Bill is a trial attorney in the litigation department who works primarily out of Frost Brown Todd's Columbus, Ohio office. His practice involves a significant amount of insurance coverage analysis and "bad faith" litigation, particularly in the state and federal courts in Ohio and West Virginia. After having been recognized eight times by Ohio Super Lawyers® magazine as a Rising Star in insurance coverage, Bill has more recently been selected for inclusion in the insurance law section of The Best Lawyers in America© for several consecutive years. Bill has also written and presented numerous times to CLEs, trade associations, and client gatherings on issues relating to insurance coverage and insurance claim handling.

Bill also actively defends and has a sizeable amount of first-chair trial experience on a wide range of non-insurance matters. These cases have involved trucking and transportation accidents, product liability suits, employment-related actions, and other high-exposure tort claims. Many of these matters have involved catastrophic or fatality injuries. Bill has also successfully briefed and argued matters in Ohio Courts of Appeals and has successfully opposed parties attempting to appeal issues to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Robert Bowers is National Claims Leader for Westfield Insurance. In this role, Rob is responsible for the strategic direction and operational policies, procedures and results of the claims department and serves on Westfield’s P&C leadership team.  Rob has held a variety of operational, leadership, executive, sr. executive and change leadership roles throughout his 29 years in the industry and his 20 career at Westfield.  Most recently, Rob held the role of National Claims Strategy Leader and was responsible for the strategic development and deployment of Westfield’s multi-year claims transformation initiatives focused on organizational customer, analytical, and data advancements spanning successful comprehensive changes to process, organization and technology.  In addition to his claims roles, Rob has served as Change Leader for other organizational initiatives including Westfield’s Business Intelligence initiative. 

Rob received his undergraduate degree from Geneva College, Beaver Falls, PA;  and his MBA from Ashland University, Ashland, Ohio; where he was inducted into Delta Mu Delta. He currently holds multiple insurance designations, including CPCU, SCLA and AIC.  He also holds certifications as a Hammer Process Master and is certified in Prosci Change Management.

Rob has spoken at a variety of industry events including CLM’s Claims College and Litigation Management Institute; the Annual Claims Event (ACE); ACE Tech; Guidewire Connections;  IBM Counterfraud Summit among others. 

Rob lives in Aurora, Ohio with his wife Cindy, and their children and is actively involved in the local community with various church, missions, board and volunteer activities. 
 

Linda’s industry knowledge and expertise have been honed throughout her 25-year career in the workers’ compensation arena. A seasoned professional, her achievements in client programming and data analytics have led to a deep understanding of the issues facing the industry and the professional service solutions required to manage cost drivers, utilize technology to create administrative efficiencies, and bridge regulatory requirements. Linda’s guiding principal is rooted in patient-centricity – the belief that we need to treat the person, not just the injury.

Dave North is Sedgwick’s Executive Chairman— a position he has held since 1995. Under Dave’s leadership, Sedgewick as grown from a boutique, regional third-party claims administrator to the premier global provider of innovative business solutions in the areas of workers' compensation, disability, absence management, property loss adjusting and more. Sedgwick has more than 13,000 colleagues in 275 offices in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Ireland who take care of people and organizations by delivering cost-effective claims, productivity, managed care, risk consulting and other services. At the time of its sale to private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in 2014, Sedgwick was valued at $2.4 billion and boasted a remarkable 99% customer retention rate. 

Dave has over thirty-two years of experience in risk management services. He is a frequent speaker at national and regional industry conferences. In 2016, EY honored Dave with its Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the Southeast U.S. Region. He previously developed and taught the American Management Association course on Advanced Risk Management Strategies: Managing the Total Cost of Risk. In 2002, Dave was recognized by Business Insurance as one of the 35 “Rising Stars” in insurance worldwide. In 2003, he co-authored The Art of Self-Insurance. Dave has served on the board of Workers’ Compensation Research Institute and is past chairman of the board of Integrated Benefits Institute.

Dave is currently a director for The Institutes, the leading provider of professional education for the risk management and property-casualty insurance industry. In 2016, Dave was appointed by Gov. Bill Haslem to serve on The University of Memphis’s Board of Trustees. He previously served on the university’s Board of Visitors and concurrently serves on the Foundation Board and the President’s Innovation Board. In addition, Dave is a member of the B.I. Women to Watch Advisory Board. 

Deborah Saunders is Senior Director, Claims Management for Comcast NBCUniversal. She is responsible for managing Comcast and NBCU’s Workers’ Compensation, Auto Liability, General Liability, Employment Practices and Media Professional E&O claims management programs. Prior to joining Comcast in 1998, Deborah was the Workers’ Compensation Claims Specialist for Campbell Soup Company. She started her career in claims as a representative for Travelers Insurance, where she handled both workers’ compensation and commercial liability claims.Deborah earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Massachusetts. She also holds Associate in Risk Management (ARM) and Certified Workers’ Compensation Professional (CWCP) designations and is a certified paralegal.

Dawn Watkins is the Director of Integrated Disability Management for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).
Ms. Watkins has over 30 years’ experience in Risk Management in both the private and public sector.  In 2004, she joined the Risk Management Division of LAUSD where she held progressively responsible positions. Since 2006, she had led one of the largest self-insured workers’ compensation programs in the state as well as Absence Management Reasonable Accommodations, Return to Work and Protected Leave programs.
In 2008, Ms. Watkins received the Risk Innovator award and under her leadership LAUSD received the “Theodore Roosevelt” award for excellence in workers’ compensation and disability management in the public sector.  Both awards were issued by Risk and Insurance magazine.
Ms. Watkins earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Long Island University in Brooklyn, New York.  Ms. Watkins holds the Professional in Human Resources (PHR), Associate in Claims (AIC) and Associate in Risk Management- Public Entities (ARM-P) designations and a California Self Insured Administrators certificate. 

Dr. Al-Hamwi leads the Walgreen Co. Health & Safety,  Injury Management, and Liability Intake Programs. Anas  supports the global Walgreens Boots Alliance group to improve population health, safety and liability outcomes. Anas leads the Health & Safety Governance Committee and serves on the Corporate Social Responsibility governance committee.
 
Anas developed an enhanced safety management system focused on prevention and risk mitigation, and designed and implemented an Active Care model that delivers improved access to quality care post-injury while reducing cost. Anas has developed a culture at Walgreens that integrates safety care and advocacy into company processes and procedures, resulting in consistent reduction in team member, customers injuries, and liabilities.

Anas serves on the board of the National Safety Council (NSC), is a fellow of the Claims Litigation Management Society (CLM), and is a member of the Risk Insurance Management Society (RIMS).
 
Anas earned a doctor of medicine degree from Damascus University, Syria, and is a member of the Chicago ALSAC chapter of St. Jude charities.

Rebecca joined the firm in 2020 and is the managing partner of the Gartner + Bloom Florida office. Rebecca primarily practices in the area of third party liability coverage and third party liability defense. Prior to joining the firm, Rebecca practiced general and professional liability coverage, bad faith and third party liability defense in Tampa, Florida. Rebecca received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Music in 1995 from Syracuse University. In 1997, she received her Master of Arts degree in Advertising from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and her Juris Doctorate in 1998 from the Syracuse University College of Law.
 
Rebecca is admitted to practice before all state courts in New York and Florida and the United States District Courts for the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Florida, the District of Columbia and the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th and 11th Circuits and the Supreme Court of the United States. Rebecca has authored and co-authored several articles concerning liability insurance coverage for various publications, and is a frequent lecturer on coverage related topics. 

Jennifer is a Senior Claims Specialist with Nationwide’s Management Liability and Specialty claims where she handles Employment Practices Liability claims for both for-profit and non-profit insureds. 

Jennifer has over 15 years of experience in the insurance industry. Prior to joining Nationwide, Jennifer was a claims consultant with Hartford Financial Products where she handled Lawyers Professional Liability and E&O Liability claims for The Hartford. Prior to joining The Hartford, Jennifer was a Senior Claims Officer with the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies where she handled not for profit D&O and Employment Practices claims. Jennifer began her insurance career with the American International Group, Inc. as a claims counsel and began her legal career in private practice in New York City where she represented clients in a wide range of complex commercial matters including employment litigation. 

Jennifer received a B.A. from Skidmore College, a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School, a M.P.A. from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and an M.S. from Columbia University in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution. Jennifer is admitted to practice in New York State and the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.

Ms. Beck was awarded CLM's Outside Counsel of the Year in 2018.  She is the leading author of CLM Magazine's award-winning Blame Game series which analyzes verdicts in cases across the country.  She has joined the powerhouse firm of Klinedinst Law as a shareholder with an entire team of lawyers, paralegals, and staff covering CA, AZ and NV, as she and her team practice in all three states.  She co-chairs the firm's diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts with Sacramento Office Managing Shareholder Natalie Vance. She was formerly Chair of Arizona Litigation and Co-chair of California Litigation with Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney, an AM Law 100 firm.  Exemplar clients include LEGO, Inc., the San Diego Zoo, Sea World, Walsh Construction, Chipotle, the San Diego Tourism Authority, McDonald’s Corporation, Sprouts Farmers Markets, various insurance companies, and many others.

Admitted to CA Bar (1990); U.S. District Court (Southern District of California) (1990); admitted to AZ Bar (2005); admitted to NV Bar (2019).

Preparatory Education: San Diego State University (B.S. 1986).Legal Education: University of San Diego (J.D. 1990, Magna Cum Laude).

Memberships: President-Elect, National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations; VP of the National Diversity Council's Southern California Diversity Council; Co-creator of GOOD Guys (GOOD=Guys Overcoming Obstacles to Diversity); San Diego County Bar Association; CLM; American Bar Association (Woman Advocate Committee, co-chair of the Book Sub-Committee); Lawyers Club of San Diego (founder and past co-chair of the Professional Advancement Committee and past co-chair of the Balance Committee); Girl Scouts, San Diego-Imperial Council, Inc. 

Other: Extern to Justice Howard B. Wiener, California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District (1990); Internship and Clerk for Office of the United States Attorney, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (1986-1988).

Ms. Beck is deeply committed to issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and is an active organizer, speaker, and writer on these issues.

 

Christine Bernstock is a Director within the Risk Management Department at Tishman Construction Corporation, overseeing the handling and administration of claims and litigation.  Prior to joining Tishman, Christine was at ACE Insurance, handling professional liability matters involving architects, engineers and design professionals on a worldwide basis. She was also at Catlin, handling property and casualty matters, with a focus on construction.  Ms. Bernstock was formerly a partner in the New York office of Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP, where her practice focused on insurance defense litigation, with an emphasis on construction. She has litigated cases in the state and federal court systems in New York; handling all aspects of litigation, from inception to trial, including appellate advocacy. She has successfully argued appeals before the Appellate Division and the NY Court of Appeals.  Ms. Bernstock has co-authored Continuing Legal Education materials on automobile liability and the New York Labor Law.

Brian Boardingham is an Associate General Counsel, Global Insurance Claims at XL Catlin where he provides legal guidance and support on both claims and litigated matters.  Before joining XL Catlin in January of 2015, Brian was in private practice for over 20 years focusing on all aspects of complex insurance and reinsurance litigation and arbitration involving commercial property, including business interruption and builders’ risk, casualty, marine, directors and officers cover and issues relating to brokers and managing general underwriters.  Brian is a member of the New York bar.

Jeff brings with him a wealth of medical knowledge, as well as experience in risk management and claims, having worked for a large hospital system in Kansas for more than 20 years. Jeff has worked as an emergency department nurse, RAC compliance auditor and EPIC order set coordinator. Jeff also has experience as a claims specialist with Kansas Medical Mutual Insurance Co. Jeff works from Lawrence, Kansas, providing claim services to MMIC insureds in Kansas and Missouri.

Brian Bornstein is Regional Claims Executive for AIG's Mid-Atlantic Region and is based in Philadelphia. In this position Brian acts as the senior claims executive and makes sure that all AIG claims handled in the mid atlantic region are serviced appropriately. These claims include Crime, Directors and Officers, Errors & Omissions, Workers Comp, Casualty, Environmental, Property, and Healthcare. Prior to this position, Brian spent ten years in AIG home office New York where he held the following positions: Vice President, Quality Assurance Group, overseeing the Crime, Directors and Officers, Errors and Omissions and Toxic Tort areas; and as Assistant Vice President, Crime Claims. In his position as Assistant Vice President of Crime Claims he managed hundreds of world wide crime claims with exposures in the multi millions of dollars. For these claims, he was also involved in managing the accounting and recovery processes. Prior to joining AIG in 1995, Brian worked as in house counsel with Long Island Lighting Company and practiced law with Lowenstein Sandler and Bingham Englar. He holds a B.A. degree from Cornell University and Law (JD) and MBA degrees from the University of Buffalo.

Bob Bowman is the Director of Risk Management for the Wendy's Company, based in Dublin, Ohio. He is a graduate of The Ohio State University and resides in Cincinnati, Ohio with his wife and two children.

Bob entered the insurance industry in 1990, in Cincinnati, with Safeco Insurance Companies, and spent seven years with them, in a variety of auto, property and casualty claims-related roles.

Bob joined Macy’s in 1997 and held a variety of roles in their Risk Management department over the past 14 years, including overseeing self-administered General Liability, Property and Workers’ Compensation claims groups, Risk Management Systems and IT Operations, Risk Management Reporting functions, Business Continuity Planning and Crisis Management groups and Insurance procurement and program placement.Bob joined the Wendy's organization in 2014, as the Director of Risk Management and holds responsibility for overseeing the placement and administration of insurance programs, claims administration and business continutity.

Away from the work, Bob has coached soccer, baseball, softball and basketball teams and has been a member of the Springdale Forest Park Lions Club. He previously served on the Vestry at St Anne Episcopal Church, acting as Stewardship Liaison, Jr. Warden and Sr. Warden. Bob participated in the Christ Renews His Parish program at St. Anne, serving in a variety of roles including Spiritual Director. He has also served at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy on the Friends of Fine Arts board, as Membership chair, Treasurer and President. Bob enjoys supporting Back2Back Ministries and partnering with them on missionary projects in Monterrey, Mexico, and he is a member and Steering Committee chair for JH Ranch, Outback America in Cincinnati.

Mark A. Boyle is the managing shareholder of Boyle, Leonard & Anderson, P.A., with offices in Fort Myers, FL, Tampa, FL, and Charleston SC. He began his legal career working as an Assistant County Attorney for Pasco County in New Port Richey, Florida. Mr. Boyle began his foray into the world of insurance when he became associate general counsel for Armor Insurance Company in Tampa, Florida. In 1996, he entered into private practice with Fink & Lane, P.A., which is now known as Boyle, Leonard & Anderson, P.A.
 
Mr. Boyle’s current areas of practice include civil litigation, with a concentration in first and third-party insurance disputes, including extra-contractual and bad faith matters. Mr. Boyle represents corporate and individual policyholders in insurance and risk management counseling, claims presentation, and litigation. Mr. Boyle was the principal attorney in U.S. Fire Ins. Co. v. J.S.U.B., Inc., 979 So. 2d 871 (Fla.2007), at trial and through all phases of appeal. J.S.U.B. is the seminal decision in Florida as to what constitutes a covered “occurrence” and “property damage” under commercial general liability policies in a construction defect setting. Recently, with the assistance of co-counsel, the firm prevailed in the matter of Sebo v. American Home Assurance Co., 208 So. 3d 694 (Fla. 2016). The Sebo decision reaffirmed Florida’s fealty to the Concurrent Cause Doctrine in first-party insurance disputes and disallowed the insurers' attempt to apply the highly restrictive Efficient Proximate Cause Doctrine.
 
Mr. Boyle is a 1993 graduate of  Stetson College of Law, located in St. Petersburg, Florida. In 1990, Mr. Boyle received a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Bachelor of Science in Natural Sciences from the University of South Florida.
 

Traci L. Boyle is a litigator in the firm's Subrogation & Recovery Department and has experience in all aspects of trial practice and procedure. She formerly practiced at a mid-sized firm in Dallas.

Prior to her legal career, Traci worked at an automotive engineering and manufacturing company in Escanaba, Michigan and worked in real estate development when she lived in Tampa, Florida.

Traci received her B.B.A. from Western Michigan University and attended Baylor University School of Law where she served as an Associate Editor on the Baylor Law Review. 

A widely-respected trial lawyer in both the commercial and insurance realms, Jay is a trusted counselor, a valued advisor, and when necessary, a happy warrior. Reflecting his success in the courtroom, Jay obtained two board certifications from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization (Civil Trial Law and Personal Injury Trial Law), was inducted by fellow renowned trial lawyers into the American Board of Trial Advocates, selected for the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel and the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance, and named multiple years to the Texas Super Lawyers and the Best Lawyers in America.

Jay charts the resolution paths on multi-case dockets where efficiency predominates, and also spearheads complex, high-profile litigation in which initiative and proactivity provide mastery over dangerous exposures. He has achieved an exemplary record of jury verdicts and negotiated solutions on lawsuits involving wide-spread catastrophes, complex contracts, fraud, insurance bad faith, deceptive trade practices, civil rights and major accidents.

Jay is highly regarded in the insurance industry and has skillfully navigated numerous commercial property insurers and adjusters through catastrophic claims involving manufacturing facilities, office buildings, retail complexes and refineries, including through the murky waters of first party bad faith disputes.

In the commercial litigation world, Jay is a “go to” lawyer for complex, high exposure business and technical disputes involving high stakes. He has litigated supply and output contracts, take or pay, and refinery related disputes, and defended a wide spectrum of lawsuits stemming from traumatic oil field and petrochemical refinery accidents, derrick collapses, rotating equipment failures, welding/cutting, confined space events, fires, explosions, oilfield indemnity, and workplace shootings.

His extensive experience allows him to evaluate cases “early on” including realistically identifying actual risk, based not on hyperbolic allegations but on concrete evidence and the likely perceptions of a jury.

Jamie Carsey is a Managing Director at Markel, where she provides strategic leadership to the claims department and oversees and manages the in-house coverage counsel division, the in-house attorneys who handle the extra-contractual claims and lawsuits against the Company, and the Claims Vendor Management team. Jamie also provides training to the Claims Department on coverage and litigation issues and assists Underwriting with policy forms.  Prior to joining Markel, Jamie was an equity partner with the law firm Thompson, Coe, Cousins and Irons, where she was the vice-president of the Insurance Coverage Practice Group. Her practice focused on insurance coverage matters and breach of contract and bad faith litigation, including trials, in multiple jurisdictions. 

Christopher A. Carucci is Vice President of Client Services for Gallagher Bassett. His responsibilities include oversight of large national accounts, claim management and litigation management.  Previously, Chris was in a claim leadership role at Everest National Insurance Company. Chris was responsible for managing the Casualty, Auto, Property, Excess, and Professional Liability Claim Departments as well as overseeing Litigation Management, SIU and Compliance. Prior to joining Everest National Insurance Company, Chris was a leader within the Specialties Claims Organization of Zurich North America managing the Professional Liability Claim Department.  He also was played a significant role in litigation management.  Chris worked at AIG before joining Zurich North America. At AIG, he managed a nationwide caseload of bad faith, coverage and high exposure Casualty claims. Chris also was involved in litigation management and conducting training for claims personnel.
 
Chris is a member of the American Bar Association, the New York Bar Association, the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (Advisory Board Member), the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, USLAW (Client Advisory Board), Defense Research Institute and NRRDA. He is a professor at the CLM Litigation Management Institute and a frequent speaker at industry events on topics including claim management, litigation management and good faith claim handling.  He earned his B.A. degree from Fairfield University and his J.D. from New York Law School.

Ms. Castagna has over 30 years of experience defending businesses and individuals in lawsuits throughout the state of Texas.  She focuses her practice in the areas of insurance defense, trucking and transportation defense, dram shop and liquor liability litigation, products liability, premises liability, construction defects, professional malpractice, and other general civil insurance defense litigation.  She has defended clients and insureds in situations ranging from minor accidents to those involving catastrophic damages, including death cases, quadriplegic cases, and brain-injury cases.
She was admitted to the State Bar of Texas in 1987. She is admitted to practice before all four U.S. District Courts in the State of Texas (Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western).  She is a member of the American College of Transportation Attorneys, Transportation Lawyers Association, Trucking Industry Defense Association, Defense Research Institute, and Claims and Litigation Management Alliance.  She is a member and former chair of the Inclusion Committee of the Trucking Industry Defense Association.
She received her J.D. from St. Mary’s University in 1987.  She obtained dual degrees of Bachelor of Business Administration and Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Southern Methodist University in 1984.
She has authored and presented papers on “Preservation of Error and Texas Liquor Liability”, for the State Bar of Texas; “Preparation of a Commercial Truck Driver for Deposition”, for the State Bar of Texas; “Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Motorcycle Accidents”, for the American College of Transportation Attorneys; “Understanding Cellular and GPS Trucking Evidence”, for the Arkansas Trucking Seminar; and “Retention and Production of Driver’s Cellular Records”, for the American College of Transportation Attorneys.

Debbie Champion is a founding partner in the firm Rynearson, Suess, Schnurbusch and Champion.  Ms. Champion actively practices in all Missouri and Southern Illinois courts and is a member of the Bar of the United States Supreme Court.

Pam Colpoys is Director Risk Management for Ashford, Inc., a leading provider of asset management and other services to companies within the hospitality industry. Currently Ashford serves as the advisor to two NYSE listed real estate investment trusts, Namely Ashford Hospitality Trust ad Ashford Hospitality Prime. Combined, Ashford Trust and Ashford Prime have 126 hotels with more than 26,000 rooms and over $5 billion in assets. In her current role, Pam manages the casualty and property risk program with an emphasis on mitigating exposures through successful litigation and claim management with partners in the Ashford Global Casualty program. Prior to joining Ashford, Inc., Pam was Corporate Risk Manager for Omni Hotels and came to Omni from Harold’s Stores where she also served as Risk Manager. A risk manager with over 15 years’ experience in the risk management field, Pam has held board positions with the local Dallas Ft Worth Chapter of RIMS and is a graduate of the University of Texas with a BBA in concentration in labor management and holds the Associate in Risk Management designation.

Claudia A. Costa is a partner of the New York City office of Goldberg Segalla.  Claudia's practice focuses on the defense of private and publicly held corporations in all aspects of employment-related matters. In addition, Claudia represents and defends lawyers, accountants and insurance brokers/agents in professional malpractice suits brought against them. As well, Claudia defends municipalities and townships in civil rights and municipal liability claims. With a significant background in commercial litigation, Claudia has represented both publicly and privately held corporations in many aspects of their business litigation, including representing members of boards of directors in class action suits and shareholder derivative lawsuits, and she has represented clients in SEC investigations.

Fluent in Spanish, Claudia offers anti harrassment training in both languages. Claudia also drafts handbooks for employers.

Claudia currently serves on the executive committee and as the out-of-state district representative for the Torts, Insurance and Compensation Law Section of the New York State Bar Association. She holds a CLM premium membership and is an active member of the Defense Research Institute, where she has served as one of the marketing chairs of the Professional Liability Section since 2013. Claudia obtained her juris doctor from the Fordham University School of Law, and her Bachelor of Arts from St. Peter's University.

Tim Crawley is one of the founding members of Anderson Crawley & Burke, pllc, with offices in Jackson and Oxford, MS.  Mr. Crawley is admitted to practice before all courts in the States of Mississippi and Tennessee, and before the United States Supreme Court.  He has annually received the highest rating from Martindale Hubbell since 2013 and has reported more than 40 appellate decisions.  Mr. Crawley has authored several articles and served as a faculty member for many continuing education and client training seminars in his areas of practice, recently presenting on Unmanned Aerial Systems (“Drones”) to the LMA Under 35 group at Lloyd’s of London; at the RIMS Annual Conference in Philadelphia, PA; at the ACE Annual Conference in Charlotte, NC; and at the 72nd Annual Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference in Orlando, FL. Mr. Crawley is considered to be a leader in the industry regarding drones, their liability profile, and insurance coverage issues.  He is a member of the Mississippi and Tennessee Bar Associations; Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit; DRI; IADC; TIDA; TLA; CLM; and the Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association. Mr. Crawley received his undergraduate education from Duke University in 1982, his Juris Doctorate from The University of Mississippi School of Law in 1985, and he currently resides in Jackson, MS.
 

Renée Crow joined EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants in January 2016 as Vice President and Hospitality Practice Leader. Prior to joining EPIC, Renée held the position of Vice President of Risk Management for Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants for 9 years. In that role her responsibilities included oversight of all Property, Casualty, Executive Protection and Employment related insurance, claims, insured litigation, compliance and, employee training. She was responsible for coordination of all insurance programs for both owned and third party managed hotels and restaurants through a Kimpton master program.
 
Previous to Kimpton, Renée worked for over 20 years as a licensed insurance broker with national insurance brokerage firms. Her brokerage experience included positions of outside risk management consultant and account executive for many hotel, restaurant, real estate and construction clients. 

Renée holds the designations of Associate in Risk Management (ARM) and Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist (CRIS). In 2015, Renée was the chairperson for the AHLA Risk Management Committee and continues to be actively involved with the committee as a regular speaker. She is also a regularly invited speaker for hospitality related groups and panels.

Lars Daniel is a recognized thought leader and digital forensics pioneer with more than 16 years of expertise transforming how the legal and insurance industries understand and utilize digital evidence. As a visionary in the field, he has consistently been at the forefront of emerging technologies, from early mobile device forensics to today’s artificial intelligence and Internet of Things challenges.

Throughout his career, Lars has held leadership positions at prominent forensics firms, where he built world-class teams of experts with backgrounds in law enforcement, including Homeland Security, the Secret Service, and High-Tech Crime task forces. His leadership approach is focused not just on technical excellence, but on anticipating industry needs and preparing teams for the digital challenges of tomorrow.

As a driving force in legal and insurance education, Lars has fundamentally changed how attorneys and claims professionals approach digital evidence. He has trained thousands of legal and insurance professionals, delivering over 400 Continuing Legal Education (CLE) and Continuing Education (CE) classes that have shaped industry standards. His educational philosophy centers on making complex technical concepts accessible and actionable for non-technical professionals.

Lars’ influence extends beyond traditional training through his role as a Forbes Contributor, where he writes on digital forensics, digital evidence, expert testimony, artificial intelligence, and the impact of technology in the legal and insurance industries.

