A lawyer who provides service to his client must possess necessary skill and knowledge, which is possessed by the other lawyers who are in practice. Legal malpractice can be termed as breach of duty, which includes unethical conduct of a professional attorney or providing service to the client out of negligence, resulting in harm or injury to the client. Even breach of contracts signed by an attorney can encourage the client to file a lawsuit against him. The lawyers or attorneys cannot practice forever with an assumption that they will not be sued for malpractice. Hence purchasing legal malpractice insurance will prevent a lawyer from bankruptcy in case a lawsuit is filed against him/her. Negligence of duty by an attorney will lead to loss of license, disqualification and financial loss.

Every year at least one attorney is sued for malpractice. Hence it has become essential for professionals like attorneys to buy legal malpractice insurance. Due to the attorney's malpractice both the client as well as the attorney faces damages. When a client files a lawsuit against his /her attorney for any reasons such as negligence, breach of contract or breach of duty, it is mandatory to prove few essential factors in order to win the case. First and foremost, the plaintiff or the client needs to prove that a duty of care was owed by the respective attorney /defendant. The other point to be put forth is that the attorney failed to follow the terms and conditions mentioned in the contract or breached the duty, which he owed to you. The result of this caused damage or injury.

The cost of malpractice insurance has increased rapidly during recent times because of the fact that any experienced lawyer can get sued for negligence of duty or breach of contract during his career. The premium for legal malpractice insurance varies based on the claim history of a lawyer. A lawyer who has had lawsuits filed against him previously will pay higher premium when compared to the lawyers who have never been sued for malpractice. The geographic location where the attorney practices also plays an important role in determining the rate of premium. Some bar associations provide discounts to its members. An attorney employed by a huge firm will have to pay a cheaper rate of premium than the one who carries out his practice in private.

A lawyer can get sued when he fails to perform his duty properly whereas in normal circumstances an average attorney with the desired skill and knowledge would exercise his duty properly. Mistakes caused due to negligence will bring financial loss or there is a possibility of the client even losing his case due to the negligent errors made by the attorney in charge. Failure to file documents or improper advice denotes negligent errors. If the lawyer gets sued due to this not only does he lose his reputation but he is also bound to pay hundreds and thousands of dollars as compensation to his client in the event where the case is not in his favor. Thus legal malpractice insurance can cover the financial loss to some extent.