Software engineering malpractice and its avoidance

`Software engineering malpractice´ is an emerging legal theory which will impose new legal liability on software engineers and software developers for errors in software or unreliable software. This paper summarizes software engineering malpractice court decisions, and discusses how a software engineering malpractice case can arise in a variety of contexts encountered in software development. The paper explores preventative measures that software engineers and developers can take to help insulate themselves from malpractice liability. The paper concludes that proper preventative practices should be an integral part of any software reliability effort, and that such practices can help the software engineering profession avoid becoming a target of plaintiffs´ attorneys