Will is a partner at Starnes Davis Florie LLP. His litigation practice involves professional medical liability, long-term care and nursing home liability, commercial litigation, and general personal-injury litigation. Will has tried multiple cases to a verdict. Will is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell® and has been named a "Rising Star" for the State of Alabama Mid-South Super Lawyers. He has also been named a "Litigation Star" by Benchmark Litigation. 
 
Will is a graduate of the University of Virginia (B.A.) and the University of Alabama School of Law (J.D., LL.M.). He is a member of the Monday Morning Quarterback Club (Crippled Children’s Foundation) and serves on the Board of PreSchool Partners, a non-profit organization dedicated to preparing children with quality preschool education.
 
Outside the office, Will can be found chasing his five-year-old twin boys and seven-year-old daughter. 

Susan is the AVP of Direct Resolution Claims at Arch Insurance. She is a skilled claims executive specializing in Property/Casualty claims. Susan leads claims teams related to the handling of Personal Lines, Commercial Auto, GL, Property, and Professional Lines. She has experience building out claims staff, TPA and carrier management. Susan is a dynamic and experienced leader managing casualty claims teams involving large deductibles, SIR's, unbundled programs, primary and excess polices. She has strong interpersonal skills with an ability to connect and motivate teams to achieve more than they thought possible.

Todd DeStefano is the Senior Vice President and business leader of ESIS ProClaim, a specialty division of ESIS providing Professional Liability and complex claim adjusting and risk management solutions to Hospitals, Long Term Care, Nursing Homes, Physician Groups, Life Sciences, Healthcare professionals and E&O claims for Lawyers, Architects & Engineers, Insurance Agents and Real estate agents.  Additionally, ProClaim  handles specialty claims involving toxic tort, asbestos and environmental and pollution risks and exposures. Todd is responsible for leading the Professional Liability Practice including the development, growth, client service, operations and quality of the ProClaim business.
 
Prior to joining ESIS ProClaim, Todd was the Director of PwC’s Insurance Claims, Underwriting and Operations Practice and has over 30 years of Commercial and Personal Lines, Workers’ Compensation, Property & Casualty, Professional Lines, Homeowners, Auto, Property, Long Term Care, Short and Long Term Disability, and Life insurance experience.
 
Over the course of his career Todd has served as a senior insurance executive holding leadership positions with AIG, Zurich, York Risk Services Group and Allstate Insurance in Claims, Internal Audit, SIU, Managed Care, Underwriting, Risk Control, Corporate Development (leading acquisitions) and Sales and Marketing.  Todd is also a former Risk Manager and Insurance Broker and owned a Risk Management Consulting, TPA and brokerage firm for 10 years that was twice named to the INC 500 list. 
 
Todd serves on the Board of several industry associations, is a frequent speaker and industry thought leader recently authoring articles and white papers on Reserve Deficiencies, Construction Defect, The Aging Workforce, Long Term Care, Big Data, Predictive Analytics, Physician Dispensing, Medical Marijuana, and Opioid Abuse.
 
Todd is based in New York City and holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Seton Hall University.
 

Cliff Dutton is Cliff Dutton is DTI Epiq's chief innovation officer. He drives business model innovation and leads the company’s product strategy, both for proprietary software and third-party software integrations. 
 
Dutton recently served as senior vice president, director of strategies and director of eDiscovery at American International Group, Inc. (AIG), where he led transformational change in the legal operations center, focusing on legal vendor management, electronic discovery process innovation, alternative dispute resolution and alternative fee arrangements. His team was recognized as a Value Champion in 2015 by the Association of Corporate Counsel.
 
He has deep experience in eDiscovery, having been the national technical editor of the first electronic discovery reference model (EDRM) project in 2006, advised Senate Banking Committee members on implications of Sarbanes-Oxley for electronic discovery, and briefed the Department of Homeland Security on the use of electronic discovery technologies in terrorist threat detection.
 
Prior to his work in the legal industry, Dutton led policy, technology and business development in transaction and data processing businesses globally. He has served as a board member in public and private companies, and is named inventor in four U.S. patents in digital image processing, game 

Prior to joining Arthur J. Gallagher as a Litigation Specialist, Matt was in private practice as lawyer for 7 years. During that time Matt gained extensive courtroom experience defending numerous insurance companies and their insureds against lawsuits. Matt tried 9 cases to a final judgment, and filed several appeals before the Alabama Supreme Court and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. This formational experience taught Matt how to aggressively defend lawsuits while taking into account the overall goals and objectives of the insurance companies and their insureds. Matt brings this holistic approach to Arthur J. Gallagher to achieve the best possible outcome for our insureds. Matt is a graduate of Birmingham-Southern College and the Cumberland School of Law. He is licensed to practice law in Alabama, and is continually learning how to better serve our insureds.

Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Court Mediator and Qualified Arbitrator with two decades of litigation experience.
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My experience comes from decades of having litigated for both plaintiffs and defendants in hundreds of high-profile personal injury and wrongful death matters. My areas of specialty are product liability and premises liability cases. Over the past two decades, I have settled hundreds of cases and I cannot wait to settle hundreds more! I believe in resolving disputes early and efficiently. I have been a trial lawyer since 2006. In February of 2023 I resigned from my equity partnership at an international civil litigation firm in order to focus exclusively on mediations and arbitrations. I reside in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida and Islamorada, Florida with my husband, Tom, and our son, Bear.
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Carly was selected as a finalist in the Outside Counsel category of the 2018 CLM Professionals of the Year awards.
The finalists represent the best of the best in the claims and litigation management industry.
 

Rick is a Vice-President for BerkleyMed which is an excess insurance carrier that focuses solely on the healthcare professional liability insurance industry with a nationwide distribution.

He has over 30 years of experience with technical oversight on physician, hospital and general liability claims having served in a number of Claim Technical & Management Positions.  At BerkleyMed, Rick is responsible for oversight of the most technically complex and highest severity claims with unique fact patterns and precedent-setting matters.   

Rick has lectured nationally on claims best practices, defending against the reptile strategy, effective communication skills for risk managers, using the affordable care act to defend against future medical damages, and other claim or risk management related topics.

 

 

Cassandra has recently transitioned from representing one of the largest transportation brokerages in the industry as the company's lead attorney and Director of Cargo Security to becoming an Associate General Counsel at one of the largest transportation trucking companies in the country. Prior to going in-house, Cassandra was a transportation litigator at a nationwide law firm. Cassandra's legal practice has been enhanced by her prior business experience in New York City at two Fortune 500 companies, where she gained a wide range of experience in sales, marketing, operations (including wholesale and distribution) and management. Cassandra's educational background consists of an undergraduate degree in economics and financial management at Cornell University and she received her law degree at University of California, Hastings College of Law.

Elizabeth Ganiere has years of experience as In-House Counsel for both public and private corporations including construction developers, manufacturers, financiers, consumer products companies and and most recently the energy sector including, nuclear, alternative energy and oil & gas.

Ms. Ganiere currently works for McDermott International at its global headquarters supporting onshore and offshore projects in the Americas.  Formerly, she was onsite Senior Counsel with CB&I as a government contractor to build the Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility. The MOX Project, has since been terminated, was at the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site in South Carolina. 

Previously she was General Counsel of Oakland Enterprises (Gulf Stream Coach, Inc.), a privately-held consumer products manufacturing conglomerate located in the Midwest.  Formerly, Ms. Ganiere was Corporate Counsel for global commercial and consumer products manufacturer Champion Enterprises, Inc., and served as the advising attorney and negotiator of sponsor and media contracts for a professional extreme sport athlete (BMX) and his training center.  She also has served as Advising Counsel for select directors, producers and filmmakers.

Ms. Ganiere served on the Advisory Board of the CLM for several years.  Ms. Ganiere is licensed to practice law in Michigan, Indiana and the U.S. Supreme Court.  She received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from University of Southern California and Juris Doctorate from Western Michigan University and in 2011 became a Certified Litigation Management Professional (CLMP).

Ms. Ganiere is a regular lecturer and speaker in an array of legal and insurance subject matters for CLM, ABA, USLaw, Eagle International & LatinoMediaVision – Filmmakers conferences.

A dedicated advocate, Joseph P. Garin is a partner in the firm of Lipson, Neilson, Cole, Seltzer & Garin, P.C. He maintains a national practice, focusing on the defense of professional liability claims, insurance coverage disputes, directors and officers claims, and risk management. Throughout his career, Mr. Garin has defended more than 400 lawyers and law firms across Michigan, Illinois, Nevada and Colorado. He is also experienced in complex and commercial litigation matters, including cases involving breach of contract and unfair business practices. He has successfully pursued and resisted claims for extraordinary relief, such as temporary restraining orders and preliminary and permanent injunctions. He specializes in a range of litigation matters, including professional liability disputes, insurance coverage, director and officer liability, commercial law and employer/employee disputes. He regularly consults with insurers and businesses of all sizes to manage their risks and reduce litigation expenses. Mr. Garin earned a B.G.S. degree from the University of Michigan and received his J.D. degree cum laude from Michigan State University-Detroit College of Law, where he was a member of the Law Review. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the State Bar of Illinois, the State Bar of Nevada and the State Bar of Colorado. He is admitted before the United States District Court for the Eastern and Western District of Michigan, the District of Nevada, as well as in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Garin serves as the Vice Chair to the Standing Committee on Professional Responsibility and Ethics and is a member of the Professional Liability Committee for the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance.  He has served as a court-appointed special master and settlement facilitator. He is an SCAO-trained Mediator. 

Ron is a Managing Director with the Legal and Claims practice group at Aon Financial Services Group and has over two decades of experience in the insurance industry. Prior to joining Aon, Ron was at The Hartford as Vice President and Chief Claims Officer of The Hartford Financial Products Claims Unit. In this role Ron managed the departments responsible for all claims on business produced by Hartford Financial Products including our Large Commercial, Middle Market and Errors and Omissions clients. Ron's teams had responsibility for the management of claims tendered under Corporate Directors and Officers Liability, Employment Practices Liability, Financial Institutions Errors and Omissions and various other professional liability insurance products.

Prior to joining The Hartford, Ron was at Chubb for 17 years and was most recently Vice President and Specialty Claims Manager at the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies. In his various positions Ron has built and developed strong teams, established claims handling best practices and audit guidelines and conducted operational studies aimed at identifying areas for improvement as well as efficiencies. Before joining Chubb, Ron was in private practice in New York specializing in the representation of insurers in the analysis and management of complex claims and coverage disputes.

Ron received his BA from the State University Center at Binghamton and his J.D. from the Brooklyn Law School where he was an editor of the Journal of International Law. Ron is an active participant in the Professional Liability Underwriting Society and currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Content Committee for the Annual PLUS International Conference. Ron is also an Executive Council founding member of the CLM School of Professional Lines and has been instrumental in developing the curriculum and serving as an instructor.

Christopher Grosso is a VP, Senior Claim Consultant for Conner Strong & Buckelew. He assists clients with all aspects of the claim process. He is responsible for receiving, analyzing, and submitting claims to the insurance carrier, and acting as a liaison for our Select market of business. Although his specialty is property, he has experience handling all lines of business. Grosso provides coverage analysis, advice and direction, and assists in negotiations with the insurance carrier and monitoring open claims. He works closely with the client to ensure the carrier’s claim representative delivers prompt, fair claims handling, and also assists clients with their internal claim management efforts, including conducting comprehensive claim reviews. He also acts as the client’s advocate in dispute resolution.
 
Grosso has held a New Jersey producer’s license for three years. Prior to his position at Conner Strong & Buckelew in 2004, he was with Hartford Steam Boiler Insurance, an AIG company, for four years. He served as a Reinsurance Accountant, then as an underwriting assistant before moving into a role as a Senior Technical Claims adjuster, handling large, commercial property claims. He specializes in commercial property claims, with an emphasis on business income claims.
 
Education
Pennsylvania State University – Bachelor in Business Administration
 
Professional Designations
Casualty Claims Law Specialist (CCLS)
Certified Insurance Service Representative (CISR)
 

John E. Hall, Jr. is one of the founding partners of Hall Booth Smith, P.C. He is dedicated to making the firm the finest litigation firm in the Southeast.

John Hall specializes in the defense of high exposure cases, including medical malpractice, construction, commercial litigation, mass torts, transportation, and products liability. During his legal career, he has tried in excess of 100 cases to resolution. His expertise in high exposure birth trauma and catastrophic cases resulted in his being named National Counsel for several major insurance carriers throughout the Southeastern United States. This National Counsel Program establishes a litigation approach, which enables a team of specialized attorneys to become involved and assist local counsel on high exposure cases at all phases of the legal process.

John Hall also maintains a corporate practice in International, International Trade and finance, Arbitration/Mediation, Business Structures, Healthcare, and Commercial, Litigation.John Hall is the firm's primary contact and a member of the Board of Directors of the USLAW Network. USLAW is an organization of independent law firms with offices throughout the United States. USLAW provides high quality legal services without unnecessary expense to the client.John Hall is actively involved in a number of professional organizations and speaks at a number of continuing legal education programs. In addition, he is closely involved in developing and providing educational materials to clients.Mr. Hall currently serves as an Honorary Consul to the Country of Georgia and as Chairman of the Atlanta-Tbilisi Sister City Committee where he actively engages in developing international relationships between the state of Georgia and the country of Georgia.

Mr. Hall has received several awards including: Super Lawyer for years 2005 through 2012, Insurance Man of the Year, and listed in The Best Lawyers in America for 2010, 2011, and 2012. He is also peer rated AV with Martindale Hubbell.

John Hicks is an AV-rated trial attorney who practices in both Missouri and Kansas and is the managing member at the law firm of Norris Keplinger Hicks & Welder, LLC in Leawood, Kansas.  John practices all types of civil litigation, but specializes in professional malpractice defense. He has handled a wide range of professional negligence claims involving physicians, nursing homes, attorneys, architects, engineers and accountants. He also defends businesses in the retail and hospitality industry.

John lives in Kansas but is a native of Missouri.  He graduated from Blue Springs High School in 1989, joined the United States Navy and was stationed in Japan.  In 1994, John returned to Missouri where he obtained a bachelor's degree in Communications from Central Missouri State University. In 1999, he and his wife, Dana, moved to Kansas where he attended law school at the University of Kansas. 
John joined the firm in October of 2001 and has tried thirty-four cases to verdict.  John has been recognized by his peers in Best Lawyers, The Kansas City Business Journal’s Best of the Bar and Kansas and Missouri Super Lawyers.  

John and Dana have three children: Michael, Reagan and Emma. John is active in the Navy League of the United States, Veteran's Court and Habitat for Humanity.  

Mr. Hollingworth holds an advanced degree in Human Factors Engineering and has over 20 years of management and supervision at major insurance companies. He has managed environmental, mass tort, construction defects and sexual abuse claims as well as participated in numerous mediations, coverage in place agreements, selection of and creation of defense panel counsels. Mr. Hollingsworth is a frequent speaker at CLM Conferences and serves on several CLM Committees including Professional Liability and Environmental and Toxic Tort. Mr. Hollignsworth’s Areas of Expertise include: ADR, Professional Liability, Insurance Coverage, Claims Management, Litigation Management, Bad Faith and Class Actions.
 

Kevin Hromas is CEO of US Insurance Information LLC (dba Kevin Hromas and Associates). A 20-year career as a general contractor pre-dated his entry into insurance claims adjusting in 1996, and he has been an independent adjuster since 2003. He also regularly serves as a bad faith and property damage expert all across the US. He has been a CLM Fellow since 2007 and can be reached at KH@KevinHromas.com.

Joe Kearney is a Senior Claims Consultant at HDI Global Insurance Company (HDI).  He handles large losses in the Property and Marine Claims Department.  Prior to joining HDI, he worked as a risk engineer for three (3) years and senior adjuster at FM Global for eight (8) years.  He also worked at Zurich American Insurance Company (Zurich) as a National General Adjuster for three (3) years.  Prior to working in the insurance industry, Joe was a civil engineer and a corporate construction project manager for five (5) years.
 
Mr. Kearney received his Master of Business Administration from North Central College in 2004 and his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Bradley University in 1998.  He also earned his CPCU designation in 2008 and is a licensed adjuster in all fifty (50) states.  This is Joe’s second time presenting at CLM.

Starr M. Kincaid has joined Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority as it's Legal Services Manager. Prior to joining MMRMA, Starr was in private practice, where she devoted the majority of her practice to the defense of professional liability and employment practices claims, including the defense of attorneys, real estate professionals, insurance professionals, miscellaneous E&O and employment-related claims. Starr has been selected as a "Top Lawyer" in the areas of legal malpractice defense and professional malpractice defense by DBusiness, Detroit's Premier Business Journal. She was also included as a top female attorney in Metro Detroit’s Hour Magazine, and has been consecutively named as a "Super Lawyer, Rising Star" for her work in the area of professional liability defense. Starr is actively involved in the legal community and has served on numerous state and local legal community committees and boards.  She currently serves as Chair of the State Bar of Michigan's Client Protection Fund Committee. Starr obtained her juris doctor, cum laude, from Michigan State University School of Law.  She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Michigan State University.

Jeannie is currently a member of the Global Healthcare Practices Group at Markel Corporation. She manages cases involving doctors, hospitals, home health services, nursing homes, correctional healthcare, and other medical providers. She also serves in underwriting support and marketing support functions at Markel.

Prior to her time at Markel, she served in roles handling large loss Commercial General Liability, Commercial Auto, and Commercial Field Property claims. She also spent a couple of years handling medical malpractice claims, and thus brings prior experience in medical claims to Markel.

She holds her BBA in Finance from Baylor University and obtained her Juris Doctorate from Texas A&M School of Law at Wesleyan. She is licensed to practice law in Texas and also holds her insurance license in 28 states. She also has her Charter Property and Casualty Underwriters (CPCU) and AIC (Associate in Claims) designations. 

Director of Litigation American National Property and Casualty Company

Paula began her career with American National Property and Casualty Company in 1982, she has handled all aspects of claims in the Property and Casualty field for personal lines. In 1988 Paula began handling Litigation file assignments and in 1999 began managing the Litigation Department. In 2003 she was promoted to her current position, Director of Litigation.

Paula is responsible for litigation management in 43 states. She has handled catastrophic claims and Class Action Litigation.

As the company expanded Paula’s role included litigation management of Commercial, Construction Defect and Agriculture Litigation.

Paula is the mother of four sons and six grandchildren.

Caryn is a principal of the firm, having joined Mauro Lilling Naparty LLP almost 25 years ago. As an Appellate Advocate and Litigation Strategist, she has handled hundreds of civil appeals in state and federal courts. Her name appears on opinions in a wide variety of practice areas, and she has published extensively on various topics in her field. She is a frequent lecturer for in-house counsel, insurance companies, hospitals and bar associations.In addition to the more traditional roles of appellate counsel, Caryn’s firm is called upon to aggressively define and defend damages. In 2013, along with her partners, Caryn spearheaded the firm’s national growth as specialty counsel on damages and, in particular, in the application of the Affordable Care Act to future medical expenses in tort cases. In that role Caryn has become a leading voice on the topic. Numerous companies, carriers and hospitals now turn to Caryn and her team to develop pre-trial, trial and mediation strategies to mitigate damages in catastrophic injury cases.Caryn has earned Martindale Hubbell’s highest peer review rating of AV®, having been designated as Preeminent™ in appellate practice. This distinction is awarded to less than five percent of all United States lawyers. Caryn has also been named as one of the top women attorneys in the New York Metro Area specializing in appellate practice as spotlighted in the New York Times Magazine, and the firm was recognized by the New York Law Journal as the eighth largest women-owned firm in New York State. Caryn is an active member of the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM), the Defense Research Institute (DRI), and the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel (FDCC).

Bill Lindsay is the founding partner of Lindsay, Pickett, & Postel, LLC, Chicago, Illinois. The firm’s primary practice areas are insurance defense, insurance coverage litigation and appeals.  His practice areas include construction injury and defect litigation, wrongful death, product liability, premises, trucking and auto liability cases.  In 2014, Bill completed the litigation management course at the Litigation Management Institute, Columbia Law School, and earned a certification as a litigation management professional.  

Craig C. Livingston is currently employed as a Senior Claims Attorney with Tokio Marine HCC-Public Risk Group.  He has been employed by Tokio Marine since 2014 working in all areas of municipal liability.  This includes negligence claims, auto claims, civil rights claims, employment and land use issues.  His employment with Tokio Marine followed 18 years with Travelers where he worked in the areas of workers’ compensation, subrogation, mass tort liability, and environmental claims.   He has an additional 8 years of expience with both Kemper and Chubb.  

Kathleen Lyons is currently a Claims Lead at AXIS Capital concentrating in Professional and Casualty Lines under the reinsurance arm of the company. Prior to joining AXIS Re,  she served as a VP in the Property Casualty Business Management Unit at Swiss Reinsurance Holding Corporation managing a a variety of casualty claims. She started her insurance career at HANYS serving as claims counsel handling primary and excess medical professional claims.
Before joining HANYS, Ms. Lyons worked as an attorney for 20 years at several defense firms. She specialized in medical malpractice and hospital liability. She served on the curriculum planning committee and an instructor in the Legal Nurse Consulting Program at Pace University. She started her career as a nurse and worked in various clinical settings including the ICU and ER for 10 years

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing  from the University of Michigan and a JD from Fordham University – School of Law

Ms. Lyons is active in the NYS Bar Association and a member of the Committee of Women in Law.  She is on the Board of APIW - Association of Professional Insurance Women  and serves as Membership Chair .

Lisa has worked for over 23 years for the insurance industry. Her career in claim includes work for Zurich from 1998 -2004 as a senior claims adjusters handling commercial transportation claims. In 2004, she joined AXIS Insurance Company where handled GL claims and rose in the claims management to Vice President of Primary and Excess Casualty Claims.  She also started the A&E claims unit for AXIS.  In early 2019, she accepted a position as the Senior Vice President of Houston International Insurance Group Claims where she leads the Construction and Internal Claims departments. 

Wayne Melnick is a Partner, Co-Chair of the firm's On Call Trial team, Chair of the FMG Trial Committee, and former Vice-Chair of the firm’s Government Law practice section. He is also a member of the firm’s Tort and Catastrophic Loss practice section where he Chairs FMG’s Media law practice team as well as being Vice-Chair of FMG’s Transportation practice team. Mr. Melnick is an extremely accomplished trial attorney and has tried over 100 jury trials to verdict in cases throughout the country. Based on his extensive trial experience and track record of success, Mr. Melnick is often called in at the 11th hour to “parachute” in and take over as lead trial counsel for high risk high exposure cases as Co-Chair of FMG’s On Call Trial Team. As one of FMG’s most accomplished trial attorneys, Mr. Melnick also Chairs FMG’s Trial Committee which is responsible for reviewing every case across the nation that an FMG attorney will take to trial or arbitration to ensure that it is properly prepared and the best arguments are put forth on behalf of FMG’s clients.

For every year since 2013, Mr. Melnick has been named a "Georgia Super Lawyer" in the areas of civil law defense and prior to that was selected multiple times as a “Rising Star.” He is also continuously recognized as one of America’s “Best Lawyers.” Mr. Melnick previously served as one of only three Northern District of Georgia Representatives on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association where he chaired various committees.

A San Diego native, Pat Mendes is a founding partner of Tyson & Mendes and works from the firm’s San Diego headquarters.

Previously a partner with Gordon & Rees – where he served as director of the construction and insurance groups – he joined forces with Robert Tyson in 2002 to form Tyson & Mendes, which has since evolved into one of the region’s leading defense firms with offices throughout the West.

Over the course of his career, Mr. Mendes has developed a formidable track record in defending insurance companies, taking on high profile, high stakes litigation, and specializing in professional liability, insurance coverage, architects and engineers, and real property disputes. His specific practice areas include construction litigation, personal injury, insurance coverage, and professional liability.

An active member of the legal community, he is affiliated with a number of professional organizations, including the San Diego County Bar Association and the International Association of Defense Counsel, and presents regularly to professional groups on insurance law and other legal issues.

In 1992, he graduated cum laude from the University of California, San Diego with a bachelor’s degree in History, and went on to earn his J.D., magna cum laude from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1995. He is licensed to practice law in California.

Mr. Mendes enjoys playing golf and spending time with his wife, Lori, and three children, Matthew, Grace and Kayla. He is also a frequent spectator at his children’s sports events throughout San Diego County.

Phyllis Modlin is a Director and Senior Counsel with the Construction Complex Claims team of Markel. Ms. Modlin received her B.A. degree from University of California at Santa Barbara and her J.D. degree from University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. She handles complex primary and excess construction claims (both defect and catastrophic bodily injury) in the United States. Ms. Modlin is responsible for all aspects of claims handling, including damages, liability, coverage, reserving, risk transfer, litigation management, expense control measures and claims resolution. 

Joel Moore is an executive general adjuster, certified insurance appraiser and certified insurance umpire with Kevin Hromas & Associates of Houston, Texas. He has been in the claims adjusting business for 22 years both as an independent and staff adjuster. Joel currently serves as the President-Elect of the National Association of Independent Insurance Adjuster. Joel has been a Fellow of the CLM since 2013 and can be reached at joel.moore@gulfcoastclaims.com.

Justin F. Morgan, Ph.D., is a human factors scientist and accident reconstructionist with Forensic Engineering Technologies. Dr. Morgan has conducted research examining driver behavior and performance, vehicle safety systems and collision avoidance technologies, and vehicle automation for the United States Department of Transportation, state governments, as well as automakers. His recent research includes a study examining driver interaction with automated vehicles, performed in conjunction with General Motors and Google, for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

He has previously served as a research faculty member at Virginia Tech, and as a research scientist with Battelle. He has taught university courses on human performance and human factors, disseminated his research findings in peer-reviewed publications, and serves as a reviewer for professional journals. As a human factors and ergonomics consultant, he applies human performance principles to the forensic evaluation of traffic accidents.
 

Marie Nolan is a National General Casualty Adjuster at McLarens. Her  focus is worldwide Products Liability claims and Recall,  for Chinese and Korean Insurers.  

Through work at AON Taiwan, a Local Managing General Agency, and a Law Firm, Marie has knowledge of local Asian market practices, and is able to work directly with manufacturers and insureds on behalf of Asian and Western Insurers and Re-insurers.

Products include: batteries, capacitors, resistance film, trampolines and other recreation and sport items, electric goods including Christmas lights, shredders and CNC machines, valves, tires and helmets. Taiwan, China and Korea produce a wide range of products for export, giving Marie experience, working with a wide range of products, Manufacturers, and Insurers.

