The Unappreciated Role of the Insurance Defense Attorney

It’s easy to fall into the trap of demonizing the lawyers on the other side. I’ll admit that I’ve done it myself. When you advocate for policyholders, as I have for decades, you get used to seeing insurance company attorneys as obstacles. These are professionals who stand in the way of justice for your client. They’re the ones writing motions to dismiss, pushing for summary judgment, challenging coverage, and sometimes questioning the very legitimacy of a claim. It can feel personal, especially when your client’s financial stability, health, or dignity is on the line.

I was thinking about these ideas last night after seeing a picture on LinkedIn of Ches Bostick and Steve Badger at the Capitol in Austin, Texas.  I then read a Writ of Mandamus about defense attorney Matthew Monson. Earlier in the day, after Badger said he was flying to Austin to testify in support of his insurance client’s position, I wrote:

“I hope your plane trip is delayed or cancelled. Your view is pretty simple: ‘Don’t hold my insurance company clients accountable for extra contractual damages which they cause to their policyholder customers when my clients act wrongfully.’ I disagree because the law should hold insurance companies accountable for wrongful conduct.”

Monson successfully fought off a sanctions Order in Texas. I purposely did not write about the original Order because it seemed to be the result of Monson not having a full opportunity to argue his side of the story. The recent Writ ¹ vindicated him and vacated the prior findings for that very reason.

Still, Matt is a very controversial attorney who is disliked by many on the policyholder side because his views are very public, aggressive, and do not seem balanced. I wonder who that may remind you of on the policyholder side of the Bar?

Many of the insurance defense lawyers I’ve faced are not only exceptionally capable but are, in fact, fulfilling a necessary and underappreciated role in our legal system. Their job isn’t to deny valid claims arbitrarily or out of malice. It’s to protect the contractual rights of their insurance company clients. They ensure that policy language is enforced as written, not stretched to accommodate every unfortunate situation.

Insurance defense lawyers are some of the most skilled attorneys in the courtroom. They’re sharp, well-prepared, and they know the intricacies of insurance law inside and out.  If not, their clients, who are litigation machines, will replace them with attorneys who are. Insurance companies monitor their outcomes, scrutinize their billing, and reward success. In many ways, these lawyers are like athletes under constant performance review.

When standing on the opposite side of the courtroom, it’s easy to see them as the enemy. They poke holes in your case. They uncover weaknesses. They catch mistakes, expose exaggerations, and, yes, sometimes, uncover fraud. Their victories can feel like personal losses, and it’s tempting to paint them with a broad brush as cold, corporate mouthpieces indifferent to the suffering of real people.

But this narrative is too simplistic. Just as prosecutors are not villains because they challenge criminal defendants, insurance defense attorneys are not inherently unjust because they challenge claims and positions taken by policyholders.

In fact, their very presence makes us better. They force policyholder advocates like me to be more thorough, precise, and disciplined in building a case. When we win against a strong defense, the victory means more. When we lose, we should learn. In the rare instances where fraud is present, it’s in everyone’s interest to protect the integrity of the system and have it brought to light.

Of course, not every defense attorney lives up to this ideal. Some push ethical boundaries. Some delay and obstruct unnecessarily. There are bad actors, just as there are among policyholder attorneys. However, we should judge individuals and be careful about generalizations. We should be careful not to let the heat of battle blind us to the role our opponents play in preserving the structure of legal accountability we all rely on.

So, while I’ll continue to fight hard for policyholders and butt heads with these insurance company lawyers, I think it’s worth taking a moment to acknowledge their contribution. They are not villains. They are worthy adversaries. They are often the best at what they do. Sometimes, they’re right. Respecting that doesn’t weaken our cause; it should elevate the standards we expect of ourselves in the presentation and representation of our policyholder clients.

Thought For The Day 

“If there were no bad people, there would be no good lawyers.”
— Charles Dickens

¹ In re: The Monson Law Firm, LLC, No. 13-25-00095-CV (Tex. App. Apr. 30, 2025).