Claims for negligence

If you believe that a lawyer has made a mistake that has caused you a financial loss, you should contact the lawyer and ask them to report the matter to us. As their indemnitor, we require lawyers to report claims and potential claims to us, and we do not take reports from members of the public. Contact information for lawyers is available in the Law Society’s Member Directory.

In your communication to the lawyer, you may explain what you hired them to do, what they did wrong, when this happened, and how that mistake caused you a loss. This will enable us to understand why you think the lawyer was negligent and the loss you feel you have suffered.

There are time limitations that start to run as soon as you know or should have known that the lawyer made a mistake that has caused a loss or will cause a loss to you. If you fail to act promptly, you may not be able to get compensation for the lawyer’s mistake.

We cannot give you legal advice about how to deal with your matter or how to make your claim against the lawyer. If there is coverage under the indemnity policy, we act for the lawyer. Even in clear cases where the lawyer has made a mistake, you must act reasonably to protect yourself by minimizing your loss and not making the problem worse.

We urge you to get legal advice and information. The Law Society has a list of legal resources for the public.

Sometimes it is clear that the lawyer has made a negligent mistake, the mistake has caused a loss, and the amount of the loss can be readily calculated. In these circumstances, we will try to settle your claim.

If we do not agree that there was an error or that the error caused a loss to you, or if we cannot reach an agreement with you about the amount of any settlement, you may have to sue the lawyer and establish your claim in court.