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Y O U N G L A W Y E R S J O U R N A L
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MAINTAINING PROFESSIONAL AND ETHICAL BALANCE IN THE
TRIPARTITE RELATIONSHIP
Stuck in the MiddleWith You
By Phillip Skaggs
I
nsurance defense attorneys can often
feel stuck between the competing inter-
ests of the insurer who retained them
and the insured they have been tasked
to defend. Illinois follows the majority
approach to tripartite relationships, which
holds that defense counsel retained by an
insurer to represent an insured actually
serves two clients simultaneously. Often,
the three parties to this relationship share
a common interest in successfully defend-
ing a claim. However, where the insurer
reserves its rights to dispute some aspect
of insurance coverage under the policy, or
the insured and insurer have differing views
on how the case should proceed, a conflict
of interest might arise, leaving defense
counsel stuck in the middle between two
clients. While defense counsel’s loyalty may
“follow the purse strings” and tend to lean
in favor of the insurer (even if unintention-
ally), defense counsel owes the insured the
same ethical and professional obligations
as he or she would any other client. This
“dual client” relationship requires main-
taining a professional and ethical balance
between the possibly competing interests
of the insurer and the insured. This article
addresses three major areas where the oth-
erwise congruent interests of insurer and