First-Time Buyer’s Guide: California Legal Malpractice Insurance

If you are a law student, a recently admitted lawyer, a lawyer leaving an in house or government post or leaving a position in big law, you are most likely shopping the market for legal malpractice insurance for the first time. Legal malpractice insurance is considerably different from other insurance products you may have purchased in the past, such as automobile coverage.

This Guide highlights why you should consider having legal malpractice insurance, the purpose of such coverage, key considerations in selecting the insurance company that will protect you and your clients, and several important terms critical to a thoughtful and careful decision. Before we get to these topics, we expect you are wondering about the cost of this coverage.

While there are numerous variables that go into the pricing of legal malpractice coverage, sole practitioners in California who have been admitted less than 36 months can get coverage from an ‘A’ rated, admitted carrier for a premium as low as $500 their first policy year 1.