Professional Liability Defense

We have a team of lawyers experienced in the defense of attorneys, accountants, brokers and other professionals in professional liability claims. We handle all types of professional liability claims ranging from disputes involving complex financial transactions to those arising from simple real estate matters. Our legal malpractice defense group draws on the expertise of the firm’s many practice areas to efficiently defend attorneys in disputes stemming from litigation, real estate, matrimonial, corporate and trusts and estates matters. We have been extremely successful in eliminating or reducing our clients' exposure.

Riker Danzig’s legal malpractice work includes the defense of attorneys in both litigation and transactional matters, ranging from the representation of solo practitioners to large national law firms. The underlying transactional matters include loan transactions, estate matters, corporate takeovers or reorganizations, real estate matters, and a variety of other roles undertaken by attorneys. We also represent numerous attorneys and law firms in connection with failed commercial and residential real estate transactions, typically involving several millions of dollars. These cases may involve the attorney's review of contracts, title work, land use applications, due diligence, or a host of other alleged improprieties. We work closely with our clients, our specially chosen experts, and our own real estate department to present a compelling and often successful defense of these claims.

In addition to our representation of transactional attorneys, we defend attorneys who are sued based on their representation of a client in litigation. These cases require not only a defense of the litigation strategy undertaken by the attorney, but also require a defense of the "case-within-a-case" to determine whether the lawyer's client would have been successful in the underlying litigation had a different strategy been employed. We use our vast experience to assess and resolve these cases in the most cost-effective and efficient way possible.

Our legal malpractice defense work grew through the synergy between our firm’s litigation group and our diverse and long-standing insurance practice. We serve as the primary legal malpractice defense firm for the Harleysville Insurance Companies and have been assigned to defend attorneys by Mutual Marine Office, Inc., Target Capital and Monitor Liability Managers, Inc. In addition, we represent many other clients in the insurance industry, including: Alea London Limited, Alea North America, American Guarantee and Liability Insurance Company, American Centennial Insurance Company, American Income Life Insurance Company, American International Management Association, Assurance Company of America, Brittany Insurance Company, Camomile Underwriting Agencies Limited, Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, CIGNA, Compagnie D’Assurances, Maritimes Aeriennes et Terrestres S.A., Compagnie Europeenne D’Assurances Industrielles s.a., Continental Insurance Company, The Copenhagen Reinsurance Company (UK) Limited, Crum & Foster Insurance Group, Delta Lloyd Insurance Company Limited, Diamond State Insurance Company, Dukes Place Holdings, L.P., Enstar Group Limited, Enstar (EU) Limited, Enstar US Inc., Excess Insurance Company Limited, Fairmont Specialty Insurance Company, (f/k/a Ranger Insurance Company), GLOBAL Reinsurance Corp. of America, Gotham Insurance Company, Greenwich Street Capital Partners II, :L.P, Greenwich Street Investments II, L.L.C.., Harleysville Mutual Insurance Company, Harleysville Insurance Company of New Jersey, Harleysville Insurance Company of New York, Harleysville Worcester Insurance Company, Harper Insurance Limited (f/k/a Turegum Insurance Company), Highlands Insurance Group, Inc., High Point Insurance Company, Hudson Reinsurance Company Limited, Mitsui Sumitomo Marine Management (USA), Inc., National Casualty Company, National Casualty Company of America Limited, New York Marine & General Insurance Company, North River Insurance Company, Penn-America Insurance Company, PMA Insurance Group, Proformance Insurance Company, Prudential of America Group, River Thames Insurance Company Limited, The Riverstone Group, Seaton Insurance Company, Selective Insurance Company of America, Selective Way Insurance Company, Southeastern Asset Management, Inc., Steadfast Insurance Company, Stonewall Insurance Company, Stronghold Insurance Company Limited, TIG Insurance Company, Toa Reinsurance Company of America, Unionamerica Insurance Company Limited, United National Insurance Company , United States Fire Insurance Company, Universal Underwriters Insurance Company, Zurich American Insurance Company.

A number of our attorneys have been involved in the representation of accounting professionals, and we bring a great deal of experience to the understanding of accounting-related disputes.