Missed Legal Deadlines Often Equate to Malpractice
Empirical data has revealed missed procedural and statutory deadlines are the leading cause of malpractice claims against litigation professionals.
In fact, according to an American Bar Association study, 20 percent of all malpractice suits are the result of a lawyer missing a deadline.
The legal profession is full of deadlines, and failure to act before a deadline accrues can severely damage a client's position and result in any number of avoidable consequences.
Failure to file a Motion for Rehearing or Notice of Appeal in a timely fashion can permanently bar your client's case from court.
The question becomes, with such serious consequences resulting from missed deadlines, why is it such a prevalent problem? The typical law office has any number of cases running concurrently, and all of those cases have any number of deadlines pending at any given time.
Traditionally, the lawyer relies on his or her staff to calendar these deadlines and ensure they are not missed.
However, research conclusively demonstrates this is not enough; otherwise there would not be such a high percentage of malpractice suits arising from missed legal deadlines.
The problem is that it is too easy to overlook something on your calendar, especially if the calendar is congested with many entries.
Further, often times there are competing deadlines and in many situations, only the staff is truly aware of the deadline so the lawyer may not even know it is drawing near or past due.
Fortunately, there are methods available to protect yourself from missed legal deadlines.
First and foremost, it is wise to have two calendars, redundant calendaring can save a lot of trouble and often times earn you malpractice premium discounts.
However, simply having a second calendar does little to remedy the issue of missing deadlines.
It is very easy to look at one or both calendars multiple times and not see the entry indicating something is due.
Further, there is no good method for alerting yourself in advance of a deadline.
No one wants to learn on Monday morning there is an Appellate Brief due to be filed by 5 p.
m.
Taking that into consideration it is reasonable to assume a prudent litigator will go one step further.
The most effective method to prevent missed deadlines is the application of an electronic tickler system.
There are many law office software programs on the market and most offer some form of electronic tickler system.
The most important consideration is that it will alert you several days prior to the deadline as well as the deadline due date.
Additionally, it should have some form of reporting to you all of the deadlines coming due in the firm.
Utilization of this type of program can save you money with your malpractice carrier and help to prevent you from missing a deadline and exposing yourself to a potential malpractice suit.
A small investment can save you your reputation and your client, all things considered; investing in a quality legal tickler system is the smartest choice a litigation professional can make.
In fact, according to an American Bar Association study, 20 percent of all malpractice suits are the result of a lawyer missing a deadline.
The legal profession is full of deadlines, and failure to act before a deadline accrues can severely damage a client's position and result in any number of avoidable consequences.
Failure to file a Motion for Rehearing or Notice of Appeal in a timely fashion can permanently bar your client's case from court.
The question becomes, with such serious consequences resulting from missed deadlines, why is it such a prevalent problem? The typical law office has any number of cases running concurrently, and all of those cases have any number of deadlines pending at any given time.
Traditionally, the lawyer relies on his or her staff to calendar these deadlines and ensure they are not missed.
However, research conclusively demonstrates this is not enough; otherwise there would not be such a high percentage of malpractice suits arising from missed legal deadlines.
The problem is that it is too easy to overlook something on your calendar, especially if the calendar is congested with many entries.
Further, often times there are competing deadlines and in many situations, only the staff is truly aware of the deadline so the lawyer may not even know it is drawing near or past due.
Fortunately, there are methods available to protect yourself from missed legal deadlines.
First and foremost, it is wise to have two calendars, redundant calendaring can save a lot of trouble and often times earn you malpractice premium discounts.
However, simply having a second calendar does little to remedy the issue of missing deadlines.
It is very easy to look at one or both calendars multiple times and not see the entry indicating something is due.
Further, there is no good method for alerting yourself in advance of a deadline.
No one wants to learn on Monday morning there is an Appellate Brief due to be filed by 5 p.
m.
Taking that into consideration it is reasonable to assume a prudent litigator will go one step further.
The most effective method to prevent missed deadlines is the application of an electronic tickler system.
There are many law office software programs on the market and most offer some form of electronic tickler system.
The most important consideration is that it will alert you several days prior to the deadline as well as the deadline due date.
Additionally, it should have some form of reporting to you all of the deadlines coming due in the firm.
Utilization of this type of program can save you money with your malpractice carrier and help to prevent you from missing a deadline and exposing yourself to a potential malpractice suit.
A small investment can save you your reputation and your client, all things considered; investing in a quality legal tickler system is the smartest choice a litigation professional can make.