Marie speaks Mandarin Chinese and resides in San Diego, California

Mr. Olson specializes in all areas of litigation, particularly cases involving transportation law and construction loss. With over 26 years of litigation experience, he can provide thorough yet cost effective representation. Drawn out litigation increases costs, therefore it is his goal to provide a vigorous defense while moving cases to an ultimate conclusion as quickly as possible.
Mr. Olson’s firm specializes in representing insurance companies and their insureds in all areas of litigation, including Personal and Commercial lines, as well as Professional Negligence, Construction Defect, and Workers Compensation.

Practice Areas Insurance Defense; Trial Practice; Transportation Law; Construction Law; Torts; Personal Injury; Insurance Litigation; Corporate Law; Real Estate; Employment Law; Labor Law; Product Liability; Admiralty; Maritime Law; Premises Liability; Insurance Coverage Admitted: 1989, Nebraska; 1994, Iowa; U.S. District Court, District of Nebraska; U.S. District Court, Northern and Southern Districts of Iowa; U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit; U.S. Supreme Court Law School: University of Nebraska at Lincoln, J.D. Member: Omaha, Nebraska State, Iowa State and American Bar Associations; Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys; Iowa Trial Lawyers Association; Defense Research Institute; National Institute of Trial Advocacy; Defense Counsel Association of Nebraska; Nebraska Inns of Court; Transportation Lawyers Association; International Association of Defense Counsel. Biography: Phi Delta Phi. Treasurer, Student Bar Association. Alternate Member, Nominating Commission, Nebraska Court of Appeals. Certified Mediator, Office of Dispute Resolution, Nebraska, 2000. Born: Lincoln, Nebraska, April 1, 1964

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Frances O’Meara is a partner in WSHB’s Los Angeles office. She is a nationally-recognized professional malpractice attorney who concentrates her practice on errors and omissions defense for attorneys, accountants, architects, insurance agents, real estate brokers, appraisers, doctors, and nurses. Frances is certified by the California State Bar as a Certified Legal Malpractice Specialist. She advises professionals and law firms on legal professional and ethical issues, issues relating to risk management and loss control, and cyber security and data privacy risks.

Frances works directly with major insurance carriers throughout the United States, non-insured attorneys, large corporations, healthcare providers, and financial institutions. She has extensive experience in D&O financial lines and commercial litigation, with an emphasis on fidelity, fiduciary, and surety claims investigation and litigation. Frances also represents medical malpractice claims related to healthcare management, assisted living, dental malpractice, and nursing.

She is experienced in defending general liability matters arising from premises liability, trucking, automobile, and accident claims involving property damage, personal injury, and wrongful death. Her clients have included bars, restaurants, property owners, general contractors, subcontractors, architects, engineers, and trucking companies.

Frances also enjoys experience in employment litigation, including discrimination claims, employment contracts, and retaliation and sexual harassment claims. She additionally handles fidelity and bond matters throughout the State of California.

Amy O’Rorke is an Executive General Adjuster with the Major & Complex Loss team, a division of Cunningham Lindsey, with over 20 years of experience adjusting claims.  Amy specializes in commercial property claims and is well versed in handling losses for a multitude of industries and disciplines including Boiler & Machinery, Builder’s Risk, Power & Energy, Equipment/Plant, Business Interruption, Catastrophe, Extra Expense, Hospitality (Hotel) Losses, Industrial & Manufacturing, Mold & Asbestos, Subrogation, Residential and Commercial Property & Liability Losses and Condominium/Condominium Association.

In her insurance career, Amy has been primarily involved in national & international accounts while acting as a liaison between insured parties, insurance companies, corporate risk managers, insurance brokers and agents.  Licensed in various states, Amy has earned the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Associate in Claims (AIC), Associate in Risk Management (ARM) and Senior Claim Law Associate (SCLA) designations.  She is also a Green Risk Professional (GRP). 

Amy has a Bachelor of Science degree from Northern Illinois University’s College of Business.  Before becoming an independent adjuster she worked as a multi-line staff adjuster for American Modern Insurance Group handling territories in the Midwest and on the west coast.  She has presented at PLRB/LIRB national and regional conferences, instructed for the Insurance Journal’s Academy of Insurance and co-authored the article entitled IAs and Conflicts of Interest which was published in the May 2011 issue of Claims Magazine.

Michael Phillips is the Chief Claims Officer of the cyber insurtech Resilience. Michael offers experienced legal counsel at the intersection of data protection, insurance, and cybersecurity. Selected to Insurance Business America's Hot 100 List 2020, Michael's tech and legal thought leadership has been published by The New Yorker, BuzzFeed, and Bloomberg. 

Glenn is an insurance professional since 1999 with experience in commercial general and product liability, municipal liability and various types of property claims for large Fortune 500 companies nationwide and small governmental entities including adjusting and managing roles.  He has seen the insurance world from various avenues such as a midsized personal lines carrier, a TPA, a large E&S Lines Carrier, and now at a municipal risk pool.   Outside of the busy insurance world, Glenn enjoys teaching at church, coaching soccer, cheering-on The Ohio State University sports teams, various outside activities and reading. 

As Director of the Workers' Compensation Department at Marshall Dennehey, Michele oversees more than 30 attorneys in 10 of the firm’s offices. She is also a member of the firm’s Board of Directors. In addition to her managerial and litigation responsibilities, Michele supervises client development efforts for the Workers’ Compensation Department. Throughout her legal career, Michele has represented third party administrators, insurance carriers and self-insureds, and her creative legal strategies have been well-received by her clients and the courts.

Michele is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating for attorney professional competence. In March 2022, Michele was inducted into the College of Workers' Compensation Lawyers, joining a select group of attorneys from across the country who have distinguished themselves in the practice of workers' compensation law. She also lectures and writes extensively for various organizations and publications, and is a member of the Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Bar Associations, the Defense Research Institute, and the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM).

Bar Admissions: Pennsylvania, 1990 U.S District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1991 U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit, 1991

Renée Ramirez is an experienced Claims Professional with more than 22 years in the insurance industry in the Casualty and Premises areas. She has handled claims and litigation involving catastrophic accidents, personal injury, construction defect, trucking, explosive, and propane matters. Currently Renée is a Liability Claims Manager with Darling Ingredients, Inc. Previously she was a Sr. Claims Analyst with American Airlines, a Sr. Claims Specialist with J.C. Penney Corporation, and a Claims Representative with Nobel Insurance Company.
Renée was born and raised in Texas and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Texas at Dallas. She is has served as President on the Board of Directors of the NRRDA organization, and is an active Fellow of CLM. Ms. Ramirez is pursuing her passion of the law and is currently working towards her law degree. She also volunteers as an advocate with her local CASA organization and attends many football games of her beloved Dallas Cowboy team.

Dean S. Rauchwerger, partner with Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP, concentrates his practice in the handling of complex, multi-million dollar recovery, insurance  and business litigation on a national basis.  Mr. Rauchwerger has considerable experience in multi-party matters involving product liability, aviation, toxic tort and mass disaster.  His practice has covered extraordinary building fires and a myriad of industrial explosions, structural and industrial equipment failures and other disasters involving substantial property damages and bodily injuries.  Mr. Rauchwerger is a frequent speaker at industry and professional conferences, presenting on a wide variety of topics such as: Fires and Explosions; Federal Tort Claims Act; Fire Spread Liability; Art of War: Litigation Strategies; Effective Negotiation and Mediation; Managing Experts in Complex Litigation; Jumping Over The Evidentiary Hurdles To Victory; False Claims Act/Qui Tam Litigation; Product Liability; and more.  Mr. Rauchwerger has also authored numerous published articles, quoted in mainstay media sources, on cutting edge legal and litigation-oriented issues.

Scott D. Rembold is a founding partner of Rembold Hirschman, an insurance, construction, and business litigation firm with offices in Miami, West Palm Beach, and Naples, Florida.  Mr. Rembold focuses his practice primarily on the construction industry, representing contractors and subcontractors both directly and through their insurers as assigned defense counsel.  Mr. Rembold and his firm also have extensive experience handling general liability claims on behalf of insureds, as well as complex commercial litigation matters. Mr. Rembold has also served as outside general counsel for the South Florida Associated General Contractors and the American Society of Professional Estimators.

Mr. Rembold is AV® Preeminent rated by Martindale-Hubbell, and has been named a Top Rated Lawyer in Construction Law by American Lawyer Media, a Top Attorney by the South Florida Legal Guide, “Legal Elite” by Florida Trend magazine, and has been named on the list of the Top 100 Lawyers in Florida by SuperLawyers in both 2016 and 2017. Mr. Rembold is Board Certified in Construction Law by the Florida Bar and earned the Certified Litigation Management Professional (CLMP) designation.

Tim Roth is a partner and the Practice Group Manager of Gallagher Sharp's Transportation Group and a member of the firm's General Litigation group.  Tim’s practice focuses on the representation of trucking companies and their drivers following major truck accidents and includes engaging in 24/7 rapid response to truck accidents.  He defends motor carriers, drivers and their insurers throughout the State of Ohio in claims and lawsuits involving wrongful death, personal injury, property damage, and cargo claim liability.  He also serves as National Counsel for a number of his trucking clients and has litigated trucking cases in a multitude of state and Federal jurisdictions across the country.  Tim is listed in the 2021 edition of Best Lawyers in America® for Transportation Law.  

I have nearly 35 years of personal injury litigation and mediation experience and I firmly believe mediation is an incredible process that affords the parties the opportunity to explore the facts, strengths, and weaknesses of their dispute in a safe environment where they are empowered to take control of the resolution. I have successfully resolved thousands of personal injury matters, including a multitude of high-exposure cases spanning industries such as construction, hospitality, commercial auto and property, ridesharing, trucking, and public property. ?

Prior to joining Signature Resolution, I was a vice-chair of Lewis Brisbois’ Hospitality Practice and an integral member of the Complex Business & Commercial Litigation Department. My professional career includes a 17-year partnership at Michelman & Robinson, LLP where my practice was devoted to personal injury and administrative litigation. I was also an associate attorney at the Law Offices of Allan Sigel, and at Fonda and Hilberman. My legal career began as a research attorney for the Los Angeles Superior Court. Across these various roles, I have honed my skills in mediation and negotiation and built a track record of successful resolutions that spans decades. ?

I have been recognized as a top attorney in Southern California by Super Lawyers and received Martindale-Hubbell’s highest AV Preeminent rating.

Each day brings a new challenge and I provide solutions to companies in overall risk management and safety. Using my knowledge to anticipate risks and assess solutions up-front help to prevent loss, reduce the total cost of risk (TCOR), and improve processes. I am a recognized leader in my industry and was honored to receive the "Women to Watch" award from Business Insurance magazine. 

In my roles as an Enterprise Risk Management Director, I am always on a quest to delve deeper into ways to continuously provide a safe environment for both guests, other third parties and employees, improve safety measures and reduce workplace injuries. I have created programs that achieved millions in savings and created claim cost reduction strategies. 

I am always staying current with factors impacting risk, insurance and claims administration and cultivating relationships with various professionals, including brokers, vendors, and third-party administrators, to facilitate smooth transactions. Overseeing claims processes from inception to completion is something I take great pride in performing routinely. Taking ownership in crisis management situations, while maintaining the reputation and image of the company, is just one example of my core strengths. 

The need for risk analysis and management across every industry is continuously evolving and so is the need to consistently exceed expectations. Implementing strategies and programs that I know will result in success is what I am all about, and I can do that for your company as well.

Author and Editor of the 2016 & 2017 LexisNexis Matthew Bender Practice Guide: California Insurance Litigation, Neil Selman serves on Selman Breitman’s Executive Committee, and is Managing Partner of the firm’s Insurance practice group. He has decades of experience representing insurers in coverage and related matters, including first- and third-party property-casualty issues, bodily injury, property damage, advertising and personal injury coverages, construction and environmental matters, sports and entertainment coverages, and professional liability, as well as extracontractual issues. Neil advises his clients on business practices, underwriting and claims handling, and drafts policy language and endorsements. His experience also includes primary/excess issues and the representation of surplus lines carriers. Additionally, he is involved in the defense of insureds, and has nationally-coordinated cases involving toxic substances.

Additionally, Neil has litigated matters in all areas relating to insurance. He has tried coverage and bad faith cases in California and other states and has appeared in multiple state appellate courts. He has also been responsible for arguing cases before the California Supreme Court, which have significantly shaped California insurance coverage law and the rights of insurers.

Active in his community, Neil is involved in a variety of activities in the Los Angeles area, including the Advisory Committee of the Human Rights Committee for the City of Los Angeles.
 

Taylor Smith is president of Suite 200 Solutions, which he founded in 2009. The Company consults with companies in the P&C claims and litigation industries, and also facilitates private equity investments in our community. He is a long-time friend of the CLM and a frequent industry speaker. He has been conducting the CLM's industry studies since 2012, has served as a Chancellor in the CLM's Litigation Management Institute, and as a Dean in the CLM's School of Litigation Management.

Taylor has more than 30 years of experience in using new technologies to improve processes for insurance, claims, and legal executives. Before founding his own company, Taylor held executive positions with ePolicy Solutions, CT TyMetrix, CaseKnowledge, and CaseRev. As a claims professional, Taylor served in various litigation management roles at MMI Companies, previously the nation’s second-largest healthcare facility underwriter, Norcal Mutual Insurance, and CNA Insurance Companies.

Taylor’s articles have appeared in Claims Magazine, Claims Advisor Magazine, Property Casualty 360, AM Best Review, National Underwriter, The DRI’s For the Defense magazine, Litigation Management Magazine, Insurance Thought Leadership, and Carrier Management Magazine, and others. Taylor received a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University in New York City, and attended Boston College Law School.

Jayne Spies is the Claims Manager for the Oklahoma Municipal Assurance Group.  She is also a certified legal assistant.  Ms. Spies is a graduate of the inaugural CLM Claims College and was awarded the CCP designation.  She is a member of the CLM Municipal Law Committee and the CLM Employment Practices Liability Committee.  Ms. Spies is secretary of the CLM Oklahoma Chapter and one of its founding board members.  Ms. Spies has extensive experience having investigated, adjusted, supervised and managed claims in a wide range of areas including first and third party personal and commercial liability, residential and commercial property, public entity, employment liability, police liability, construction defect, medical malpractice, sports liability and maritime.  She is a volunteer for the YWCA working with victims of sexual abuse and domestic assault.  She has also gone on numerous mission trips in the United States, Mexico and Africa.  Ms. Spies enjoys OU football and basketball and cheering on the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Steven C. Stern is a founding partner of Sokoloff Stern LLP. He graduated from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1992 and obtained his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School in 1995. Mr. Stern represents hundreds of municipalities, school districts, public authorities, and public officials throughout the State of New York, focusing largely in the defense of civil rights, employment discrimination, police liability, free speech and religion, land use, municipal, and education matters.
Mr. Stern’s background includes several years as an Assistant Corporation Counsel and Supervisor in the New York City Law Department’s Special Federal Litigation Division, where he handled some of the City’s most high profile federal civil rights and employment cases. Mr. Stern was one of the City’s Continuing Legal Education instructors.
 Mr. Stern is a Martindale-Hubbell AV-rated “Preeminent” attorney and a New York Metro “Super Lawyer.” He lectures in the areas of federal practice, civil rights, employment, and municipal liability to attorneys, insurance companies, police departments, and school districts. He is often asked to speak before the Nassau and Suffolk County Bar Associations, the New York Conference of Mayors, municipal insurers, the Federal Bar Council, and at Stony Brook University.

 

Anthony P. Strasius is the Managing Partner of the Miami and West Palm Beach offices of Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker LLP. His legal practice focuses on general liability defense, with specialties in products liability defense of all types (automotive, boats, computers, construction equipment, electronics, marine products, machinery, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, recreational products, vehicles, etc.) and professional liability defense (accountants, architects, engineers, insurance professionals, lawyers, and real estate professionals). Mr. Strasius has tried over 50 trials and arbitrations successfully in these areas, and he is a frequent lecturer and author as well. He serves as panel and/or approved counsel for several major corporations and insurance companies, including corporations and companies located in England, France, Germany and Mexico. He is the recipient of several honors and awards, and he is particularly proud to have received the John Edward Smith Child Advocacy Award for pro bono work for Lawyers for Children America. Mr. Strasius attended the University of Michigan (B.A. ’90), Marquette University Law School (J.D., ’93), and the Dickinson School of Law International Law Program, and is admitted in the Florida Bar, the Wisconsin Bar, the U.S. District Courts for the Southern, Middle and Northern Districts of Florida, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeal. He is a member of the Florida Bar Association, the Florida Defense Lawyers Association, the Wisconsin Bar Association, and the Dade County Bar Association.

Nelson Tavares is the Senior Vice President of Claims at W. R. Berkley Corporation. In this role since 2011, Nelson is responsible for the overall strategy and technical outcomes of the Claims function across all Berkley companies. W. R. Berkley Corporation is an insurance holding company of 53 subsidiaries operating in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Nelson has been in the insurance industry for more than 25 years. Prior to his tenure at W. R. Berkley he held a variety of U.S. domestic and international senior leadership roles at Zurich Insurance Company including, Head of Global Large and Complex Claims, Head of Strategic Execution – International Claims, and National Director of Specialty Claims. Nelson started his career at Travelers Property Casualty Company in New Jersey and New York.
 

Valerie T. Matherne, Attorney, Courington, Kiefer & Sommers, L. L. C. will speak at the CLM Annual Conference, which will be held at the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek, April 6-8.   Her session is titled, “Premises Liability - Is the Reptile Real?”  
 
Valerie Theng Matherne is a Member with Courington, Kiefer & Sommers, LLC in New Orleans, Louisiana and Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Ms. Matherne is a current member in good standing of the Louisiana and Mississippi Bar Associations. She was admitted to the Louisiana Bar in 1998 and Mississippi Bar in 2002. She is admitted to practice before all federal and state courts in Louisiana and Mississippi, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Ms. Matherne has concentrated her practice in the realm of civil defense litigation, including automobile, product liability, environmental, toxic tort, bad faith, insurance coverage, premises liability, construction, and employment law.
 
Ms. Matherne was recognized as a "Mover and Shaker" in Diversity & the Bar, a publication of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA). Additionally, Ms. Matherne has received an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest peer recognition rating for professional excellence. She is co-chair of the Restaurant, Retail & Hospitality Committee for the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF). She was a member of the NAMWOLF's Diversity Initiative Award Committee for 2014 and 2015.  She, along with counsel for BP, were the co-chairs of the 2016 NAMWOLF's Business Meeting in New Orleans.  
 
Ms. Matherne is an active member of the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance, including its Insurance, Restaurant, Retail & Hospitality, and Construction Committees.
 
She formerly served on the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel.

Andy Thornton is currently the Southeast/Florida Zone Casualty Claim Leader for Marsh. Andy is a graduate of Millsaps College where he obtained both his BA in Political Science and his MBA with Finance Focus. He holds numerous insurance designations, including the CPCU, SCLA, AIC and ARM-E. He has experience as a paralegal, commercial claims adjuster, and corporate risk manager. 
 
 

Rhonda Tobin is co-chair of Robinson & Cole's Litigation Section and serves on the firm's Managing Committee. For almost three decades she has representing insurers in coverage and extracontractual liability matters, including first and third-party property-casualty issues as well as professional liability, directors and officers liability, excess liability and reinsurance.  Rhonda's insurance coverage practice includes the arbitration and litigation of a broad range of coverage issues under commercial, professional, directors and officers, and miscellaneous errors and omissions policies, including claims for insurance bad faith or extracontractual liability. Her insurance coverage practice also includes substantial experience in property claims-related litigation, including high-profile insurance coverage litigation arising out of the September 11 catastrophe.  Rhonda's reinsurance experience includes the arbitration and litigation of reinsurance disputes related to property and casualty and workers' compensation reinsurance.

Rhonda has significant trial experience representing insurers in coverage and bad faith matters in both state and federal courts.  She has been retained on the eve of trial to take over the defense of bad faith cases previously handled by other law firms.  She frequently consults with her clients on open claims to ensure good faith investigations and claim settlement practices and to avoid exposure to extracontractual liability.  Rhonda regularly provides training to her clients on good faith claim handling and various coverage issues.  

In recognition of her experience in the field of insurance coverage and extracontractual liability, Rhonda was elected a Fellow in the American College of Coverage Counsel (ACCC).

Doug Vaughn is a partner in Deutsch Kerrigan’s Gulfport, Mississippi, office. His practice is focused on litigation including medical malpractice defense, commercial litigation, products liability, insurance first and third party claims, and motor vehicle/motor carrier catastrophic personal injury law. Mr. Vaughn has an "AV" rating from Martindale Hubbell and has been selected for inclusion in "Best Lawyers" and as a Mid South "Super Lawyer."   He is admitted to practice in Mississippi and Florida and is an alumnus of the University of Mississippi School of Law.  Mr. Vaughn has been an active member of the CLM, serving as a committee co-chair and presenting CEU/CLE programs at both its annual meetings and specialty conferences.  He is a past president of the Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association and has served on the faculty of the International Association of Defense Counsel's trial academy in Palo Alto, CA, after having  served as chair of its Medical Defense and Health Law Committee and its inaugural and subsequent Medical Liability Roundtable seminars in Manhattan and Chicago.  

Cheryl Vollweiler is an accomplished insurance coverage and defense attorney who provides clients with candid and accessible counsel and creative solutions on all manner of insurance coverage issues and disputes involving an extensive range of insurance policies and programs.  Her approach to case evaluation and strategy implementation focuses on achieving optimal resolutions aligned with the business objectives of her industry clients.  With more than thirty years’ experience representing U.S. and international insurers in high profile and complex insurance coverage matters, she brings a deep and diverse background that includes products liability/mass torts, general liability, cyber risks, technology and data security, life sciences, toxic torts/environmental, bad faith litigation, premises and hotel liability, property damage and first party coverage, international arbitration, specialty insurance policies, risk retention group policies, reinsurance and other areas. 

In addition, Cheryl has significant experience drafting a wide array of insurance policies and conducting due diligence and reserve audits of both insurers and insureds, along with corresponding reporting and analysis.   

She is also a frequent lecturer on insurance coverage-related issues, toxic torts, cyber risk, technology and data security, pharmaceutical products liability and other topics.

Education:

J.D., Hofstra University School of Law
B.A. in Politics, Brandeis University

Mary Ann Vorndran is an accomplished claims executive with more than 30 years of experience leading casualty and excess claims teams across the insurance industry. She currently serves as Regional Casualty Claim Director at EMC Insurance Companies, where she oversees complex casualty claims, strengthens operational practices, and supports teams in delivering consistent, high-quality results.

Before joining EMC, Mary Ann held several leadership roles at AXIS Capital, including AVP Excess Claims Manager, where she managed national excess casualty litigation and guided strategy on high-exposure matters. Her earlier career includes leadership positions with The Navigators Group, American Claims Management, and AIG, where she directed multi-line teams, advanced claims handling standards, and managed a wide range of challenging and high-severity losses.

Mary Ann has contributed to the industry beyond her day-to-day work, including co-authoring a CLM Leadership White Paper and presenting at the CLM Annual Conference. She holds an MBA in International Business from National University, a BA in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the CLMP designation.

Known for her collaborative leadership style and deep technical expertise, Mary Ann continues to make a strong impact on the claims profession and the teams she supports.

William Wingertzahn is Senior Vice President, Group Claims - Strategy & Optimization for Sompo. He oversees complex coverage litigation in various areas and management of North American Claims functions including process optimization and operational health. William also supervises various vendors including special investigation unit, deductible recovery and subrogation. His duties include collaborating with executive leadership to ensure claims strategy integrates seamlessly with broader business objectives and leads initiatives to integrate innovative technologies into claims processes.

Prior to joining Sompo International in May 2014, William was a partner at Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker, LLP.  At Wilson Elser, William represented clients in complex matters in the state and federal courts of New York and Connecticut. William defended cases in various areas including product liability, premises liability/security, construction defect, property damage, New York Labor Law, subrogation, and toxic torts including lead paint, mold and asbestos. His litigation history also includes the handling of matters in other areas including transportation, medical malpractice, class actions, professional liability, municipal liability, general negligence and environmental matters, including oil spills. William handled all aspects of file management and litigation. He attended the International Association of Defense Counsel Trial Academy and has successfully tried cases to verdict. He also has extensive experience in mediating high profile matters.
 
William received a B.A. from Fordham University and a J.D. from Pace University School of Law. William is a fellow with Claim Litigation Management (CLM) and a member of the New York State Bar Association, The International Association of Claim Professionals (IACP), Defense Research Institute (DRI) and Association of Professional Insurance Women (APIW).
 

 

Mr.  Winkler is responsible for overseeing Westfield Insurance’s litigation management and legal research support functions .  He has been a featured speaker and author on the topic of litigation management and the use of technology in enhancing the litigation management process, drawing upon both his experience as a practicing attorney and on his 20 plus years of experience in the claims and litigation management arena. The Westfield Claims Legal Department, which he leads, was recently honored as one of the ten most innovative legal departments in America by Inside Counsel magazine.

Mr. Winkler is an active member of the Ohio State Bar Association, the Association of Corporate Counsel, numerous professional organizations including the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, the Defense Research Institute and the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance and currently serves as a member and advisor on a number of industry related committees.

Peter B. Winterburn is a shareholder in the Memphis office of Lewis Thomason.  He concentrates his practice in Long Term Care defense and medical malpractice defense litigation.  Mr. Winterburn has represented physicians, skilled nursing facilities, and assisted living facilities in Tennessee and Mississippi throughout his career.  His insurance defense practice also includes automobile and premises liability, legal malpractice, and appellate practice.  

Mr. Winterburn is the 2018 Program Chair for the Defense Research Institute’s Nursing Home/Assisted Living Facility Seminar, which will be held in New Orleans September 13-14, 2018.  He has been an active steering committee member for DRI’s Nursing Home/ALF seminar for several years and vice-chairs the Medical Liability and Health Care Law Online Community.  He is a member of the Long Term Care Risk-Legal Forum. 
 

