Community of lawyers.
Common purpose.
Shared goals.
Robert C. Dortch, Jr. | Sellers Hinshaw Ayers Dortch & Lyons PA | Charlotte
Client Services
Client Services is dedicated to carrying out the mission of Lawyers Mutual through providing education and risk management resources. Client Services focuses on nurturing relationships with insureds through various forms of communication. For more information call 800. 662. 8843, Follow us on Twitter @LawyersMutualNC, connect on our LinkedIn page, like us on Facebook.
If you were asked what you value in a professional liability insurance policy, you’d probably start off with things like your coverage limits, deductibles, and premium costs.
And while those considerations are undeniably important, they only become relevant when you’re hit with a claim, or when it’s time to pay your bill.
Often overlooked is the everyday value your carrier provides.
One thing that makes Lawyers Mutual different from every other malpractice carrier in North Carolina is the everyday value provided by its seasoned staff of claims attorneys. They’ve been in private practice like you. They know what you go through every day.
And when trouble arises in a case you’re handling, they are just a phone call away. They’ll be able to objectively assess the situation and help you develop an appropriate strategy. They’ll work with you to repair the problem, prevent a claim from being made in the first place, or reduce the dollar amount of the loss.
All these services automatically come with your policy. Talk about everyday value!
To get a glimpse at how this works, we reached out to Claire Modlin, Vice President of Claims at Lawyers Mutual. She told us about a recent incident where she fielded a call from a worried insured:
How were you contacted by the insured? “By telephone.”
What was the insured’s state of mind? “The insured was feeling panicked, which is typical.”
What was going on? “The insured called me on Wednesday and had a case set for trial the following Monday. The main witness for his case had just informed him that she was going on vacation and would not attend the trial. The insured needed this witness’ testimony to prove his case. Unfortunately, the witness was not under subpoena as she was a friendly witness and had previously agreed to attend the trial and testify.”
What did you do or say? “We discussed the insured’s options, including (1) filing a motion for continuance of the case; (2) if that was not granted, going to the calendar call and explaining the situation to the judge; or (3) as a last resort, with the client’s permission, taking a voluntary dismissal of the case without prejudice and refiling within one year of the dismissal.”
What was outcome? “The insured was able to obtain a continuance of the case.”
How did insured feel afterward? “The insured was relieved to have a plan in place to deal with the issue.”
Do you enjoy helping insureds like this? “Yes, I enjoy talking insureds through a problem and trying to find a resolution. Attorneys often want to stick their head in the sand and hope a problem will go away. We encourage our insureds to call us at the first sign of a problem so we can hopefully determine a course of corrective action.”
So why do you value Lawyers Mutual? How can we provide even greater value? We’d love to hear from you.
Continuing education is necessary if you want to keep your law practice safe and successful. It’s also necessary if you want to keep your law license.
That’s why our insureds value our Put Into Practice seminars so highly.
Each year, Lawyers Mutual takes our CLE road show to locations throughout North Carolina, from Asheville to Wrightsville Beach. Expert panelists offer cutting-edge pointers on risk management and loss prevention. Attendees get three hours of CLE credit towards their annual 12-hour requirement.
Best of all, the Put Into Practice programs are free to insured lawyers – and to their paralegals and staff as well – representing a potential savings of hundreds of dollars.
It’s a big reason lawyers value their relationship with Lawyers Mutual.
2019-2020 CLE Schedule
The current edition of the CLE roadshow is titled Put Into Practice: Risk Management Tips for Your Law Firm. The programs kick off October 29, 2019, in Clemmons and conclude February 6, 2020, in Cary. All programs begin at 9 AM and conclude at 12:30 PM.
Here is the full schedule:
- Tue, Oct. 29 – Clemmons
- Wed, Oct. 30 – Asheville
- Thu, Oct. 31 – Greensboro
- Fri, Nov. 22 – Concord
- Wed, Jan. 22 – Greenville
- Thu, Jan. 23 – New Bern
- Fri, Jan. 24 – Wrightsville Beach
- Thu, Feb. 6 – Cary (Two sessions: AM and PM)
2019-2020 CLE Agenda
1. Professional Misconduct Allegations
Understanding the grievance process
The most common complaints
Tips for responding
How to avoid them altogether
2. Cybersecurity Without Breaking the Bank
An overview of legal and regulatory considerations in light of emerging technologies while spotlighting that any size law firm is susceptible. Discussion topics include:
Everyone is a target, from the attorney to the paralegal to the legal assistant.
