LAWYERS, particularly those practicing at large firms, are highly trained specialists who know their areas of the law inside and out. When it comes to their professional liability insurance, I believe they are best served by agents or brokers who also are highly specialized.

Certainly that notion lies at the heart of our strategy at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. I'm an area senior vice president and managing director of Gallagher Lawyers Professional Solutions, which is part of Gallagher Strategic Risk Solutions, a group of niche specialists who concentrate on various professional liability lines. My team, which consists of six people, focuses solely on lawyers professional liability insurance, which I feel gives us an important competitive edge. We sell business directly and also work with other Gallagher producers across the country. In addition to this retail operation, we have a wholesale subsidiary, Risk Placement Services, that specializes in LPL insurance.

As a producer, I tend to focus on large law firms, those with 30 or more attorneys, although that doesn't mean I turn away smaller firms that approach us. Furthermore, "large" is a relative term. A 20-attorney firm that specializes in intellectual-property work could require larger limits and develop higher premiums than a typical 30-attorney firm would.