Denise Yost, Product Manager for T360 Insurance Claims Defense, is responsible for the development of insurance solutions for our T360 platform.  Denise has a proven record for understanding and solving challenges our clients and law firm users face as she worked for the past decade supporting both, as a Client Success Manager.  She has a creative approach for using existing functionality as well creating innovative enhancements to provide the desired results.  Prior to joining ELM Solutions, Denise earned a Paralegal degree and for 15 years prior worked as a Real Estate Paralegal handling complex commercial and residential closings. 

Cathy Zwaan is a claims examiner responsible for managing hospitality liquor liability, excess umbrella and coverage/bad faith exposures. USLI, a Berkshire Hathaway company. USLI underwrites specialty insurance products for small businesses nationwide. She previously held the position of litigation manager.

Cathy has over 30 years of experience in a wide variety of insurance industry positions, including leadership roles, with the majority of experience in the claims arena. She has specialized in managing various complex indemnity and coverage claims in various product lines, with a focus in liquor liability and excess/umbrella while employed with USLI, Reliance Insurance Company, Penn National Insurance, and Global Indemnity Insurance Company.

As Litigation Manager for USLI, Cathy was responsible for the selection, appointment, evaluation and oversight of high-quality and cost-effective defense counsel for all venues and jurisdictions nationwide. She is also responsible for developing internal processes and procedures to create a climate for the claim professionals and attorneys to jointly strategize with the ultimate goal of practical bottom-line driven claim resolutions.

Cathy was a finalist for the 2015 CLM Litigation Management Professional of the Year award. She serves on the Executive Council and faculty for CLM's School of Claims Mediation as well as the ADR committee.

Michael Aberle is a Senior Vice President for Next Wave Insurance Services, which specializes in the underwriting of cannabis, hemp and CBD operations. Mike is one of the foremost experts in this industry, having spent the past 12 years exclusively underwriting cannabis related accounts in all legalized states. During that time, he played a significant role in developing industry guidelines, local and state regulations, and the actual policy forms utilized today in P&C industry. Michael’s extensive knowledge of the insurance and cannabis industry is only surpassed by his passion developing and providing the most comprehensive coverage available in the market. 
 

Robert Abramson handles PIP, UM/UIM, fraud, and bodily injury claims for multiple auto accident carriers. Bob regularly speaks at national conferences, local defense organization events, and to numerous insurance companies across the country on how to nail insurance fraud. On November 2, 2015, he moderated a panel in New York City on the topic of "Revolution in Auto Claims" at the Ace Tech East Conference. Bob will be moderating a panel in Orlando on the topic of "Stemming the Rising Epidemic of Insurance Fraud" at the CLM National Conference in April 2016. Bob also handles examinations under oath, dramshop actions, premises liability cases, and coverage opinions.

Before becoming a lawyer, Bob was an award-winning sports reporter for USA Today, Gannett News Service, the Ann Arbor News and the Wolverine Magazine. He co-authored a book on Michigan football's 1997 national championship run which sold 15,000 copies.

Mr. Barger was born in Sacramento, California. He attended the University of California, Davis, where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Economics in 1988. In 1991, he earned his Juris Doctor Degree from Pepperdine University School of Law. He was admitted to the State Bar of California, the United States District Court, and the California Supreme Court. He is a member of the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel, where he is also the Committee Chairperson for the Construction Practice Group and is a member of the Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California. He is a member of the California Building Industry Association and is on the Speaker’s & Topic’s Committee for the annual West Coast Casualty Construction Defect Seminar.His publications include The Impact of Disappearing Carriers on Construction Defect Litigation The Construction Lawyer); Additional Insured Endorsement: Their Vital Importance in Construction Defect Litigation, The Construction Lawyer; Additional Insured Endorsement Issues Which Are Currently Impacting Construction Defect Litigation; Managing Construction Defect Cases, The Construction Lawyer; Tight Building Syndrome - In The Defense Of HVAC Contractors, HVAC Products News; In Defense Of Tight Building Syndrome, For The Defense. He has also been published on Mold & Environmental Litigation topics, Crawford decision, SB 800 (Right to Repair Statutes) pre-trial motions, and indemnity issues in various publications. Mr. Barger has been a profiled speaker and a panelist at numerous industry-related seminars and presentations, including HB Litigation Construction Defect Litigation Conference (2009); Lorman’s California Mold and Construction Conference (2002, 2003); MC2 Consultants, CD Seminar (2007, 2008); Mealey’s Construction Conferences (2002, 2004, 2005); West Coast Casualty Construction Defect Seminars (2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010); Association of Southern California Defense Counsel’s Annual Seminar and Construction Seminar (2004, 2009) Chairperson and speaker at Association of Southern California Defense Counsel and Construction Defect Claims Managers’ CD Seminar (2005 – 2010); and California Building Industry Association Annual Meeting (2004).

Mr. Barger has trial, arbitration, and mediation experience. He has the distinction of achieving the highest rating of “AV” by the prestigious national lawyer rating organization Martindale-Hubbell. He specializes in Construction Litigation, Environmental, Toxic and Hazardous Substance Litigation, Commercial/Business Litigation, General Negligence and Complex, Multi-Party Litigation.

Practice Areas:

Catastrophic Injury and Products LiabilityBusiness & Employment LawConstruction LawEnvironmental LawProfessional Liability

Education

University of California, Davis, B.A., 1988Pepperdine University School of Law, J.D., 1991

Mr. Beemer has 46 years in the insurance industry and is retired but continues to do consulting and expert witness work through Suite 200 Solutions.  Previously he was the VP of Claims at Tokio Marine HCC Insurance Group.  Prior to TMHCC, Mr. Beemer worked at IAT, QBE, Aetna, CNA, Home Insurance, Risk Enterprise Management and Fireman's Fund Insurance Company.   At QBE Mr. Beemer lead the liability claims department and the Litigation Management department for QBE.  He had direct oversight of Litigation Management, Transportation, GL, CD, TPA Services and Environmental claims.  Prior to QBE Mr. Beemer was the National Claim Director for Construction Defect, Latent Injury and Entertainment Claims at Fireman's Fund Insurance Company. In his career he has been a chief technical officer, consultant to re-insurers, training coordinator, national accounts coordinator, litigation manager, legal auditor, claims and due diligence auditor, PMK, expert witness and has been a panel speaker at CLM and other industry events. He serves on  the Advisory Board for the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance, has served as Dean of Litigation Management at Claims College and is a Chancellor and Professor at Litigation Management Institute. Mr. Beemer has authored numerous articles for Claims Management Magazine and Litigation Management Magazine. Mr. Beemer received the CLM Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023 at the Annual Conference in Tampa Florida. 

Jennifer Bergstrom is Senior Claims Counsel at Hiscox USA.  In this role, Jennifer handles Directors & Officers, Employment Practices, and Financial Services liability claims. Before joining Hiscox, Jennifer was a placement broker in Marsh & McLennan’s FINPRO group, where she placed Directors & Officers liability coverage for large public companies.  Prior to joining Marsh, Jennifer was a claims consultant for CNA, where she handled private company Directors & Officers liability claims, and before joining CNA, Jennifer  practiced insurance coverage litigation for various Chicago-based law firms.   Jennifer holds a Bachelors of Business Administration degree from Ohio University, and holds a law degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law.   Jennifer is also passionate about issues relating to diversity and inclusion, and is in the process of launching a Women at Hiscox USA and Bermuda affinity group.  In her spare time, Jennifer can be found training for a marathon, baking and cooking for friends and family, or spending time with her nieces and nephews.  

Stephen Berry leads the insurance coverage and bad faith team in the Atlanta office of Dentons US. His practice focuses on general liability, IP/media, personal and advertising injury, and construction defect claims. Licensed in Georgia and Louisiana, Mr. Berry’s insurance practice is nationwide; he has litigated coverage and bad faith issues in numerous jurisdictions from coast to coast (including every southeastern state) and frequently advises insurer clients on nationwide coverage developments and helps them take strategic approaches to multi-state disputes.   Mr. Berry is the author of Georgia Property and Liability Insurance Law (West, 5th Ed.); and Appraisal in Property Damage Insurance Disputes (CLM, 2013); Insurance Coverage for Intellectual Property and Cyber Claims (Lexis, 2015), and numerous articles on insurance coverage and bad faith issues. He frequently speaks on insurance law to attorneys, claim representatives, in-house counsel, judges, and insurer professional training organizations.  Mr. Berry is an AV-rated attorney, and has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America (in the practice area of Insurance Law) every year since 2007, as well as Georgia Super Lawyers (category of Insurance Coverage) every year since 2011. Further, Mr. Berry sits on the Coverage sub-committee of Claims and Litigation Management (“CLM”) and recently became the youngest person ever elected to membership in the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel (“ACCEC”). In addition, Mr. Berry and his teammates at Dentons were named by the Daily Report as the “Litigation Practice Group of the Year” in 2013.

Linda Bondi Morrison is the Managing Partner of Tressler’s Orange County office, where she represents insurance companies in complex litigation and coverage matters involving general and professional liability, excess exposures and extracontractual liability, including environmental and toxic torts, construction defects and advertising/personal injury. She has extensive experience in matters involving complex insurance programs and the allocation and coverage challenges they present. Linda has represented clients as trial counsel in a number of significant, complex matters in California and across the country.
 
In addition to providing litigation counsel, Linda is regularly called on by insurance companies to assist with policy drafting and settlement or resolution of non-litigated matters involving complex questions of insurance coverage and liability. She has successfully handled mediations and arbitrations with multimillion-dollar exposures, procuring favorable settlements for her clients.
 
Linda is an elected Fellow of the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel and is very active in other professional organizations, including The National Forum for Environmental and Toxic Tort Issues (Board Member and Secretary), the Claims & Litigation Management Alliance, the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (Western Division Grants Committee), and Insuring the Children (Board Member). 

 

Michael is a 25+ years veteran of the healthcare risk management and insurance industry. He is currently the Director of Insurance for NYU Langone Medical Center where he is responsible for managing the various line of liability insurance.  His primary focus is professional liability insurance and claims related to professional liability.  While at NYU Langone Medical Center, Michael was instrumental in merging the nonprofessional liability lines of insurance back with the University and help the Medical Center realize an initial $1 million in premium savings.

Prior to joining NYULMC, Michael was the Director of Risk and Compliance at St. John's Episcopal Hospital, a small community hospital in southern Queens, where he initiated various risk management programs and instituted the hospitals initial Corporate Compliance program and HIPAA Compliance program.

Michael started his risk management carrier in 1986, working for a not-for-profit organization affiliated with the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies. In 1990 he moved to Lenox Hill Hospital in NYC as the Associated Risk Manager where he spent 9 years honing his risk management skills before spending a year at the North Shore-LIJ Health Systems's Risk Management Department where he was responsible for all risk and claims management activities for 3 of the systems smaller community hospitals.

Prior to entering the healthcare risk management industry, Michael was a Registered Nurse earning his Bachelor of Science in Nursing from SUNY - Downstate.  Michael also holds an MBA in Healthcare Administration from CUNY - Baruch College/Mt. Sinai School of Medicine Healthcare Administration Program

Robin Buchanan attained a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland. She served as a police officer, detective and investigator for the District Attorney’s office in Clayton County Georgia. She left law enforcement to begin a career within the insurance industry in 1996 working for a large insurance carrier as an SIU Investigator. In 1999 she joined HUB Enterprises. In 2003 she transitioned to her current position of Vice President at HUB Enterprises, a national insurance defense investigation company. Ms. Buchanan holds an Insurance Fraud Certification I & II and a Fraud Claims Law Specialist designation.  

Stephen Buonpane is Senior Vice President of Underwriting for Chubb’s Primary Construction Group. Based in New York City, Mr. Buonpane is responsible for overseeing the execution of the division’s underwriting strategies countrywide.
 
Stephen joined the Chubb/ACE Construction team in 2009 as the New York Regional Manager to build its presence and capabilities in the region. In 2013 he was promoted to oversee the New York, Southeast and West Coast regions, and later promoted in 2015 to manage the division countrywide. Mr. Buonpane also co-authored a white paper on PPP’s in the US, title Driving Change: Public-Private Partnerships, released in June, 2015.
 
Prior to joining Chubb, Stephen spent 21 months with the British Government as UK Trade & Investment’s US Financial Services Sector Lead. In this capacity he was responsible for handling economic development opportunities between the US and UK. Mr. Buonpane also contributed to UK ministerial visits and served as a speaker on numerous industry panels regarding the UK’s financial services sector. 
 
Mr. Buonpane began his career in 2003 at AIG as a home-office underwriter in the Construction Risk Management division. 
 
Mr. Buonpane earned an MBA with Distinction from NYU’s Stern School of Business, where he was also named a Stern Scholar, and holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of Delaware.
 

Dove A.E. Burns focuses her practice on employment law and professional liability. She has experience defending corporate clients and executives, professional service providers, multibillion-dollar international restaurant chains, hospitals, municipalities, housing authorities, nonprofits, and boards of directors in a variety of high-exposure matters.

She has tried numerous cases to verdict and has resolved disputes through arbitration, mediation, and conciliation.

Ms. Burns’ experience includes the following:

- Representing executives in matters involving allegations of wrongdoing, including claims of sexual misconduct, racial harassment, and corporate malfeasance
- Handling complex wage and hour matters
- Restrictive covenant disputes
- Securities and antitrust litigation
- Defending higher education Institutions
- Condominium/co-op law
- Defending lawyers, mental health professionals, architects, engineers, real estate professionals, property managers, and registered representatives regulated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
- General liability, municipal liability, and commercial matters

She provides proactive counsel to employers, handles employment and severance agreements, drafts policy manuals and other management documents and conducts training sessions to aide employers in minimizing and the risk of litigation. 

Attorney Busher has a wide range of civil litigation experience, with concentrations in insurance coverage, construction defect, personal injury and appellate practice. His concentration in insurance coverage analysis and litigation focuses on helping insurers effectively address coverage issues in an expeditious and cost-conscious manner, and includes providing coverage opinions, the preparation of declaratory judgment and other complaints, as well as discovery and motion practice. He brings the same best-practice, cost-effective, proactive and strategic approach to all litigated matters.Attorney Busher is a partner with Jackson O'Keefe, and has been a member of the Connecticut bar for 20 years. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from the College of the Holy Cross in 1993. He obtained his Doctorate of Jurisprudence with honors in 1996 from the University of Connecticut School of Law, where he also received the Cornelius W. Wickersham, Jr. Award for Constitutional Law and the American Jurisprudence Award for Constitutional Law.  He has received an A-V rating from Martindale-Hubbell (Preeminent legal ability rating and Very High general ethical standards rating). Attorney Busher has been also been recognized as a Connecticut Super Lawyer by publisher Thomson Reuters since 2006. As a CLM litigation management professional he searches for creative, quick resolution, case-appropriate strategies in all litigated matters. His litigation experience includes personal injury, property damage, construction defect, and insurance coverage matters . In addition, Attorney Busher has a concentration in appellate practice, with the researching and drafting of over 50 briefs and appellate motions, and argument before the Connecticut Supreme, the Connecticut Appellate Court, and teh Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Since 2008, Attorney Busher has also served as an Adjunct Instructor at the University of Connecticut School of Law, where he teaches a class on appellate practice. 

Meredith Cavallaro is a member of Paduano & Weintraub LLP and has been with the firm since October 2000. Her practice is devoted to litigation and employment.
 
Meredith has been lead counsel defending employers in state, federal and administrative actions brought by former and/or present employees alleging discriminatory conduct including race, gender, age and disability discrimination, hostile work environment, sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination and retaliation. She has been lead counsel defending corporations in single plaintiff and class actions involving violations of wage statutes. She defends employers in cases involving restrictive covenants, unfair competition, breach of fiduciary duty and trade secrets.
 
Meredith assists clients in risk management and advises employers on compliance with employment laws including issues such as medical leaves of absence, reasonable accommodation, the interactive process and retaliation. She advises employers on wage compliance and mitigating class action litigation risks. She implements performance improvement plans, structures terminations, and advises on restructuring and reductions in force. Meredith provides management and employee training seminars.
 
Meredith also represents companies and their directors and officers in complex commercial litigation. She regularly defends start-ups, midsize and large corporations in partnership and shareholder disputes, intellectual property disputes and contractual disputes.  
 

Corinne Cerrati is a Senior Claims Specialist for Chubb North America Financial Lines Claims handling professional liability claims asserted against design professionals.
Corinne joined Chubb in May of 2016.  Prior to joining Chubb, Corinne worked as an attorney for several years in New York and New Jersey with Sedgwick LLP.  Corinne’s practice focused on the defense of products liability and general liability matters and she engaged in all aspects of civil litigation from case inception through appeal.
Corinne has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Politics from The Catholic University of America (2005) and a Juris Doctorate from Pace University School of Law (2010). Corinne is a member of the Bars of the State of New York and State of New Jersey.  Corinne resides in Hillsdale, New Jersey with her husband - Rich, daughter – Molly, and dog – Rusty.

Areas of Practice:
 
Civil Rights ?
Governmental Law ?
Professional Liability and Insurance Coverage 
 
Sun S. Choy practices in the Government Law and General and Business Liability sections of the firm.  He is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee and serves as Chair of the General and Business Liability section.  He received his undergraduate degree from Emory University (B.S.) and his law degree from University of Louisville (J.D.) where he was a member of the Journal of Family Law. 

Mr. Choy has defended local governments and law enforcement officers throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the State of Georgia in Section 1983 litigation. He has also represented privately held and publicly traded companies in cases involving catastrophic injury and wrongful death.

Mr. Choy has lectured to attorneys throughout the country and authored numerous articles on topics related to the defense of civil rights and personal injury claims. One topic relates to Mr. Choy's successful defense of a deputy sheriff that resulted in Scott v. Harris, the United States Supreme Court's landmark decision establishing the parameters for the use of force in a high-speed pursuit. He has also been selected as a Georgia Super Lawyer "Rising Star" as published by Law & Politics and Atlanta Magazine.

Susan Clemson has over 30 years of experience in the property and casualty insurance industry, with over 20 years in a managerial or senior management role.  Currently, Susan is the Senior Vice President and Chief Claim Officer of Berkley Luxury group  which provides all-inclusive insurance solutions for luxury condo, co-op, rental properties and fine dining restaurants. Ms. Clemson has also held positions with Western Litigation, Everest National, Atlantic Mutual, AIG and Travelers.  Her diverse background includes supervising and managing General Liability, Property, Construction Defect, Medical Malpractice, Errors and Omissions, Directors and Officers, Senior Care Liability, Environmental and Toxic Tort claims.  Susan is a graduate of Lehigh University with a B.A. degree in Economics. 

Joan E. Cochran focuses her practice on the areas of professional liability, including insurance brokers, real estate brokers, attorney malpractice, employment practices liability, directors & officers' liability, miscellaneous errors & omissions, architects and engineers, construction defect, property, casualty, healthcare, fidelity, life insurance, media entertainment, sports, and business litigation, all aspects of insurance coverage, including insurance bad faith. Joan Cochran is also involved in conducting educational seminars for clients with regard to California Fair Claims Practices Certification, policy wordings, as well as continuing education in the above described areas.

She is a member of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society, Defense Research Institute, The American Bar Association, The State Bar of California, The Los Angeles County Bar Association and Women's Business Enterprise National Council.

Patti Colwell is the Workers’ Compensation Program Manager for Southwest Airlines.  Known for its employee-centric culture, Southwest Airlines views its employees as its single greatest strength and most enduring long-term competitive advantage.  In her role, Patti is responsible for the on-the-job injury care of the company’s more than 59,000 employees. 
Patti brings over 30 years of experience with Southwest Airlines and 17 years of workers’ compensation industry experience to her current position.  Her responsibilities are as unique and varied as the employees and company for whom she serves.  She is continually challenged to develop and implement innovative and cost-effective strategies, including both pre-loss and post-loss initiatives.  This requires that she understand the job demands associated with each position within the airlines and communicates effectively with management and employees throughout the organization.  It also entails forming strong relationships with brokers, insurance carriers, third party administrators, and other service providers who work diligently on the company’s behalf.  Patti knows the value of strong partnerships and her management style in dealing these outside resources is frequently credited with much of the program’s success.
Patti is active within the risk management and insurance community and a frequent speaker at meetings and events including RIMS, Annual Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference, and the National Workers’ Compensation and Disability Conference.  In 2015, Southwest Airlines was awarded the National Underwriter’s Excellence in Workers’ Compensation Risk Management Award and also nominated for the Comp Laude Employer Award.  In 2016, Patti was a Comp Laude Honor Roll Recipient.  She is a native Texan and resides near Dallas.
 

Mr. Cook is a Certified Industrial Hygienist, a Certified Safety Professional, a Licensed Mold Assessment Consultant (Texas), and a Licensed Asbestos Inspector (Texas). Mr. Cook holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Entomology from Kansas State University and over 60 graduate level credit hours in Environmental Science/Industrial Hygiene from The University of Texas, School of Public Health. He has 20 years of experience in environmental, health, safety, and emergency response practice, and has provided expert testimony in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida.
 
He has completed investigations on a wide variety of environmental, health, and safety investigations related to microbiological, chemical, and physical agents including fungi and bacteria, including Legionellosis and Methicillin- resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), as well as solvents, aldehydes, welding fume, heavy metals, waste anesthetic gases, pharmaceuticals, carbon monoxide,diesel exhaust, pesticides, fumigants, asbestos, clandestine methamphetamine laboratory chemicals, and  noise exposures.
 
Mr. Cook has conducted coefficient of friction and trip and fall evaluations, safety audits, ergonomic evaluations, environment of care audits, and infection control and sanitation inspections.
 
He has also completed investigations related to defective (imported Chinese) drywall, spray polyurethane foam off-gassing, foreign object food contamination, rancidity and off-flavors, storm water and sanitary sewer discharges, . He has also developed and presented extensive training on fire safety, ergonomics, hazard communication, contractor safety, and terrorism preparedness.
 

Daniel K. Cray is a founding member and partner with extensive trial experience in state and federal courts throughout the United States, having been admitted pro hac vice in over 30 separate venues. He holds an “AV Preeminent” attorney rating received from the peer rating system of Martindale Hubbell, and has been recognized by his peers in several state and national publications including Who’s Who Legal Product Liability Defence and Who’s Who Legal Life Sciences.  Mr. Cray has over 35 years of experience in the supervision, preparation and trial of complex tort and commercial litigation, concentrating in catastrophic loss cases.  He is national trial and coordinating counsel for several national and international product manufacturers and sellers.  He has also defended the reputations of professionals at trial and in administrative hearings.  Mr. Cray’s presentations at legal and business conferences span a wide array of topics including professional liability and products liability, jury trial innovations, limiting damages and preventative law techniques.  Mr. Cray received his juris doctorate from the University of Illinois.

Education:
University of Illinois School of Law, Champaign, Illinois, Juris Doctorate
Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois. Double Major in Psychology and Political Science. Graduated with Highest Honors
DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois, Mediator Training:  40-hour certificate course

Sam currently serves as the Vice-President and Claims Manager at Dryden Mutual Insurance Company. He has been with Dryden since 1990, and he has been responsible for all claims activities and has handled some of the largest claims and oversaw some of the largest losses in Dryden’s history. Sam is a liaison member with the New York State Independent Adjuster Association. Sam also is a member of the Atlantic Claims Executive Association currently serving as a sponsor chairman and formally a director. Sam also is a committee member with the PCI.  Sam was a former Arbitrator with Arbitration Forums. Sam’s prior experience was as a claims Representative with Agway Insurance, Hartford Insurance Company and also a policy service rep with Excelsior Insurance Co.

Melissa D. Crowley is a partner in the Cole, Scott, and Kissane's Orlando office.  Her trial practice focuses on the defense of civil litigation claims including personal injury, premises liability, accountant’s malpractice, product liability, Dram Shop, product defect, wrongful death, security negligence and professional liability claims. Melissa is admitted to practice law in all Florida state courts as well as the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Melissa has tried, or assisted in trying, cases in a number of venues throughout the state during her time at the firm.

Prior to joining the firm, Melissa obtained her Bachelor of Science degree, cum laude, from the University of Florida with a major in Finance and minor in Entrepreneurship.  She then went on to receive her Master of Business Administration, while working full-time for a major financial company.  Subsequently, she earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Florida, where she also graduated cum laude.

Melissa was the recent recipient of the Golden Gavel award for trial excellence. She was one of six recipients nationwide. She is also approved to lecture on “How to Properly Evaluate a Personal Injury Claim,” a one credit continuing education course approved by the state of Florida.

Andrea L. D'Ambra is a senior counsel in the New York office, where she focuses on e-discovery, information management, data privacy and cross border discovery.

Throughout Andrea's legal career, she has developed and implemented cutting-edge technological solutions for addressing her client's electronic discovery and information governance challenges.  Andrea's technical background helps her bridge the gap between legal requirements and technical realities and allows her to work effectively with her clients' IT personnel. 

At a time when costs savings are critical to a company's ongoing success, Andrea has helped many clients find less expensive ways to comply with their discovery obligations and appropriately limit the scope of discovery.  

Andrea counsels clients on preservation and data management issues, and has drafted information governance and records management policies for a number of multi-national companies. In addition to counseling, she has assisted clients in navigating foreign data privacy laws while complying with U.S. discovery obligations. Andrea also has presented at and moderated various Continuing Legal Education programs on patent, copyright and e-discovery issues, and has written on various e-discovery topics.

Her intellectual property experience includes patent, trademark, copyright litigation for both corporations and individual clients. 

Andrea served for over seven years as an officer in the United States Navy. Her diverse Naval experience includes serving as an action officer for high-profile investigations within the Bureau of Naval Personnel and managing the administrative and legal issues of the Navy's computer network defense command.

Andrea also is an adjunct professor of law at Temple and William and Mary Law Schools where she teaches classes on Electronic Discovery.

Janet practices in the areas of insurance coverage, professional liability and construction litigation. She represents and counsels insurers on a wide range of issues and policies including errors and omissions, directors and officers and general liability. She represents lawyers, architects and engineers in litigated and arbitrated matters and also provides design professionals with general corporate counseling on issues including contract drafting, insurance, fee disputes and employment. Janet successfully defended an architect in the second sick building syndrome case tried in this country and has litigated claims involving Chicago landmarks such as the Amoco Building, 900 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago Skyway and McCormick Place.

Janet is a frequent lecturer on a variety of topics including insurance coverage, design professional liability and the role of counsel retained by insurers.

