A Risk Management Update for Solo Attorneys Handling Insurance Defense Work

Our Director of Claims, Stacey Smith, recently posted an insightful article entitled “Why Insurance Defense Firms Are Struggling to Secure Professional Liability Coverage” on our Blog. Not only did she do an excellent job of explaining what’s going on, but she also gave me an opportunity to follow-up with an update for solo attorneys who handle insurance defense work. What follows is offered in the spirit of helping solos find steadier footing in challenging times.

To briefly recap, Stacey shared that there seem to be three major pressures reshaping the landscape: verdicts have become increasingly large, privity laws are loosening, and carriers are under financial pressure to recoup losses. In short, when a verdict hits the books, someone has to absorb it. Increasingly, carriers are deciding that “someone” might be defense counsel.

How These Trends Hit Solos Specifically

A review of recent claims shows a clear pattern. Insurers are more willing to blame defense counsel when outcomes are unfavorable. For solos, the risks are amplified:

• You’re a single point of failure. There is no partner with whom you could corroborate your thinking.
• Time‑limited demands are landmines. As a solo juggling multiple deadlines, it can be all too easy to miss a technical condition in a policy‑limits demand.
• For solos who lack internal actuarial or analytics support that larger firms may rely on, case valuation disagreements can quickly turn into malpractice allegations.
• Documentation expectations have skyrocketed and solos often lack the administrative support to keep up.

These challenges aren’t a reflection of solo attorneys’ abilities. They stem from the risk landscape inherent in insurance defense.

Practical Steps Solos Can Take

Here are a few steps solos can take that can help reduce exposure:

• Document everything, especially settlement recommendations. Write it down. Email it. Confirm it. If you’d be embarrassed about having to show a claims attorney what’s in your files, it’s not enough.
• Build redundancy into your workflow by creating a simple, repeatable process for things like time‑limited demands, expert disclosures, and settlement communications. Even a one‑page checklist can dramatically reduce risk.
• Adopt a “second look” habit. Commit to conducting a daily end of day or weekly end of week review of critical deadlines and carrier communications.
• Join a practice‑area listserv or defense network to stay current on traps and trends.
• Set clear boundaries with carriers. Start by establishing response time expectations, asking carriers to confirm all instructions in writing, and requesting clarification whenever any directive is ambiguous.

The Bottom Line

The insurance defense world has changed. Carriers are quicker to blame panel counsel, quicker to pursue recovery, and quicker to scrutinize your decisions with the benefit of hindsight.

None of this means you can’t continue doing this work. But it does mean you need to approach it with eyes wide open, stronger documentation habits, and a clearer understanding of the risk landscape you’re navigating. If you’re a solo attorney handling insurance defense, the goal is to make sure your practice model remains aligned with the realities of today’s claims environment.