Chaney Firm scores win for Arkansas insurance policyholders

The Chaney Law Firm recently won a hard-fought victory over Farmer's Insurance Group about whether the insurance company could use lawyers employed by the company to represent the company's customers. Nathan Chaney presented the case to Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza. Nathan argued that Farmers' practice of representing customers violated an Arkansas law that prohibits corporations from practicing law, which has been the law in Arkansas since the 1920's. Corporations can represent themselves in lawsuits or in transactions with other people, but cannot make a business out of representing other people in court.

Nathan also argued that the attorney employed by Farmers had a conflict of interest as a result of his employment by Farmers. The conflict of interest arises because of the risk that an attorney employed by an insurance company will not be able to give his "undivided fidelity" to the policyholder. Furthermore, it creates an appearance of impropriety when a lawyer, who has a company car and credit card and is paid exclusively by an insurance company, says he can set all those things aside and make decisions in the best interests of the policyholder.

The result means that insurance companies in Arkansas will have to hire independent attorneys to represent policyholders. This is known as the duty to defend, and every Arkansan with an insurance policy pays premiums so that a lawyer will be hired on their behalf if they are ever sued. People who have been involved in lawsuits know that it is a long process, and an attorney who can take an independent look at the pros and cons of your case is a necessity.

The Chaney Law Firm is proud to protect the rights of ordinary Arkansans. If you have ever been represented by a lawyer employed by Farmers, we would be happy for you to contact us about remedies you may have against Farmers for engaging in the unauthorized practice of law.

Update on 2013-04-25 03:16 by Nathan Chaney

We won this appeal! Read more here, or grab the opinion here.

Update on 2010-05-28 20:56 by Nathan Chaney

Nathan will be teaching a continuing legal education class on the unauthorized practice of law by insurance companies at the Arkansas Bar Meeting on June 10 at 10:45 a.m.

Update on 2010-12-15 21:37 by Nathan Chaney

Farmers' lawyer appealed this case. We'll post periodic updates on the appeals process on our main blog.

Update on 2013-02-21 05:12 by Nathan Chaney

We filed our appeal brief in this case today. You can read the article and find the brief here.

Chaney Firm speaks to 2nd and 3rd graders about child safety

In partnership with the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association and the Take 25 organization (www.take25.org), the lawyers of the Chaney Law Firm spoke to an assembly of second and third graders at Central Elementary on the morning of Wednesday, May 5th, to promote Child Safety. May 25 is National Missing Children’s Day, and May is a time for all of us to help kids understand how to stay safe in their homes, in their neighborhoods, at school, in public, and on the Internet. The Take 25 organization urges adults to take 25 minutes of their time to educate kids about the potential risks to kids’ safety and how to recognize and avoid those risks.

The Chaneys spoke to the children at Central Elementary about safety tips and encouraged a discussion with the students about what they can do to stay safe. The talk focused on what to do if strangers knock on their doors, or try to approach them in their neighborhoods, and how to protect personal information on the Internet, including how to choose safe user names and passwords. The students were encouraged to know their names, addresses, phone numbers, parents’ cell phone numbers, and where their parents work. The kids were instructed to write down the names of two trusted relatives or neighbors next to their home phones so they can get help if they are home alone. The Chaneys discussed how to stay safe on the way to school and what to do if they are bullied at school. The children were active participants in the discussion and asked great questions at the end of the presentation. The Chaneys finished the program by handing out stickers, magnets, child ID kits, safety rules, and a safety crossword puzzle. Parents of the Central Elementary children should help them fill out the child ID kits, which include space for identifying information about the child and room for a picture and fingerprints. If a child is abducted, parents can give the child ID kit to the police to quickly help return the child to safety.

The Chaneys encourage parents and kids to visit www.take25.org to learn more about child safety tips. There are 2,000 children abducted every day in the United States. Studies show that in 84% of abduction cases, children escaped their captors by their own actions, using their own good sense. Therefore, it really pays to keep kids as educated as possible about how to stay safe.

The Chaneys especially want to thank Melinda Morris and all the teachers and administrators at Central Elementary for hosting this important community event.

Welcome to the new home of the Chaney Law Firm

Lots of changes are afoot at the Chaney Law Firm. Last June, Don Chaney was a solo practitioner focusing his trial practice on personal injury, medical malpractice, and social security disability, all while serving as general counsel to various local and regional businesses. Don's wife, Terri, has been the office manager and bookkeeper since the inception of the firm almost a decade ago. In June, Don's older son Nathan and his daughter-in-law Hilary joined the firm after living in Fayetteville, Arkansas for five years.

Nathan is a registered patent attorney and trial lawyer whose practice involves coming up with conservative yet creative solutions to clients requiring counsel on new product design, technology licensing, infringement prosecution and defense, branding, trade secret protection, and other IP issues. He has extensive federal intellectual property litgation experience, which has brought a unique perspective to the firm's litigation practice. This fall, Nathan was elected Clark County Bar Association President.

Hilary, a former staff attorney for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, has practiced commercial litigation for the last several years. On making the move to our firm, Hilary has decided to focus on social security disability cases.

Then, in September, we learned that Don's younger son Taylor passed the Arkansas bar exam. We are excited for Taylor as he enters the profession.

The Chaney Law Firm has now become a family firm. We look forward to our family being able to help yours!