RDB has advised its insurance company clients on coverage issues relating to media professional liability, new media, and entertainment policies. We have extensive experience handling both media law and First Amendment matters. In fact, several of our lawyers were once professional reporters, editors, or photographers, and therefore have a depth of experience with media organizations not commonly found at other firms. RDB’s media insurance capabilities include the following:

• We render coverage opinions, assist in the monitoring and handling of claims, and represent insurers in coverage litigation.
• We participate in the drafting of policy forms and manuscript endorsements.
• We represent media professional liability insurers in cases involving libel, slander, and invasion of privacy, as well as cases protecting the identity of reporters’ confidential sources.
• We handle cases involving exclusions for claims arising out of fraud, dishonesty, or criminal acts, among others.
• We monitor intellectual property cases for insurers, analyzing potential exposure and coverage issues. These cases can involve preemption questions under the Copyright Act, the proper measure of damages, evaluation of expert and lay witness testimony, and assessing the likelihood of awarded punitive damages.

In these matters we endeavor, whenever possible, to develop close and cooperative working relationships with insureds and their defense counsel. This helps to yield better results for our clients with respect to coverage issues and to the resolution of claims against the insureds.