As alternative legal services providers (ALSPs) compete with law firms for more challenging work, malpractice insurance coverage is a box most law companies won't be able to check off without a law firm's help.

Legal malpractice insurance is a form of professional liability insurance that will pay damages for errors made by lawyers. Some corporate clients demand such coverage when pairing ALSPs with outside counsel or before a client leverages a vendor's services.

Notably, malpractice insurance is only extended to entities structured as law firms, which excludes most ALSPs. However, First Indemnity Insurance Group founder Andrew Biggio explained that his and other insurance companies, which provide professional liability insurance to ALSPs, will add an ALSP to a law firm's malpractice policy.