Coverage

Most attorneys do both insurance coverage and insurance litigation. This practice is very contract driven. The meat of the work is interpretation of the scope of coverage of insurance contracts (auto, home owners, renters, general, employers, directors and officers, etc.). Directors and officers liability insurance, or “D&O,” is the hot area since Sarbanes-Oxley. Attorneys in this practice review the facts of insurance claims in conjunction with insurance contracts and advise insurers or insureds with respect to coverage questions. This is a good practice for people who like contracts and who don’t want to do only litigation. The practice can be intellectually challenging because the coverage disputes arise in a variety of areas. Also, resolving issues can involve untangling layers of verbiage and can be very tedious.

Defense

Most attorneys do both insurance coverage and insurance litigation. These attorneys litigate whether the insurer’s decision regarding coverage was appropriate under the language of the policy. It is a good litigation practice for someone who wants to limit themselves to a discrete subject matter. It’s better for someone who wants to lean towards becoming an expert. One challenge with this practice is that insurance claims may be gory, heart-wrenching and the insurer’s position may be distasteful. Also, these cases tend to be very large and move very slowly; they rarely go to trial, so practice focuses on prep work and motion practice.