Hiding in Plain Sight: Obtaining Insurance Coverage in White Collar Criminal Investigations

When a white collar client calls an attorney upon receiving a subpoena and says he is afraid he cannot afford the attorney’s services, the attorney’s reaction need not be to refer the client to another law firm. Companies that own liability policies may not realize that they can look to that source for coverage of defense costs, expert fees, and other related litigation costs. What constitutes a claim? How should the company notify the insurer? Who is the insured? What will trigger an exclusion? The devil is in the policy details.