Should a lawyer with plaintiff experience on his resume be ruled out when an insurer hires defense counsel?

That was one of the many questions pondered at the ACE-SCLA claims conference last week in Orlando, Fla., during a session examining what factors to consider in choosing outside attorneys.

Kevin Quinley, vice president of risk insurance at MEDMARC Insurance, Chantilly, Va., said he did not believe it should be an instant disqualifier.

"But I do think it raises some questions," he said.

Attorney Robert Glick of Garden City, N.Y., said that while his work is mostly defending insurance companies, occasionally he will be on the other side when a case is just too interesting to pass up.
"And we do some accommodation work for our clients," he said.

Plaintiff's bar experience will give an attorney doing defense work key insights into how the opponent thinks, he said.

For Mr. Glick, the key advice for choosing outside counsel remains finding out how responsive they will be. "Keep in mind that you are hiring a lawyer and not a law firm," he said.

"When an attorney promises to deliver a report, it should be there. These are the teeny things that are so important," he said.

As a buyer of legal services, Peter Hitson, assistant vice president of the Hartford Insurance Group, disagreed with Mr. Glick on the necessity of meeting with lawyers before you engage them, feeling that such costs eventually end up on the client bill.

Mr. Glick took serious issue, asserting that marketing expenses are borne totally by the law firm and not clients.

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