Quick and easy ways to protect yourself and your clients through encryption, physical controls, network controls, IoT and Removable Media.
Train the humans.
Why you should destroy your data.
3. This Case is Killing Me
Lawsuits can be stressful (and lawsuits against YOU can be even more stressful) on clients, attorneys, carriers, and others. This panel will address the stresses of representing difficult clients and how to prevent those cases from evolving into a legal malpractice claim.
When a legal malpractice claim does arise, there are mental health and stress concerns for all participants in the litigation process. The panel will discuss common pitfalls in representing challenging clients, tips on how to protect yourself and your law practice – including when and how to fire a problem client, as well as tips on how to assist clients and colleagues who may be suffering under the pressure and challenges of a difficult case, or in the face of a malpractice claim
Note: Lawyers Mutual is a MCLE approved provider with the North Carolina State Bar. Attendance at the Put Into Practice seminar qualifies for two hours of general credit (includes the required Technology hour) and one hour of ethic/professionalism credit.
And It’s Not Just CLE
Lawyers Mutual offers something no other insurer in the state provides: a comprehensive program of claims prevention education offered free to its policyholders.
Our Put Into Practice seminars are a highlight of those efforts. But our services also include malpractice alerts, newsletters, access to a lending library of CDs and tapes, and everyday assistance from underwriting and claims specialists.
Lawyers Mutual has an unmatched reputation for leadership and education for North Carolina lawyers. Our claims lawyers speak and write on trending topics. Our Board of Directors are leaders in the legal community. Several have served as past presidents of the North Carolina Bar Association and the North Carolina Advocates for Justice. We sponsor the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism programs held across the state.
These are some of the ways we help keep North Carolina lawyers savvy, safe and successful.
See You at the CLE Road Show!
We look forward to meeting you and saying hello at an upcoming Put Into Practice seminar. Be sure to tell us what we can do to improve your CLE experience. We know you value Lawyers Mutual because of our seminars – we want to keep increasing that value!
Why do you value Lawyers Mutual?
Is it the peace of mind that comes from knowing you and your law practice are protected? The security of having an experienced claims attorney by your side when needed? The snappy logo?
There are different reasons we value the people and things in our lives.
At Lawyers Mutual, we want to know why our insureds value us. So we ask them. We listen when they answer. Then we go out and try to meet – and exceed – those expectations every day.
Top 10 Reasons I Value Lawyers Mutual
# 10. HELP Team. What would happen to your practice in the event of a medical emergency? Who would take care of your cases and clients? What if your law partner unexpectedly retires – or dies? HELP is available. Lawyers Mutual’s HELP (Handling Emergency Legal Problems) team, led by in-house claims attorneys and outside counsel, has the training and resources to guide you through difficult professional times.
# 9. Our history. Lawyers Mutual has been in business since 1977. It’s the only carrier to continuously provide professional liability coverage to NC lawyers in the years since. Many of our insureds have been with us from the start. Some of their founders and senior partners helped create us. You can’t put a price on the value of those relationships.
# 8. The dividend checks. Since 1999, Lawyers Mutual has paid dividends fifteen times. More than $9.24 million dollars have been returned to policyholders since 2011.
#7. Lawyers Insurance. Our mission is complemented by Lawyers Insurance, which provides the expertise and products to address all other insurance needs (including health, life, disability, cyberinsurance, home and auto) to protect lawyers, their firms and their future. Visit www.lawyersinsuranceagency.com for more information.
# 6. CLE roadshow. Each year, Lawyers Mutual presents “Put Into Practice: Risk Management Tips for Your Law Firm,” a three-hour CLE program offered live at different locations across the state. The CLE, which features a panel of experts sharing tips on how to keep your practice safe and successful, is free to LM insureds. Click here to see the Fall 2019/Winter 2020 schedule or register for a program.
# 5. Easy underwriting process. When you apply for coverage or need to discuss your policy, you’ll talk to a live person with experience working with NC lawyers. Our Underwriting VP Kathy Fisher is a lawyer herself. Insureds like being able to make changes to their policies – such as adding a lawyer or changing an address – from downloadable forms available online.
# 4. Claims advice. Sometimes you just need to talk to somebody. Our Claims Department has eight full-time licensed attorneys, all of whom have practiced law and know what our insureds go through. Each day, our claims attorneys talk our insureds through difficult situations and nip potential problems in the bud.