Presentations:

Janet's most recent presentations include:

"Ten Mistakes Employers Can't Afford to Make: A look at the 2009 EEOC Enforcement Trends, Case Law, and EPLI Developments," ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession Minority Counsel Program, San Francisco, California "Architect as Design - Builder in the Educational Environment," Illinois Association of School Business Officials, Arlington Heights, Illinois (October 15, 2009) "How to Settle Complex Insurance Coverage Cases," Crittenden Insurance Coverage Forum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (October 2, 2009) "The Financial Collapse - What Caused It and How Will It Continue to Impact Corporations and Their Boards," ABA Annual Meeting, Chicago Illinois, July 30, 2009 and ABA Mid-Year Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts, February 12, 2009

 

Ms. Davis has in excess of 40 years in the insurance industry in various positions with audit and claim administrative firms, as well as carriers prior to the formation of Empirical Loss Management. She was employed with Midlands Claims Administrators for 14 years, serving as an officer for 12 years, including Executive Vice President and Chief Claims Officer. While at Midlands Claim Administrators, Ms. Davis was responsible for the management of approximately 8,000 open litigated matters with jurisdictions throughout the U.S. with approximately $2.5 Billion in incurred losses.

Currently, Ms. Davis is the Chief Executive Officer of Empirical Loss Management, LLC, a U.S. domiciled entity specializing in Audit, Consultation and Niche, Specialty Claim Administration Services.

Ms. Davis was recognized as an expert in the field of Construction GL, Construction Defect, GL and Litigation Management.   She has handled a variety of claim types, including workers comp, personal accident, copyright infringement, slander, livestock, professional liability and entertainment.  Additionally, she has been involved in multiple mediations and have been instrumental in the settlement of large exposure cases, as well as managing the litigation of several cases which went to jury verdict. 

Ms. Davis has served on the panel at various construction defect seminars speaking on topics including WRAPS, policy wording, reserves, construction/law trends, and complex claim handling.  She has also worked with carriers in helping draft policy language. 

Seth Davis manages the national self-insured claim program (GL, PD, WC Environmental and Subrogation) for Westfield’s 32 regional and flagship properties.  Seth received his Bachelors in Business Science from Pepperdine University, his OSHA General Industry Trainer certification through the U.S. Department of Labor and his mediator training at the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law.

Seth excels in community outreach serving as Presidents of the Southern California Association for Healthcare Risk Management, the Encino Chamber of Commerce and Woodland Hills Sunrise Little League.  Seth has testified before the Los Angeles City Council on Tax Reform and was on a California Senate Sub-Committee for prescription drug funding.

From design, construction and development to leasing, management and marketing, Westfield creates and operates flagship retail destinations in London, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles which are among our portfolio of 35 centres.  Recently Unibail-Rodamco entered into an agreement to acquire Westfield to create the World’s premier owner, operator and developer of flagship shopping destinations. 

Mark F. DiGiovanni, Esq. joined Global Indemnity Group in April 2008 in the position of Vice President, Claims/Litigation Management. His responsibilities include major litigation oversight as well as the hiring and retention of panel counsel. Prior to joining Global Indemnity, he served as Claims Counsel for The Travelers overseeing major exposure litigation in Eastern Pennsylvania and New England. Mr. DiGiovanni has practiced law for various law firms and insurance companies. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar, and New Jersey Bar, and is admitted to practice in all Federal District and Appellate Courts in those jurisdictions. In addition, Mr. DiGiovanni is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. He resides in Wayne, Pennsylvania with his wife and four children.
 

Mr. DiSiervi’s practice concentrates on handling and trying complex products liability, construction/labor law, general liability and intentional torts cases. He has over 12 years experience in representing companies and individuals in high exposure cases in both State and Federal Court. Mr. DiSiervi also briefs and argues appeals, including an appeal regarding the interpretation of a construction contract that was decided by the Court of Appeals of the State of New York. He has lectured on a variety of subjects, including trial tactics, construction law and practice and New York Labor Law. He is rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell.

Mr. DiSiervi honed his construction practice to provide sound legal advice and litigation skills to assist a variety of parties in every facet of the construction process. He has successfully represented private and public owners, manufacturers, general contractors, sub-contractors, vendors, employees and municipal and State entities in litigation, arbitration and mediation matters. He has represented clients in construction cases dealing with strip malls and shopping centers, office complexes, public buildings, private residences, personal injury and products liability. He has successfully tried, to verdict, a products liability and breach of warranty case against the manufacturer of an industrial trash compactor.

Due to his extensive knowledge and practice in the area of construction law, Mr. DiSiervi has been retained by construction companies to negotiate contracts and provide opinions concerning a variety of site issues. He is responsible for drafting educational materials used nationally.

Elissa brings more than 15 years of industry knowledge and works with Mosaic’s brokers and insureds throughout the Americas to guide coverage under the company’s six product lines. She started her insurance career as claims counsel with AIG and later was cyber and technology product manager at AXA XL. Elissa also has extensive experience counseling companies and proactively mitigating risk from her tenure on the broker side, including roles at Marsh and Lockton. Prior to 2006, she began her legal career in tax with Deloitte.

Joe, one of the founding members of Clark, May, Price, Lawley, Duncan and Paul, represents clients ranging from family companies to Fortune 500 businesses at both the trial and appellate level. His practice consists of the defense of claims relating to personal injury, product liability, contractual disputes, trucking and insurance coverage. Joe spends much of his time working with clients, contractors and trade groups to proactively reduce the risk of liability using lessons learned from litigation.

Joe has helped to mold Alabama law in both the legislative and judicial branches. He assisted in authoring legislation relating to contractor liability and argued to the Alabama Supreme Court on the subjects of indemnity, personal injury and product liability. In Hosea Weaver and Sons, Inc. v. Balch, the Alabama Supreme Court recognized the “accepted-work doctrine” based on arguments made by Joe as amicus counsel on behalf of the Alabama Road Builder’s Association. The Court’s decision reversed a $7.5 million verdict in favor the plaintiffs and rendered a judgment in favor of the defendant. More recently, in DISA Industries, Inc. v. Bell, Joe also successfully argued for the Court to reverse a $500,000 in favor of a plaintiff and rendered the verdict in favor of the Defendant.

Joe and his wife, Ellen, live in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, with their children Porter and Sophie. In his spare time, Joe coaches youth baseball, runs half marathons, travels and volunteers at Children’s Hospital as Santa Claus.

Joe earned his undergraduate degree from Auburn University and his juris doctor from The University of Alabama School of Law.

Tad Eckenrode is the founder, managing officer and lead trial attorney for Eckenrode-Maupin, a boutique 8 attorney defense-oriented trial and appellate practice. He has tried almost 100 cases to verdict in both Missouri and Illinois state courts, and in Federal court. Several were listed as among the year's "Top Defense Verdicts" by Missouri Lawyer's Weekly. The firm's practice areas include all aspects of general insurance defense and civil litigation, while Tad's own personal focus is on complex and high-stakes death and injury claims, including medical malpractice, product liability and general / auto liability matters. Tad has been a frequently requested speaker at bar and professional seminars on topics related to trial practice, professional liability and general negligence matters, and he has authored several articles published both locally and nationally. He is rated "AV" by Martindale-Hubbell, listed in "Best Lawyers in America" (for Personal Injury Litigation -- Defense and Medical Malpractice -- Defense), and has been selected as a Missouri-Kansas "Superlawyer" for six straight years. He received the 2018 "Lawyer of the Year" award for the area of "Medical Malpractice - Defense" in St. Louis by Best Lawyers.

Tad graduated from Washington University School of Law in 1983, and served as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for three years before transitioning to a general civil insurance defense practice, which has been his primary litigation focus for the past 35+ years.

Rachel Ehrlich is a nationally recognized mediator specializing in complex civil disputes. She mediates litigated and non-litigated matters in the following areas: construction defect, insurance coverage, insurance bad faith, environmental, civil rights, real estate including landlord-tenant, and personal injury including catastrophic injuries. She has successfully mediated disputes in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Oregon, Washington, London, and other jurisdictions. Prior to becoming a full-time neutral, she spent 20 years gaining an invaluable understanding of civil disputes and the insurance industry as a casualty and coverage attorney, insurance claims person, underwriter, and insurance executive. Rachel is also a mediator for several court programs including the Federal District of Northern California. She has been active with CLM, serving for several years in the Claims College as a founding Dean of the Claims Mediation School and on the founding Executive Council for the Construction School. She regularly presents seminars on mediation of insurance coverage, bad faith, and construction disputes, mediation confidentiality, and ethics to a variety of audiences.

Rachel is a graduate of University of California, Hastings College of the Law (J.D. 1996) and the University of California at Santa Cruz (B.A. Politics 1990).  She is admitted to practice before the US Supreme Court, the California Supreme Court, the US Courts of Appeal for the Ninth and Tenth Circuits, and the US District Courts of Northern California and Colorado.  www.ehrlichadr.com

Constance A. Endelicato, is an accomplished trial lawyer with over 30 years of litigation experience in defending professional liability claims. She defends physicians, hospitals, and skilled nursing facilities, as well as legal and accounting professionals, among other service providers. She also defends employers in wrongful termination and discrimination actions. She is experienced in handling class actions, mass tort litigation, appellate and federal matters. She is admitted to practice in the United States District Court, Central, Northern, and Southern Districts of California.
 
 Ms. Endelicato's accomplishments include her extensive trial experience has afforded her membership in the prestigious American Board of Trial Advocates, among a nominal number of women in the United States. Ms. Endelicato is a recipient of the 2017 Business Insurance and CLM Women to Watch Award. She also received Lawyer Magazine's 2017 and 2018 Legal Award for Elder Abuse Litigation and 2018 Women in Law Award for Litigation. Additionally, Ms. Endelicato has been named by the Los Angeles and San Francisco legal newspaper, The Daily Journal, as one of the Top 100 Women Lawyers in California. She has been honored by Los Angeles Business Journal as one of the Top 50 Most Influential Women Lawyers. She has been recognized by Los Angeles Magazine as one of the Top Women Attorneys in Southern California.
 
She is currently the President of the Southern California Association of Healthcare Risk Management and is the Deputy Chair of the American Society of Healthcare Risk Management Education Development Task Force. She has also received the designation of Super Lawyer in Southern California by Los Angeles Magazine, Super Lawyer in Orange County by Orange Coast Magazine, and Top Lawyer by Pasadena Magazine. She also holds an AV-Preeminent Rating which is the highest rating awarded by Martindale-Hubbell. Ms. Endelicato is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Risk Management.
 

James A. Foster is a partner in the firm’s Chicago office and chair of the Transportation practice group. Jim focuses his practice on civil litigation, with an emphasis on transportation and product liability litigation. He leads immediate response teams for trucking companies on catastrophic losses and has published articles on punitive damages and spoliation of evidence. Jim also frequently presents at industry conferences on topics relating to the Reptile Theory, early case analysis, mediation and electronic discovery. Jim represents trucking companies in complex personal injury and in breach of contract matters. He has successfully defended product liability cases at trial involving the design of an automatic door and a milling machine.

Jim is actively involved and has held leadership roles with several industry organizations including, former chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) Tort and Insurance Practice Section's Commercial Transportation Litigation Committee; former member of Board of Directors of the Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA) and editor of the State Law Summary of Illinois; former dean of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel (FDCC) Graduate Program of Litigation Management College; former Chair of the Defense Research Institute (DRI) Hand and Power Tools Section; Chair of the Claims & Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) Transportation Community;  and Co-Dean of CLM Claims College's School of Transportation.

Seth Friedman is a partner in the Atlanta and Nashville offices of Lewis Brisbois and a National Vice-chair of the Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith Litigation Practices. Seth has extensive experience claim counseling and litigating in a wide variety of insurance coverage areas including: general liability, pollution, construction defect, first party property, fidelity, employment, professional liability, errors & omissions, public entity liability, surplus lines, asbestos and, toxic torts. Seth also has extensive experience with examinations under oath, fraud, and arson claims.

In addition, Seth has extensive experience handling bad faith claims and suits. He routinely assists his clients in navigating potential bad faith issues pre-suit, including responses to time limited demands.

Further, Seth has extensive experience handling appeals, including many successful appeals in state and federal courts. Seth has handled appeals in the Georgia Court of Appeals, Georgia Supreme Court, Tennessee Court of Appeals, and the United States Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Seth routinely obtains positive results for his clients, including prevailing on dispositive motions. He understands the needs of his insurer clients and excels at finding cost effective and innovative ways to resolve the complex problems they present to him.

Seth frequently publishes and speaks on insurance coverage and bad faith issues. He is a member of the ABA Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee, and was the Co-Chair of its 2021 annual conference.

Kelly Geary is a Managing Principal with EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants based in the New York City area.  She serves as the National Practice Leader – Executive and Cyber Risk.  Kelly has spent approximately 30 years in the insurance industry. She began her career as an insurance defense and coverage attorney in the professional lines space in New York City. After private practice, Kelly held positions within the claims, underwriting, compliance and legal departments at various NYC based insurance carriers with a focus on professional, specialty and financial lines insurance products.  Kelly also served on the Executive Leadership Team for a Specialty Lines Division of a larger insurance carrier. While on the carrier side, Kelly acquired significant experience evaluating cyber and executive risks and developing insurance products to address those risks.  Kelly is actively involved in the evaluation, analysis, and negotiation of insurance products tailored to address operational, management and cyber risks and exposures to firms and companies of all sizes, across all industry segments. Kelly provides risk management counseling, policy and contract evaluation services and claim advocacy to professional service, consulting and financial firms as well as large public and private companies in varying industry verticals.   

She is licensed to practice law in the State of New York and is certified by the International Association of Privacy Professionals as a U.S. Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US). Kelly also serves on the Executive Council and a Faculty Member of the Claims Litigation Management Alliance Claims College, School of Cyber. Students of the School of Cyber are claims professionals from major insurance carriers offering cyber insurance products. Kelly is involved in creating standards and best practices in the handling of cyber claims in connection with stand-alone cyber as well as cyber coverage contained within other insurance products. 

Mark Gothold is the Claims Director in the Corporate Risk Management department of McCarthy Holdings, Inc., a national commercial general contractor. He manages losses involving Builder’s Risk, Professional, General Liability (personal injury and construction defect), Pollution, Cyber and Employment Practice Liability. Mr. Gothold partners with McCarthy’s insurance companies, vendors, and third-party administrators in the adjustment of those claims. He also supervises the handling of Worker’s Comp and Auto Liability claims. Mr. Gothold works closely with McCarthy’s Legal Department on insurance losses that impact McCarthy’s projects, including Subcontractor Default claims. Prior to McCarthy, Mr. Gothold worked for Property & Casualty insurers, handling litigated claims involving excess, reinsurance and wrap policies.

As Regional Vice President of Claims for ProAssurance Corporation, Gina Harris has amassed years of multi-jurisdictional litigation experience in the management and supervision of high value cases. She excels at litigation management, team building, case analysis and tenaciously provides a rigorous and personalized defense for her insureds.

A Chicago native who grew up in South Florida, Gina received a bachelor of business administration from the University of Miami and earned her master’s degree from Nova Southeastern University. She currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada and oversees claims handling for the Western Region of ProAssurance.

ProAssurance is an industry-leading specialty insurer with extensive expertise in healthcare professional liability, products liability for medical technology and life sciences, legal professional liability, allied healthcare personnel, dental insurance, podiatry and workers’ compensation. ProAssurance is recognized as one of the top performing insurance companies in America. 

Donna M. Hunt AIA, Esq. joined Ironshore in 2014 as Assistant Vice President of the Designers & Contractors Professional Liability (DCPL). The DCPL team focus is on providing underwriting and risk management services to architects, engineers and design-build contractors throughout the construction industry. Donna is both a licensed attorney and registered architect, provide a complement to Ironshore’s underwriting, claim and risk management services and to all DCPL brokers and clients. Prior to joining Ironshore, Donna was with AIG/Lexington for 10 years in various roles within the Architects & Engineers professional liability team ranging from the Manager of the A&E Claims Group to the Director of Risk Management Services. Prior to AIG Donna actively practiced as an attorney representing contractors, subcontractors, architects and engineers.   In addition, Donna has over 35 years of construction industry practice and actively practiced as an architect in New York and Boston.   
 
Donna received a Bachelor of architecture from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York and her Juris Doctor (JD) from New England School of Law in Boston, MA.  She is a licensed attorney and registered architect in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  Donna is the President of the Jefferson Society and a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Boston Society of Architects.
 
Donna can be contacted in Boston, MA at 617-502-5374 or donna.hunt@ironshore.com.

 

Stephen is an attorney, expert witness and arbitrator/umpire. He is versed in industry standards, claims practices and law applicable to insurers. He has been retained as a claims expert in more than 35 states in five time zones and has testified in jury, bench, federal and state court trials. He is a Chief Claims Officers' Roundtable alumni. He was Senior Vice President & Head of Global P&C Claims for Assurant (a Fortune 300 company during his tenure), was head of Claims at the Republic Insurance Group and a Claims Officer at Farmers/Zurich. He was on boards of directors of insurers. He has a B.B.A., magna cum laude, in Finance from the University of Missouri, and a JD from Texas Tech University. He started his career in private law practice prior to moving directly into the insurance industry and ultimately into claims executive positions, having been the top-ranking claims officer within two large insurance groups. He served as Chairman and Vice Chairman of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association Claims Committee (2004-2009).  He moderated and presented at a U.S. Congressional briefing on natural disasters.  He was the founding Dean of The CLM's Claims College School of Property Claims. He's also founding Co-Dean of the CLM's Claims College School of Leadership. He was on the Advisory Board of The CLM and on the Board of The CLM Foundation. He has been a licensed attorney since 1982 and is a CLM Certified Claims Professional. He has presented dozens of times at The CLM and other forums for CE/CLE credit, including the prestigious American College of Coverage Counsel. He is well-published, with articles in The CLM Magazine and the DRI JD Supra publication and other forums as well. He can be reached at StephenJohnson12016@Outlook.com or 972.655.4620

Lea Kapral is a General Manager with Acuity, A Mutual Insurance Company currently overseeing multi-line claims operations across our operating states. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, with a Bachelor of Science in English.  Lea holds her Casualty Claim Law Associate (CCLA) designation through the American Educational Institute, Inc. and obtained her Mid-Management Development Certificate through the UW Madison Executive Education School of Business.

Throughout her 26 years in the P&C industry, Lea has worked with adjusters and counsel to investigate, evaluate, and negotiate a variety of complex personal and commercial litigation cases.   She has worked on projects within Acuity promoting Litigation Management, Legal Bill Review, and has presented claims training on Large Loss Investigation as well as Alternative Dispute Resolution.  Lea has participated in Strategic Initiative Groups, Customer Service Project Teams, as well as provided expert input to Acuity's Policy Forms Committee.

Lea is active in the Claims & Litigation Management Alliance as a Member of the Insurance Coverage Committee, Committee Conference Committee Member, Publication Magazine Committee Member, and served for many years as a Co-Chair of the Transportation Committee as well as the Insurance Committee.  She also served as Co-Dean of the Claims College School of Transportation.

Lea resides in Chilton, WI with her husband and two sons, where she is an active member of the Chilton Athletic Club as well as a former advisory member of the Chilton Area Catholic School Board of Education.  She serves as Treasurer Trustee of Good Shepherd Parish in Chilton.

Cathleen is a partner and shareholder at Rebar Kelly. She has been advising and counseling clients in complex litigation matters for over two decades. She represents leading insurance companies and their insureds in multi-faceted matters involving violations of professional standards of care. Cathleen’s representation extends to design professionals, architects, engineers, contractors, surveyors, appraisers, environmental consultants, agents, brokers, service providers, medical professionals, business professionals, food manufacturers and distributors and property owners.

Cathleen has represented clients in the following types of claims:

duty to represent dangerous conditions inadequate security failure to advise, failure to implement design specifications failure to supervise, failure to inspect design defects errors in professional judgment and failure to refer failure to meet/inform of deadlines failure to diagnose and misdiagnosis emergency medical care and nursing mistakes mental health issues corporate liability subcontractor responsibility/indemnification indemnity and obtaining coverage under additional insured status failure to warn

Cathleen has defended one of the nation’s largest healthcare providers in claims of medical malpractice. She has also represented design professionals in legal matters stemming from defective design of electrical equipment resulting in multiple claims and lawsuits. Cathleen has been defending one of the region’s largest real estate brokers in errors and omissions matters for over a decade. She has also represented physicians in connection with allegations of failing to properly diagnose, as well as long-term care facilities against allegations of inappropriate preventative measures for the avoidance of pressure sores. Cathleen also defended one of the country’s largest retail suppliers of electronics in claims of product defects and premise liability matters.

Education: Villanova University School of Law, J.D., 1998 & Long Island University, B.A., 1995, magna cum laude
 

 

Simon Keshishian is a risk lawyer and risk manager with nearly three decades of experience in the insurance, legal  and corporate sectors. He currently serves as Vice President of Risk Management & Counsel for Red Bull North America, Inc., an Austrian multinational company with an annual turnover exceeding $12 billion. At Red Bull, Simon oversees insurance, risk management, and claims strategies for the company's diverse portfolio, which includes energy drinks, a record label, a media house, action sports, soccer, and  Formula 1 teams. His responsibilities include managing insured litigation, claims management, risk finance, and event safety from Red Bull's North American Headquarters in Santa Monica, California.

Simon previously had a role in risk management at UCLA and spent a decade in claims and litigation management with carriers such as The Travelers, The Hartford, ACE-USA (now Chubb), and HDI-Global. A licensed attorney, Simon holds a Juris Doctor from Texas A&M Law School (formerly Texas Wesleyan SOL) and a Master's from Pepperdine University's Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution. He also holds  several insurance-specific designations, including CLCS, CLMP, and RIMS-CRMP and is also licensed as an adjuster.

Simon was named CLM Litigation Manager of the Year for 2018-2019 and continues to contribute to the industry as an advisory board member of CLM, the Sports and Entertainment Risk Management Alliance (SERMA), and the RING (Recognizing Inclusion for the Next Generation) certification program.

Michelle joined Berkley Professional as Assistant Vice President, Claims in November 2013. On August 1, 2014, Michelle was promoted to Vice President – Chief Claims Officer and manages Berkley Professional’s Claims Department.  Berkley Professional Liability provides management liability insurance, including Public D&O, Financial Institutions (D&O and E&O) and Sponsored Company Insurance Agent E&O.  Berkley Professional is an International Company and is an Enterprise Company of W.R. Berkley Corporation.
Previously Michelle was employed by Torus U.S. Services Inc. from 2010 to 2013 as Vice President of Specialty Claims where she was responsible for the management of 18 lines of business, including D&O (Corporate and Middle-Market), FI, EPL, E&O, MPL, Cyber, Tech and Media.  In addition, Michelle was responsible for the Operations of the Claims Department. 
From 2001 to 2010 Michelle was employed by Zurich North America as Director of Corporate D&O and Financial Institutions Claims.  Michelle managed a team of 9 and proactively handled numerous systemic claims throughout her tenure. 
Michelle received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Clark University and a Juris Doctor from Vermont Law School.
Michelle is a currently a Committee Member of the PLUS Eastern Chapter.  She holds numerous adjuster licenses.

For the last six years, Steve has managed bad faith litigation in California, Florida, and throughout the country. Steve’s management has included personal lines cases to large commercial cases arising out of catastrophic weather events. He has spoken on bad faith issues in Atlanta, Chicago, Nashville and Connecticut for DRI, CLM, and ExecuSummit. He spoke at the 2017 CLM Annual Conference on the Duty to Initiate Settlement Discussions Without a Demand.

Prior to joining Nationwide, Steve was a trial lawyer for a Columbus, Ohio law firm, where he had a state-wide practice representing insurers and policy holders in insurance and tort litigation. Steve was part of a team that handled “Pontzer” litigation throughout the State of Ohio, and, was also a successful attorney defending municipalities and other political subdivisions in tort litigation and civil rights cases.  Steve became an AV rated lawyer in his eighth year of practice, and spoke regularly throughout the State of Ohio on insurance coverage issues, tort liability, and municipal liability.

 

Laura Lapidus, Esq., is a Risk Control Director for CNA, managing the development and delivery of employment practices liability (EPL) and management liability risk control products and services.  She also is responsible for coordinating the delivery of risk control products and services for CNA’s financial institutions policyholders. Laura has more than 28 years of experience in employment law. She has taught dozens of CNA’s School of Risk Control Excellence (SORCE) courses and webinars, and has written various articles on employment practices and other matters. Prior to CNA, Laura spent ten years managing EPL and management liability claims for other carriers.  She also served as in-house employment counsel for Sbarro, Inc., a restaurant company, and as in-house employment counsel for the Internal Revenue Service, and practiced at a litigation boutique, focusing on employment law and commercial litigation.  Laura graduated from Albany Law School of Union University and Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. She is admitted to practice in New York, and is a member of PLUS and SHRM.

 

Daniel Loo, CPP is a veteran security consultant and founder of North Star Group, a Texas-based firm specializing in physical security, forensic security, and enterprise risk management. With over 20 years of experience in protective intelligence, threat assessments, and environmental design, Daniel provides expert guidance to public and private sector clients across critical infrastructure, education, healthcare, and faith-based institutions.

Daniel’s primary focus includes forensic consulting in negligent security and premises liability cases, where he is routinely engaged to assess whether a property owner or operator met their duty of care. His work includes site inspections, CPTED analysis, policy and access control reviews, and expert opinion on whether the security measures in place were reasonable, foreseeable, and industry-appropriate. He works with both plaintiffs and defendants to bring objective clarity to complex litigation.

In addition to forensic work, Daniel is a cleared school safety consultant through the Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC), offering security audits, EOP development, and CPTED-based redesign for K-12 districts. He holds board certifications including Certified Protection Professional (CPP), Physical Security Specialist (PSS), and Security Risk Management Professional (SRMP).

Daniel is a member of ASIS International, CLM, and several professional security working groups. He is also a 100% service-disabled veteran, bringing mission focus and operational discipline to every engagement.

At the core of Daniel’s work is a commitment to protecting people, improving safety environments, and helping clients make informed, defensible decisions in both proactive planning and post-incident response.

