Four Ways to Insure In-House Counsel

Carolyn Elefant at My Shingle points to an excellent article titled "10 Misconceptions About Malpractice Insurance," by Phillip Fraim in Small Firm Business (3/28/05) that discusses some of the mistaken assumptions firms make in purchasing malpractice insurance. But malpractice insurance isn't just for outside counsel anymore. According to a November 11, 2004 article by Ethan D. Lenz and Steven R. Barth there are at least four ways to provide malpractice insurance to in-house counsel:

• include the general counsel title in the definition of "insured persons" in the D&O insurance policy
• amend the company's by-laws to list the general counsel as an officer of the company
• define "wrongful act" in the D&O policy so that it is not limited to acts or omissions done "solely" in a person's capacity as a director or officer.
• provide "employed lawyers" liability insurance coverage for general counsel and/or non-officer in-house counsel