On INSURANCE
January 04, 2008
Northern California ABTL REPORT
Summer 2007
by Mary McCutcheon
Lawyers may assume that a carefully drafted engagement letter protects them from liability arising out of matters outside the scope of the defined engagement. Such an assumption, however, may be ill-founded when it comes to failing to advise the client on insurance issues relating to the core engagement. A recent New York case held that a law firm's obligation to defend a lawsuit may include a duty to advise the client on insurance issues, even if such an obligation falls outside the scope of the engagement letter. Shaya B. Pacific, LLC v. Wilson, Elser, Moscowitz, Edelman and Dicker, LLP, 827 N.Y.S.2d 231 (2006).
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