Managing Staff Changes: Quarterly Procedures for Adding or Removing Lawyers and Notaries
During everyday operations, it is normal for a legal office to welcome a new colleague or say goodbye to a departing team member. Proactively updating the list of insured lawyers and notaries on schedule is therefore essential for maintaining peace of mind for both clients and the professional organisation.
Without timely updates, coverage for matters handled by newly appointed staff may be at risk of claim denial if a professional error occurs.
In this article
📋 Quarterly obligation to update the insured lawyer and notary lists
Under a professional indemnity insurance contract, a professional organisation must provide the insurer with a specific list of the individuals who work directly for it. The information includes each person’s full name, national identity card or passport number, and corresponding professional title.
According to the operational guidance, neither a law office nor a notary practice organisation may automatically add new staff to the insured list unless they have first been declared. Whenever personnel change during the insurance period, the insured organisation must compile and update the change information for the insurer on a quarterly basis.
This transparent declaration keeps the contract aligned with the organisation’s actual operating scale and reflects compliance with the professional indemnity insurance obligations for law firms and lawyers in Vietnam as well as the mandatory professional indemnity insurance requirements for notaries under Vietnam Notary Law and Decree 104/2025/ND-CP.
⏳ Endorsement deadline within the first 15 days of the next quarter
To keep file management streamlined and synchronised, insurers use a fixed procedural timetable for each quarterly cycle during the year:
- Receipt and review: The professional organisation compiles all staff additions and reductions arising during the previous quarter and sends a formal notification.
- Document issuance deadline: Within the first fifteen (15) days of the next quarter, the insurer issues a contract endorsement formally recording the additions or reductions of lawyers and notaries.
This endorsement is an integral part of the original Insurance Certificate and cannot be separated from it. Clients using an office’s services may request to inspect the list, helping them feel confident that their matter is being handled by a practitioner with valid insurance protection.
💰 Premium calculation and end-of-period adjustments
The financial treatment of changes in staff numbers is clearly defined, particularly for law offices, which apply a premium formula combining the aggregate liability limit with the number of practitioners.
| Type of change | Premium treatment | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Increase in the number of practitioners | Additional insurance premium charged for the number of personnel added | End of the insurance period |
| Decrease in the number of practitioners | No refund of the corresponding premium already paid | No refund applies |
For law practice contracts, the additional premium for each practitioner is generally determined according to revenue scale—for example, VND 300,000 per person per year under the liability limits and standard premiums for law firms with turnover below VND 5 billion. At the end of the insurance term, the parties will reconcile the actual total number of practitioners added to complete payment of any additional premium due.
Conversely, when an employee resigns or staffing is reduced, the insurer records the corresponding reduction in insured liability from the endorsement’s effective date but does not refund premiums already collected. Office managers therefore need to understand this rule so they can allocate operating costs appropriately.
📝 Checklist for updating the insured lawyer and notary lists
To avoid missing any important deadline, administrative and office-management teams should follow these periodic checks:
- ☐ Review staffing changes during the final week of each calendar quarter: March, June, September, and December.
- ☐ Collect complete copies of the national identity cards or passports of all new personnel.
- ☐ Check professional practice certificates, lawyer cards, or notary appointment decisions and add them to the internal records.
- ☐ Prepare a formal notice of list changes and send it to the insurer before the new quarter begins.
- ☐ Track and receive the contract endorsement within the first 15 days of the next quarter.
- ☐ Keep the contract endorsement together with the new staff list in the organisation’s central legal records.
- ☐ Prepare a financial budget to settle any additional premium arising at the end of the insurance contract if personnel have been added.
Managing the list of insured personnel closely not only helps the office comply strictly with current legal requirements, but also builds a solid foundation of trust among families and international partners. If you need prompt and accurate advice on obtaining new cover or adjusting the professional indemnity insurance list, you can contact reputable insurers directly for professional support.
