Practice Habits, a OneBeacon Professional Partners publication addressing lawyers' liability risk management, focuses on the law firm's Practice Resources and Practice Review. Practice Habits provides practical advice and applications that can be placed in the law firm's policies and procedures or “practice habits” manual.

We hope you find these papers thought-provoking and that they help you anticipate, identify and respond to potential liability issues. If you have comments or suggestions for future papers, please contact us at OBPPinfo@onebeacon.com. We'd be delighted to hear from you.

The Practice Habits newsletters are in Adobe Acrobat format. If you have not already done so, you may download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Volume Two, Issue1: Watch Out Attorneys – Clients Aren't the Only Ones Burdened by E-Discovery

It has been over a year since the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were amended to address electronically stored information (ESI) involved in litigation (the “Amendments”). Much has been written about the burdens placed on litigants in addressing ESI and the Amendments. But attorneys are beginning to discover that these Amendments – for better or for worse – also introduced new obligations and expanded counsel's role in handling claims involving ESI.

››Download “Watch Out Attorneys – Clients Aren't the Only Ones Burdened by E-Discovery”

Volume One, Issue2: Legal Malpractice Issues for Estate Planning and Probate Lawyers

Although historically, claims against lawyers have been limited to those parties who are in privity with the lawyer, in recent years this barrier has been eroded in many states. The broadening of the scope of who may sue a lawyer in large part began in cases against estate planning and probate lawyers (“estate lawyers”). Today, the parties who may assert claims against estate lawyers is broader than ever before.

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Volume One, Issue1: Referring Cases to Other Attorneys

Making a referral may mean sharing liability. This issue of Practice Habits cites cases in which the court reasoned the referring attorney should share in the liability of the retaining attorney and provides advise for mitigating liability exposure.

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