FLORIDA LAWYERS SEEK
UNLIMITED FEES IN INSURANCE CASES
June 21, 2001
Tomorrow (June 22, 2001) the Unauthorized Practice Law
Committee of The Florida Bar, at a meeting in Orlando, Florida, will
consider whether control by an insurance company over defense of a claim
filed against it constitutes the unauthorized practice of law.
Over the years, insurance lawyers’ defense fees
became exorbitant and totally out of control. This caused premiums paid by
businesses and individual citizens to skyrocket in Florida. Insurance
carriers had no choice but to start reining in these fees. All insurance
files should be controlled by an adjuster for the insurance company who
hires the lawyers, when necessary, to defend them in lawsuits. Because of
the fee reductions, The Florida Bar is now attempting through a
"backdoor" move to claim that insurance company adjusters are in
a fact engaging in the "unauthorized practice of law." Nothing
could be further from the truth, and this entire movement is an effort by
The Florida Bar is to pad their own pockets with exorbitant attorneys’
fees.
AIF president & CEO Jon L. Shebel stated,
"Maybe this is one of the reasons why the Legislature is taking a
close look at whether Florida lawyers can really regulate
themselves."
There has been a movement to place the regulation of
Florida lawyers under an agency of state government and Shebel stated,
"I believe this is the type of movement where Florida lawyers shoot
themselves in the foot and add strength to the effort to have them
regulated by a state agency."
In a letter to The Florida Bar, Shebel cautioned that
reinsurers require that insurance company adjusters control the files and
not turn them over to lawyers because to do so inflates the cost of claims
without benefit to the injured party. If The Florida Bar is successful in
handing the purse strings of insurance companies over to lawyers, then
insurance companies doing business in Florida could experience difficulty
in obtaining reinsurance, which is absolutely necessary for any insurance
company to operate.
According to Shebel, "If it really wants to
protect the public, The Florida Bar should spend its time addressing fraud
in such areas as no-fault automobile and workers’ compensation insurance
that is committed by Florida lawyers."
Associated Industries of Florida is a statewide
employers association representing 10,000 businesses that range from large
multinational corporations to small family-owned enterprises. AIF is
commonly known as "The Voice of Florida Business."
