Professional Liability Matters

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January 13, 2015 • Employment Practices Liability, Professional Liability Matters

Company Wellness Programs: More To Love or The Biggest Loser?

Reportedly nearly 2/3 of us resolve each new year to improve our fitness level (yet ¾ of us don’t achieve that goal). Maybe our employers can help? Employers are beginning to offer financial incentives to workers who take part in wellness programs that include screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol and body mass index. But, these programs are under scrutiny by the EEOC, which recently filed suit targeting wellness programs deemed involuntary. The lawsuits bring into focus what seem consider an inconsistency between the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”).

January 7, 2015 • Law Practice Management, Professional Liability Matters

My Colleague’s Keeper: Duties of Subordinate Attorneys

Our prior posts in this three part series have explored the benefits of the law firm structure and the responsibilities of supervising attorneys at a firm. In the conclusion of this series, we turn to another integral part of a law firm’s structure: subordinate attorneys and their duties and responsibilities with regard to taking directives from supervisors when ethical questions are implicated.

January 6, 2015 • Professional Liability Matters, Risk Management

No Merit for Outsiders

Many states have enacted some version of an “affidavit of merit” (AOM) requirement for professional malpractice claims. We’ve blogged in the past about the significance of affidavit of merit requirements, including the potential advantages from a defense perspective when a plaintiff fails to comply with the applicable state statute. Professionals involved in malpractice suits will want to take note of a recent decision by a New Jersey appeals court, which addressed the state’s affidavit of merit statute and limited affidavits of merit to the same professional field at issue.

December 30, 2014 • Employment Practices Liability, Professional Liability Matters

What is Work? New Definitions for the New Year

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), employees are entitled to compensation for “hours worked.” However, what is considered compensable work time is a contentious topic for many employers. A recent decision by the Supreme Court is likely to help clarify the test for compensable work under the FLSA and effectively end much of the current litigation faced by employers surrounding back wages and overtime pay. This month, in a rare unanimous decision, the Supreme Court held that employees’ time spent waiting for and undergoing security screenings is not compensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

December 23, 2014 • Cyber-Liability, Professional Liability Matters

Lessons from Sony: Cyber Attack

Sony Pictures recently became the target of a sophisticated and debilitating digital attack. The first signs of the hack appeared in late November, when an image of a skull flashed on every employee’s computer screen accompanied by a threatening message that the company’s internal data had been compromised. The company initially experienced a shutdown of many of its computers. In the following days, the hackers began to leak private company data. Five Sony films, including four unreleased projects were leaked online, along with compensation information for the top seventeen Sony executives and social security information for more than 6,000 current and former employees. In addition, countless confidential email exchanges were exposed to the public. One month on, Sony continues to suffer fallout from the attack, including the suspension of several film projects due to the inability to process payments, and a decision earlier this week to cancel the release of the upcoming comedy The Interview.

December 18, 2014 • Law Practice Management, Professional Liability Matters

My Colleague’s Keeper – Benefits & Pitfalls of Law Firm Structures (Part II)

Monitoring Matters: In the first portion of this series, we examined how a recent New Jersey case highlighted the benefits of the law firm structure. Next we explore the risks, and responsibilities, of a supervising attorney at a law firm. Often, a good team is the most critical component of producing excellent services. A well-trained, productive, and properly supervised staff is undoubtedly an asset, but delegating to your team can present its own challenges. With this in mind, it is important for any attorney with supervisory capacity to keep a close eye on co-workers for, under the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, the attorney remains liable for the ultimate work product.

December 17, 2014 • Employment Practices Liability, Professional Liability Matters

NLRB: Limiting Limits on Employee E-mails

If you frequent Professional Liability Matters than you’ve heard us rant about the importance of up-to-date computer use policies. An employee’s use of workplace computers and other company provided devices may trigger employer liability. As a result, employers must be careful to tailor policies that protect the employer but don’t go too far. It may be tempting for an employer to consider an outright ban of non-work related e-mail use by employees. Tempting, maybe, but improper according to the NLRB. The NLRB’s recent decision very well could have major implications on an employer’s right to restrict employee e-mail communications.

December 15, 2014 • General, Professional Liability Matters

New Reinsurance Deskbook from Thomson Reuters and DRI Features Thomas Segalla as Editor, Seven Goldberg Segalla Contributors

Goldberg Segalla founding partner Thomas F. Segalla led the team of lawyers who wrote the inaugural edition of the Reinsurance Professional’s Deskbook: A Practical Guide, a new treatise co-produced by leading legal publisher Thomson Reuters and DRI – The Voice of the Defense Bar, the largest organization of defense lawyers in the country.

December 11, 2014 • Advertising, Ethics, Professional Liability Matters

Advertising Via Text is :(

We work in a competitive environment in which professionals seek various methods to reach would-be clients. Social media and other electronic resources may help professionals to connect and establish the brand. But, your friends at PL Matters routinely warn of the risks of new marketing methods that may infringe upon applicable ethics rules. A New York law firm recently learned that unsolicited text messaging may constitute improper advertising.

December 10, 2014 • Law Practice Management, Professional Liability Matters

My Colleague’s Keeper – Benefits & Pitfalls of Law Firm Structures

There are many benefits to working in a professional firm including the ability to collaborate and seek support from colleagues. Teamwork amongst colleagues may improve efficiency, innovation, flexibility and branding. But, through the doctrine of vicarious liability, a professional may be liable for her colleague’s conduct in certain situations. There are various corporate models intended in part at protecting an individual for corporate (mis)conduct. But these models are not bulletproof. A recent New Jersey decision emphasizes the double-edged nature of practice in a professional corporation in the context of a multi-attorney law firm. In light of this case, we took a closer look at the benefits and risks of attorney partnerships.