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  • January 01, 2005

    Inside the Bar January 2005: Free insurance for pro bono lawyers

    The State Bar's Volunteer Lawyers Program offers malpractice coverage to volunteer lawyers who accept referrals involving low-income clients or the nonprofit organizations that serve them and to volunteer lawyers serving in State Bar-sponsored legal clinics directed at low-income clients.

    Inside the BarInside the Bar
    January 2005

    Free insurance for pro bono lawyers

    The State Bar's Volunteer Lawyers Program offers malpractice coverage to volunteer lawyers who accept referrals involving low-income clients or the nonprofit organizations that serve them and to volunteer lawyers serving in State Bar-sponsored legal clinics directed at low-income clients.

    "We hope this new member benefit will make it easier for lawyers to help serve Wisconsin's poorest residents' unmet legal needs," says State Bar Pro Bono Coordinator Jeff Brown.

    Currently, volunteer lawyers who do not have coverage or lawyers who are concerned that a claim in a pro bono matter will count against their firm's insurance policy have few options. Legal Action of Wisconsin in southern Wisconsin and Wisconsin Judicare in northern Wisconsin have excellent volunteer lawyer programs that provide insurance coverage for attorney volunteers. However, many otherwise eligible clients cannot obtain assistance through those organizations due to legal restrictions on the organizations' funding and the overall decline in funding of civil legal services for the indigent.

    "This insurance is designed to help fill that gap by ensuring that residents will have a better chance of obtaining help," says Brown. "Government, in-house, part-time, and retired lawyers will be particularly well served by this new benefit. For lawyers in private practice, the policy includes an endorsement making it the primary source for professional liability coverage even if the volunteer lawyer or firm already has coverage."

    For more information, contact Brown at (608) 250-6177, or (800) 444-9404, ext. 6177.


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