By Daniel Wolf (May 15, 2018, 3:39 PM EDT) -- Insurers have broad obligations to defend claims against their policyholders. However, as policyholders quickly learn when facing a claim, insurers often seek to limit these obligations through a wide array of tactics. One common tactic is to insist that attorneys defending a policyholder must comply with guidelines issued by the insurer. These guidelines — often labeled litigation management guidelines, defense counsel guidelines or billing guidelines — seek to impose detailed limitations on defense counsel's conduct. For instance, many guidelines prohibit or significantly restrict critical legal tasks such as: (1) engaging in intrafirm communications; (2) sending multiple professionals to participate in depositions, court appearances and meetings; (3) conducting legal research; (4) drafting and filing certain motions; (5) retaining expert witnesses; and (6) conducting nonparty depositions.[1]...