Sometimes claims arise because of a lack of attention to detail combined with copying over a document from an old file for use in a new matter.
LPLC has seen this combination when practitioners are preparing leases, section 32 statements, contracts of sale and financial agreements made pursuant to the Family Law Act 1975 (Cwlth).
In one claim a practitioner acted for the ex-husband. The practitioner was instructed to prepare a financial agreement on the basis that the ex-wife had agreed to accept a very small amount of the asset pool.
The practitioner copied a financial agreement from an old file for use in the new matter.
Unfortunately the practitioner failed to replace the first name of the parties in the copied agreement with that of the new parties in numerous places. The most dramatic error was in the solicitors certificates where the first names were wrong.
Not long after the agreement was signed by the parties and their respective solicitors the ex-wife changed her mind and sought to challenge the validity of the agreement. One of the grounds was the wrong names being shown in the agreement.
Ultimately the matter settled with a payment to the ex-wife.
There are a number of things practitioners can do to avoid this sort of claim including:
- only using template precedents where any variables are blank
- not copying over documents from other files
- proof reading
- sending documents to the client in draft and giving sufficient time to read and raise any issues
- audit files to ensure staff are using template precedents
- checking template precedents to ensure they are up to date
