In the event that you believe there might be a circumstance that could give rise to a claim against the firm, regardless of its size or apparent merit, you must notify the General Counsel immediately, we suggest by telephone. Any correspondence intimating a claim, complaint or potential claim must be forwarded to the General Counsel on the same day. This covers any potential claim, complaint, mistake, missed deadline, undertaking issue, client allegation or any other matter that could give rise to a loss.
Prompt notification is essential. The firm's professional indemnity insurance arrangements require claims and circumstances to be reported without delay. Failure to do so may prejudice the firm's position with its insurers, reduce the options available to manage the risk and expose the firm to avoidable loss. If in doubt, report the matter.
Under no circumstances should you make any admission of liability, offer compensation, agree a settlement or otherwise attempt to resolve a potential claim without the express written authority of the General Counsel.
Do not attempt to investigate, resolve or "fix" a potential claim yourself before reporting it. Early reporting enables the firm to assess the risk, take appropriate steps to protect the client and the firm, and, where necessary, comply with its obligations to insurers.
Once you have notified the General Counsel of a claim, the matter will usually be notified to our insurers. Please note that the firm may be conflicted and unable to continue to act. You should not communicate at all with any party suing or threatening to sue the firm without the express written consent of the General Counsel, who is there to protect you and the firm. If it is the client who has intimated any fault on your part, the General Counsel will help you to draft appropriate correspondence as soon as possible.
We may agree that some or all of the matter can continue. However, until you get that express instruction, you must not have any contact with any party intimating that we have been negligent. Thereafter, your contact with such parties should only be as agreed in writing and the General Counsel will, by necessity, continue to have a very close involvement in the matter until the threat of negligence is extinguished. There can be material own interest conflict considerations to consider and failing to do so can be serious professional misconduct. Our ability to fix problems is subject to these duties and firms have found themselves in difficulty with the Regulator for helping the client resolve problems in some cases. The test is not whether we are doing right by the client; there are situations in which we are not allowed to act in any way.
You must bear in mind the warranties in your agreement when you joined. These require you to notify the Director of Operations and Compliance without delay should you become aware of a claim linked to your work at any former firm.