The Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee has over 2000 members, at least 250 of whom regularly attend the Committee's award-winning Annual CLE each March at the Westin La Paloma Resort in Tucson, Arizona. Members represent both sides of the insurance coverage litigation bar—insurers and policyholders, and they include many in-house and insurance company counsel.

The Committee seeks to "Raise the Bar" by fostering professionalism and collegiality in the insurance coverage litigation bar. We have succeeded to such an extent that this often national insurance coverage practice has a "small town" feel to it. Lawyers who regularly appear on opposite sides in insurance coverage cases have socialized together and developed lasting personal relationships at our Annual CLE, and they share in educational opportunities by presenting both sides of important issues.

The Committee also has a strong commitment to member services. In the past three years, the Committee's leaders – through the tireless efforts of the members – have received two of the three Section of Litigation Leadership Awards: one for the Committee's journal-quality newsletter, Coverage, and one for the Committee's CLE program in Tucson.

If you have comments on or suggestions for the Committee's website and wish to volunteer substantive information, case summaries, or other materials relating to the practice of insurance coverage law, please contact the Website Editors: John Buchanan, Mary Craig Calkins, Paul Owens and Jayson Sowers.

The ICLC’s Subcommittees continue to seek new members willing to participate in our various educational activities and speaking opportunities. The ICLC also continues to maintain an email discussion group to which members may subscribe to receive e-mail updates and to exchange useful information with other Committee or Subcommittee members.

Current Committee members may join the e-mail discussion group online.

When an attorney moves from one private firm to another, conflicts rules apply. The conflicts analysis becomes more complex when the new firm is bringing a bad faith cause of action against an insurer and the insurer previously retained one or more of the firm’s attorneys to defend the policyholder.

The Washington Supreme Court found on October 11 that Mutual of Enumclaw Insurance Co. (MOE) acted in bad faith through its subpoena and ex parte communications to an arbitrator, reversing the Division I Washington Court of Appeals and remanding to the trial court.