Lawcovernotes March 2017

Information for NewLawPractices All legal practitioners practising as principals of a law practice (unsupervised) inNew South Wales are required to hold or be covered by professional indemnity insurance (PII) pursuant to section 45 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW). Insurable solicitors in the Australian Capital Territory are required to hold an approved professional indemnity policy under section 311 of the Legal ProfessionAct 2006 (ACT). Lawcover is responsible for arranging PII on behalf of NSW solicitors and is an approved professional indemnity insurer for ACT solicitors. Lawcover provides law practices with cover of up to $2m for each claim under a policy underwritten by Lawcover Insurance. PII policies are issued to law practices, not individual solicitors. All new law practices in NSW and ACT must take out a PII policy. Lawcover determines the premium, issues your PII policy, manages claims and provides practice support services. The Lawcover PII policy sets out the extent of cover and contains certain conditions and exclusions. How to set up a new law practice NSW If you are establishing a new law practice in NSW, you must first contact the LawSociety of NSWRegistry on (02) 9926 0156 or registry@lawsociety.com. au to register your information. ^ ^ In NSW, all principals of a lawpractice must hold a practising certificate issued to a Principal of a law practice (unsupervised). ^ ^ Once you have completed all the Registry’s requirements and your new lawpractice has been registered, the Registry will advise Lawcover of your new practice’s details, including its commencement date. ^ ^ Lawcover will then send you an information pack, which contains full details of how to arrange your PII. We will also provide you with login details to our Online Services, where you can complete your law practice’s insurance application. ACT ^ ^ If you are establishing a new law practice in the ACT, you must first contact the ACT Law Society to register your information. ^ ^ You can then contact our Insurance Services team at insuranceservices@lawcover. com.au or 1800 650 748 in order to arrange for an information pack to be sent to you. This pack contains full details of how to arrange your PII. ^ ^ We will provide you with login details to our Online Services, where you can complete your law practice’s insurance application. What is a new law practice? New law practices require a new insurance policy and need to pay a premium. Lawcover defines a ‘new law practice’ as: ^ ^ A new sole practice that is not a reconstitution of an existing practice ^ ^ A new partnership that is not a reconstitution of an existing practice ^ ^ A new incorporated legal practice that is not a reconstitution of an existing practice or ^ ^ A new unincorporated legal practice that is not a reconstitution of an existing practice. If the new law practice is not a continuation of an existing practice that has paid its premium (see “Law Practices with a Prior Practice” accessible at our website ) , then it may not need to pay an additional premium. Lawcover will confirm this to you if applicable. 14.