Professional Malpractice Demand Letter - Universal

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES DISPUTE — SETTLEMENT PROPOSAL

MULTI-JURISDICTION PREPARATION VERSION

[FIRM NAME]
Attorneys at Law
[Street Address]
[City, State/Province ZIP/Postal Code]
Telephone: [Phone]
Facsimile: [Fax]
Email: [Email]
Licensed in: [JURISDICTION(S)]

DATE: [Date]

VIA [COUNSEL-APPROVED DELIVERY METHOD]

[Professional's Name or Firm]
[Optional insurer or claims representative, if counsel approves]
[Street Address]
[City, State ZIP]

RE: PROFESSIONAL SERVICES DISPUTE — SETTLEMENT PROPOSAL
Claimant: [Client Full Name]
Date(s) of Disputed Services: [Date or Date Range]
Professional(s): [Professional Name(s)]
Type of Professional: [Attorney/CPA/Architect/Engineer/Health Professional/Other]
Claim Number: [If assigned]

Dear [Recipient Name]:

This firm represents [Client Name] regarding concerns arising from [legal/accounting/architectural/engineering/other] services provided by [Professional Name]. This letter summarises the presently known facts, documents, disputed performance, claimed losses, and a proposal for negotiated resolution. It is not labelled a statutory or profession-specific notice unless reviewing counsel separately confirms and inserts that status.

I. CURRENT-LAW LEGAL-REVIEW CONTROL SHEET — COUNSEL MUST COMPLETE

No date, deadline, cap, element, presumption, expert requirement, forum, or remedy should be inserted elsewhere unless counsel completes this table from current official sources.

II. PRESERVATION OF EVIDENCE - LITIGATION HOLD

Please preserve potentially relevant information relating to the professional services provided to [Client Name], including:

• Complete client files (paper and electronic)
• All drafts and working papers
• Correspondence (including emails, texts, and messages)
• Engagement letters and fee agreements
• Time records and billing statements
• Internal memoranda and notes
• Professional liability insurance policies
• [For Attorneys:] Case files, pleadings, research memoranda
• [For Accountants:] Work papers, tax returns, financial statements
• [For Architects/Engineers:] Drawings, specifications, calculations, project files

Please suspend routine deletion for the identified custodians, systems, date range, and subject matter. Counsel should separately define the preservation scope and any legal consequence; this request does not state that a particular sanction or inference applies.

III. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

A. Professional Engagement

[Client Name] engaged [Professional Name/Firm] on or about [Date] to provide [type of professional services]:

Scope of Engagement:

• [Describe the scope of professional services]
• [Objectives or goals of the engagement]

Professional Relationship:

• Engagement date: [Date]
• [If applicable:] Termination date: [Date]
• Fee arrangement: [Hourly/Fixed/Contingency]

B. Chronology of Events

[Date]: [Describe what occurred]

[Date]: [Describe what occurred]

C. The Disputed Act, Omission, Deliverable, or Advice

[Describe the client's specific contention about the act, omission, deliverable, or advice]

D. Discovery of the Issue and Claimed Loss

Our client first learned the following facts on [Date]: [describe]. Counsel has not used this sentence as a limitations or accrual conclusion.

IV. ENGAGEMENT TERMS AND PERFORMANCE CONCERNS

The following sections record client contentions and evidence; legal elements remain in Section I.

A. Engagement and Expected Performance

Engagement document, scope, instructions, deliverables, deadlines, exclusions, and responsible people: [________________________________].

B. Difference Between Expected and Delivered Performance

The engagement record or qualified reviewer identified the following expected performance:

1. [Standard 1]
2. [Standard 2]
3. [Standard 3]

Disputed Issues:

Breach 1: [Detailed description]

Breach 2: [Detailed description]

C. Loss-Causation Record

Describe each link between the disputed service and a claimed loss, the supporting record, intervening decisions, mitigation, uncertainty, and alternative causes: [________________________________].

D. Damages

Client claims the losses set forth below, subject to the legal and evidentiary review in Section I.

V. EXPERT OPINION

We have retained [Expert Name], a [licensed attorney/CPA/architect/licensed professional engineer] with [number] years of experience. [Expert Name] has concluded that:

1. Materials reviewed: [________________________________];
2. Factual or technical findings: [________________________________]; and
3. Limits, assumptions, and issues reserved for legal analysis: [________________________________].

VI. DAMAGES

A. Direct Financial Losses

B. Consequential Damages

C. Summary of Damages

VII. SETTLEMENT DEMAND

Based on the present factual record and without representing that liability or recoverable damages have been adjudicated, our client proposes settlement in the amount of:

$[DEMAND AMOUNT]

This settlement proposal will remain open for [OFFER PERIOD] and will
expire at 5:00 p.m. [TIME ZONE] on [EXPIRATION DATE], subject to counsel's
review of delivery, withdrawal, extension, and every separate legal deadline.

VIII. INSURANCE INFORMATION REQUEST

Please provide or identify, by [DATE SELECTED FOR THE PROPOSAL]:

1. All professional liability insurance policies applicable to this claim
2. Policy limits for each applicable policy
3. Any deductible or self-insured retention amounts

IX. DOCUMENTATION ENCLOSED

• Engagement letter and correspondence
• Documents evidencing the professional's work
• Documents evidencing damages
• Expert curriculum vitae

X. CONCLUSION

Our client contends that the disputed services caused the documented losses
summarized above. The recipient may provide contrary records, identify missing
information, notify the appropriate insurer, or propose a resolution. Reviewing
counsel will determine any filing, forum, notice, service, or deadline outside
this letter.

Please respond by the deadline stated above.

Respectfully submitted,

[FIRM NAME]

By: _________________________________
[Attorney Name]
License jurisdiction and bar/registration no.: [Number]
Attorney for [Client Name]

ENCLOSURES: As noted above

cc: [Client Name]
File

FINAL REVIEW CHECKLIST

• ☐ The recipient, professional entity, insurer, client, engagement, and disputed services are correctly identified.
• ☐ Known facts, contentions, reviewer opinions, legal conclusions, and unresolved issues are separated.
• ☐ Each claimed loss has a calculation and supporting record; estimates and disputed amounts are labelled.
• ☐ Section I was completed from current official sources by reviewing counsel.
• ☐ Counsel checked limitations, repose, notice, report, expert, privilege, confidentiality, insurance, and forum issues independently.
• ☐ The response date is a settlement-proposal term, not described as a statutory deadline.
• ☐ No statement says negotiations toll or extend a deadline without a separate signed agreement.

This factual settlement-proposal template states no jurisdiction-specific malpractice law. Current legal analysis must be completed separately before use.