Abstracting is something that takes a long time to learn.  I can't imagine spending six months training a new abstractor and then firing them the first time they miss something.  It is unlikely that a new replacement is going to be better than the person you just spent six months working with. 

I remember the first time I missed something; it was a newly opened probate case.  The client called me to say that they called to schedule the closing and the widow informed them that her husband couldn't be at the closing because he had recently passed away.  They called me to check probate again and I found it. 

I was devastated... I hand delivered the copies from probate and profusely apologized.  I felt about 2 feet tall walking into that office and as I was sitting in the owner's office he could tell I was just miserable.  He said something I will never forget: "Mistakes happen.  Anyone that tells you they have never missed anything is lying, or they just started yesterday."

Nobody is perfect and, thankfully, most errors are caught before the closing and never become claims.  We have never had to file a claim with our E&O carrier, but I would be lying if I said we were perfect.  My examiners are very well trained and they know what they are doing, but staring at hand written indexes all day long, or hundreds of lines of computer entries, is tough.  When you do that day after day, you are bound to miss something sooner or later.

It is not the end of the world and you have to have a good working relationship with your clients.  Good communication helps.  If something doesn't look right, or the client has information that would warrant a second look, we certainly don't mind.  Most of the time, when we get a call from a client that thinks something was missed, it turns out not to be there.  However, because we realize that mistakes are possible, we always double check it just to be sure and report back to them.

We always strive for ZERO errors - as we all should.  But firing a good abstractor for one mistake is over-kill.  There wouldn't be anyone left to search titles.

Best,
Robert A. Franco
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