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10 Wyo. Law. 1 (1987)

handle is hein.barjournals/wymlawy0010 and id is 1 raw text is: The Wyoming LA YER Volume X, No. 1 Official Publication of Wyoming State Bar January 1987 A Message from the Insurance Committee: Multistate Captive Formed Brown is New Chief Justice Most attorneys who have practiced for any length of time are aware of the periodic fluctuations In the cost and availability of profesional liability insurance. That prob- lem has neer been more apparent than during 196 and 196. During those years, many Wyoming attorneys with no prior claims experience have been billed for premiums which doubled or tripled the amount they paid the previous year. In some of those cases, the coverage af- forded was a fraction of what it had been previously. In the past two years, it has not been un- common for offices with any claims ex- perience to find that it was difficult or im- possible to get coverage at all. Private companies have entered and left the Wyoming market at will, depending on a number of different economic circum- slances. The number of attorneys who currently practice in Wyoming without liability cov- erage or with inadequate liability coverage is on the rise. Not only does this present a problem for the attorney, but it presents a potentially significant problem to the Wyoming public who use those attorneys' services. The public should not be left without recourse after the loss of important rights due to an error or omission by the professlonals upon whom they relied. For thos reasons, the State Bar, through the efforts of its Insurance Committee, and in particular through the efforts of Jack Stanfield and Glenn Smith, has worked diligently for the past two years to form a lawyer-owned insurance company to pro- vide coverage to Wyoming lawyers. The ultimate goal is to increase the availability of coverage to Wyoming lawyers at rates that are predictable and which avoid wild fluctuations based largely on investment policies and interest rates over which we now have no control. The State Bar of Wyoming has been joined In that effort by several other states. Eight states, including Alaska, Delaware, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming are committed to the formation of a lawyer- owned company. At least three other states, including Idaho, Nebraska, and New Mexico are expected to make a similar decision and join in this effort. A corporation called Attorney's Liability Protection Society (ALPS), has been created to handle the formation functions. It will be converted into the Insurance company pro- viding coverage in all of these states, as soon as a situs jurisdiction has been alected and the company approved by the appropriate regulatory authorities. A board has been appointed, which in- cludes a director from each of the states. Glenn Smith Is the director from Wyoming. The Board's current plan is to capitalize the company with voluntary investments from attorneys in each state. In order to be eligi- ble for coverage by the company, a lawyer will be required to contribute $1,000 as his or her capital share. That contribution will not guarantee coverage. However, it is an- ticipated that most applying lawyers will be eligible for coverage by the company. Rates will be computed for each par- ticipating state based upon the claims ex- perience in that state. ALPS plans to pro- vide coverage on a claims-made basis with coverage for prior acts available in most cases. The policy language currently planned should be at least as broad as the language currently available in the com- mercial insurance market. The solicitations for investment in the company will begin in early 1987. If in- vestments are adequate, policies should be available in July of 1987. However, the company will not begin operation until it has received investments in an amount of 31/ million to 5 million dollars. That means a minimum of 400 lawyers in Wyoming will have to invest in order to meet Wyoming's proportionate share of the capital con- tribution. The Committee believes that a lawyer- owned company is extremely important to Continued on page 2 By Mary Beth Senkewicz Justice C. Stuart Brown is the new Chief Justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court, as of January 1, 1987. Chief Justice Brown was selected by his peers to the post, and will serve as Wyoming's Chief Justice un- til June 30, 1988, when he reaches the mandatory retirement age. Chief Justice Brown received his J.D. from the University of Utah in 1950. After he received his degree, he served as a legal officer in the Army during the Korean War. (Brown had also served in World War II, as an engineer officer in the Pacific Theatre.) After his service in Korea, Brown opened a solo practice in Afton which he later moved to Kemmerer. Continued on page 2 IN THIS ISSUE ... Bar Makes Donation to Bicentennial Commission 3 Supreme Court Adopts New Ethical Rules .......... 3 Supreme Court Summaries ................ 7 Digitized from Best Copy Available