Compliant or complaint? ATE Insurance, The SRA Standards and Regulations 2019 and the importance of judgment – Episode 1

This eight minute podcast is the first solicitor update for commercial litigators from Temple Legal Protection.

Presented by Matthew Pascall, Senior Underwriting Manager in the Commercial Team at Temple, this podcast is part one of a two-part special report on the 2019 SRA Code of Conduct and its impact on solicitors advising clients on litigation insurance. 

The new SRA code came into force in November 2019; the changes are the most significant regulatory changes in a generation and the professional obligations for solicitors are subtly altered by the changes.

This first part looks at a solicitor’s personal professional responsibility and judgement of their ethical obligations. It then takes a look at separating a solicitors own obligations from those of the law firm. Part 1 finishes with a reminder of a solicitors own professional duties.

The content was prepared in conjunction with specialist professional practice lawyer Paul Bennett from Bennett Briegal LLP, to whom Temple are very grateful for his input and expertise

Before you listen, you may want a quick clarification of terminology.  Litigation insurance used by solicitors is commonly known as After-the-Event or ‘ATE’ insurance. The latter is the technically correct term but law firm clients may better understand ‘Litigation Insurance’. We would encourage solicitors to use the same in order to enhance the understanding of what is available to their clients.

In Part Two there is a look at the practical impact on solicitors advising clients, an alternative to telling clients if you can’t provide a personal recommendation, a brief introduction to working with Temple and six things you should consider for the future when advising on litigation insurance.