NACDL

When a businessperson or company faces criminal charges, or, as is commonly the case, faces criminal charges along with a myriad of civil lawsuits and administrative and regulatory proceedings, the availability of insurance coverage can make an enormous difference in the defendant’s ability to both obtain a thorough and coordinated defense and fund settlements or pay judgments resulting from the allegedly wrongful conduct. Unfortunately, some criminal defense attorneys are uninformed regarding basic insurance issues, with the result that they and their clients may be forfeiting thousands or even millions of dollars in potentially available insurance proceeds.

In many cases, decisions made at the outset of the attorney representation can affect not only the amount of a client’s insurance recovery but also the availability of any insurance recovery at all. To ensure that insurance assets are preserved and used effectively, clients and defense lawyers should investigate and discuss insura