Plaintiff’s Attorney May Speak Directly To Defendant’s Insurance Company Adjuster

A plaintiff’s attorney may directly communicate with the opponent’s insurance company—without the consent of the defendant’s lawyer—so long as he does not know that the defendant’s attorney also represents the insurance company, the Virginia bar’s ethics committee advised Sept. 26 (Virginia State Bar Standing Comm. on Legal Ethics, Op. 1863, 9/26/12).

The committee acknowledged that ethics rules generally prohibit ex parte communications with those whom an attorney knows to be represented. However, a lawyer for a personal injury defendant should not “be presumed to represent the [defendant’s] insurer as well,” it added.

Accordingly, plaintiff’s counsel generally does not need the ...