Later this year, Illinois will become one of a handful of states where attorneys will have to disclose whether they carry professional liability insurance.

The state Supreme Court announced last week that it has amended its rule dealing with attorney registration to require the disclosure. The rule takes effect Oct. 1, and the information will be available to the public on the state Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission's Web site beginning in January.

"Anything that gives the public more information, I would think, is a good thing," said Peter Rotskoff, ARDC senior counsel.

The rule change was hailed by HALT, a Washington, D.C.-based legal consumer watchdog group, as a meaningful move.

"Responsible lawyers have always carried professional liability insurance as a matter of course," said HALT associate counsel Suzanne Mishkin. "We applaud the Illinois Supreme Court for taking this long-overdue step in protecting clients, who are entitled to know whether they will have meaningful recourse if an attorney mishandles a case."

Lawyer malpractice insurance was the subject of public hearings by the high court's rules committee in 2002 and 2003.

The ARDC, in conjunction with the 2002 registration process, asked attorneys to voluntarily disclose whether they had what is commonly called errors and omissions or legal professional liability insurance, and more than 60,000 responded, said James Grogan, ARDC chief counsel.

The survey showed that 40 percent of solo practitioners did not carry malpractice insurance. The percentage of uninsured attorneys dropped dramatically in private firms with two or more attorneys. Only 4 percent of lawyers in firms with two to 10 attorneys didn't have insurance, and less than 1 percent were uninsured in firms with 11 or more attorneys.

An overwhelming majority of government attorneys and judges, as well as corporate in-house attorneys, reported they did not carry insurance. Generally, only attorneys in private practice who deal with clients need malpractice insurance.

"But 40 percent (of solo practitioners without insurance) is a high number, and that's essentially why the court took the action it did," Grogan said. "It is the product of substantial debate."

HALT urged the court to adopt a requirement that would, at minimum, allow clients to determine whether a lawyer carried insurance before deciding to hire a lawyer or sue a negligent attorney.

The Illinois State Bar Association has proposed the court require "mandatory financial responsibility" for attorneys, be it by requiring a bond, malpractice insurance or some other means, said ISBA spokesman David Anderson.

"We think this (the current rule change) is a step in the right direction," he said.

Another proposal would have required lawyers to disclose directly to prospective clients whether they carried insurance.

"This (the current rule change) in no way precludes the Supreme Court from doing more," Grogan said.

After the requirement becomes effective, the ARDC will be able to conduct random audits to confirm the information provided by attorneys. If the information isn't provided, the lawyer's name will be removed from the master roll and the attorney will be unable to practice in Illinois.

Grogan said the state of Virginia, which has a similar reporting requirement and posts the results on a Web site, has about 1,250 "hits" on that information each month.

"It's a popular page in that jurisdiction," Grogan said.

HALT's Mishkin said the rule will encourage uninsured attorneys in Illinois to purchase coverage. Once South Dakota started requiring lawyers without insurance coverage to disclose their status on letterhead, that state saw a marked increase in the number of insured attorneys, as well as lower insurance rates, she said.

The cost of a malpractice insurance policy in Illinois is based on several factors, including how long an attorney has been practicing, volume of work, in what areas of law he or she practices and where the practice is located.

A typical policy for an attorney just starting practice costs about $2,000 per year, while an established attorney who handles a lot of cases might have to spend $9,000 annually.

To establish a valid malpractice claim, a plaintiff usually has to prove that the attorney owed the plaintiff the duty of professional care and breached that duty, and that the breach resulted in quantifiable damage.

Mishkin said she hopes Illinois eventually will follow Oregon's example and require all practicing attorneys to carry malpractice coverage.

"You wouldn't let a doctor perform surgery if he wasn't backed by an insurance policy," she said. "We should expect the same safety measures from lawyers, whom we entrust with our deepest confidences and our most valuable assets."