91 N.J.L.J. 806
December 12, 1968
OPINION 142
Insurance Carriers
Form of Consent to Settle
This inquiry is whether or not during litigation an attorney
for an insurance carrier may provide his client a "blanket" form of
consent to settlement negotiations between carrier and claimants'
attorneys.
In our Opinion 132, 91 N.J.L.J. 369 (1968), we held that
Canons of Professional Ethics, Canon 9 requires claimants'
attorneys to refrain from contact with a carrier without express
permission from the carrier's attorney.
This inquiry deals merely with a method of expressing such
consent. We see no ethical objection to any reasonable means
employed to provide a clear manifestation of consent to negotiate
directly with claimants' attorneys. Whether the form used be on an
individual case basis or in a "blanket" style is a matter for
determination by the respective carriers' attorneys.