Legal Updates for Lawyers’ Professional Liability – September 2025

‘Leveling Up’ the Client Engagement Letter as a Defense Tool

By
Gregory P. Graham

Every new matter provides an opportunity for an attorney to refine their skills. With that, each new engagement offers an opportunity to revise and strengthen provisions that could provide better preventive protection against possible malpractice claims. 

Adjustments to standard provisions in client engagement letters could offer greater clarity as to the scope of the relationship between lawyer and client, the particular services being offered, and the limits to both. This is particularly true for letters being sent to new clients or that focus on a new area of business development.

A thorough client engagement letter includes provisions that: 

  1. define the attorney-client relationship; 
  2. set forth the specific scope of services; 
  3. identify the applicable fees and payment terms; 
  4. address potential conflicts of interest; and 
  5. establish a framework for communication between client and attorney (or client and the attorney’s staff or firm). 

These letters are tailored to a practice area and molded by attorneys’ preferences. Despite the variety in their presentation, due to practice types and purpose, all engagement letters should share one common goal, to set forth clear expectations and boundaries for both the attorney and client as to the engagement. 

But lawyers seeking an opportunity to “level up” their engagement letters should consider the following specific tips to transform their engagement letters from a simple agreement memorializing representation to a defense tool providing a level of protection against potential malpractice claims. 

Key tips to “level up” the engagement letter: 

  1. consider the benefit of both expressly identifying the client and expressly identifying who is not the client; 
  2. provide distinct services—such as the administration of an estate or representation in a particular legal dispute;
  3. consider the benefits of including the final payment framework in the engagement correspondence; and
  4. always note the importance of a disengagement term as a mechanism to wrap up an attorney-client relationship before a malpractice claim arises.

     

Legal Update for Lawyers’ Professional Liability – September 2025 is prepared by Marshall Dennehey to provide information on recent legal developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. We would be pleased to provide such legal assistance as you require on these and other subjects when called upon. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING pursuant to New York RPC 7.1 Copyright © 2025 Marshall Dennehey, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm. For reprints or inquiries, or if you wish to be removed from this mailing list, contact tamontemuro@mdwcg.com.