Services

LITIGATION & RISK MANAGEMENT

I.  LITIGATION

a. General Litigation

Lapping & Picardi’s litigation department is driven by Ralph Picardi’s extensive background as a commercial litigator in Massachusetts.  As set forth in more detail in his personal profile, attached, Mr. Picardi was trained as a commercial litigator at a large Boston law firm in which he became a business litigation partner.  His experience covered defending small, medium and large businesses against claims involving matters of securities, antitrust, intellectual property, minority stockholders, construction, real estate, tax, landlord/tenant, collection and general liability.  Mr. Picardi and his staff continue that general commercial litigation practice at Lapping & Picardi. 

b. Professional Liability

1. Claim Defense

 

Lapping & Picardi serves as local panel counsel in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and the District of Columbia for several professional liability insurance carriers in defense of claims asserted against insured accountants, lawyers, insurance agents, and other professionals.  The Firm’s extensive experience in these defense matters, and ability to defend aggressively when appropriate, enable insurers and insureds to achieve highly favorable results in litigation, disciplinary proceedings, alternative dispute resolution or informal negotiation.   

 

2. Claim Evaluation and Consultation

 

Lapping & Picardi also provides services to assist insurers in evaluating claims that have been reported in jurisdictions across the United States.  The purpose of this service is to assist insurers in determining, promptly upon reporting and before assignment to local panel counsel, whether claims should be settled and at what range, or whether they should be referred to local panel counsel for further proceedings.  In addition, for those claims that are being handled by local panel counsel, the Firm assists insurers in evaluating and giving second opinions on the merits of pending claims and settlement recommendations.   These services are a resource to claim representatives in their efforts to efficiently allocate defense resources to those claims that cannot be resolved favorably, and that are most deserving of a vigorous defense.

 

3. Coverage

 

The Firm also provides nationwide consulting services to insurers on coverage issues, including formal coverage opinions and drafting of reservation of rights and declination of coverage correspondence to insureds. 

4. Third-Party Claim Administration

 

The Firm also has the expertise and capacity to serve as a third-party claims administrator for accountant, lawyer, insurance agent, and other professional programs.  This service would be a valuable resource for those insurers with insufficient claim-handling capacity or experience regarding such professional programs. 

 

5. Assistance in Selection of Panel Defense Counsel

 

The Firm also assists insurers in identifying qualified panel defense counsel throughout the country, and making assignment recommendations based on documentation submitted by proposed counsel and other sources. 

 

II.    LOSS CONTROL/RISK MANAGEMENT

 

a. Hotline Services

 

Insurers have established toll free telephone lines that are directed to the Firm’s  offices.  These hotlines are available to carriers’ insureds to assist them in resolving issues in their practice of a legal nature, in implementing loss control measures, and in identifying incidents that should be reported as claims or potential claims. 

 

It is the Firm’s policy to promptly respond to each call as it is received.  All calls to the hotline can be as anonymous as the caller wishes, i.e., callers need not disclose their names or policy numbers in order to utilize the service.  This feature is designed to encourage insureds to seek early intervention on troublesome issues by eliminating any fears they may have that future underwriting of their policies may be adversely affected by an inquiry.

 

As part of this service, the Firm prepares a monthly log of the calls received.  The monthly log contains the date of the call, the state of its origin, the length of the call and a brief description of the subject matter of the call.  These logs may prove helpful in analyzing the kinds of issues that are of concern to insured professionals, as well as any geographic trends. 

 

One important function of the loss control hotline is identifying reportable incidents, and encouraging insureds to fulfill their obligations under their policies by making formal reports of claims or potential claims.  The other benefit of the loss control hotline is assisting insureds in preventing reportable incidents from occurring in the first place.  This is done by giving basic legal guidance on specific issues which have arisen in the insureds’ practices, and by helping the insureds to institute loss control measures aimed at improving the way they conduct their practices.  Examples of the kinds of guidance provided to insureds are (i) how long to retain workpapers and other client-related files after the engagement is completed; (ii) when, if ever, to sue a client to collect a delinquent fee; (iii) how to terminate a difficult engagement and minimize the risk of a claim; (iv) how to improve engagement letters; (v) how to comply with the Sarbanes- Oxley Act and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley privacy requirements; (vi) how to avoid conflicts of interest in client representations; and (vii) how to respond to subpoenas and other requests by third parties for workpapers and client documents. 

 

Hotline services are not, however, intended as a vehicle for giving specific legal advice to insureds in the various states.  Rather, through these services insureds can obtain a better understanding of certain legal concepts as they bear on their practices.  Whenever an issue presented by an insured on the hotline requires specific legal intervention, the insured is encouraged to either report the matter to the insurer for possible assignment of local legal counsel, or to seek independent legal counsel in the local area for a consultation.  The Firm is careful to explain its limited role and inability to practice law in states where its members are not licensed, when the circumstances of a call would require such an explanation. 

 

b. Risk Management Audits

 

The risk management consultation provided by Lapping & Picardi (L&P) to public accounting and other professional firms is a process with three phases: preliminary investigation based on documents the firm provides, a full-day office visit including interviews with key firm members, and preparation of L&P’s written report. 

 

The documents L&P would need for phase one include:

 

  • A copy of the firm’s most recent insurance application;

  • The firm’s quality control document;

  • A profile of the firm’s management structure;

  • Profiles of firm personnel in management positions (executive committee members, department heads, technical partners, quality control director, etc.);

  •  Examples of engagement letters used in each area of the firm’s practice;

  •  Documents providing background on any claims or reported potential claims experienced by the firm in the past 5 years; and,

  • Any other documents the firm believes are important factors in its quality control program.

The phase two office visit requires a full day at the firm’s main office.  Attorney Picardi would need to meet with firm members in the following, or equivalent, positions:

 

  • Managing partner;

  • Executive Committee Members (or most of them);

  • Department or Practice Area Heads (for larger areas of firm’s practice);

  • Quality Control Director;

  • CPE Coordinator;

  • Office Administrator;

  • In-house counsel, if any;

  • Partners most knowledgeable about any claims experienced by the firm.

 

Depending on the manner in which the firm has structured its offices and its practice, there may be other people Attorney Picardi should speak with, in addition to or instead of those listed above.  Generally, speaking with 6-8 key people over the course of a full day will provide L&P with the information it needs to gain an understanding of the firm’s quality control environment and issues needing attention.  Although it is optimal that Attorney Picardi be able to meet face-to-face with all key firm members during the office visit, he can conduct one or two interviews by telephone if necessary.  In addition, he can speak with any legal counsel (appointed to handle claims) by telephone that day or following the office visit.  Most interviews take one hour or less.    

 

The final phase, being the report, will commence after the office visit.  The timing for completing the report will depend greatly on the complexity of the issues and number of claims the firm has experienced. 

 

The fee for this service is a fixed fee of $5,000.00, which includes all travel expenses and related costs.  L&P will forward an engagement letter in advance of the office visit, which contract creates a privileged attorney-client relationship between L&P and the firm. 

 

c. Publications

Mr. Picardi has written extensively on issues of loss control and professional liability.  His writings have appeared in journals, newsletters and on carriers’ websites.  He has also authored a web-based, continuing education loss control program for accountants.  Mr. Picardi’s most popular publication is his book entitled, The Accountant’s Risk Management Handbook, Mara Press, Inc. (2002).   

 

d. Lectures

Mr. Picardi is a frequent lecturer to accountants and lawyers throughout the United States on issues of loss control and professional liability defense.  His lectures address issues raised daily on loss control hotlines.  The intent is to communicate practical, relevant guidance on matters confronting professionals in their daily practice that bear on their exposure to liability claims.