Speaker Bios

Nicole Barna is an Assistant Vice President with Markel Assurance in Bermuda. As an underwriter on the Professional Liability team, Nicole has a wide-range of expertise on a primary and excess basis in the areas of Employment Practices Liability, Wage & Hour Insurance, Management Liability, Financial Institutions (Directors & Officers, Errors & Omissions, Cyber, Fiduciary and Bond/Crime), Transactional Liability (Reps & Warranties and Contingent Liability), and Errors & Omissions Insurance (Lawyers, Accountants, Architects). Nicole also serves as counsel to the Bermuda, London, and Dublin underwriting teams with respect to policy language, legal and regulatory developments, and coverage issues. Previously, Nicole was a senior attorney on the Markel Bermuda Professional Liability claims team.

Prior to joining Markel, Nicole was a litigation associate with Olshan Frome Wolosky, LLP in New York City, where she practiced in the areas of securities litigation, complex commercial litigation, and professional liability insurance.

Nicole received her J.D., cum laude, from Rutgers School of Law-Newark, and her B.A. from Wake Forest University. Nicole holds the Registered Professional Liability Underwriting Society (RPLU) designation, and is admitted to the New York Bar, the Southern District of New York, and the New Jersey Bar.


 

James (Jim) Byrnes is an Assistant Vice President in the Bermuda Claims Group at Allied World Assurance Company, Ltd, primarily handling high severity casualty and healthcare claims. Prior to joining Allied World, Jim was an attorney in Carroll, McNulty & Kull LLC’s Basking Ridge, NJ office for nearly 8 years (now Kennedys CMK LLP), and handled a variety of complex insurance matters in many jurisdictions throughout the United States as well as international arbitrations. Jim is a graduate from The College of New Jersey and Pennsylvania State University – Dickinson School of Law.

Chris is a partner in the New York and New Jersey offices and is a member of Kennedys’ Global Strategy Board. He has extensive experience in handling and resolving— through litigation and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms — insurance coverage disputes, including those involving environmental, toxic tort, asbestos, construction, advertising liability, products, cyber, property, automobile, and employment issues.

Chris has represented clients in insurance coverage disputes in virtually every state in the United States, on both the state and federal level, as well as in Bermuda, Canada, Puerto Rico, and throughout Europe. He also is experienced in resolution of reinsurance disputes and the drafting of reinsurance contracts. Chris often provides counsel to corporate clients on general business matters, contract negotiation, environmental litigation and compliance, and all types of commercial disputes.

Chris is a frequent lecturer on a myriad of insurance and litigation topics, including mediation and negotiation, bad faith, construction defect, toxic tort, hazardous waste and advertising liability. He is AV-Rated by Martindale-Hubbell, is on the Editorial Advisory Board of Insurance Law & Litigation Week, and is a Fellow of the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel (ACCEC). Chris also is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of St. Joseph's College in New York. 

Chen Foleyis Head of Bermuda Claims at Liberty Specialty Markets Agency in Bermuda. Chen is an experienced attorney having qualified as a barrister in England and then in Bermuda. He has previously advised insurers, reinsurers and commercial clients on matters relating to insurance coverage and dispute resolution in both London and Bermuda. Chen was awarded a Bachelor of Arts in Political Studies from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and earned his Bachelor of Laws (Honours) at Queen Mary College, London, England. He completed the Bar Vocational training at BPP Law School, also in London, and was called to the Bar of England & Wales at the Honorable Society of Lincoln’s Inn.

Jennifer Quinn Broda is a Partner at the Kennedys CMK office in Chicago, Illinois. She is an insurance specialist with over 20 years of experience in the insurance industry. As an attorney, she has successfully represented insurers in the United States, Bermuda and London markets. Jennifer counsels insurers in a range of coverage matters such as directors’ and officers’ liability, management liability, employment practices liability, lawyers, accountants and insurance agents’ liability, general liability and cyber liability claims. In addition to handling claims for insurers, Jennifer also performs pre-underwriting claim audits, and assists in drafting various professional liability policy wordings.

Jennifer received her undergraduate degree in Philosophy from Knox College, where she was a Caterpillar Fellowship recipient, and her law degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where she received a Law Academic Scholarship. She is a member of the Chicago Bar Association (CBA), the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS), and the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM).

Monica T. Sullivan is a founding partner of Nicolaides Fink Thorpe Michaelides Sullivan LLP, a nationwide insurance coverage firm with offices in New York, Illinois and California.  Monica focuses her practice on insurance coverage litigation and arbitration, maintaining an international client base that seeks her counsel on matters including pharmaceutical claims, environmental claims, construction claims, product liability issues and professional liability claims.
Monica’s diversified experience includes counseling clients in claims administration and policy analysis, as well as representing clients in complex disputes under a variety of policy forms, including commercial general liability, managed care and healthcare, and professional liability.
Monica brings extensive experience to the Bermuda market, where she has served as U.S. claims counsel to Bermuda insurers for over 20 years. In this capacity, she has managed arbitrations domestically and abroad. In addition to her litigation and coverage practice, Monica regularly conducts lectures and training seminars for claims and underwriting staff on emerging coverage issues, jurisdictional concerns and general claims handling practices.
 
Monica received her B.A. from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in 1990, and her J.D. from DePaul University College of Law, Order of the Coif, in 1993.  She is admitted to courts in Illinois, as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth and Seventh Circuits, and the U.S. Court for the Northern and Central Districts of Illinois and for the District of Colorado.  She is a member of the American Bar Association, Illinois Bar Association, Defense Research Institute (DRI) and Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS).