Primmer Law Firm's Captive Solution Aims To Help Protect Journalists

Law firm Primmer Piper Eggleston & Cramer's captive expertise recently played a key role in creating a nonprofit insurance fund aimed at protecting journalists from strategic lawsuits.

Through its captive insurance management department, Primmer was able to design and form a captive solution that helped make the insurance fund, known as "Reporters Shield," a reality.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) recently announced the launch of Reporters Shield, which is intended to protect journalists from strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs).

Suing reporters or media agencies until stories are abandoned or the outlet goes out of business is an evolving threat to democracy, according to the USAID. Reporters Shield will allow journalists who might lack the resources to compete with repressive governments to have the insurance and legal protection they need to fight back.

Jesse Crary, shareholder with Primmer, who donated his time to the formation of Reporters Shield, said in a statement, "Reporters Shield will hopefully have a large impact on the way that stories get reported, and how we can create safe spaces for journalists to report on what they are actually seeing. The existence of this captive can have global impact. I am proud to have provided my skills and expertise to assist in its formation."

Reporters Shield will operate on a membership basis, accepting applications from outlets and organizations from North America, South America, Europe, and Central Asia to start. USAID is contributing up to $9 million in seed funding for the program to support non-US media. Private donor contributions fund the program to support US media.