Jim has been involved in the defense of professionals and on occasion prosecuting professional liability claims.  In addition, Jim has advised insurers on insurance coverage for third-party professional liability claims and attendant bad faith claims. Errors and Omissions claims are typically driven by expert opinions as to whether there has been a breach of duty and an assessment of the damages caused by the professional’s alleged errors. The critical components needed for the defense of a professional liability claim are early assessment of the issues that will involve experts, and early evaluation of whether the alleged negligence or breach of duty actually caused damage (and what damage, if any). Early identification and securing of the best experts and consultants to determine the answers to these questions as soon as possible is critical. Waiting until until the end of discovery to involve the expert(s) in analyzing these critical issues disadvantages the client by not having the expert guidance needed to formulate an early overall strategy to either resolve the case or try it. Once again, the trial approach provides the client with the best means to assess liability and damages at the earliest possible time so that the most appropriate strategy can be created. This is Jim’s approach to handle professional liability matters.