When a client, customer, or regulator claims that a professional failed to meet the standard of their field, the consequences reach well beyond a single lawsuit. A professional liability claim puts a license, a reputation, and the future of a practice at risk, often while an insurer, a licensing board, and opposing counsel are all applying pressure at once. Professionals in that position need defense counsel who can manage the litigation and the collateral exposure together.
Callahan & Blaine, PC defends professionals and their firms throughout Orange County and Southern California against professional liability and errors and omissions claims. The firm has tried complex civil cases since 1984, and that trial record shapes how it defends these matters, because a claim that is prepared for trial from the first day is the claim that resolves on the best terms. To see how this work fits within the firm’s broader courtroom practice, explore our civil litigation practice areas.
What Professional Liability Litigation Involves
Professional liability, also described as errors and omissions or professional negligence, arises when someone who relied on a professional’s services alleges that the professional breached the standard of care that governs their field and caused financial or other harm as a result. Each profession is measured against its own standard, set by statute, licensing regulations, and the customary practices of the field, so defending these claims requires counsel who can establish what the standard actually required and show that the professional met it.
These cases frequently proceed on more than one front at the same time. A civil lawsuit may run alongside a licensing board investigation, an insurance coverage dispute, and, in regulated industries, an inquiry from a state or federal agency. Our attorneys defend the underlying claim while coordinating the related exposures, so that a resolution in one forum does not create a problem in another.
Professionals We Defend
Our attorneys defend individual practitioners, partnerships, and professional corporations across the fields where liability claims are most common. The professionals we represent include the following.
- Attorneys and law firms facing legal malpractice claims
- Accountants, auditors, and certified public accountants
- Financial advisors, investment professionals, and securities brokers
- Insurance agents and brokers facing errors and omissions claims
- Real estate agents, brokers, and appraisers
- Architects, engineers, and other design professionals
- Directors and officers facing claims arising from their corporate roles
Claims Against Licensed Professionals
Defense of professional negligence and malpractice claims brought by clients, customers, or third parties who allege that a professional’s advice, service, or work product fell below the accepted standard of the field.
Licensing and Regulatory Defense
Representation before state licensing boards and regulatory agencies in disciplinary proceedings, investigations, and enforcement actions that often accompany a civil professional liability claim.
Coverage and Insurer Coordination
Work with professional liability and errors and omissions carriers on coverage questions, reservation of rights issues, and the defense strategy, drawing on the firm’s insurance litigation experience.
Legal Malpractice and Attorney Liability Defense
Lawyers and law firms face malpractice exposure from missed deadlines, alleged conflicts of interest, disputed strategic decisions, fee disputes, and questions of professional responsibility. Defending these claims calls for counsel who understand both the underlying matter and the ethical rules that govern the profession, because the standard of care for an attorney is measured against those rules and the customary practice of the bar. Our attorneys defend lawyers and firms against legal malpractice claims and represent them in the disciplinary and professional responsibility proceedings that sometimes follow, presenting the reasoning behind the challenged decision rather than allowing hindsight to define the standard.
Accounting, Financial, and Securities Professional Defense
Accountants, auditors, financial advisors, and securities professionals operate under detailed professional standards and heavy regulatory oversight, and claims against them frequently pair a civil suit with a regulatory inquiry. We defend certified public accountants and accounting firms against professional negligence and audit liability claims, and we represent financial advisors, investment professionals, and securities brokers in disputes with clients and in proceedings before regulators. Because these matters often turn on complex financial evidence, our trial preparation focuses early on the documentary record and the standard of care that actually applied at the time of the work.
Design Professional and Real Estate Liability Defense
Architects, engineers, and other design professionals carry substantial exposure because their work affects the safety and value of what is built, and claims against them often arise years after a project is complete. We defend design professionals against claims of design defects, code and specification disputes, and alleged failures in project oversight, and we represent real estate agents, brokers, and appraisers in disputes over disclosures, valuations, and the duties they owe in a transaction. California’s licensing framework for these professions is administered by the state Department of Consumer Affairs, which oversees the boards that set and enforce professional standards; that framework can be reviewed through the California Department of Consumer Affairs.
