Professional indemnity and lawyers' liability

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Professional indemnity and lawyers' liability

Hear Ceri-Sian Williams discuss the implications of the NA (Armes) v Nottinghamshire County Council judgment

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We understand that a negligence claim against a professional requires sensitive and careful handling given the significant reputational risks for the professional. Our experienced team of professional indemnity lawyers work closely with our client from the moment we are instructed to gain an understanding of their views on the claim, as well as the commercial considerations in play so that we can form a strategy that leads to a good outcome for our client and their insurer.

Our lawyers are experts in the professional services sectors in which they operate, allowing them to quickly identify the most pragmatic and commercial solutions to claims. Our specialist experience also means that we can provide value-added risk management support to our insurer clients’ policyholders, focused on mitigating the emerging exposures within the relevant professional sector. Our team has a substantial presence in London but the majority of our professional indemnity team is based in Nottingham. This allows us to provide dynamic claims solutions that offer genuine value for money, with a central base and five office network that gives our specialist lawyers national reach.

What we do...

Our clients – major professional indemnity insurers, Lloyd's syndicates, managing general agents, third party administrators, professional services firms and policyholders.
Bespoke claims handling schemes – providing fixed fee cost effective claims solutions.
Our experience – over 25 years acting for insurers and indemnifiers of a wide range of professions:
- from the traditional; solicitors, accountants, surveyors,architects, construction professionals,insurance brokers, IFA's and other financial services professionals
- all the way through to the emerging; management consultants, recruitment agencies, health and safety professionals and agronomists.

Specialist services - including professional liability claims defence, advising on institute ‘minimum terms’, coverage and indemnity disputes, claims handling, policy drafting, risk management advice and auditing, fraud and dishonesty investigations, and professional disciplinary enquiries.
Extension of your team - our clients regard us as an extension of their own team – whether we are working with underwriters on innovative new products, helping them win new business by attending risk presentations, or working with claims teams in mapping exposure to high value liabilities across entire books of business, such as those arising from mass mis-selling claims.
Industry membership – Forum of Insurance Lawyers, British Insurance Law Association, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, International Bar Association, Lloyd’s Market Association.

Related resources

Legal updates

Gosden and another v Halliwell Landau and another [2021] EWHC 159 (Comm)

This claim addressed the question, of when the date for assessment of damages in cases of negligence should be determined and shows that when appropriate the Courts will depart from the default position.

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Legal updates

Insurance annual review 2019-2020

Welcome to our review of 2019 as we look ahead to what is on the horizon for the insurance sector in 2020.

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Legal updates

SRA Standards and Regulations November 2019

On Monday 25 November the 2011 SRA Handbook is replaced by the 2019 SRA Standards and Regulations (often referred to as STARS).This is the 26th version of the Code of Conduct for Solicitors.

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Legal updates

Contingent loss in negligence claims

Contingent loss is relevant to limitation; specifically, the date at which a claimant’s cause of action accrues for the purposes of a claim in the tort of negligence (as many claims against professional advisers are framed).

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What our clients say....

High quality and very responsive, with leading client service.

James Pilgrim-Morris, Head of Claims, Hiscox UK and Ireland

Highly knowledgeable, accessible and quick to understand key issues.

Sally Lodge, Hiscox

What the directories say...

The whole team is extremely competent and they are my favourite team to work with right now because they are good at being on top of matters.

Chambers 2022

Very experienced in the field, quick to respond and flexible.

Chambers 2021

They are a pragmatic, sensible and commercial firm.

Chambers 2021

They are personable and as such they are easy to build a rapport with and trust that they will do the best for our Insured’s. They have great analytical skills but also keep in mind the commerciality and reality of the situation and are great communicators to both ourselves and the Insured’s.

Legal 500 2021

THE go to firm for complex insurance litigation and policy advice. Punches above its weight and the best around as far as we are concerned.

Legal 500 2021

A strong professional negligence team across many professions. The team has good experience, uses the right lawyers for the job and we trust in their advice. They also have capabilities to help the insured in terms of document management etc which has helped in these difficult times.

Legal 500 2021

Recent experience

Acted in relation to a £253m D&O/professional negligence claim against non-executive directors of an investment company which collapsed in 2010 leaving liabilities to creditors and investors in excess of £300m.
Advising on a £17m claim against a firm of actuaries arising from the defective amendment of the benefit rules of the occupational pension scheme of a FTSE250 listed company. A claim has also been made against a top 25 firm of solicitors who acted in relation to the transaction.
Defending a firm of accountants in relation to a potential claim arising from the tax compliance of a UK based investment fund, caused by a change to its accounting policies in the US leading to a failure to disclosure £10m of relevant income.
Acting on behalf of a finance broker which faced a multi-million pound claim for losses incurred by a property developer arising out of a development alleged to have failed due to negligent advice in relation to the structure and terms of a bridging loan facility brokered by the insured.
Acted on behalf of a professional indemnity insurer in relation to claims advanced by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme under the Third Parties Rights Against Insurers Act 1930 following the insolvency of an IFA network.

Our people

Related opinions

Valuing a claim following professional negligence

Mrs Jean Edwards v Hugh James Ford Simey (a Firm) (2018 EWCA) is an interesting case involving solicitor’s negligence in the bringing of a disease claim under a vibration white finger scheme against the Department of Trade and Industry by the estate of a former miner.

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Are your communications with an expert disclosable?

The Court has ruled in the case of Allen Tod Architecture Ltd (C) v Capita Property and Infrastructure Ltd (D) [2016] EWHC 2171 (TCC) that as a condition of being granted permission to instruct a new expert (having lost confidence in the first expert instructed) C had to provide disclosure of the first expert’s preliminary report.

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Enterprise Act 2016 - late payment of insurance claims

The Enterprise Bill was granted Royal Assent last week and comes into force on 4 May 2017.

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Insurance Act a year to go

The Insurance Act 2015 (the Act) comes into force a year today, bringing with it the most significant reform of commercial insurance law in over 100 years.

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