11th Annual Avoiding Legal Malpractice Seminar 2022

Registration Deadline: Online registration for the October 31 telephone seminar has now ended. After 8:00 a.m. on Monday, October 31, and up to 30 minutes prior to the seminar, please call (800) 979-8253 to register.

Malpractice suits not only cost firms money, but they also rob the firm’s leadership of valuable time they need to spend with clients or to address other management issues. They can also inflict enduring damage to a firm’s reputation.

This course is designed to educate attorneys on measures that can be taken to better serve the interests of their clients; and to encourage lawyers to establish and maintain standards in their law practice to meet their responsibilities to their clients.

During this 2-hour interactive seminar, Eileen Garczynski and Dennis Quinn will provide both new and experienced practitioners with an overview of the most common legal malpractice claims (and related risks, such as cyber, management, and employment-related claims), and how to avoid them. They will also explain how to avoid the errors that frequently occur and how to respond appropriately to risky situations with a dive deep into the ethical issues associated with these risks. Attendees should come away from this seminar with ways to reduce risk while also making the firm eligible for favorable Lawyers’ Professional Liability Insurance pricing and coverage.

Topics of discussion will include:

• Update on Legal Malpractice Claim Statistics
• Most likely types of legal malpractice claims arising out of the economic downturn and how to avoid them
• Lateral hires and associate training issues during and post-COVID
• Identifying potential conflicts of interest among affiliated companies
• Recognizing which clients to take and which to avoid
• Tips for better engagement and disengagement letters
• Protecting client confidences and communications
• Technology and cybersecurity concerns for attorneys working from home
• Lawyer well-being post-pandemic

COVID-19 POLICY FOR LIVE-ON-SITE ATTENDANCE

By attending a live-on-site Virginia CLE^® seminar, you acknowledge the health risks associated with COVID-19 and that you MUST follow all Virginia CLE^® COVID-19 policies. You may NOT attend a live-on-site program if you have tested positive for COVID-19, if you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, or if you are under any self-quarantine orders per CDC guidelines.

Click here for details about the Virginia CLE^® COVID-19 policy. Please revisit the webpage routinely for updates as we are monitoring the evolving COVID-19 situation. All updates to this policy will be emailed to registrants.
(Last updated March 2, 2022)

Cancellation Policy: Cancellation/transfer requests will be honored until 5:00 p.m. the day preceding the seminar. You will, however, be charged $40 if you cancel or transfer your registration to a different seminar after the link to the materials has been e-mailed by Virginia CLE.

Full refunds or transfers are available up to two days after a webcast in the unlikely event that you experience technical difficulties.

Inclement Weather Policy and Updates.

COURSE SCHEDULE (September 7) (Eastern Time)

• Sign-in for live seminar attendees in Charlottesville begins at 11:30 a.m.
• Q&A will be handled via chat room for Webcast attendees.
• Q&A will be handled via e-mail for telephone seminar attendees.

COURSE SCHEDULE (October 31) (Eastern Time) (PHONE ONLY)

• Q&A will be handled via e-mail for telephone seminar attendees.

FACULTY

Eileen Garczynski, Ames & Gough / McLean
Dennis Quinn, Carr Maloney / Washington, DC

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Eileen Garczynski, Ames & Gough / McLean
Eileen Garczynski is a senior vice president and equity partner of Ames & Gough. She is a lawyer by training and has more than 30 years of risk management and insurance experience. She leads the law firm initiative at Ames & Gough, focusing on the risk management and insurance needs of law firms. She is a Special Liaison to the American Bar Association's (ABA) Standing Committee on Lawyers' Professional Liability, having been a former member of that committee. She is also the former vice chair of the Insurance & Risk Management Committee for the Section of Intellectual Property Law of the ABA. Ms. Garczynski recently authored the second edition of How to Place a Cyber Liability Insurance Policy, as well as a guide on Protecting Law Firms Against Management Liability Threats for the American Bar Association

Dennis Quinn, Carr Maloney / Washington, DC
Dennis Quinn is a partner at Carr Maloney. He concentrates his practice on professional liability, commercial litigation, and ethics counseling. He has successfully represented hundreds of clients in legal malpractice actions, accounting malpractice actions, and ethical complaints, trying cases in most of the state and federal courts in the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland. He served six years on the Virginia State Bar’s Standing Committee on Legal Ethics, three as the Committee’s Chair. Mr. Quinn regularly advises lawyers and law firms on ethical issues, frequently speaking to bar associations and professional groups on ethics, risk management, and the avoidance of malpractice claims and bar complaints.