Law firms today face difficult and diverse risks, and dynamic professional liability and responsibility challenges. All firms now recognize the importance of effective risk management, and, on the other side of the coin, the reputational bruising, practical distractions, and financial consequences that can flow from lawyers’ misjudgments and professional lapses. Law firm general counsels and their deputies, as well as their colleagues on ethics committees, business intake committees, and the like, play a major role in managing their firms’ risks and challenges, and in helping their colleagues practice responsibly. This panel of experienced law firm general counsels will discuss current issues of critical importance to general counsels in law firms of all sizes, as well as problems and trends likely to affect firms in the future.

Transactional practices routinely spawn the most severe and often the most complicated professional liability claims that law firms face. Third-party liability arising out of transactional practices has vexed law firms for years. In addition, lawyers with transactional practices commonly encounter difficult conflict of interest issues and other professional responsibility challenges. Sometimes, lawyers miss seemingly obvious red flags. Issues that might have been avoided or dealt with easily when they first surfaced fester when handled too casually or overlooked. This program will examine some thorny professional responsibility and liability problems that transactional lawyers face, as well as recurring issues that can test lawyers and law firm general counsels.