Lawyers need liability insurance – even without third-party orders

If a lawyer terminates the professional liability insurance, the license to work as a lawyer must be revoked according to Section 14 Paragraph 2 No. 9 BROO. This also applies if he or she does not handle outside orders or has no income. After all, the person can theoretically accept orders again at any time, according to the Bavarian AGH (decision June 19, 2024, case number BayAGH I-1-6/21).

A now 73-year-old lawyer canceled his professional liability insurance in 2020 because he thought he no longer needed it. In the end, it only does its own operations and no longer processes third-party orders. He also does not earn any income from his work. So there is no risk for customers. However, the Nuremberg Bar Association saw things differently and revoked his license to practice law. The lawyer at the time filed a lawsuit against this, but later announced that the main case had been settled. This meant that only a decision on procedural costs and a request for legal aid, which was submitted later, was unnecessary.

Without liability insurance, your license to practice law can be revoked

The AGH, which was involved in the case, decided against the former lawyer in this regard, so that he must now bear all the procedural costs himself. The trial had no prospect of success from the start.

According to Section 14 Paragraph 2 No. 9 BRAO, the license to practice law had to be revoked because the lawyer did not maintain the required professional liability insurance (Section 51 BRAO). This legal outcome is neither unreasonable nor constitutionally unreasonable. The obligation to maintain liability insurance always exists regardless of whether and to what extent the lawyer practices the profession – a license alone is sufficient.

An exception to the rule of Section 14 Paragraph 4 Sentence 2 BRAO cannot be considered – ie in special cases where there is no risk to the clients. In particular, it is irrelevant whether and to what extent the profession of lawyer is used. The very idea that we do not look for orders from outside is not enough. Especially since this does not rule out the possibility that he could have resumed accepting orders from outside at any time.