Catherine C. Lyle is an attorney heading cyber claims as well as incident response within Tokio Marine HCC - CPLG. Ms. Lyle's work focuses on ensuring TMHCC's quick resolution of cyber events for clients as well assisting during litigation and class actions arising out of professional liability policies for technology, media, and telecommunication companies, as well as cyber liability policies for non-technology companies. Ms. Lyle is a frequent speaker and author regarding Cyber law and claims. Prior to working for TMHCC she was the global head of claims for Coalition and worked within Swiss Re Corporate Solutions handling cyber claims, was an attorney for General Electric as well as an Assistant Attorney General for The Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Doug has experience representing clients throughout South Carolina in all stages of civil litigation, alternate dispute resolution, and licensure matters, including serving as lead counsel in jury and non-jury trials that reached a verdict and defending clients at a contested hearing before the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.

His practice involves the defense of professionals in legal, accounting, medical, insurance broker, and real estate malpractice lawsuits anddirectors and officers of homeowner associations. Doug also represents clients in general commercial litigation, transportation and premises liability cases, ERISA disability cases and he provides insurance coverage opinions.

In addition to his active litigation practice, Doug serves as general counsel for homeowners associations in South Carolina which involves assistance with drafting and revising governing documents and advising clients on the broad range of issues facing associations in South Carolina.

In 2014, Doug was appointed to the Community Association Institute (CAI) Tri-Counties Regional Advisory Council. He will serve as the Council President in 2016.

In addition, Doug was recently elected to serve on the Board of Directors for the Barrier Islands Free Medical Clinic.

Casimir Maliszewski is a retired Litigation and Casualty Claim Director for Florida's sscond largest homeowner’s insurance company.  Casimir is a graduate of the University of North Florida.  Casimir holds the CLMP and CCP designations offered by the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM), and currently serves on the CLM’s National Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee as well as its Adjuster Training Courses subcommittee, Natioonal Religious and Non-Profit Committee, and is Secretary of the CLM’s regional North Florida Chapter. 

Casimir has over twenty five years of experience in property and causality insurance with a focus in litigation management and complex claims settlements.  In his last role, Casimir provided guidance to his company concerning legal trends, litigation and trial strategy, litigation fiscal management, vendor fiscal management and audits, and managed a large team of litigation specialists, casualty claim professionals and a TPA entities at an $100mil(indem)/$25mil(exp) operation.  Casimir worked with SIU, Product Development, Underwriting and the Specialty Insurance Programs for his company and its partners, as well as with its reinsurers and partners.

Casimir works with industry professionals, attorneys, and adjusters to better develop their partnerships leading to successful outcomes for all involved. Casimir is now the Owner and Principal of LEO Mediations, LLC providing ADR services throughout Florida on a myriad of lines and cases.

Dianna D. McCarthy is a partner of Kaufman, Borgeest & Ryan where she is a member of the Employment Practice Group.  In addition to Employment Law, Dianna also works in the Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Group.  She has defended project managers in the technology sector, accountants, financial services industry professionals, mortgage brokers, appraisers, home inspectors, and insurance agents and brokers in professional liability matters.  She has also defended many not for profit Directors & Officers matters.  
 
Dianna speaks regularly nationwide on emerging issues in Employment Law, Cybersecurity and Data Privacy.  She co – chaired the Execusummit Cyber Liabilities Conference since its inception through 2019 (2012 - 2019) and she regularly speaks and writes on the topic.  She has also co-chaired Execusummit’s Employment Practice Liability Conference (Fall 2017) and regularly speaks at that conference as well.  

Dianna recently completed MIT’s AI in Leadership Course.  She is a 2019 Graduate from the FBI's Citizen's Academy.  She serves as Secretary on the New York Metro InfraGard Chapter.  She is a founding member and Vice President of Women in Cyber Leadership.  She is a founding member of Tortora Brayda Institute's AI - ISAO Task Force.  Finally, Dianna is an active member of the Steering Committee for the Eastern Chapter of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society.

Johan A. Obregon, is a Partner with Kerley, Walsh, Matera & Cinquemani, P.C.  His practice is focused primarily on insurance defense litigation in the areas of personal injury, premises liability, casualty litigation, transportation, construction, commercial, community associations, homeowner associations, cooperatives, and other general liability issues.  In his practice, Mr. Obregon has successfully defended the interest of a number of individual and corporate clients in the State Courts of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, as well as in Federal Court.

Before joining Kerley Walsh, Mr. Obregon was an associate with New York and New Jersey firms, where practiced in in general civil litigation, including, premise liability, automobile liability, trucking litigation, labor law, complex construction litigation, consumer fraud, employment law, and medical malpractice matters.  

Mr. Obregon has handled a wide variety of civil litigation matters.  Throughout his career, he has conducted numerous depositions, mediations, arbitrations, prepared and argued motions for summary judgment, and gained trial experience in high exposure matters.  Mr. Obregon’s trial experience includes presenting opening statements, conducting cross-examination of plaintiffs and expert witnesses, performing direct examination of clients and experts, and presenting closing arguments.   
 
Mr. Obregon is fluent in Spanish. 
 
Education –
Archbishop Molloy High School - 2002
St. John’s University (B.A) – 2006
St. John’s University School of Law (J.D.) – 2009
 
Admissions/ Licenses –
Bar Admissions – NY, NJ, PA
 

Ms. Oliveri is a Regional Claims Manager for Starr Adjustment Services, Inc. jointly heading a team of employment practices liability insurance claims professionals.  With over 15 years’ experience in the insurance industry, Ms. Oliveri has provided domestic and foreign insurance carriers with analyses on coverage, liability and loss exposure, as well as recommendations on case strategy and resolution, of professional liability claims such as employment practices, private directors and officers, architects and engineers, lawyers, and broker dealers.  Ms. Oliveri has a B.A. in Communications and American Studies from Fordham University and a J.D. from New York Law School.  Prior to joining Starr, Ms. Oliveri began her career in the insurance industry engaged in private practice, first serving as insurance defense counsel and later as coverage counsel for international insurance carriers, opining on legal and coverage issues and overseeing/managing litigated claims involving casualty, financial and professional liability lines.  She also counseled insureds and brokers on risk management and assisted underwriters in drafting/amending policy wordings.  Ms. Oliveri is currently admitted to practice in New York and Connecticut and holds various state adjusters’ licenses. 

Shane O'Neill's practice focuses on commercial, complex tort, product liability, construction and transportation litigation, with an emphasis on representing clients in the automotive, consumer products, sporting goods, building products and trucking industries. He has litigated cases involving commercial loss, serious injury and wrongful death throughout the United States.
Represents transportation companies throughout the U.S. in wrongful death and personal injury cases.

Outside counsel for children products manufacturer. Outside counsel for software development company.
Defense of manufacturers, distributors and suppliers in catastrophic tort and product liability litigation throughout the United States. Prosecution and defense of complex commercial litigation matters. Prosecution and defense of high-exposure construction litigation and subrogation matters. Representation of individuals in business and intellectual property litigation. Defense of manufacturers, distributors and suppliers in toxic tort litigation throughout the United States.

            Bob obtained his undergraduate degree from Davidson College in 1977 and his law degree in 1980 from Florida State University 1980. In addition to being a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil Mediator, he is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer. Bob is a longtime member of the   American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)serving as President of the  Florida Chapters of the American Board of Trial Advocates in 2014-2015 . He is an active member of theInternational Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) and the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel. He is a member of  Defense Research Institute (DRI) and served on the  Florida Bar Trial Lawyers Section Executive Council 1996-2007, serving as Chair 2006-2007.
           Bob specializes in civil trial litigation. He has tried cases in both state and federal courts throughout Northwest Florida. For nearly thirty years he has represented a wide range of clients in claims and lawsuits involving products liability, construction defect, trucking, negligent security, premises liability, and chemical exposure. He has lectured at both local and state bar seminars and for several years has chaired the Florida Bar Advanced Trial Advocacy program, a five-day interactive seminar.
        Bob is also a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil Mediator and a member of the National Academy of Distinguished neutrals. He mediates across North Florida multiparty cases from construction defect and employment cases,estate disputes,  to medical malpractice cases and auto and truck accident claims. 

 

A lawyer at Gallagher Sharp since 1980 and a Partner since 1987, Joe Pappalardo is a trial attorney who represents public and private companies, insurance carriers, and individuals in cases involving personal injury, wrongful death, employer intentional torts, industrial accidents, cargo, and property damage.  He has litigated and tried cases in a wide variety of industries, including trucking, automobile, motorcycles, hand and power tools, aviation and automatic pedestrian doors. He concentrates his practice on trucking, motor coach, aviation and product liability matters.  Joe is admitted to all state and federal courts in Ohio, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Joe received his law degree from The Ohio State University and his undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, from Case Western Reserve University. He is Martindale-Hubbell AV rated, listed as an Outstanding Lawyer of America, listed in the 2015-2021 editions of Best Lawyers in America® for Transportation Law (2021, 2018, 2016 Cleveland Transportation Lawyer of the Year), and an Ohio Super Lawyer since 2004. 

Joe is a member of and the 2018 recipient of the John T. Biezup Memorial Service Award from the Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA) (former Board of Directors, General Counsel), Transportation Lawyers Association, Ohio Trucking Association, (Legislative Committee), Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) (Co-Dean of the Claims College, School of Transportation, Co-Chair Transportation Committee), Federal Bar Association, Ohio State Bar Association, a Life Member of the Judicial Conference of the Eighth Judicial District, and a Master Bencher, Judge John M. Manos Inn of Court.  He serves on the Board of Directors of Themis Advocates and the Cuyahoga Community College Truck Driving Academy Advisory Board.

Joe frequently speaks at national seminars regarding trucking, transportation, and litigation topics and is an author for national publications.

Russ M. Patane is a Shareholder in GRSLBG&B’s Litigation Department, and the Shareholder In Charge of the Firm's New York Office. Russ concentrates his practice in areas of General Liability, Construction, Professional Liability, and Asbestos/Toxic Tort. Mr. Patane has successfully represented a wide variety of clients, in matters involving claims for construction defect, construction site accidents, premises liability, personal injury, and products liability in both New York and New Jersey. He earned a Certified Litigation Management Professional (CLMP) designation from the CLM Litigation Management Institute in 2019.

Russ has expanded his practice to include the representation of owners, design professionals and contractors in all matters arising from Sustainable Construction practices. Russ has been accredited as a LEED Green Associate by the Green Building Certification Institute, and has spoken on the Legal Risks of Green Construction to professional trade organizations.

Russ is a 1996 graduate of The Pennsylvania State University, and a 2006 graduate of Pace University School of Law. He is admitted to the bar of the States of New Jersey, New York and United States District Court, District of New Jersey and the Southern District of New York. Russ was named as a “Rising Star” by the New Jersey edition of Super Lawyers Magazine from 2013-2016, a “Super Lawyer” by the New York Metro edition of Super Lawyer’s Magazine in 2023 and 2024, and has been rated AV Preeminent by his peers each year since 2017.

Prior to entering the practice of law, Russ was a Junior High School Teacher and High School Football coach in the Lodi (NJ) Public School System for 8 years. 

Lisa L. Peterson is a trial attorney at the firm’s Orange County office. Ms. Peterson’s legal practice revolves around the representation of both private and public entities in civil litigation matters involving general casualty and premises liability, discrimination, labor and employment issues, civil rights issues, and professional liability. She is a member of the Asian American Bar Association of Orange County.
 
In the employment and public accessibility arena, Ms. Peterson’s has handled claims and litigation involving discrimination (gender, race, physical and national origin), wrongful termination claims; sexual harassment, retaliation, Title VII, and DFEH claims. She also handles labor law claims, including wage and hour claims brought before the Labor Commissioner.
 
Ms. Peterson has also represented various public entities in State and Federal Court in in wrongful death, dangerous condition claims and automobile claims in the general liability arena. She has handled warrantless detentions, child abuse and sexual molestation claims, social worker liability, and civil rights claims in the social services arena; and First and Fourth Amendment, due process and equal protection violation claims and excessive force claims within the Law Enforcement arena.
 
Prior to joining CCM+S, Ms. Peterson practiced at a boutique law firm in Chicago, Illinois, focusing in the field of commercial litigation. Ms. Peterson earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara majoring in political science. She earned her Juris Doctor from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law and competed internationally in the Vis Moot Court Competition in Hong Kong. She is a member of Claims & Litigation Management Alliance, Orange County Risk and Insurance Management Society and Food Service Industry Risk Management Association.
 
Ms. Peterson is also proficient in Chinese in both the Cantonese and Mandarin dialects.

Cindy has been in the Commercial claims in arenas of General and Auto Liability and various speciality or niche markets such as Aviation, Employment Practices and Professional Liability, Trucking, Apartment Homes for over twenty years.  Her time in the industry has been spilt between carriers and third party administrators as well as an in-house claims manager for ABM. Prior to her career in Commercial Insurance Claims, she was a teacher.  She also possesses another degree in Fashion Merchandising and worked several years in Retail Management.  She enjoys Claims handling as a career, as the new Claim may appear ordinary, but there are always new twists to the same scenario.

In her spare time she volunteers for animal organizations and various other charities, she considers herself a bit of "foodie" and loves meeting new people.

Rick Porotsky is a Partner in the firm's Litigation Department. His practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, including insuranec coverage issues, private equity matters, and international dispute resolution. 

Within the insurance arena, Rick has successfully handled coverage issues and bad faith litigation for a number of clients. The disputes have involved coverage for additional insureds including indemnity rights, coverage for asbestos-related bodily injuries, intellectual property claims under advertising injury provisions, and hail damage claims, among many others. He has participated as a speaker at numerous seminars and CLM annual conferences on insurance coverage issues, and in 2011, his Ohio insurance law handbook was published through the Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA). 

Regardless of the subject matter, Rick excels in gathering, organizing, and presenting the complex details that are necessary to obtain an efficient, favorable resolution under the law, whether in court, out-of-court, or via alternative dispute resolution. His analytical style and ability to quickly discern his client’s objectives enables him to become a trusted ally whenever complex business issues arise. 

35 years of nationwide litigation management experience involving physician, hospital, dentists, and long-term care defendants.  As a resolution specialist is responsible to analyze, evaluate, and recommend strategic plans to achieve fair case resolutions and cost control management. An active presenter at various claims and legal organizations. Strengths include being self-assured, responsible, strategic, a learner, and a relator.

Business degree from Penn State, a Senior Claim Law Associate designation from the American Educational Institute, multi- state adjuster licenses, and a certified mediator designation.
 

 
 

Rachel Rodriguez is a Claims Operations Manager with Fortegra. Rachel joined Fortegra in February of 2023. Prior to joinging Fortegra, Rachel was a Claims Manager with AmTrust where she managed a team of claim professionals handling GL, commercial auto, and bodily injury claims.

Prior to joing Amtrust, Rachel was a Claim Director at Chubb where she handled Life Science and Multinational claims. She was also the Executive Chair of the Claim Diversity Council where she spent a lot of time traveling and providing training on diversity and inclusion topics within the claim organization.
 
Prior to joining Chubb, Rachel was at Bristol West, the non-standard division of Farmers Insurance, for three years, where she worked as a Litigation Adjuster. She handled litigated and non-litigated claims as well as working on several training projects for the company. Prior to joining Bristol West, Rachel was employed with GEICO Insurance for five years. She had progressive levels of claims adjusting positions from Claim Examiner, Claim Examiner II, and Litigation Examiner. Her claim responsibilities included personal auto lines.
 
Rachel graduated from Rider University in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and a minor in Theatre. Rachel obtained her Senior Claim Law Associate designation in 2012. In her spare time, she is very active with her children's school, as well as her synogogue holding various leadership positions.
 

Matt Ross is a Claim Director for the Cyber/Technology/Media unit at CNA and is based in Austin, Texas. Matt joined CNA in 2009 as a Claim Specialist in the Lawyers’ Professional Liability claim unit and has held a variety of positions since then including Claim Consultant in which he has extensive background in handling Miscellaneous Professional Liability claims, First and Third-Party Cyber, Technology E&O, Privacy Injury, and Media claims. Matt transitioned to his current role in 2016 where he manages a high-volume claim team with adjusters located all over the country. 

Impeccable academic and professional credentials, decades of successful trial results, and unshakeable legal instincts: this is the formidable combination of experience and skills that distinguish founding partner Tony Rupp as a civil trial attorney. With experience that includes highly successful outcomes in scores of jury trials and appeals, Tony represents clients across New York State in a variety of cases involving construction and labor law matters, insurance coverage and defense, contracts, land conservation, and real-property law and litigation. With thorough preparation and keen attention to detail as his hallmarks, Tony regularly handles and successfully tries complex, high-value commercial cases that were referred or transferred to him by attorneys outside his own firm.

A frequent public speaker and lecturer, Tony also is a skilled writer and experienced appellate litigator who regularly handles appeals before intermediate State and Federal appellate courts as well as the New York Court of Appeals. Among the many dozens of successful appellate decisions in which he has been involved are several oft-cited cases that are recognized as having helped to develop the law in his primary practice areas. With nearly 25 years of litigation experience to his name, Tony is a respected mentor to the firm’s younger associates and partners. And they’re not the only ones impressed by his unflagging knowledge and focus on serving our clients—he’s also been recognized with a host of industry honors.

Education:
University of Rochester, magna cum laude
Cornell Law School, J.D., concentration in trial advocacy

Sarah R. Schmitz is the VP - Chief Claims Officer at Berkley Risk Administrators in Minneapolis, MN. Berkley Risk provides at-risk and alternative risk insurance program management services to a broad range of groups and individuals including captives, pools, associations, RRGs and self-insured clients. As a TPA it manages workers’ compensation, liability and property claims nationwide. The risk program focuses on mono-line Worker's Compensation line of business. Berkley Risk is a member of W. R. Berkley Corporation, a Fortune 500 company and one of the nation’s premier commercial lines property casualty insurance providers.

Schmitz spent 16 years at OneBeacon Insurance (now Intact Insurance) as a Sr. Claim Manager over the Public Entity and Non-Trucking Liability lines at its headquarters in Plymouth, Minnesota. In addition, Schmitz has extensive experience in a wide range of claims including legal malpractice, real estate errors and omissions, employment, auto, general liability, trucking, excess/umbrella and directors and officer’s claims.   
 
Prior to OneBeacon, Schmitz practiced at Minneapolis-based Meagher & Geer, LLP, where she focused her practice on insurance coverage and real estate defense. Schmitz also served two terms on the Minnetonka Planning Commission. 
 
Schmitz graduated cum laude from Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota. Schmitz served as an editor of the Hamline Law Review and published Preventing Mudslinging in Chambers: Alternatives After the Demise of the Announce Clause in Republican Party of Minnesota v. White. 

Amelia is a Claim Supervisor in Chubb’s Multinational Claims group, overseeing a team of claims handlers on claims of varying complexities and exposures.  Prior to moving into the supervisory role, Amelia handled complex claims in various venues throughout the country and around the world with a focus on large exposures. Prior to joining the company in 2014, Amelia practiced law for over ten years. Her practice focused on litigation and e-discovery, representing corporations in various types of lawsuits including product liability, white collar criminal and environmental claims. Her responsibilities also included supervising and training contract attorneys reviewing materials for complex litigated matters.
Amelia graduated from Emory University in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts in both International Studies and French Studies, and in 2002 received a Juris Doctorate and a Master of Arts in International Affairs from American University. She is admitted to the bar in Pennsylvania.

Mr. Schrimpf joined American Mining Insurance Company in April 2009 in his present capacity.  American Mining Insurance Company, A Berkley Company, serves the Domestic Mining Industry and its attendant risks (Transportation; Mine Construction/Preparation; Drillers; Blasters; Mining Equipment and Repair; etc.) with Insurance Products designed to meet the particular needs of the Mining Industry.  In His current capacity, Mr. Schrimpf oversees the Claims functions of American Mining Insurance Company operating out of 4 regional Claims Offices and the General Corporate Legal Issues from the Home Office in Birmingham, Alabama.
Prior to joining American Mining Insurance Company, Mr. Schrimpf was a Partner in the Law Firm of Pietragallo,  Bosick and Gordon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he served as litigation counsel for his Clients in the Workers Compensation arena, Federal Black Lung, Civil Litigation and Risk Management.  He has lectured and written articles regarding Medical/Legal issues in Occupational Disease litigation and in Federal Black Lung Litigation.  Mr. Schrimpf has extensive litigation experience in Occupational Disease, Federal Black Lung and Workers Compensation claims having litigated in these arenas for nearly 22 years prior to joining American Mining Insurance Company.
Mr. Schrimpf is a graduate of The University of Steubenville (1983, B.S.) after stints at the United States Air Force Academy and the University of California at Irvine.  He received his Juris Doctor from the Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in May 1987.  He received his license to practice law in November of 1987.  He is licensed to practice Law in Pennyslvania State and Federal courts, The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, and the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Cyber Risk Consultant – FINEX Cyber Risk Solutions
 
Relevant Experience/Specialization
Sean Scranton is based in central Illinois and has been involved in information security for more than 25 years.  He has lead teams in internal security, IT consulting and audit, and cyber underwriting.  He specializes in identifying, quantifying and mitigating key organizational cyber risks and then developing consensus based, cost effective solutions that align with the organization’s overall business goals. He emphasizes a cross functional approach, involving key stakeholders and business units across the organization, to ensure that a comprehensive, organization wide strategy is developed to manage the people, technical and financial risks impacting an organization’s cyber resilience.

Education and Credentials
Sean graduated from Bradley University with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, and a Master of Business Administration. He holds security, audit, and insurance underwriting certifications, speaks regularly at cybersecurity industry and academic events, and serves on the board of a major credit union.

Denise Shane is a Team Manager for Zurich NA.  She has over 30 years experience in the insurance industry, is a licensed claims adjuster in 22 states, a graduate of New York Law School,  and is a member of the New York Bar.  She has been awarded the CLMP, CCP and ACP designations. She has presented as faculty in the Claims College School of Mediation.   Denise has extensive experience having investigated, adjusted, supervised and managed claims and claims teams in a wide range of areas including personal and commercial premises liability, third party residential and commercial property claims, employer’s liability, NY Labor Law, dram shop,  construction defect, and construction surety claims. She has been a proud member of Toastmasters and has achieved advanced public speaking and leadership designations.  Denise has presented before the CLM, Harmonie Group, US Law and other industry conferences on a variety of topics.

Brian St. Jacques is currently the Senior Major Loss Director for AIG's Energy and Engineered Risk claims group. He is based in Houston and joined AIG in 2006 as a Senior Underwriter in the Global Marine and Energy division and has held positions of increasing responsibility over the years. Brian has over 20 years of diversified expertise in the Marine and Energy segments and he honorably served in the United States Navy active duty and active reserve. Brian is a certified Firefighter and First Responder and has served as a volunteer fire fighter / first responder within several communities, including holding the office of Lieutenant. He is a licensed P&C Adjuster and holds a number of D.O.T. certifications. Brian is a member of the (SAE) Society of Automotive Engineers (Land Sea Air and Space), the National Cargo Bureau (NCB), and the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. Brian has been a requested teacher and requested presenter for various industry events and served as member of the board for the Oil & Gas Environmental Advisory Board at the University of Texas.
 

Ellen Storch represents management in all areas of labor and employment law. She defends international, national and local employers, as well as public employers and not-for-profit organizations, in various types of employment litigation. Her litigation practice includes discrimination  and  harassment  cases,  restrictive  covenant  disputes, wage and hour claims and NLRB matters. Ms. Storch represents clients in federal  and  state  courts,  in  arbitrations,  before  federal,  state  and  local  human  rights commissions, and before a variety of other government agencies.
 
In addition to litigating on behalf of clients, Ms. Storch provides day to day advice and counsel to employers regarding the panoply of laws that govern and affect the employment relationship, with special emphasis on litigation avoidance strategies. Ms. Storch drafts and negotiates various types of agreements, including employment contracts, restrictive covenants and severance agreements. She works with clients to develop policies, procedures and handbooks,  to  help  ensure  compliance  with  evolving  labor  and  employment  laws.    She provides various forms of training to both employees and management.
 
Ms. Storch regularly lectures on employment law issues at a variety of organizations including bar associations, the Epilepsy Foundation, the American Heart Association and the New York Biotechnology Association. Ms. Storch has served as an adjunct professor at the New York Institute of Technology where she taught Human Resources Policies and Procedures in the HR Management Masters program. She is often quoted as an employment law expert in national and local publications.
 
Ms. Storch is a member of the National Association of Insurance Women and the Labor & Employment section of the Nassau Bar Association.

Mr. Sullivan formed Michael Sullivan & Associates in 1996 as an aggressive workers’ compensation defense firm. It has grown rapidly throughout the entire state of California. Mr. Sullivan is a bar-certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law.

In 2011, Mr. Sullivan, as lead author, published “Sullivan on Comp,” a 12-volume comprehensive, objective treatise on California workers’ compensation law. It is read by the legal, insurance and medical communities, as well as by employers keen to stay abreast of the law. The dynamic book series is updated monthly. Mr. Sullivan regularly conducts seminars and webinars, and co-authors white papers on significant topics in workers’ comp law. Recent publications include “An Analysis of the New Regulations Regarding Disputes Over Medical-Legal Expense and Medical Treatment,” and “Special Report: SB 863 Five Years Later.” He also speaks regularly at professional conferences including the California Coalition on Workers’ Compensation, the Association of Insurance Professionals and the Public Agency Risk Managers Association.

Before starting his own firm, Mr. Sullivan practiced workers’ compensation defense in Los Angeles, handling a full caseload of workers’ compensation litigation resulting in a 95% trial victory rate.

Mr. Sullivan received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of California Hastings College of the Law, where he served an externship with a federal judge, and an internship with the California Department of Industrial Relations. He received his undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, where he was a member of Alpha Sigma Nu scholastic honors society.

Mr. Sullivan received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of California Hastings College of the Law,  He received his undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, where he was a member of Alpha Sigma Nu scholastic honors society.

Mr. Trevino is a trial lawyer who has been practicing in civil trial since his admission to the Texas Bar. His practice focuses on the development and trial of personal injury, professional malpractice, and insurance law cases. Mr. Trevino routinely represents clients in matters in many regions of Texas from El Paso, Texas to Brownsville, Texas. Mr. Trevino is a graduate of St. Mary's University School of Law and completed his undergraduate schooling at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. Mr. Trevino was born in McAllen, Texas and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas and also speaks Spanish.

