A new ruling from the Florida Supreme Court involving law firm Kubicki Draper could change the landscape for lawyers and insurance companies after the high court answered a question hinged on whether third parties had standing to bring legal malpractice suits.

The opinion stemmed from a case that pitted a law firm against an insurer, Arch Insurance Co., who was paying for the firm to defend a policyholder. It ended favorably for the insurance company, which the court allowed to bring a malpractice suit, even though it was not a party in the underlying litigation.

Andrew S. Berman.
Photo by J. Albert Diaz