Retiring from Practice

Looking for definitions of terms?

I am planning to retire in January of next year. I have recently received notice to renew my coverage. Should I file my renewal application?

If you plan to retire effective January 1, you should complete an Application for Exemption, not an insurance renewal application. However, if your retirement will be effective part-way through the policy year (i.e., any date subsequent to January 1), please complete and file the Application Form.

Notify LAWPRO in writing or via e-mail ([email protected]) about your pending retirement. You will be reimbursed any insurance premiums prorated to the actual date of your retirement, subject to a minimum two-month premium and limited to the 30-day period immediately preceding LAWPRO’s receipt of your written notice. For those carrying the Real Estate Practice Coverage option, we are not able to backdate for this 30-day period.

I am retiring from the active practice of law and am thinking about purchasing additional insurance when I retire. How do I do that?

When on exemption you are provided with Run-Off coverage of $250,000 per claim and in the aggregate for free, subject to a $5,000 deductible per claim. This Run-Off coverage is not reinstated annually, but rather is a one-time limit.

You may apply to increase your Run-Off coverage limits. For further details, refer to the Retired lawyers, estate trustees, judges, in-house counsel, government lawyers and others no longer in private practice booklet which provides more information as well as answers to questions about exposures that may arise out of your past practice.

For a no-obligation estimate, please complete and submit an Application to Increase Run-Off coverage. Please note that this additional limit protection only comes into effect a minimum of 60 days following receipt of your written confirmation to purchase this coverage.

Do I need to continue to carry coverage if I may be called to provide expert testimony on after retirement?

In our view, providing expert opinions on law-related matters is in fact the practice of law, so you would be required to maintain your practice coverage when providing such an opinion. If you were to provide such an opinion before your retirement and were only to provide expert testimony on such opinion after retirement, however, there would be no requirement that you maintain the practice coverage when providing testimony.

Of course, nothing is ever quite so simple. If you are asked to update, amend or provide supplemental opinions or comments, or are asked as a witness to expand on your opinion, this would constitute professional services, so practice coverage would need to be put in place during that period of time.