to all attorneys engaged in the private practice of law in Oregon. This is inclusive of defense costs and, in addition, there is a $50,000 claims expense allowance. In 2006 the basic assessment for this coverage is $3,000 for each attorney. The coverage provided by the Fund is on a "claims made" rather than an "occurrence" basis. The Fund also provides automatic extended reporting or "tail" coverage at no cost to attorneys who cease the private practice of law in Oregon. In order to keep malpractice claims as low as possible, the Fund offers an extensive array of loss prevention programs including (1) legal education programs which alert lawyers to malpractice traps in various substantive areas of law, (2) a practice management advisor program which helps lawyers improve systems and procedures, and (3) a personal assistance program which helps lawyers practice more effectively (Oregon Attorney Assistance Program)."

Tags:

Categorized in: