Also known as: employed lawyers coverage · employed lawyers liability · employed lawyers professional liability · in-house counsel coverage
A management-liability extension that protects a company's in-house attorneys against professional liability claims arising from the legal services they provide to their employer.
Employed Lawyers Coverage is an extension to a management-liability program that protects a company's in-house or employed attorneys against professional liability claims arising from the legal services they perform for their employer. A standard Directors and Officers (D&O) policy covers executives for management decisions, and an Errors and Omissions (E&O) policy covers the services your company sells to customers, so neither is designed to respond when your own lawyer is accused of giving negligent legal advice. This coverage, usually added as an endorsement to a D&O or management-liability policy, closes that gap and can be extended to scheduled outside activities such as moonlighting or pro bono work. For a startup, it becomes relevant once you hire a general counsel or build an internal legal team whose advice creates a distinct professional-liability exposure.
Employed Lawyers Coverage is a management-liability extension that protects a company's in-house or employed attorneys against professional liability claims arising from the legal services they provide to their employer. It pays defense costs and settlements when an employed lawyer is accused of an error, omission, or negligent advice in that legal-professional capacity. It is most often added as an endorsement to a Directors and Officers or management-liability policy.
D&O covers your directors and officers for management decisions, and E&O (professional liability) covers the products or services your company sells to its own customers. Neither is designed to respond when an in-house attorney is sued for the legal advice they give the company. Employed Lawyers Coverage sits between them, extending professional-liability protection to your employed lawyers for the legal work they do for the business.
It becomes relevant once you hire a general counsel or build an internal legal team, because their legal advice creates a professional-liability exposure that did not exist when outside firms handled everything. Before that point, outside counsel carry their own professional liability. Because it is usually a small add-on to an existing D&O policy, many companies schedule it at the same time they make their first senior legal hire.
Definitions are educational and may be modified by your specific policy language, endorsements, and state rules. For regulatory guidance, refer to the California Department of Insurance or the NAIC.
Last updated: July 2026.