Lisa began her career in Insurance in 1990, handling various complex, primary excess general liability claims for Chubb. In 1996, she became a Complex Director of Excess Casualty claims, where she oversaw complex high exposure excess construction defect claims. She continued her career over the next 20 years in the construction defect world as a Specialty Casualty Claims Supervisor at Zurich and Markel. While at Markel, Lisa also handled Global Management Liability Claims, including employment, tenant discrimination, fiduciary, and directors, and officers claims. In October 2018, Lisa became the Director of Casualty Claims for Hallmark Financial Services, overseeing the casualty team focusing on fatality, construction defect, construction site accident, commercial auto, and liquor liability claims. Currently with Unger Insurance and Litigation Services Inc, she provides clients with a broad spectrum of Insurance and litigation related services. Lisa is proficient in claim handling, file reviews, mediation and arbitration appearances, trial monitoring, risk management and audits. She provides significant interaction with defense and coverage counsel and works collaboratively to achieve efficient and effective bottom line results. Lisa has a colorful resume speaking at various conferences and has published a diverse number of insurance related articles.

Scott Walker is the Vice President of Claims for Mendota Insurance Company. In the role, Scott is responsible for developing and implementing strategic initiatives resulting in improved claim outcomes for Mendota's policyholders. Scott has held several claims leadership roles in his 24 years of industry experience, including 9 years as Vice President of Claims at First Acceptance Corp. As a change leader, Scott has led organizational technology-related initiatives involving Litigation, Material Damage, SIU, First Notice of Loss and other areas in claims. He has extensive experience managing complex litigation.

Scott received his undergraduate degree from Huntingdon College, Montgomery, Alabama; and his MBA from the Universtiy of Alabama, Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama. He currently holds the CPCU and AIM designations. 

Scott lives in Brentwood, Tennessee with his wife Shannon and their children. He is actively involved in church and local missions work. 

Tamara L. Warn started her transportation career as a trial attorney in Chicago.  As an aviation defense attorney she defended pilots, airplane component part manufacturers and other parties related to the aviation industry throughout the United States.  This law practice fit well with her passion for airplanes and her pilot’s license.  While practicing law, she owned and operated a Cessna 172 airplane.After 6 years of trial work, she switched gears and began working in-house as the Litigation Manager for Schneider National, Inc.  While employed at Schneider she obtained her Commercial Driver’s License.  Her commercial driver training has given her an advantage in working in the trucking industry.  It gives her insight into the industry and truck drivers.  After 3 years with Schneider, she joined Transport America in Eagan, Minnesota.  Her work at Transport America included risk management in addition to claims.  In 2003 she was offered the Risk Manager position at Interstate Distributor Co. in Tacoma, Washington.  In this role, she led the company’s liability claims departments, the driver training, safety, compliance and loss prevention departments and the security departments.Currently, Tamara is the Corporate Counsel, Vice President of Risk Management and Safety Director at C&K Trucking, LLC in Chicago Ridge, IL.  In this role she sits on the Board of Directors for C&K Holdings, LLC, leads the Safety, Security and Claims activities of this large intermodal carrier.  In addition, Tamara was on the Board for 9 years and is a past President of the Trucking Industry Defense Association.  She also is a Certified Director of Safety from NATMI and has obtained her Associate in Risk Management from the CPCU.

Jennifer R. Weinstein is a VP - Management Liability Claims for Skyward Specialty Insurance.  Jennifer currently manages a group that handles all aspects of management liability claims, including  D&O, EPL, fiduciary, financial institutions and crime/bonds. With over 25 years of experience in the insurance industry, Jennifer has handled claims for several large carriers with increasing complexities and responsibilities. She previously served as a Senior Attorney for the New York State Department of Health, handling employment law issues in the healthcare industry within the State. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Ithaca College and a juris doctor from Hofstra University School of Law. Jennifer is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts and New York.

Lee Wright is a claim professional with more than thirty five years of experience focusing on the handling and management of large, complex litigation files involving products, transportation and construction risks. He has overseen national claims programs for self-insureds and foreign insurers and acted as a regional training coordinator for a major insurer. He is a regular speaker at national and regional seminars and classes on insurance coverage and risk transfer issues and an approved CE instructor in CA, MD, SC and VA. He is a past President of the Construction Defect Claim Manager Association and a Member of the CLM Construction Claims Advisory Board and served as the inaugural Dean for CLM's Claims College School of Construction Claims.

Specialties: Construction Defect Claims & Management, General Liability Coverage, Contractual Risk Transfer, Arbitration and Mediation

Alan began his adjusting career in 1979 accepting a position with GAB Business Services. He held the position of adjuster until he became a Senior Adjuster and Liability Supervisor. After leaving GAB, he was employed by Fort Orange Claim Service as an Adjuster-In-Charge, and promoted to Branch Manager of the Syracuse Branch. He also was an Adjunct Professor of Insurance at Utica College of Syracuse University. Alan graduated from Utica College of Syracuse University with a B.S. in Business Economics. He also attended schools at GAB, for introductory, intermediate and advanced Property and Casualty Adjusting as well as Vale Technical School for Automobile Appraisal. Alan is a member of CLM, Buffalo, Utica and Syracuse Claims Associations, and the SIU Association of New York.

Laura Zehner is the Director of Trial Services with Clarity Partners Trial Consulting, a national trial strategy consulting group based in Chicago, Illinois.  She is reponsible for coordinating and managing mock trials, focus groups and witness preparation exercisees.  Prior to joining Clarity Partners, Ms. Zehner managed claims for a Chicagoland hospital with a self-insured retention of several million dollars.  Her career focus has been in the insurance defense industry, primarily in the medical malpractice arena.  She has been in risk management and claims at several Chicagoland hospitals, including the University of Chicago Hospitals.  Prior to her in-house work, Ms. Zehner was an associate at an insurance defense firm specializing in medical malpractice and products liability.   In addition to being an attorney, Ms. Zehner is a registered pharmacist.

Ben Accardo is an Assistant Claims Manager for Beazley Group. Ben joined Beazley in 2013 as a member of the EPL claims team. Prior to becoming an Assistant Claims Manager, Ben managed a team of Claims Assistants across many product lines and oversaw projects that created operational efficiencies for the business. Before joining Beazley, Ben was an Account Manager for a domestic personal lines insurance carrier. Ben graduated from the University of Hartford in 2012 with a degree in biomedical engineering.

Mitchell Ayes (he/him) has been associated with Callahan & Fusco since 2007 and became a Partner in 2016. In that time, he has represented companies and individuals in general liability, employment practices, errors and omissions (E&O), professional malpractice, and transportation matters. Mitch is known for providing strategic, client-focused representation to individuals, businesses, and professionals facing complex legal challenges. 

In the transportation sector, Mitch represents trucking companies, freight carriers and brokers, logistics providers, and insurers in matters involving accident defense, cargo claims, and risk management. Mitch is well-versed in state and federal transportation regulations, including DOT and FMCSA compliance, and works closely with clients to minimize liability and resolve disputes efficiently. In the maritime industry, Mitch has counseled marine insurers and NVOCCs in handling cargo damage and marine insurance disputes. 

In the general liability field, Mitch handles claims involving premises liability, product liability, and personal injury, delivering cost-effective solutions through negotiation, mediation, or trial. He also advises employers on employment practices issues, including discrimination, harassment, and wrongful termination and defends professionals such as attorneys, accountants, architects, and other licensed practitioners against negligence and malpractice claims.

Kay Barnes Baxter is a seasoned litigator focused on the defense of toxic torts, occupational disease and environmental claims alleging personal injury and property damage, as well as matters involving construction and transportation litigation.  More recently, Ms. Baxter has become a frequently invited speaker at national conferences where she presents and discusses the latest challenges for her clients and others involved in the ever expanding cannabis business, including compliance issues and the environmental impact of the Cannabis industry.  She is a driven litigator who enjoys the challenge of finding and implementing innovative ways to advise, defend and protect her clients’ interests. She has extensive experience defending cases involving a wide range of products including asbestos, benzene, silica, talc and chemical solvents. These matters include individual claims, as well as mass torts and class actions.

Ms. Baxter serves a wide range of clients in varied aspects of litigation including manufacturers, miners, suppliers, contractors, employers, service providers, and executive officers in toxic torts, environmental, transportation, construction and workers compensation claims. A widely acknowledged authority in her field of practice, she handled the first Chinese Drywall claim accepted for defense by one of the largest insurance companies in the United States. She has also served as national trial counsel for Fortune 500 companies and has worked with the foremost nationally and internationally known experts in their various fields of specialty and continues to develop new experts for her clients.

Actively involved in leading legal defense organizations, Ms. Baxter is a regular presenter at national conferences in her practice specialties. She is also active in her community by serving on various local boards and volunteering to assist the Louisiana State Bar Association.

Ms. Sara Brothers, Divisional VP with Great American’s Environmental Insurance Division (GAIG.com/Environmental), is a recognized environmental industry expert, with over 30 years of extensive consulting and industry experience in the petroleum, industrial, commercial and government sectors.  Before joining Great American in 2016, she was a SVP for Trihydro Corporation, where she managed the division responsible for the remediation and assessment of complex closed facilities. During her tenure, Sara formed and led the company’s Strategic Business Services Group, which specialized in providing underwriting and claims support to the environmental insurance industry. She also served on the company’s Board of Directors. Prior to Trihydro, Sara worked in both industry and consulting, managing RCRA corrective action and closure projects for Safety-Kleen Corporation in the US and Canada, and leading teams at Intel Corporation responsible for semiconductor facility construction.
 
In her position with Great American’s Environmental Division, Sara is the Director of Technical Support & Training, coordinating technical support to the Underwriting, Claims, and Operations units. A professional geologist, Sara graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts in Geology and holds a Masters of Science in Geology and Masters of Business Administration from the University of New Mexico. 
 

Ruth is an entrepreneur who leads HireHer’s efforts to connect diverse talent with innovative industries faster. Through the HireHer technology and services, Ruth enables employers to recruit, engage and retain diverse talent.
 
Ruth is viewed as an up and comer in HR tech and well-known industry expert in strategic human capital management.  She is adept at helping leaders and managers navigate through issues of diversity & inclusion while cultivating high performing teams through organizational culture enhancements.
 
Prior to founding HireHer, Ruth maintained a distinguished career in government and the private sector. Most recently she led human resources policy from the headquarters of a large complex federal agency with over 100,000 employees world-wide. In her work aligning human capital to strategic plans she was recognized for leading an award-winning employee engagement program.
 
Ruth is known for building and sustaining a culture of engagement across the enterprise, and designing workforce strategies that result in resilient, high performing teams. She regularly advises leaders on key policy initiatives, labor-management considerations, and executes efficient yet effective change management tactics.
 
Ruth earned a master’s degree in Human Resources from Georgetown University. She is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources Management (SPHR) by the Human Resources Certification Institute and as a Society for Human Resources Management – Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP). 

Cliff Connor currently serves as Vice President of Medicare Compliance to Gallagher Bassett Services, Inc. ("GB"), a subsidiary of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., in Itasca, Illinois. GB is a leading Third Party Claims Administrator serving customers in the administration of workers compensation, property and casualty lines of coverage in the US and around the world. Mr. Connor manages all aspects of Medicare Compliance for Gallagher Bassett and has been with the company since 1992.

Prior to joining GB, Mr. Connor held Senior WC Examiner positions at Argonaut, Industrial Indemnity and The City of Long Beach. Mr. Connor holds a Bachelor's Degree in Economics.

Mr. Connor is currently a member of The National Alliance of Medicare Set Aside Professionals, The Medicare Advocacy Recovery Coalition (MARC) and holds both MSCC and CMSP designations.

With his wife and son, Mr. Connor lives in Southwest Florida.
 

 

Laura Cornish is the Vice President of Risk Management for Madison Square Garden Entertainment, with a primary focus on establishing the risk strategy for the construction, entertainment, and sports organizations. Formerly, Laura was the Claims Manager at Lightstone, responsible for managing and overseeing Lightstone's Claims and Loss Control programs. Before joining Lightstone, Laura helped CLM establish ClaimVets, a 501 (C )(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing veterans and military spouses with a pathway to a career in claims. PBeforeher working with ClaimVets, she was a Director in Honeywell International's Corporate Risk Management Department, primarily responsible for managing Global Property and Casualty claims. In her role, Laura established the organization's strategic goals for claim handling, complex claim resolution, and litigation management. Before joining Honeywell, Laura was the Domestic Risk Manager for Colgate-Palmolive, responsible for U.S. policy placement and worldwide claims. As the Director-Global Claims for Tyco Intl., Laura managed the in-house claim staff and partnered with counsel, insurers, and TPAs to establish a Litigation Management program encompassing industry Best Practices, billing guidelines, and review processes, reducing durations, claim costs, and legal fees. Before transitioning to Risk Management, Laura was a Vice President; Senior Casualty Claims Consultant/Team Leader at Marsh. PBeforeMarsh, she held various claims positions within AIG's Home Office, Aetna, and Liberty Mutual.  
Laura is a Certified Litigation Management Professional, a Certified Claims Professional, and a Fa faculty member of The Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) Claim College. She is a member of the NY RIMS Chapter Advisory Committee. In addition, Laura is the President of the CLM Northern NJ Chapter and a member of the Advisory Board of CLM's Retail, Restaurant & Hospitality Committee. Laura is a Graduate of the University of Scranton with a B.S. in Public Administration and Accounting. 

Wm. Chip D’Angelo is theDivision President of Gallagher Bassett Technical Services, the environmental consulting, engineering, and risk management practice within GB specializing in risk quantification, complex project performance, project failures, insurance claims, and litigations. His expertise encompasses Brownfields and CERCLA sites, property (mold , asbestos, Legionella) and environmental impacts, releases, and damages; remediation and construction management; schedule/delay analysis; and the cost allocations between PRPs within these assignments. 

Formerly the founder and CEO of WCD Group, Mr. D’Angelo has more than 38 years of experience in the engineering, construction, abatement, remediation, and renovation industries. He has formed, owned, and operated as the Principal various consulting, engineering, project and construction management, general contracting, and professional construction claims firms. His firms have designed and managed more than $ 4.0 billion of engineering and construction projects throughout the United States, Mexico, and Europe.  He has been an expert in State and Federal courts in CAT claims, wind flood allocations, large property losses, mold remediation, asbestos exposure/ wrongful death and releated subjects.

Mr. D’Angelo worked as a consultant with the United States Congress and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the development of the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA), which became the standard for asbestos removal in the United States. He also worked as a consultant to the United States Department of Labor/Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the development of environmental exposure regulations. He has been an adjunct professor at Tufts University, Temple University, and Georgia Tech University as well as the New York University School of Real Estate. 

Former President George W. Bush appointed Mr. D’Angelo to the CEO Leadership Council as the only environmental CEO. Former New Jersey Governor James Florio appointed Mr. D’Angelo to the Clean Air Council of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. 

 

Thomas (Tom) Dawson is the CEO & President of TD&P Consulting, Inc., a leading healthcare policy and litigation support firm in the Washington DC area. Mr. Dawson’s work as an expert on medical damages is highly regarded among legal professionals. He has served as an expert in Federal and State Court, and is a frequent speaker on medical damages, the calculation of reasonable value, healthcare costs, and the Affordable Care Act. Mr. Dawson has served as a healthcare policy expert and senior healthcare staffer on Capitol Hill. He has also served as an attorney and a health pension law specialist with the United States Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration. For more than five years, Mr. Dawson has been a member of the District of Columbia Board of Medicine. He is frequently on to advise legal teams on issues involving medical pricing, healthcare regulation, and insurance.  To date, Mr. Dawson has supported the work of numerous litigators including those representing municipalities. He has also been retained by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to assist in the determination of medical damages. Mr. Dawson holds several advanced degrees. He is a graduate of the George Washington University School Law and the Milken Institute School of Public Health. Mr. Dawson is barred to practice law in the District of Columbia.
 
 

Diana is an Outside Counsel Manager for Liberty Mutual Insurance’s Legal Strategic Services department where she oversees outside law firms and manages numerous state and specialty panels to drive legal quality and performance effectively and efficiently across the enterprise while actively supporting the company’s emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Before joining LMI, Diana practiced as a civil trial lawyer for 20 years, representing corporate, public, and individual clients in a broad range of matters, including cases involving complex business disputes, fraud, employment, insurance, and wrongful death. She has tried personal injury and complex commercial cases in state and federal court. She also served as an arbitrator and mediator.  Before private practice, she clerked for the Washington Court of Appeals and the Washington Supreme Court. Diana received her B.A. from the University of Washington and her J.D. from Seattle University School of Law.
 

Mary is an experienced employment and commercial litigator with a track record of success in state and federal court in a wide range of matters.

She defends and advises employers on workplace-related claims, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wrongful discharge. 

Mary also has a particular fluency in professional liability matters (lawyers, doctors, accountants, auditors, real estate agents) and has secured dismissals of seven-figure malpractice claims at the summary judgment stage.

In addition, Mary provides clients with practical guidance to avoid, prevent and resolve disputes. When litigation cannot be avoided, she develops strategies that serve her clients' financial goals and minimize costs.

Michael DePetrillo is associate general counsel of Ochsner Health System. Ochsner is the Gulf South’s largest non-profit, academic, multi-specialty healthcare system. Ochsner owns manages and operates over 29 hospitals and 75 health centers with over 1,500 employed physicians and over 20,000 employees. Mr. DePetrillo is responsible for overseeing patient safety, risk management, insurance, medical staff and credentialing issues, and litigation management for the entire system.
Prior to joining Ochsner, Mr. DePetrillo was a partner in the New Orleans office of Jones Walker LLP in the Business & Commercial Litigation Practice Group where he focused on commercial litigation in the areas of healthcare, general liability, medical malpractice, real estate and class action defense. A native of New York, Mr. DePetrillo moved to New Orleans prior to Hurricane Katrina and attended Tulane Law School where he received his juris doctor degree, magna cum laude.

Dawn Dezii specializes in Complex, Toxic Tort and Environmental  Litigation.  She joined the Firm in 1988, becoming a partner in 1995.

Ms Dezii is the head  of the New Jersey Asbestos/Toxic Tort Department.  Her areas of concentration include litigation involving general and subcontractor liability, premises liability, and products liability.  Ms Dezii also handles matters involving underground storage tanks, waste sites, administrative actions with the New Jersey Department of Environment Protection, lead paint, mold, formaldehyde, benzene, rodenticide and MTBE.  Ms Dezii is National Coordinating Counsel for a large multinational construction and engineering corporation, and handles all of its asbestos matters across the country.  She is also the Editor of the Mt Laurel Environmental and Toxic Tort Litigation Newsletter.

Education:

Lycoming College (B.A., cum laude, 1985) Rutgers University School of Law (J.D., cum laude,1988)

Bar Admissions:

1988 New Jersey 1988 Pennsylvania 1988 United States District Court, District of New Jersey 1988 United States District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Teresa Dooley, Esq. is an associate at Hill Rivkins, LLP. Her practice focuses on transportation and logistics, where she has represented motor truck carriers and warehouseman. Additionally, she has represented various insurance carriers in coverage matters.  
 
Prior to joining Hill Rivkins, LLP, Teresa Dooley managed and adjusted motor truck cargo, household goods, and warehouse legal liability claims. Additionally, she adjusted auto liability, generality liability, and property claims.

Focus of Practice:
Inland Transportation & Third Party Logistics
General Liability
Auto Liability
Insurance Defense
Insurance Coverage
Educational Background:
Chicago-Kent College of Law 
Juris Doctor, 2013

Longwood University
B.S. Economics, 2003, summa cum laude
Admitted to Practice:
New York (2014)
New Jersey (2013)
United States District Court, Southern District of New York
United States District Court, Eastern District of New York
United States District Court, District of New Jersey
Professional Background:
Insurance Adjuster  (Commercial AL, Commercial GL, Commercial Property, Inland Marine)  
 

Carolyn Eldracher is the National Client Service Manager for Tokio Marine America. She is coordinates client service aspects of claims relationships with key customers. She also assists in staff training and marketing of new business and new claims products to clients and potential clients.

Prior to joining Tokio Marine, Carolyn was a claims consultant for USI Insurance Services in West Orange, NJ and spent twenty years with AIG as an adjuster, underwriting manager, and Client Service Manager.

Carolyn is the CLM Regional Chair for Region 3, Chapter President for Northern New Jersey, and faculty member at Claims College. She holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and Associate in Claims (AIC) designations. She received her bachelor’s degree from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg, VA.

Based out of Chicago, Frank English is a Vice-President and manages the small to mid-market Lawyers Professional Liability Claims Team for Swiss Re Corporate Solutions.  He has worked in the insurance industry for 17 years.  Prior to joining Swiss Re, Frank was a practicing insurance defense lawyer for 3 years.  Frank received his J.D. from DePaul University School of Law in Chicago.  He received his undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Texas at San Antonio.  

Dennis J. Franchetti, AIC is presently supervising all casualty claims for the New London County Mutual Insurance Company of Norwich, Connecticut, as well for the affiliated Hingham Mutual Insurance Company of Hingham, Massachusetts. Work experience also includes handling of medical malpractice, complex coverage, environmental, municipal liability, Jones Act, CGL, and Directors' & Officers' claims.

In addition, Dennis served as a Reinsurance Consultant with Aetna Life & Casualty during the early to mid 1990's resolving reinsurance disputes.

Dennis is a 1983 graduate of Rhode Island College. He resides in Norwich, Connecticut with his wife and 2 daughters, and is an avid New England Patriots fan.

Mr. Franco is a Certified Legal Malpractice Law Specialist, State Bar of California: Board of Legal Specialization. Mr. Franco focuses his practice on the representation of lawyers, designers, directors and officers, insurance and real estate professionals. He also represents product manufacturers in catastrophic injury cases, handles insurance coverage disputes and related litigation. Mr. Franco also provides contractual review to a wide variety of clientele. Mr. Franco is rated AV-Preeminent by Martindale Hubbell.
 
Mr. Franco is a Vice-President and Director of the North San Diego County Bar Association and was elected  President for 2022. He is a member of the San Diego County Bar Association, Orange County Bar Association Masters Division, Lawyers Professional Liability Consortium, Claims and Litigation Management Alliance, Risk Insurance Management Society (S.D. RIMS), Affiliate Member of AIA San Diego Chapter and is a Judge Pro Tempore of the San Diego County Superior Court. He has been a featured speaker at the CLM National Conference from 2016 to 2021.  Mr. Franco was selected as a Top Lawyer in San Diego in San Diego Magazine for 2015 through 2021 and in Southern California in the Los Angeles Times for 2017 to 2021. He was honored as a Lawyer of Distinction in the New York Times in 2020.
 
Mr. Franco received his Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from the University of Dayton in 1981. He received his Juris Doctorate from Pepperdine University School of Law and was admitted to practice in 1984. Mr. Franco has represented legal professionals for over thirty years, has authored and lectured on risk management for lawyers to the Orange, North San Diego and Riverside County Bar Associations including: Preventing and Defending Legal Malpractice for the Small Firm; Understanding Legal Malpractice and Cyber Liability; Where Attorney Work Product Privilege Rests; General Counsel: From Luxury to Necessity.
 
 

Daniele Freaner is an Assistant Vice President with the OneBeacon Insurance Healthcare Group with over 25 years experience in the insurance industry. She handles accounts nationwide for complex risk, medical facilities, and long-term care on a primary and excess basis. 

Karen Furtado, a Partner at SMA, has an exceptional understanding of core systems in insurance and the transformations required to achieve success. Her expertise is comprehensive – policy administration, rating, product configuration, billing, and claims – and is combined with a deep understanding of how to integrate mature and emerging technologies with core systems. Those seeking an edge in today’s highly competitive world turn to Karen to capitalize on her unparalleled knowledge and experience in connecting solutions to business and IT requirements. 

Karen has focused her entire career on solving core issues through the application of modern technology and has unparalleled knowledge in mapping solutions to business requirements and IT needs. Her 25+ years of technical and business experience within the insurance industry, with specific focuses in core system modernization and optimization, complex system implementations, vendor selection, project management, application development, and business process and technical outsourcing, have uniquely qualified her for her current position at SMA.

Karen was previously the Vice President of CGI's Insurance Practice, where she had responsibility for the development of their strategic direction and oversight of CGI's insurance software services, ASP services, and core insurance BPO practice. Before joining CGI, she was the Insurance Practice Director at Collaborative Consulting.

Karen is frequently quoted in leading insurance trade journals and has been a keynote speaker at the ACORD/LOMA Forum, IASA, ISOTECH, ACE, and other major conferences. Karen holds a Bachelor of Science from Springfield College.
 

Raymond Giorgetti is the proprietor of ATLAS SETTLEMENT GROUP's New York - Long Island operation.  
Prior to his entry into the structured settlement field in 1985, Ray held liability claim positions with several major insurers (including Royal Globe Insurance Company – Home Office Claims, and Home Insurance Company - Excess Claims).
Ray’s career long focus has been the analysis and negotiation of future damage claims including claims to which CPLR Article 50A or Article 50B apply.
Ray’s son Justin joined the LIO operation in 2005. With 50 years of combined experience Team Giorgetti has produced over 3,000 structured settlements, many of them involving complex damages issues with high exposures. These cases included Medical Malpractice cases, NY Labor Law cases, Worker’s Compensation cases, Maritime cases, as well as Automobile and General Liability claims. Notably, Justin and Ray worked with Fireman’s Fund and AIG on a National E.coli outbreak involving over 100 claims. Settlement of all claims (many of which were structured) was accomplished through a series of mediations around the country over a two year period. 

Ray is a member of CLM and The National Structured Settlement Trade Association. He received his B.A. from Herbert H. Lehman College of the City University of New York. Ray and his wife Nickie have been married since 1974 and have two children and two grandchildren (and are hoping for more).  

Janelle Griffith is a Vice President and Account Executive - Logistics in the Marine Unit of the Commercial Insurance Division in Lockton’s New York City office.  In this role Janelle works with Lockton’s clients, drawing on her legal, claims and brokerage experience.  Her responsibilities include marketing and implementation of cargo and logistics insurance solutions, program design, and providing related strategic advisement, as well as the overall day to day client servicing.  Janelle is also responsible for collaborating with the marine unit leader to provide substantive expertise to the logistics segment of the practice through branding, product development and client development initiatives.

With more than 17 years of experience in the insurance industry, Janelle has honed her skills in the cargo, transportation and logistics area of the marine insurance sector. Well-versed in cargo, door-to-door logistics supply chain, and experienced in areas such as Forwarder’s Legal Liability, Warehouseman’s Legal Liability, Motor Truck Cargo, and Customs Brokerage, she merges this knowledge with her legal acumen and expertise in international laws and national conventions to provide a superior level of service to clients.

