Blog - New York City Bar Insurance

Avoiding Lateral Hire Risks

Changing jobs is quite a bit more complex for lawyers than for other professionals. Besides all the usual challenges of onboarding and adapting to a new company culture, lawyers also have to navigate a variety of professional obligations to their clients and firms. It’s a situation that can often lead to stress, conflict and litigation.

Bringing a new attorney into your firm as a lateral hire comes with a number of risks for the firm, as well, from a high rate of failure to potential malpractice claims. Here’s what to know about avoiding lateral hire risks and setting new hires and your firm up for the best chance of success.

Challenges Faced by Firms Hiring a Lateral

The failure rate for lateral attorneys is surprisingly high — lateral hires fail in as […]

January 21st, 2026|

The 3 Cs of Law Firm Insurance

Most lawyers look for firm insurance with three objectives in mind — coverage offerings that are consultative, competitive and convenient. At Lockton Affinity Lawyer, we call these the 3 Cs. Here’s how we meet the need.

1. C Is for Consultative

A consultative approach ought to be the standard for law firm insurance. But most of the time, it isn’t. All too often, shopping for firm insurance can feel like a trip to the store — you head to the right aisle, pick an option that looks good, pay at the front counter and hope for the best.

This isn’t a bad strategy when picking out a frozen pizza, but it leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to the insurance you’re counting on to protect your practice. Claims these […]

November 18th, 2025|

Buy-Sell Insurance for Law Firms and Its Importance

Note: This article is written in collaboration with Synchronize Insurance Services, powered by Lockton Affinity. In 2022, Lockton Affinity formed Synchronize, combining the specialized expertise of Lockton Affinity, SBG Inc., Blueprint Insurance Services and Freedom Partners to provide one, all-encompassing business solution for clients in the financial professionals industry. Synchronize leads the industry in its specialty, making it more efficient, affordable and accessible to do business.

Buy-Sell Insurance is an important tool for law firms to ensure smooth ownership transitions and protect the firm’s value when a partner departs due to a death, disability or another reason. This type of policy helps firms look beyond the day-to-day tasks of managing cases and clients and protect the future stability and longevity of the business.

What Is Buy-Sell Insurance?

Buy-Sell Insurance is typically tied […]

September 29th, 2025|

The Importance of Key-Man Insurance for Law Firms

Note: This article is written in collaboration with Synchronize Insurance Services, powered by Lockton Affinity. In 2022, Lockton Affinity formed Synchronize, combining the specialized expertise of Lockton Affinity, SBG Inc., Blueprint Insurance Services and Freedom Partners to provide one, all-encompassing business solution for clients in the financial professionals industry. Synchronize leads the industry in its specialty, making it more efficient, affordable and accessible to do business.

Running a law firm involves more than just managing cases and clients — it requires protecting the firm’s financial stability and ensuring its longevity. One critical type of insurance that law firms should consider is Key-Man Insurance. This type of policy safeguards against unexpected disruptions caused by the loss or disability of a vital team member or partner, helping firms maintain continuity and protect […]

September 29th, 2025|

Emerging Threats: Cybercrime as a Service

While the dollar doesn’t go as far as it used to, cybercrime mayhem is surprisingly cheap — as little as $5 a hack. This sort of attack has been dubbed “cybercrime as a service.” It’s an emerging cybersecurity threat that involves a hacker being hired on the dark web by a third party to hack a specific target.

Cybercrime as a service is a worrying trend. It broadens the potential risks for your law firm and its key personnel, creating financial, operational and reputational risks. Understanding this threat better prepares you to take the right steps to protect what matters and minimize your risks. Here’s what to know.

About Cybercrime as a Service

In today’s tech-savvy world, many things that used to be thought of as end products now operate more like […]

July 24th, 2025|

The Importance of Key-Man and Buy-Sell Insurance for Law Firms

Note: This article is written in collaboration with Synchronize Insurance Services, powered by Lockton Affinity. In 2022, Lockton Affinity formed Synchronize, combining the specialized expertise of Lockton Affinity, SBG Inc., Blueprint Insurance Services and Freedom Partners to provide one, all-encompassing business solution for clients in the financial professionals industry. Synchronize leads the industry in its specialty, making it more efficient, affordable and accessible to do business.

Running a law firm involves more than just managing cases and clients — it requires protecting the firm’s financial stability and ensuring its longevity. Two critical types of insurance that law firms should consider are Key-Man Insurance and Buy-Sell Insurance. These policies safeguard against unexpected disruptions caused by the loss or disability of a vital team member or partner, helping firms maintain continuity and […]

June 27th, 2025|

Cyber Coverages Explained

Cyber insurance has dramatically evolved since the first coverages were added to other policy forms in the 1990s. Traditionally, cyber coverages were only considered necessary in the technology industry — or for those providing technology-related professional services.

It was the dawn of the digital age and growing cyber risk exposures across all industry classes that led to the evolution of cyber as a stand-alone insurance product. Today, purchasing cyber insurance is considered essential by business leaders in nearly every sector, including law.

At first look, cyber coverages can be confusing for a small business such as a law firm. A broad spectrum of exposures are possible, with the top insurers offering a variety of products to protect against them, often bundled into unique package solutions with different levels of coverage. Here’s […]

May 13th, 2025|

7 Conflict Checks Tips to Reduce Malpractice Risks

Lawyers often look forward to their next client and their next case. It’s exciting to meet new people and learn about their legal needs. However, in the rush to entertain a new business opportunity, proper conflict checks are sometimes neglected.

Neglecting conflict checks can lead to an adverse outcome for both a client and their lawyer. Here are seven conflict checks tips for reducing your chance of a malpractice claim.

1. Know the Risks of Overlooking a Client Conflict

Especially in today’s high-stakes litigation, a missed conflict of interest can be costly. In 2022, a global law firm lost its appeal to a $32 million malpractice verdict based on a claimed conflict of interest.¹

The client, whose laser tech is used to make jeans appear faded, […]

February 11th, 2025|

Policy Limit Demands: Could Leaving a Voicemail Lead to a Malpractice Claim?

A claimant’s policy limit demand may set an attorney up to fail in hopes of a larger payday. Small mistakes could constitute a rejection, which opens an attorney up to a malpractice claim.

Prior claims can help offer insight into what to do and what not to do. Here’s what to know about policy limit demands, the most common pitfalls to watch out for and the best practices to minimize risk when engaging with clients.

How a Call Can Turn into a Claim

Imagine you leave the office a bit early on the Friday before a holiday weekend. You return to find a certified letter from the counsel representing a personal injury claimant. Enclosed is a standard procedural demand for payment by your client’s insurer for their policy’s full limit of liability. […]

November 14th, 2024|

All Things Digital: Best Practice Tips for Your Firm’s Digital Presence

Email, texting, social media, websites, billing systems — the digital connections you use to do your job every day can present a risk, particularly as a lawyer obligated to professional ethical standards.

Implement these six tips for your firm’s digital presence.

Prioritize Password Security to Minimize Data Risks

Lawyers need to strike a balance between easy access to their digital files and securing the firm’s confidential data. Ethical guidelines require lawyers to stay on top of evolving technology and protect sensitive client data, and password security is a good start.

Password security helps protect confidential emails, text messages, case files, client documents, billing information, financial records and other sensitive data.
Hackers can crack simple passwords instantly with modern software, while a lot of users are using compromised or easily guessed passwords.
A […]

November 1st, 2023|