Executive Director’s Report, 0716 ALBJ, 77 The Alabama Lawyer 244 (2016)

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Vol. 77 No. 4 Pg. 244

Alabama Bar Lawyer

July, 2016

Title Legislation, License Fee Increase and A Legal Food Frenzy

Title Bill

This year’s legislative session ended not so much with a bang, but more of a whimper. One bill signed by the governor, though, was of great interest to many Alabama lawyers who have real estate practices. Act 2016-296 amends the Alabama Title Insurance Act which was previously amended in 2012. The earlier amendment included lawyers who write title policies in the definition of “title agent” as defined under the Title Insurance Act, thereby making them subject to regulation for the first time by the Alabama Department of Insurance. As a result of that earlier amendment (it became effective in 2013), lawyers had to undergo a background check through the Criminal Justice Information Service Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, complete a pre-licensing course and examination (unless otherwise exempt) and take 24 hours of continuing education every two years.

When the 2012 amendments were introduced, the state bar was assured by the bill’s principal sponsor, the Alabama Land Title Association, that the changes would not affect lawyers who were title agents or interfere with the regulation of lawyers, which is the sole province of the Alabama State Bar through rules promulgated by the Alabama Supreme Court. That assurance dissipated once the amendments passed and became effective. The Insurance Department informed the state bar that it intended to apply all provisions under the act to lawyers serving as title agents. Despite the state bar’s best efforts to resolve these differences administratively, including an opinion of the state bar’s Office of General Counsel stating that under the Separation of Powers Doctrine, “…the Supreme Court has exclusive plenary authority over lawyers licensed to practice law in Alabama,” the Insurance Department felt compelled to impose these additional regulations on Alabama lawyers acting as title agents.

I will not belabor the histrionics of the legislation that was passed during this last session except to say that after the state bar’s diligent efforts over the last two years failed to rectify the disagreement over dual regulation of lawyers, it was necessary to marshal our efforts to resolve the matter legislatively. Henry Henzel, president of Attorneys Insurance Mutual of the South...

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