Effective February 1, 2017
The following is a summary of the key features and requirements of the Insurance Program. This summary is provided solely for the sake of convenience; and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the specific terms and conditions of the Policy and the rules of the Publisher, as in effect from time to time.
Please note that the Publisher does not itself insure any forwarded claim, or otherwise provide any surety for any listed firm. The Policy is provided by a commercial insurer, and the Publisher’s obligations under this program are to forward any claim and its supporting documents to the insurer. The Publisher expressly disclaims any other obligation or liability of any kind. Accordingly, to the extent the insurer denies coverage of a claim, or coverage is otherwise unavailable, a forwarder will not be entitled to look to the Publisher for payment.
This program indemnifies those who forward cases through the Publisher to their members against loss due to fraudulent or dishonest acts by lawyers and not against negligence or any other delinquent misconduct, error of judgment, or breach of contract whatsoever on the part of the attorneys. This insurance program is in the form of a $1 Million fidelity insurance program, and the liability of the law list is limited to claims with respect to which Great American Insurance Co. accepts liability.
Some specifics of this program are as follows:
The insurance program includes coverage against acts of “Theft” as defined in the Policy. The policy covers theft by listed attorneys. The policy does not cover individual employees of listed firms. This is not malpractice insurance.
It covers properly registered cases for 36 months from the date of employment, except that in the event that the listing of an attorney/law firm is terminated for any reason, the coverage period will not exceed 12 months from the date of termination. Proper registration requires each forwarder to send notification to The Publisher within 35 days from the date each referral was made to The Publisher listed law firm (listee) identifying the listee and such additional information as The Publisher may require. In addition, the listee must be notified on each referral that his/her name was selected from The Publisher Compliance with this rule is a condition precedent to coverage under the Policy.
It covers properly registered cases for 36 months, from the date of forwarding. Forwarding notification must be sent to the Publisher within 35 days from the date each referral was made to the Publisher’s listee. In addition, the listed attorney must be notified on each referral that his/her name was selected from The Commercial Bar.
This program covers listees and claims in all 50 states and Canada, but does not provide coverage on foreign attorneys including Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.
Neither the Publisher nor the surety shall be liable for any loss through any attorney or firm of attorneys whose names were not listed in that publication and/or web site at the time of employment. It is incumbent upon the forwarder to consult the latest edition and supplements to the law list or the Publisher’s web site (www.commercialbar.com).
Under the terms of this Insurance Program, the loss shall be calculated as the net sum the forwarder would have received had the remittance been made in due course by the attorney or firm of attorneys after deduction of costs, expenses, fees, and commissions due to the attorney(s). Recovery under this Insurance Program will be 90% of the net loss after a deductible of $250 per legal case.
Suit fees and advanced court costs are covered if it is proven that suit has not been filed. Suit fees and advanced court costs are not covered if it is proven that suit has been filed.
The Publisher and the surety assume no liability for dispute in fee deductions in connection with suit and/or legal fees unless the amount has been specified in advance and agreed to by the forwarder and the receiving attorney in writing.
The forwarder, on becoming aware of any act or acts which may be the basis of a claim under the insurance program shall notify the law list immediately. The forwarder will then have 90 days within which to furnish back-up documentation and a total loss figure to the law list.
If there is a discrepancy on a remittance by a listed attorney, it is incumbent upon the forwarder to submit to the law list for adjustment the attorney’s check and any other pertinent information to the case. Under no circumstances, should the original check be returned to the attorney for adjustment.
No forwarder shall seek bonding coverage with more than one law list on a single item placed with a receiver, nor shall the forwarder indicate bonding coverage with more than one list to the receiver on a single case. Violation of this rule will nullify coverage under this Insurance Program.
The Publisher hopes and expects to continue to offer the protections of its Insurance Program to its forwarders. However, because of changes in coverage instituted from time to time by the Insurance Program underwriters, The Publisher reserves the right to change, modify or terminate the Insurance Program at any time, with or without notice.