Solicitors

Multi-Party Cases

RCB personnel have extensive experience in multi-party litigation from derivative and class actions to regulatory enquiries with parallel court proceedings against a number of parties. Cost management and protection in these cases is the firm’s speciality.

Cost Protection

If proceedings are issued, then RCB will advise on the best commercial and cost-effective tactics to resolution. If a commercial resolution cannot be reached then we have considerable experience in advising on appropriate steps to obtain maximum cost protection, where applicable, whilst preparing for trial. We are also able to advise on, and have a proven track record in, taking appropriate steps to support an application for indemnity costs where cases are unnecessarily and unreasonably pursued to trial.

MTC’s

We advise Insurers on the complex questions of coverage and wording. In doing so we recognise that continuity is important in business relationships. Our Senior Member Partner, Steven Reynolds, is a member of The Law Society’s Professional Indemnity Committee which provides greater scope for us to consult and have an impact on proposed changes.

RCB will negotiate the commercial outcome desired by both parties. Our experience includes advising on:

• The scope and exclusion of insurance cover.
• Successor Practice issues.
• Additional Premium arising from run-off cover.
• Determination of when and if a run-off period has incepted.
• Aggregation and excess disputes.
• Underwriters’ remedies for Insured’s breach of policy terms, non-disclosure, late notification, dishonesty or fraudulent acts or omissions.
• The quality, suitability, assessment and drafting of Proposal Forms and Policy Wordings.

Our team’s strong knowledge and interpretation of the SRA MTCs of Professional Indemnity Insurance and commercial sense combine to provide cost effective and tactical advice to Insurers on the benefits or otherwise of pursuing coverage points.

Instructions from Excess Layer Insurers

We also accept instructions on behalf of excess layer insurers to protect their position and investigate the defence advanced by primary layer Insurers and the extent to which a claim may impact on their layer.

Solicitors Risk Management

RCB separately offers risk management advice to Insurers. The everchanging solicitors market means that there are new claims patterns continuously emerging. We advise Insurers on trends and triangulations to assist in assessment of profitability of solicitors’ books and forecast areas of potential claims and quote accordingly.

Solicitor to Solicitor TPA Work

The firm provides TPA assistance to a number of solicitor Insurer schemes. Historically our solicitors have all gained experience claims handling and we consider them to be solicitor adjusters which informs our ability to provide commercial advice for the early cost-effective settlement of claims. Find out more about our TPA offering here.