# 3. Claims repair. Our Claims Repair program, led by an experienced team of in-house claims attorneys and outside counsel, has an excellent track record of remedying mistakes and mitigating damages. The results are often amazing. Sometimes, claims can be fully repaired. Other times, the dollar amount of the loss can be greatly reduced. Report promptly – and put our Claims Repair team to work for you.
# 2. Our service. Legal professional liability insurance is the only type of coverage we offer. We only do one thing, and we do that one thing well.
# 1. Our people. Because people are always number one. From the receptionist who takes your call to the lawyer who repairs your claim, we are here for you.
As the first mutually owned lawyer’s insurance company in the country, our reputation for leadership, professionalism and commitment to NC lawyers has become the standard by which other companies are measured.
We try to demonstrate our value to our insureds every day – not just when disaster strikes and they need us.
So why do you value Lawyers Mutual? How can we provide even more value? We’d love to hear from you.
Did you know you might be sitting on an asset that’s worth more than you ever imagined? It’s your law practice. You’ve spent years building your practice. You’ve invested time, effort and money in it. Don’t let your investment go to waste.
By planning now, you can:
- Set your own retirement timeline
- Reap financial benefit from your investment in your law firm
- Protect your professional legacy, and
- Provide continuing care for your clients.
Join us on April 8-9, 2019 at the Raleigh Marriott Crabtree as Lawyers Mutual Consulting and Services President, Camille Stell and Tom Lenfestey, owner of the Law Practice Exchange, host a one-of-a kind workshop on succession planning. We had a chance to interview the event hosts to find out everything you need to know about the upcoming program.
LM: Tom, you have spent years working with lawyers and helping them successfully transition out of practice. What have you found to be the most common challenges of succession planning for lawyers?
Tom Lenfestey: First, is most definitely a lack of knowledge as to the options, the process and the opportunities that putting a succession plan in place allows.
Many other professionals such as dentists, CPAs and doctors have had clear transition paths and the tools to get them there. Not so in law. But today, there are more options than ever before, and this workshop is the toolkit a solo or small firm lawyer needs.
There are numerous roadblocks attorneys face:
- They aren’t ready to stop practicing law
- They don’t think they can transition or sell their practice
- They aren’t sure their practice has value
- They have already started slowing down and their practice is losing value, and
- They consider planning for retirement as a ‘down the road’ option.
Transition planning is all about putting plans in place now in order to take control of your professional timeline and making the value-based transfer to a successor work.
Another challenge is accountability. Sometimes our biggest service can be in explaining that transitioning your law firm through internal succession or external sale is a defined process and then making sure the attorneys or law firms involved continue to make progress and actually implement the plan. Lawyers are busy and outside demands quickly sidetrack even the best intentions. Having a process for lawyer transition and being there to provide accountability is key to overcoming obstacles.
LM: Camille, we constantly hear how the mention of transitioning out of practice is like nails on a chalkboard for most lawyers. How will this program help lawyers begin to think differently about succession planning?
Camille Stell: My hope is that lawyers will begin to see this as planning for “life after law” in a positive way. Planning enables them to leave a legacy, a multi-generational law firm and to take care of their clients during transition and after they have fully retired.
LM: What sets this program apart from other succession planning programs?
Tom Lenfestey: This is not your typical CLE program. Our goal was to build something different.
Immediately after the lawyer registers for our program, we start gathering information. We develop their law firm’s valuation and succession criteria and we can provide their analysis the day of the event. In the workshop, through expert-led facilitated training, they can apply to what they are learning to their firm and leave the next day with their unique plan to implement.
Camille Stell: In addition to receiving a valuation of their law firm and a succession plan that is unique to their law firm, they will also receive coaching in how to determine their timeline and how to have transition conversations with family, their law firm and their clients. And finally, we will spend time discussing what life after law looks like for them. Follow up consultations are included in the registration fee.
LM: Who is encouraged to register for this event?
Tom Lenfestey: Lawyers who own their own law practice and don’t have a transition or ‘what-if’ plan in place. The plan can anticipate the unexpected or just provide peace of mind when the lawyer wants to consider slowing down.
Creating a succession plan doesn’t mean you are done or have to be done practicing law in the near future. Instead, this program offers a plan where you are in control of your professional timeline. It is never too early to start building out your plan for when that time comes.
