Professional Indemnity

Our lawyers have considerable expertise in handling a wide range of claims against professionals in the financial and legal sectors.
We provide clients with a clear assessment of a claim at an early stage and agree a strategy for an effective resolution of the matter. In some cases that may involve seeking an appropriate settlement, through some form of ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution). In others, the case should and will be strongly defended. In all cases, we work closely with, as appropriate, our professional client, its insurers and brokers, to ensure that all parties are involved in the process of defending the claim effectively. We also provide early costs and reserving figures to allow clients to understand the potential impact of the claim against the professional.

Key professions include:
Independent Financial Advisers
We defend IFAs in all claims arising out of their professional business, including protection policies, retirement planning, investment and savings advice and mortgage products. We assist IFAs with risk management generally, including reviewing advice processes and case audits, particularly around advice relating to transfers out of Defined Benefit pension schemes. We have considerable expertise of drafting submissions to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) on a wide variety of complaints and, in particular, challenging FOS’s jurisdiction with the aim of disposing of FOS referrals at the outset.

Solicitors
We represent firms of solicitors ranging from sole practitioners to multi-office practices, in claims across the whole spectrum of legal advice, including mishandled litigation and transactional advice, wills, trusts and probate, conveyancing (including ground rent, SDLT and MDR issues) and family and matrimonial advice. We regularly deal with cases involving fraud, as well as cyber attacks and data breaches.

Insurance Brokers
We regularly act for Insurance Brokers who are subject to claims, in particular from Policyholders whose policies have not provided the anticipated indemnity. Our experience covers the full range of commercial and domestic policies and advising on a wide variety of alleged negligent acts, from the failure to ensure a fair presentation of the risk, or adequately to explain policy terms and conditions, to unsuitable notification advice and inadequate insurer due diligence.

Accountants
We defend accountants against a wide range of claims, relating to tax advice (including tax mitigation schemes), the preparation of accounts, company valuations and audits and alleged failures to uncover fraudulent activities in a business. We also assist firms that have been subject to fraud and cyber attacks.