Do attorneys in Tennessee have to have legal malpractice insurance?
No. There is no requirement that attorneys in Tennessee have legal malpractice insurance.
However, responsible lawyers purchase malpractice insurance to protect their clients from losing money in the event that the lawyer makes an error. Lawyers, like anyone else, can make errors in the work they do for clients. Most of those errors do not result in any demonstrable loss to their clients, but from time to time errors that cause losses occur. In those cases, malpractice insurance is there to protect the client from financial harm.
Feel free to ask any lawyer that you intend to hire whether they carry malpractice insurance. If the lawyer tells you that he or she does not have insurance, you should give that answer serious consideration before hiring that lawyer. A lawyer who does not have insurance is still responsible for the financial consequences of any negligent act, but the lack of insurance is a red flag that should cause you to be concerned.