< Back
Dealing with Perplexing Practice Problems
Post on March 3rd, 2022

Lawyers often face perplexing practice problems. OBLIC has resources to help. Give us a call if you face any of these problems:

If you received a grievance from the local bar grievance committee or a letter of inquiry from the Office of Disciplinary Counsel:

  • You may think the complaint is meritless and will be quickly resolved when you give your side of the story. However, disciplinary investigations often become more complex than anticipated. When your reputation and career are at stake, you should engage an attorney experienced in the disciplinary process to represent you. Your OBLIC policy provides limited legal fee and expense coverage for disciplinary actions of up to $5,000 per policy period and an additional $15,000 if a formal complaint is filed.

If you were served with a subpoena regarding your representation of a client:

  • There are a number of potential ethics potholes for an unprepared lawyer to stumble into when responding to a subpoena. The lawyer’s subpoena response could also exacerbate the damage caused by an error that the lawyer committed when representing the client. With prior approval, OBLIC will provide assistance in responding to subpoenas directed to an insured prior to a claim being made against you.

If you think you have a potential conflict of interest:

  • Determining whether there is a conflict of interest and how to address it, can be time consuming. These dilemmas are a great use of the one-hour complimentary ethics consult OBLIC  provides for each insured attorney every policy period. They are easy to schedule and provided at no cost to you.

If your computer was hacked:

  • When your firm has been victimized by a cyber-attack, hopefully you will be prepared to jump into action by implementing your firm’s incident response plan. Remember that your Cyber Endorsement provides coverage for losses such as privacy breach response costs, notification expenses and other costs related to a cyber breach. Coverage is also included for cyber extortion and income loss and interruption expenses.

If you face any of these situations, please give us a call so we can assist you before the problems spiral out of control. We’re here to help!

Gretchen Mote, Esq
Director of Loss Prevention
Ohio Bar Liability Insurance Co.
Direct:  614-572-0620
Email: [email protected]
Monica Waller, Esq.
Senior Loss Prevention Counsel
Ohio Bar Liability Insurance Co.
Direct:  614-859-2978
Email: [email protected]