Most partners to a law firm partnership expect that all members share risk equally. In fact, this shared risk and protection of personal assets is, for many, a primary advantage of joining or starting a law firm. However, there can be risk for partners in law firms based on the misconduct of their other partners.

Decisions across the nation can illustrate the risk that so-called “innocent” partners face. For example, in Illinois State Bar Ass’n Mut. Ins. Co. v. Law Office of Tuzzolino & Terpinas, 27 N.E.3d 67 (Ill. 2015), the Illinois Supreme Court rejected a public policy argument seeking to protect innocent partners from a single partner’s misconduct and to ensure insurance coverage for the whole firm.