LM: What would you say is the first step for attorneys in beginning to mentally and emotionally prepare themselves for succession?
Camille Stell: Imagine what they would do away from the office. For some lawyers, it might be to take a week of vacation with no plans to see what it feels like to be away from the office with unstructured time. For others, it might be to schedule a sabbatical and explore an extended time away from work. Working part-time or developing a wind-down schedule is also a great way to transition out of a full-time law practice.
LM: When should lawyers begin thinking about succession planning?
Tom Lenfestey: Now! By far the biggest issue we have is attorneys contacting us with short timelines. Transition takes time. In order to achieve your goals and what may work for your firm and successor, the more lead time the better. Once we start the process, the owner-attorney is put in control of the timeline and how he or she wants things to work. If they wait, life and business have a way of quickly getting in the way and creating situations which give you less control or choice. Starting now allows the attorney to control their firm’s legacy and their professional timeline.
This program guides attendees through the entire succession planning process. The success in this program lies in the joint work between facilitators and attendees to develop a personal succession plan.
At the end, participants will have a clear understanding of the succession process and how to implement their developed transition plan.
Get more information and register here.
When it comes to developing a Succession Plan for their practice, lawyers come with a million excuses
And Tom Lenfestey, founder of The Law Practice Exchange, has heard every one of them.
“Believe it or not, most attorneys and law firms have done absolutely nothing to plan and set out a process for making sure succession can occur from one attorney or one firm to another,” he says. “If every attorney needs a will, then every attorney needs a succession plan for his or her law practice.”
One common excuse: I don’t need a Succession Plan because I’m not ready to retire.
“Succession planning doesn’t necessarily mean retirement today,” says Camille Stell, president of Lawyers Mutual Consulting & Services. “A succession plan includes developing a time frame for retirement, transferring ownership of the law firm to an internal or external buyer, transferring management responsibilities, law firm leadership responsibilities and client relationships.”
Lenfestey and Stell are presenting a special succession planning workshop, “Transferring Ownership of Your Law Firm to the Next Generation” on April 8 and 9. Learn more about the course and register here.
You Mean My Practice Has Value?
At some point in the future – maybe next week, maybe years from now – you will no longer be running your law practice. What will happen to your practice then? What will your absence mean for your clients, employees and professional relationships?
A Succession Plan makes sure the transition takes place the way you want it to.
Seems simple. And yet, attorneys have lots of excuses to justify not having a plan. Here are four Lenfestey often hears:
- Excuse Number One: My law practice doesn’t have any value without me in it.“Yes, this may very well be true, but typically there is little to no value in practices where the attorney has passed away or had a sudden event not allowing them to be in the practice. In the succession of a law practice it takes time and transition steps which help preserve and transfer the value of your firm to the next successor.”
- Excuse Number Two: I’ll just keep working and earn out my value.“You can definitely continue to work in the practice for so long as desired, but life throws curve balls at you and if that day comes when you can’t, but your needs dictate otherwise then the problem arises. Instead, focus on transferring ownership under a succession plan or sale and if you want to keep working then do so for so long as desired. Having a transition plan does not mean you will stop practicing law. As well, exiting at a higher value instead of in the wind-down phase will always yield the best financial results for you.”
- Excuse Number Three: I have tried that before.“A number of attorneys we have spoken with have started, stopped, started again and then things fizzled. Or they have hired an associate with the thought of a successor and associate(s) have left. Openly, if you have tried it without success it is probably because the client demands, the legal work, and life in general have taken precedent over the planning. It’s okay. It is understandable. For most of our clients, our true goal is to push through those time constraints and keep the process moving to get to implementation. Having an outside advisor for accountability and knowledge helps greatly in this area.”
- Excuse Number Four: I don’t want to stop being a lawyer.“You don’t have to, and no one wants you to, even your successor or buyer. All law firm ownership exits should be based on transitioning over time. Even when that is complete most successors would be delighted to keep you involved and associated with the firm, but you have gained the flexibility to do so when desired and without fear of the unknown. You shouldn’t be done and with the right transition and exit plan you never have to be.”
Sign up for the valuable, limited-seating workshop Transferring Ownership Of Your Law Firm To The Next Generation on April 8-9.
Source: The Law Practice Exchange https://thelawpracticeexchange.com/2018/11/12/excuses-attorneys-use-to-avoid-exit-planning/