Meet the Callahan & Blaine, PC Team
Defending a professional liability claim rewards judgment developed over decades of trying difficult cases, and our clients work with attorneys who bring that experience. Edward Susolik serves as CEO, President, and a Senior Trial Attorney of Callahan & Blaine, PC, and leads the firm’s insurance and complex commercial practice. He has represented professionals, companies, and their insurers across a wide range of liability and coverage matters and has been named to the Super Lawyers list of the Top 100 Attorneys in Southern California for many consecutive years.
Edward Susolik
CEO, President, and Senior Trial Attorney, Callahan & Blaine, PC
Mr. Susolik leads the firm’s complex business and insurance practice and has defended professionals and their carriers in liability, errors and omissions, and coverage disputes throughout his career. He brings a trial lawyer’s perspective to every professional liability matter the firm handles, preparing each defense as though it will be decided by a judge and jury.
Mr. Susolik works alongside a firm of accomplished attorneys whose combined experience spans insurance, complex commercial, real estate, and employment matters. That breadth allows the firm to assemble the right team for a professional liability defense and to address the related issues, from coverage to contract questions, that these matters frequently involve.
Why Professionals Choose Callahan & Blaine, PC
Professionals and their insurers retain our firm because the defense is built on genuine trial capability. Since 1984, civil trial practice has been the center of what the firm does, and that foundation shapes every professional liability defense in three ways.
First, our attorneys prepare each matter as a case that could be tried, which strengthens the firm’s position in negotiation and mediation and means the defense is ready if a claim does not resolve. Second, the firm’s depth in insurance and coverage law allows it to defend the underlying claim while managing the relationship with the professional liability carrier, so that coverage and defense move together rather than at cross purposes. Third, the firm brings the resources of a full complex business litigation practice to matters that often touch corporate, real estate, and employment issues at the same time, allowing a professional to address the entire dispute without assembling several firms.
With decades of courtroom success across California, our attorneys are prepared to fight for the outcome you deserve.
Contact Callahan & Blaine, PC for Professional Liability Defense
Callahan & Blaine, PC defends professionals and their firms throughout Orange County and Southern California against professional liability and errors and omissions claims, drawing on decades of civil trial experience and a strong insurance and coverage practice. If you are a professional facing a liability claim, a licensing inquiry, or a related regulatory matter, our attorneys provide the defense and practical judgment your situation requires. To discuss your matter, please use our online contact form and a member of our team will follow up with you.
Frequently Asked Questions About Professional Liability Defense
What is a professional liability claim?
A professional liability claim, also called an errors and omissions or professional negligence claim, alleges that a licensed professional failed to meet the standard of care of their field and caused financial or other harm as a result. These claims can be brought against professionals such as attorneys, accountants, financial advisors, insurance agents, real estate professionals, and design professionals, and they are measured against the standards and regulations that govern each specific profession.
Does Callahan & Blaine, PC represent professionals who are being sued?
Yes. Callahan & Blaine, PC defends professionals and their firms against professional liability and errors and omissions claims. The firm represents individual practitioners, partnerships, and professional corporations, and it works with professional liability insurers on the coverage and defense of these matters. The firm’s focus in this practice area is the defense of professionals who are facing claims, licensing inquiries, or regulatory action.
What professions does the firm defend in liability matters?
The firm defends attorneys and law firms, accountants and auditors, financial advisors and securities professionals, insurance agents and brokers, real estate agents, brokers, and appraisers, architects and engineers, and directors and officers facing claims arising from their corporate roles. Each profession is judged against its own standard of care, and our attorneys build the defense around what that standard actually required at the time of the work.
How does professional liability insurance affect the defense of a claim?
Most professionals carry professional liability or errors and omissions coverage, and that policy usually funds the defense and any settlement within its limits. Coverage questions, reservation of rights positions, and the relationship with the carrier can shape how a claim is defended, so our attorneys coordinate the defense with the insurer and draw on the firm’s insurance coverage experience to keep the coverage and defense strategy aligned.
What should a professional do after receiving notice of a claim?
A professional who receives a demand, a lawsuit, or notice of a licensing board inquiry should preserve the relevant records, avoid discussing the matter with the claimant, and promptly notify their professional liability carrier, because most policies require timely notice. Contacting defense counsel early allows the professional to understand the exposure, protect their position, and coordinate the response across the civil claim, the coverage questions, and any regulatory inquiry before deadlines pass.
