By Gretchen Mote, Ohio Bar Liability Insurance Agency
A lawyer may practice as a solo practitioner or in firm. There are choices for the type of business entity for the practice, including: a proprietorship, general partnership, limited liability partnership, legal professional association, corporation, legal clinic, or limited liability company. OfficeKeeper, a practice resource available on the Ohio State Bar Association website, provides information on this in Chapter 1 Opening and Maintaining a Law Practice, I. Business Entities. There is also a helpful business entity comparison chart.
It is important to note that if you practice as part of a legal professional association, corporation, legal clinic, limited liability company, or limited liability partnership, you will need to comply with the requirements of Rule III, Section 4: Financial Responsibility (See Supreme Court Rules for the Government of the Bar of Ohio and Comment [8] of Rule 1.4 of the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct).
Rule 1.4 of the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct says that either a lawyer needs to have legal malpractice insurance (also called lawyers professional liability insurance or LPL coverage), or inform a client that she/he does not have malpractice insurance at the time of the client’s engagement or at any time subsequent to the engagement if the lawyer does not maintain such insurance. (See Ohio Rule of Professional Conduct 1.4).
A lawyer is not required to notify a client that she/he does not maintain professional liability insurance if a lawyer is employed by a governmental entity and renders services pursuant to that employment or a lawyer renders legal services to an entity that employs the lawyer as in-house counsel.
Ohio Bar Liability Insurance Company (OBLIC) offers coverage for in-house counsel as well as policies for lawyers in part-time or full-time private practice. Please contact OBLIC to learn more and to apply for malpractice insurance.
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