Why Federal Attorneys Need FEDS Protection

"Why would a federal attorney have a need for professional liability insurance? It’s not like an attorney in private practice who buys insurance to protect against malpractice claims. But malpractice claims are not the only challenge that can be made to an attorney’s rendering of professional services.

For example, there’s the Bar complaint asserting some type of ethical wrongdoing, a process from which government attorneys are not immune. For federal attorneys in regulatory agencies, public and congressional scrutiny is a given. And if you’ve worked in government for at least a few years, you’ve seen that this scrutiny can lead to internal investigations into complaints from the public and congressional inquiries or investigations if the matter gains political interest. Just ask an SEC attorney who works in the post-Maddoff SEC workplace. If you’re a DOJ attorney, then allegations of professional misconduct such as an alleged Brady violation, a failure to disclose a conflict of interest, or a misrepresentation in a pleading are all subject to rigorous investigation by DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility.

And for AUSA’s, there is the added risk of being sued personally for prosecutorial decisions and by prisoners. Although most personal suits against AUSA’s are routinely dismissed by motion, there are the occasional suits in the post 9/11 theater that present more unique or complicated facts and claims that are not summarily dismissed. And frankly, there is nothing "routine” about an OPR investigation or Bar complaint.

In my 20 years representing federal employees, I have represented many federal attorneys and AUSA’s, all of whom have commented on the peace of mind and satisfaction they experienced by having the objectivity, focus, and clarity of private counsel through one of these processes. The professional liability insurance offered by FEDS essentially offers federal attorneys the benefits that attorneys in private practice obtain from malpractice and general liability insurance policies. For a fraction of what private malpractice insurance costs, FEDS provides legal defense counsel and judgment protection from suits.

If attorneys in private practice carry these protections, and your jobs involve the use of power and authority unique to the federal government, all of which makes you more vulnerable to allegations of ethical or professional misconduct, then you have to ask yourself why you wouldn't protect yourself too.”

~ Debra L. Roth on Federal Attorneys, Managing Partner, Shaw, Bransford Roth, P.C.