What insurance do I need as a freelance litigation solicitor?
“I'm considering practising as a freelance solicitor providing litigation services. I understand the SRA requires me to have adequate and appropriate indemnity insurance, but I'm not required to have professional indemnity insurance (PII cover), subject to the SRA’s minimum terms and conditions. Am I obliged to inform my clients of this?”
Freelance solicitors carrying out any aspect of reserved legal services that includes litigation must obtain what the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has referred to as "adequate and appropriate" PII cover in respect of the services they are providing or have provided.
This obligation applies to all their legal services to clients, whether reserved or not.
However, under rule 4.3 of the SRA Transparency Rules, all freelance solicitors – whether or not they provide reserved legal activities – will need to expressly inform clients that they will not be covered by PII subject to the SRA's minimum terms and conditions, but that alternative insurance arrangements are in place if this is the case.
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Disclaimer
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this article, it does not constitute legal advice and cannot be relied upon as such.
The Law Society does not accept any responsibility for liabilities arising as a result of reliance upon the information given.
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