Mandatory Malpractice Insurance Task Force

Updated: Oct. 1, 2021

Mandatory Malpractice Insurance Task Force

NEW The entity Equal Justice Washington, which is not affiliated with the WSBA, submitted a proposed amendment to the Admission and Practice Rule 26 that would impose mandatory malpractice insurance on Washington lawyers in private practice. The Court published the proposed rule with a comment deadline of April 30, 2020. On January 26, 2020, WSBA President Rajeev Majumdar submitted a comment on behalf of the Board in opposition to the proposed amendment.

If you wish to comment on the proposed rule, please direct your comments to the Clerk of the Supreme Court. Comments may be sent to the following addresses: P.O. Box 40929, Olympia, WA 98504-0929, or supreme@courts.wa.gov.

History

At its Sept. 28, 2017, meeting, the Board of Governors approved the formation of a Mandatory Malpractice Insurance Task Force and a Charter for the Task Force. The Task Force Roster is composed of WSBA members, industry professionals, and members of the public. The Task Force began convening in January 2018 and held its last meeting on Jan. 30, 2019.

The purpose of the Task Force was to collect input and examine current mandatory malpractice insurance systems. The Task Force used this information to determine whether to recommend mandatory malpractice insurance for all licensed legal professionals.

The Board of Governors extended the Task Force’s Charter to March 2019. The Task Force issued its Report to the Board of Governors in February 2019. The Task Force presented its Report and recommendations to the Board of Governors at the Board's March 7, 2019, meeting. Watch video of the presentation. The Board then held a special meeting on April 22, 2019, to hear feedback from members and the public. Watch video of the special meeting. At its May 17, 2019, meeting, the Board voted 9-5 against the Task Force recommendation to implement mandatory malpractice insurance for lawyers in private practice. Watch video of the meeting.

Member Comments

The WSBA Board of Governors accepted comments through May 1, 2019 at insurancetaskforce@wsba.org.

Review all comments received, including three different sets of comments and a webcast open forum:

Comments for the Board of Governors through May 3, 2019
Includes comments submitted directly to the Board of Governors after Jan. 30, 2019 (the date of the last Task Force meeting). [Updated on May 20, 2019]

Task Force Comments Received on or before Dec. 1, 2018
Includes comments distributed to the Task Force that were received by the Dec. 1, 2018, comment deadline. View a snapshot summary of those comments.

Comments Received after Dec. 1, 2018, and through Jan. 30, 2019
Includes comments distributed to the Task Force that were received after the Task Force comment deadline of Dec. 1, 2018, and through Jan. 3, 2019 (the date of the last Task Force meeting).

Open Forum

All members were invited to provide direct feedback to the Task Force about the interim report, possible exemptions, minimum coverage levels, or anything else during an open forum held on Oct. 16, 2018, at the WSBA Conference Center. A recording of the forum can be viewed online here.