ABA Model Rule 1.9(a) prohibits an attorney from representing another person in a substantially related matter in which that person's interests are adverse to the interests of the former client. But when can a coverage lawyer switch sides? And will doing so always result in disqualification?
Neil Posner, chair of Much's Policyholders' Insurance Coverage group, discusses these questions through a case study of two closely related Supreme Court cases – Persichette v. Owners Insurance Company and Plain v. USAA Cas. Insurance Company – in the American College of Coverage Counsel's June 2020 newsletter.