We can offer you support and training to further develop your specialism in professional negligence and liability law and procedure.
The scope of the PNLA lawyer network is far reaching and includes sections for lawyers in the specialists list from related areas of law or practice. For example: Regulatory – risk and compliance, mediators and costs lawyers.
Why join the PNLA?
The PNLA network gains from the richness, diversity and experience from all the lawyers and specialists who join the association. Collective minds working together are needed to tackle the issues faced in this fast developing area of law.
We offer many benefits to PNLA lawyer members.
Which jurisdictions are covered?
PNLA lawyer members cover England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland.
The core aim of the association is to improve the way disputes are resolved. If you are a lawyer who would like to offer your professional negligence services then you are very welcome as a member.
Our PNLA charter in professional negligence
- To provide a network for the exchange of information
- To promote and encourage education and training
- To develop a public voice of claimant professional negligence dispute resolution with increased awareness and media profile
- To leverage our lobbying capacity
- To promote specialist dispute resolution skills in disputes between claimants (individuals and businesses) and their professional advisers arising because of negligent or inadequate service and advice
How has the PNLA made a difference?
The PNLA has been involved in developing the process for professional negligence claims, and, to date, we have:
- Engaged in consultations with Lord Justice Jackson, and we took part in the political debates leading to the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO), which radically changed the litigation funding available to claimants in professional negligence claims.
- The PNLA instigated the Adjudication Pilot Group in April 2013 formed by the Master of the Rolls (Lord Dyson) and the Lord Chancellor (Chris Grayling MP). This pilot group was initially chaired by Mr Justice Ramsey and then later by Mrs Justice Carr and Mr Justice Fraser. Group members came from the Association of British Insurers (their professional indemnity group), RPC as a representative insurer panel firm and the Professional Negligence Bar Association (PNBA).
- The PNLA instigated, advised on, and assisted in the development of the Professional Negligence Pre-Action Protocol, which was amended In May 2018 by the Civil Procedure Rules Committee to include reference to Adjudication in all claim letters. The PNBA Adjudication Scheme was launched later the same year https://pnba.co.uk/pnba-adjudication-scheme/
- The PNLA submitted a briefing to the Commons Justice Select Committee in June 2018 arising from concerns about insolvencies of professional indemnity insurers between 2010 and 2018.
- In September 2018 the PNLA submitted a consultation response to the Ministry of Justice in the LASPO Part 2 Post Implementation Review after a survey of PNLA members and considerable data gathering and analysis.
All of these initiatives began when the PNLA was urged by lawyer members to try and address areas of concern. We are building our name as a powerful body in professional negligence. If you have a concern then we can raise it for you.
Disclaimer: As an association the PNLA will help you search for a Lawyer or Specialist from those listed on this website. We do no more. We do not give advice. We do not vet or in any way accredit the Lawyers or Specialists. We have not verified their qualifications and identity. We accept no legal responsibility or liability for their service to you.
PNLA Member Benefits
- Increase your client base: Our website and telephone helpline attract individuals and businesses looking for expert lawyers. Our lawyer members are listed in the SEARCH button on the Do you need a Lawyer? page, categorised by region and expertise in the type of professionals they have experience in bringing claims against. Their expertise is set out in the two buttons – Claims against Solicitors (with a list areas of law concerned) and Claims against other professionals.We do have lawyer members who do not wish to be listed on our PNLA website. If you are operating within a practice defending professionals and indemnity insurers, or perhaps working for an insurer within the in-house claims team, you can register your services and areas of expertise with the PNLA without making your personal details visible.
- Member login: You can login to your member page and edit/amend your details and expertise, as well as renew your membership fees due annually on 1st September.
- PNLA logo: You can use the PNLA logo in your website and marketing material and add MPNLA after your name.
- Training: The PNLA is the only association to offer dedicated training programmes in professional negligence and liability law and practice. See our Events page for our conference programme. Course discounts are available to all our members.
- PNLA LinkedIn. You are invited to the join the PNLA LinkedIn page to post and message group members. View our page here.
- Help from the PNLA network. We can circulate your requests for guidance and support, for example, assistance with obtaining compensation for a client from the Solicitors Compensation Fund, finding an expert, dealing with a complex area of law.
- News: Members can request the PNLA to post news and articles on the website and we will make announcements about important developments.
- Sponsorship: Contact us for opportunities to sponsor PNLA events and advertise online and to our membership.
- Your judgments: The PNLA will provide a useful platform for you to discuss your professional negligence cases.
- Specialists network: The SEARCH for Specialists enables lawyers and specialists to recommend and access additional resources to save time for experts, mediators, adjudicators, coverage lawyers, risk and compliance lawyers, costs lawyers/draftsmen and more.
- Cross-jurisdictional network: The PNLA has been holding professional negligence conferences in Dublin and Edinburgh, as well as across England & Wales, for many years. The common ground between law and procedure is powerful. The text book ‘bible’ is widely regarded to be Jackson & Powell and the judgments are all available on https://www.bailii.org/
Join
You can join the PNLA as a member by following the steps on this webpage or by contacting Yvonne Fairbrother for further information and membership fees on yvonne.fairbrother@pnla.org.uk.
The management team reserve the right to reject applications for membership and terminate membership in circumstances they consider appropriate. Any monies received will be refunded, in whole or in part, at the discretion of the management team
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