EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants Reports First Rise in Legal Malpractice Claims in Five Years
EPIC Law Firm Group survey links uptick to economic pressure, AI disruption and growing cyber exposure across major insurers
EPIC Law Firm Group, a practice within EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants (“EPIC”), a national insurance brokerage and consulting firm providing specialized services and products across select industries, today released its 16th Annual Lawyers’ Professional Liability Claims Survey, which indicates that as law firms strive to sustain and grow their businesses, they must constantly navigate challenges of lateral movement, cyber threats, artificial intelligence (AI) and fraud.
The survey reflects the experience of senior claims executives at thirteen leading Lawyers’ Professional Liability insurers that collectively provide insurance to more than 80% of the Am Law 200 firms.
“After five years of relative stability, we are seeing a clear inflection point,” said Eileen Garczynski, Esq., a principal of EPIC Law Firm Group and author of the survey. “Legal malpractice claims frequency is rising again, and severity continues to accelerate, driven by economic pressure, increasingly complex work, and new risk vectors, like AI, that law firms are still learning to manage.” Notably, eight of the 13 insurers polled reported higher claim frequency year over year, alongside continued growth in large-loss claims, including matters reserved or paid in excess of $100 million.
