Negligence claims against lawyers and insurance coverage in Zambia

Abstract

This Essay set out to discover the underlying causes of negligence claims against Zambian lawyers and the extent of insurance coverage. The Essay also looks at the legal framework tasked to deal with such claims as well as the judicial responses to such claims. In so doing, an appreciation of the extent to which such safeguards have operated so far was made. This research was both qualitative and quantitative; as such both primary and secondary sources of data such interviews, books, journals and scholarly materials were employed. It was brought to the writer's attention that the underlying cause of such claims is failure by the lawyers themselves at the outset to set up a proper relationship with the client, which entails explaining to the client what he is to do and what is expected of the client throughout the engagement. In this regard, it was recommended that continuous professional development (CPD) programmes such as those offered by a company known as Jurispractice should continue to be offered to ensure that Zambian lawyers obtain more skills on how to deal with client interface throughout their years at the bar. It is opined that the legal framework tasked to deal with the problem of negligence though reasonably effective; more can be done such as inclusion in the laws an express power on the courts to make wasted costs orders against negligent lawyers. The paper also recommends that indemnity policies should be mandatory by inclusion of such an obligation in the Practice Rules, given that lawyers will inevitably be faced with negligence suits at some point in their carrier.