Janelle is solutions oriented in nature, allowing her to be a valuable asset and to serve as a trusted expert and resource for clients and colleagues.

Managing Partner

Penny Hamilton is the Director, Complex Claims at James River Insurance Co.  She graduated in 1987 from Lebanon Valley College with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management.  During her 25+ years in claims, she had acquired multi-state, multi-line experience in the administration of Property and Casualty claims. Her experience is in all areas of litigation management and includes personal lines auto and general liability, commercial auto and general liability, products liability, and professional liability. Penny began working for James River Insurance Co. in 2023.  Previously, she worked at PMA Management Corporation as a Litigation Specialist and was promoted to Assistant Claims Manager and then Claims Manager.  Prior to joining PMA, she was as a Litigation Specialist at Selective Insurance Company.  She has her AIC and SCLA designations and holds Adjuster Licenses in multiple states. 
 

Ms. Taranae Hashemi is a proud member of the Gallo Vitucci team and a seasoned litigator.  With extensive experience in handling all stages of civil litigation, Ms. Hashemi has been involved in defending a number of construction defect, catastrophic loss and wrongful death cases.  

A native of Randolph, New Jersey, Ms. Hashemi earned her undergraduate degree from The College of New Jersey in 2007.  She next attended law school at Rutgers School of Law, earning her Juris Doctorate in 2011.  While at Rutgers, Ms. Hashemi participated in the Civil Immigration Practice Law Clinic where she defended low-income individuals involved in immigration proceedings.  After law school, Ms. Hashemi served as law clerk to the Honorable Francis J. Orlando, A.J.S.C. and Justice Lee A. Solomon within the New Jersey Judiciary, gaining valuable insight into civil litigation, municipal appeals, and zoning and planning board challenges.

Ms. Hashemi is committed to community and charitable service.  She has been very active within the Greater Delaware Valley Chapter of the National MS Society; participating annually in the City-to-Shore Charity Ride and serving as Chair of the Preakness at the Piazza benefit for Multiple Sclerosis, through which she has helped to raise significant funds to benefit the battle against MS.  

Robert focuses his practice on the defense of employment, professional liability and commercial litigation claims. As part of his employment practice, Robert has handled and resolved hundreds of sensitive discrimination, harassment and wage claims for his clients and in multiple jurisdictions across the country. In the area of professional liability litigation, Robert has successfully defended attorneys, accountants, insurance agents and design professionals. Robert is also an experienced commercial litigator, regularly appearing before the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court for the County of New York (Manhattan), as well as handling litigated matters involving massive electronically stored information (ESI) discovery disputes. Across all areas of his practice, Robert and his team leverage their knowledge of cutting edge e-discovery technologies for tactical advantage.

Robert and his team advise employers on issues involving non-competes, trade secrets, intellectual property, as well as best practices for social media usage and anti-discrimination and harassment training. In his practice, Robert frequently litigates disputed claims under the ADA, Title VII, FLSA, FMLA, FDCPA, FCRA, as well as state and local laws, such as the NY Executive Law, the NY Labor Law and the New York City Administrative Code.

Robert is an invited speaker on topics including e-discovery litigation strategies and emerging employer liabilities under the Affordable Care Act, and has provided detailed advice to liability carriers and employer groups on the impacts of Sections 1557 and 1558 of that act.

Education

University of Pittsburgh School of Law (J.D., 2005, Journal of Technology Law & Policy)

Carnegie Mellon (B.A., 2001, University Honors)

Licensed to Practice in:

New York
Connecticut


Practice AreasEmployment
+Defense of ADA and sexual harassment matters in public hearings before the EEOC…

Meghan F. Henry has been practicing in Pennsylvania and New Jersey since 2007 with the focus of her practice on premises liability, products liability, sexual abuse and assault and catastrophic construction injuries. Ms. Henry has devoted her practice to defending business owners, contractors, corporations and individuals against claims in state and federal courts. Ms. Henry has also helped countless businesses, agencies and individuals with presuit investigations in an effort to protect their interests in the wake of a potential lawsuit and even avoid filing of suit.

Ms. Henry is particularly in tune with the impact litigation has on small businesses. As a small business owner with her siblings and mother, Ms. Henry knows firsthand how litigation can affect the livelihood of a small business as well as how confusing and overwhelming the litigation process may be for business owners. Ms. Henry utilizes her personal experience developed from growing up surrounded by a family run business. Ms. Henry connects with her clients to ensure the process is not overly disruptive and is as seamless as possible.  This also includes advising and aiding her clients on best practices to lower potential future exposures.

Ms. Henry is a Connecticut native, but spent her college years in Washington DC earning a degree in mathematics and psychology at Georgetown University. Ms. Henry then attended Villanova University School of Law and planted her roots in the Philadelphia region. While she is loyal to the Hoyas, Ms. Henry has developed an allegiance to Philadelphia sports teams. 

Dedicated and innovative insurance professional with over 20 years’ experience with a strong background in leading, supporting and managing a multi-line claims operation. Proven ability to evaluate and implement innovative workflows, control costs and achieve results through data and analytics. Consistently recognized for outstanding contributions and solid reputation for resolving complex claim issues. Commended for leadership, organization, efficiency, priority management, negotiation, and communication skills.

Jackie Jensen is a Seattle-area native who joined Mix Sanders Thompson in 2016. She focuses her practice on civil litigation, including construction defects, personal injury, and insurance disputes.

Jackie earned her B.A. from the University of Washington and then graduated from Seattle University School of Law in 2011. While in law school, Jackie gained experience as an intern with the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. After graduating from Seattle University, she joined a small plaintiff's practice in Kitsap County and then moved to a large Seattle-based defense firm. Jackie left a large national law firm where she gained useful experience in insurance coverage, to join Mix Sanders Thompson.

In her free time, Jackie enjoys spending time outdoors, volunteering as an advisor to a University of Washington student organization and serving on the board of the Madison Park Community Council Association. Jackie is licensed to practice in Washington State, the Western and Eastern Districts of Washington and the Ninth Circuit.  

Frank is a Partner at Rebar Bernstiel. He has deep and broad experience in liability practice. He has been advising and counseling clients in complex litigation matters for more than two decades. He defends clients in claims pertaining to complex high exposure cases including personal injury, medical malpractice, automobile crashes- no-fault actions, other transportation accident- truck, trains, airplanes- under and uninsured motorists, workplace accidents, injuries on property, scaffold collapses, ladder accidents, slip and trip accidents, allegations of defective products, securities arbitration and mediation, other professional liability (accountants, lawyers, financial analysts, architects, engineers, directors and officers) prescription medications, nursing home and hospital negligence, injuries at vacation resorts, hotels, and cruise ships, civil and constitutional rights violations, municipal liability, and a host of other kinds of business and personal disputes.

Wendy M. Kent is an experienced trial attorney and civil litigator with over 25 years of experience defending employment discrimination, wrongful termination, professional malpractice, and product liability lawsuits.  Now a Claim Counsel at Travelers in Lake Oswego, Oregon, Wendy applies her expertise overseeing litigated claims involving employment practices, directors and officers and fiduciary liability. Prior to joining Travelers, Wendy was a partner at Bodyfelt Mount LLC, one of the only predominately female owned defense firms in the Pacific Northwest. Wendy also spent nine years as senior litigator and managing attorney for Zurich North America Insurance Company’s staff legal office in Portland, Oregon.  Her practice has been devoted to serving the insurance industry in all phases of civil litigation, including trial and appeal.  Wendy is licensed to practice in the state courts of Oregon, Washington and Utah as well as the U.S. District Courts of Oregon and Utah. 
 
Originally from upstate New York, Wendy traveled to the University of Colorado at Boulder where she earned her B.A. then continued west to attend law school at the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College.  She is active in numerous industry and legal organizations including the Oregon Association of Defense Counsel, Loss Executives Association and the Defense Research Institute. Locally, she volunteers for several community organizations and is a High School Mock Trial coach and judge.  Wendy spends her free time traveling all over the country on her Triumph motorcycles.

Mr. Klauber has over thirty years of trial and appellate experience involving Construction and the New York Labor Law and related insurance coverage issues, premises liability, workers' compensation, motor vehicle cases, and products liability matters involving highly technical aspects of engineering and design, as well as property and real estate litigation.He is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York and the District of New Jersey, as well as the State Bars of New York and New Jersey. He has argued cases before the Court of Appeals of the State of New York.Among his reported cases are: McCarthy v. Turner Construction, Inc., 2011 N.Y.SLIP OP 05541; Cino v. HRH Construction, 2008 N.Y. SLIP OP 02781; Fenty v. City of New York, 71 A.D.3d 459 (N.Y.); Walker v. Insignia Douglas Elliman, 2010 NY SLIP OP 09087; Walls v. Turner Construction Co., 4 N.Y.3d 861; Fernandez v. New York Hilton Joint Venture, 271 A.D.2d 338, 706 N.Y.S.2d 642 (Mem), N.Y. 2000; Kelly v. H.W. Realty Corp., 264 A.D.2d 761, 694 N.Y.S.2d 768 N.Y. 1999; Achkhanian v. Town of Oyster Bay, 262 A.D.2d 510, 692 (N.Y.A.D. 2nd Dept. 1991); Connecticut Indem. Co. v. 21st Century Transport Co., Inc., 2001 WL 868340 (E.D.N.Y. 2001); Sesskin v. Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 2001 WL 804562 (S.D.N.Y. 2001); Baker v. Captain Jeffrey A. Johnson & Associates, 1987 WL (S.D.N.Y. 1987).

Areas of Practice: Construction/Labor Law; Insurance Coverage; Workers Compensation; Products Liability; Premises Liability; Motor Vehicle; Insurance Defense, and Not-For-Profits.

Admitted :1983, New York, New Jersey, United States Supreme Court, District of New Jersey and U.S. District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York

Law School : Boston University School of Law, J.D., 1982

College :Franklin & Marshall College, B.A., 1979

Mr. Klauber is a past president of the Brooklyn-Manhattan Trial Lawyers Association, a member of the Board of the The Defense Association of New York, Inc, CLM, .The New York State Trial Lawyers and DRI.

Ms. Erlich is a professional liability defense attorney specializing in defending professionals including, real estate brokers, attorneys, design professionals and insurance agents. She is a founding partner of Zelms Erlich LLP, a legal malpractice specialist, and a licensed real estate broker. Graduate of Tel-Aviv University (BA 1992, magna cum laude), Whittier Law School (JD 1997, magna cum laude) and California State University (MA, Philosophy of Law 1998). In the last 25 years she has defended many professionals through trial and appeal. Ms. Erlich is a member of the Real Estate Executive Committee of the California State Bar, a delegate to the House of Delegates, and a member of the Legal Affairs California Association of Realtors. She is on the steering committee of several Defense Research Institute committees, Professional Liability Underwriters Society Southern California Chapter, as well as, the Southern California Chapter of the Claim and Litigation Management Alliance. Ms. Erlich is a recipient of Rising Star and Super Lawyers awards, and is an author and frequent speaker on professional liability topics. Ms. Erlich is a former Israeli Defense Force officer.

Angela is Managing Partner of CSVL.. She successfully defends corporations, insurers and insureds in a wide variety of litigation matters throughout Georgia and Tennessee; including general liablity defense, insurance coveage and bad faith.Before being recruited to CSVL, Angela chaired the general liability department of a regional insurance defense firm, and served as staff counsel for an automobile insurance carrier. She is an AV Rated Attorney through Martindale-Hubbell, and a frequent speaker at various seminars and events.  She travels nationally to train her clients in various insurance and defense related topics.Angela is a member of the Claims & Litigation Management Alliance, and was presented wtih CLM's Professional of the Year Award in the Outside Counsel Category in 2017. She participates on various committees and received her designation as a Claims Litigation Management Professional from the Litigation Management Institute.  She is also part of the Faculty for Claims College and serves as a Dean of the School of Leadership.  She has received her Certified Claims Professional and Advanced Claims Professional designations. Angela has been honored with a Senior Fellowship in the Litigation Counsel of America, a Trial Lawyer Honorary Society; open to less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers.  She has been inducted into the Order of Juris for recognition of her trial experience, and inducted into the Order of Certus for appellate work. She has also been selected as a member of the National Retail and Restaurant Defense Association, RISE, Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel, and is a Charter Member of the Insurance Institute of America.  She is a current member and former President of the Southeast Legal Association of Women and involved with the Diversity Law Institute.

Dave has over 33 years claims experience and is currently employed by Chubb North America in Wilmington, DE as the international claim manager overseeing a team of technical staff.  The unit handles large and complex exposure claims worldwide.  Accounts overseen include many Fortune 500 companies.
 
Dave began his insurance career at Liberty Mutual in southern California and has also worked for Markel, Swiss Re and Allianz.  In addition to managing claims in the US, Dave also worked in Europe for 5 years as the European Claims Director based in Munich, Germany with staff in Munich and Paris, France.  Dave holds a Senior Claims Law Associate designation through AEI, and obtained his CLMP designation through CLM. 
 
Dave is active within the CLM (Claims Litigation Management Alliance) as a Board Member for the Retail, Restaurant & Hospitality Community, and a Member on the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee.  He is also a speaker at various CLM events as well as an instructor for the CLM School of Mediation. 

Denise is currently employed by United Fire Group as a Casualty Claims Specialist in the East Coast Regional Office.   Prior to UFG, she worked as a Claims Supervisor for Penn National Insurance in their New Jersey Office.  She has handled and supervised personal and commercial Property and Casualty Claims.  Denise currently handles complex liability claims pre-suit.  She started in the business working for the GRE Insurance Group which subsequently merged with Peerless and then with Liberty Mutual.   Denise has obtained her AIC, AIS and SCLA designations.  She currently serves as the Education Director for the South Jersey CLM Chapter.

Dawn J. Krigstin, Esq. is the founder and CEO of Envoy Specialty, a firm specializing in claims services for policyholders and specialty insurance carriers. At Envoy, she leads efforts to resolve complex claims across diverse areas, including general liability, environmental exposures, toxic torts, construction accidents, product liability, and cyber risks. Known for her strategic approach to resolving claims, Dawn has built Envoy into a trusted partner for resolving high-stakes claims.
 
Prior to founding Envoy Specialty, Dawn served as Senior Vice President and Chief Claims Officer at Ironshore Environmental.
 
Dawn earned her Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Syracuse University College of Law and remains committed to giving back to her community. She serves on the Board of Trustees for the Development School for Youth, a nonprofit organization that collaborates with corporate partners to provide inner-city high school students with mentorship, career development, and leadership training.

Stacy L. La Scala, Esq. has extensive experience handling insurance-related disputes as a full-time neutral and previously as coverage counsel. He has mediated a wide range of matters, including coverage disputes among carriers, bad faith, subrogation, contribution, and allocation actions—among others.
Mr. La Scala previously served as a regional director and national litigation director for a large property casualty carrier. In private practice, he represented individuals, policyholders, and businesses in insurance matters. His litigation experience provides him with an in-depth working knowledge of the insurance industry and its nuances and complexities. He is well versed in the issues important to all sides of a dispute, having served as plaintiffs’, defense, and in-house counsel. Mr. La Scala also authors the insurance tort sections for Thompson Reuters California Civil Practice:Torts.
Representative Matters
·       Bad faith claim against non-admitted carrier on modified insuring agreement language and duty to defend
·       Bad faith claims against insurer for failure to defend based upon ongoing operations versus completed operations endorsement
·       Contribution, subrogation, and declaratory relief action involving defense fee and indemnity claims among numerous commercial general liability (CGL) primary and additional insured carriers
·       First-party bad faith claim by insured involving denial of coverage arising from property fire loss and improper valuation
·       California Insurance Code §11580 action by assignee to insured’s claims arising from breach of duty to defend and stipulated judgment
·       Intervention action by carrier against subcontractors for subrogation and indemnity in and arising from underlying 202 single-family home tract construction defect action
·       Subrogation action involving multi-million-dollar indemnity claims among primary and excess carriers, including evidence and timing of exhaustion of policies
·       Subrogation, contribution, and Buss action by national insurance carrier against its insured, co-carriers, and subcontractors for re-allocation of defense fees and costs

Michele Landis is a Co-Founder & CRO of Accessible360 
In her role as Chief Revenue Officer, she leads Business Development and Partnerships at “A360”, a digital accessibility auditing company.   Michele is an experienced service leader within programs focused on inclusion and equitable access.  She has lead A360 to national recognition, leveraging A360’s Technical Services Team deliverables, accessible design knowledge for designers and developers and accessible design training for developers along with their subject matter expertise in Live-User Auditing.  A360 helps companies who are building new digital products or remediating existing ones to be accessible. A360 works across all business verticals to Audit and Report noncompliant issues within desktop and mobile websites as well as native iOS and Android applications. 
Called upon often for Subject Matter Expertise Testimony on Accessibility, her Co-Founder, Arron Cannon and Michele also work with many top ADA Defense firms and Insurance companies across the nation.  
Graduating twins from high school this year, both pursuing athletic interests in different states, she’ll be moving around the U.S. a lot more in 2018, blending work and family time together.  She believes the best part of her role is increasing awareness and helping people learn what it means to become Accessible to AllSM.  Accessible Design is not only the right thing to do, it’s good for your business.   

Nick Lanza is a civil trial lawyer in Texas and practices civil litigation, specializing in the legal defense of individuals and corporations in personal injury, property, insurance, and business disputes.Nick Lanza represents parties in complex claims involving wrongful death, intentional torts, business torts, breach of contract, commerical trucking and automobile litigation, negligence, the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Texas Insurance Code, products liability, liquor liability, and premises liability. He also represents various professionals in professional errors and omissions liability claims. His clients include families, individuals, insurance agencies, trucking companies, insurance companies, and businesses, small and large. Mr. Lanza is proud of the fact many clients become long term friends, long after litigation is concluded.

Nick Lanza has successfully taken over 160 complex cases to trial by Judge and jury throughout the State of Texas. Nick is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Nick received the President’s Award from the Houston Young Lawyers Association in 1996. He has been selected as a Texas Super Lawyer every year from 2011-2017  and  as a Texas Top Rated Lawyer.
Hobbies include: collecting sports memorabilia, running marathons,  and traveling.

Michelle Leighton is a Partner and National Claims Advocacy & Consulting Leader at Conner Strong & Buckelew. She serves as a strategic claims advocate, guiding clients through every stage of the claims process. Her role includes developing and implementing claims management programs and providing comprehensive technical expertise on complex claims matters. Her portfolio of accounts spans a wide range of industries, with a strong focus on construction and controlled insurance programs, public entities, higher education, and hospitality and gaming. Michelle is also an active member of Conner Strong & Buckelew’s Construction Practice Group, Public Entity Practice Group, and Workers' Compensation Center of Excellence. Prior to joining Conner Strong & Buckelew, Michelle served as Vice President of Claims for The Graham Company, a Philadelphia-based brokerage. Michelle holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Human Resources Administration from Temple University and the Associate in Claims designation.

East Zone Claim Leader
Managing Director
William (Bill) Liebler is a senior member of the Marsh Global Claims Practice, and currently serves as the East Zone Claim Leader, USA. Bill’s involvement includes property, casualty, financial, and professional liability claims. His primary responsibilities involve shaping internal claim processes as well as expanding client service offerings, developing, implementing, and communicating custom claims service programs, analyzing loss data and benchmarking, claims management training, and claim review and auditing. All are done with an eye towards reducing clients’ overall cost of risk.

Bill joined Marsh in December of 2003. Prior to joining the firm, he was with a national insurer for 12 years. There he served as Regional Risk/Ops Manager and as claim account executive, unit manager and senior liability claims adjuster. His areas of expertise include auto, general liability, workers compensation and products claims consulting, coverage advocacy, and risk management trending analysis. He has created and presented claim training seminars for clients and internal employees.
 

Kitty Lynch is a Claims Litigation Supervisor with UFG (United Fire Group) Insurance.  She works in the East Coast Branch of UFG which is located in Pennington, NJ.  Kitty graduated from the University of Delaware and started her claims career as an adjuster trainee shortly upon graduation.   She has been in the insurance industry for more than 20 years and the majority of that time has been with Insurance Carriers although she did work for a TPA (Third Party Administrator) for a short period of time.  Kitty has completed a number of industry designations and is currently working to complete her CPCU (Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter) in the coming year.

When not glued to her desk keeping up on the latest Court decisions impacting the insurance industry, Kitty enjoys traveling (she has been to all but 7 states in the US), rooting for her favorite sports teams and is an avid moviegoer.  She enjoys attending Industry conferences and sees their value in providing insight and understanding to the unique and ever changing challenges of being a Claims professional.  She currently resides in Somerset, NJ and can be contacted at kflynch@unitedfiregroup.com. 

Brian Margolies is a partner in the insurance coverage group.  His practice is devoted exclusively to insurance-related matters, primarily involving pollution, professional and general liability policies.  He regularly counsels insurance carriers on coverage, regulatory and bad faith issues, and has represented clients in coverage litigation throughout the country. 

Brian is a frequent lecturer at national conferences and author in various publications.  In addition, Brian is a member of the IRMI CGL Reporter Editorial Board and a frequent blogger on insurance coverage matters.  He was recognized by JD Supra in the 2019 Readers Choice Awards. 

Vic Marmo is currently the Assistant VP, Global Claims for Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation (MVWC). Vic is a graduate of the University of Maryland, School of Business. He holds an Associate in Risk Management designation is a certified mediator and has extensive training in negotiations, mediation and trial strategy from various law schools including Pepperdine University, Harvard University and Southern Methodist University.
 
Vic began his career with Marriott International 25 years ago and has held several positions including Global Claims Director and Regional Claims Director for the Mid-Atlantic region.  He has recently moved to his current role with MVWC.
 
In his current position, Vic has responsibility for claims oversight of all claims in five lines of insurance (guest liability, workers compensation, employee dishonesty, property and employment practices liability). Vic also is responsible for the claims reporting process, nurse care program and claims audits and is an active member of several national organizations addressing litigation management and other relevant topics for self-insureds.
 

While an in-house attorney, John was one of the earliest adopters of electronic invoicing technology, allowing him to aggregate invoice and performance metrics data, generate litigation management reports, evaluate the effectiveness of outside counsel, implement cost reduction strategies and evaluate internal staffing choices.

After completing a clerkship for a Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court John entered private practice concentrating on the defense of architects and engineers. After leaving private practice he held a variety of legal positions with national insurers in the areas of environmental coverage and litigation management, most recently as Chief Claims Counsel for OneBeacon where he had responsibility for staff counsel, panel counsel, coverage counsel, environmental and extra-contractual litigation. In 2010 John re-entered private practice as a partner with a national defense firm where he concentrated on national program management, insurance coverage and general liability litigation and in 2013 he was appointed General Counsel for the CLM. John was also of counsel to the Wood, Smith, Henning and Berman firm and is now Head of Litigation and Vendor Management for AXA XL.

An attorney for over 30 years, he is "AV" rated by Martindale and is admitted to practice in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and  the United States Supreme Court. He is a graduate of Bowdoin College, University of New Hampshire Law School, and has completed management training programs at the Wharton School of Business and the London Business School. He was the 2008 Chair of the ACC Insurance Staff Counsel Committee and a Boston 2012 Top Rated Lawyer (insurance coverage)

 

Preston McGowan is an accomplished insurance executive with expertise in transforming core, legacy operations at some of the world’s largest financial services companies.  As the Senior Vice President – Digital and Customer Experience at AIG, he is responsible for delivering the Private Client Group’s new digital sales and services capabilities.  He is also responsible for collaborating with various service teams to develop new customer experience strategies and product roadmaps.  Prior to joining AIG, Preston spent over 30 years in the commercial insurance marketplace and held senior leadership positions in information technology, corporate strategy, marketing and legal operations. 

Preston earned an MBA from The Wharton School and a BS in Industrial Engineering from Cornell University.  He also holds a Management of Technology diploma from the Georgia Institute of Technology and executive education certificates from Harvard Business School and Wharton/INSEAD.

John M. Nunnally
Partner
Ragsdale Liggett, PLLC
 
John is a senior litigator with more than 25 years of trial experience.  His practice is devoted to defending a wide variety of corporations, motor carriers, architects, engineers, and other individuals in the construction industry, trucking and transportation law, products liability, and professional negligence claims.  He has tried over 75 jury trials to verdict throughout his career and uses his extensive trial experience to counsel clients in evaluating options and strategies.

Stan graduated from Texas A&M University in 1989 and was a member of the University's Honors Program. Stan received his Juris Doctorate with Honors, cum laude, from the University of Houston in 1993. While in law school, Stan was a research assistant, an editor of a law journal, and a member of The Order of the Barons. From 1993 until 2006, Stan was engaged in civil trial work in Houston, Texas. He worked at national and international law firms defending professional negligence claims, insurance bad faith matters, and representing domestic and international insurers in coverage disputes. In 2006, Stan joined Western Litigation, Inc. as a Claims Attorney.

Brenda Radmacher specializes in construction and real estate law, regularly counseling general contractors, construction managers, design professionals, contractors, and owners on contract negotiations, risk management and disputes. Her practice emphasizes resolving complex construction disputes through negotiation, mediation, and, when necessary, arbitration and litigation, on projects in California, nationwide, and internationally. She frequently addresses claims involving breach of contract, construction/design defects, liens, delays/impacts, construction defects, bonds/insurance issues, and represents many of the nation’s largest contractors and developers in the commercial, multifamily, and residential markets. She also provides advice regarding franchise/corporations issues, ADA, and California's Proposition 65. She also has developed risk management protocols for her clients in both the construction, regulatory, and employment areas.

Brenda has been recognized in the industry with many awards including: Women of Influence - Attorneys (Los Angeles Business Journal); The Best Lawyers in America© - Construction Law (2020); Top 50 Most Influential Women Lawyers List (Los Angeles Business Journal, 2017); CLM Outside Counsel Professional of the Year 2016, Pasadena's Top Attorney list (2013-20), Martindale-Hubbell, Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers (2015-2021); Construction Dive, Industry Veteran Award (2021). 

Her Board and membership positions include: USC Alumni Real Estate Network; West Coast Lumber & Building Material Association; Associated General Contractors, California  - LA District; Women Construction Owners & Executives; and Women in Design + Construction. She is a past Co-Chair of the CLM Product Liability Committee, Advisory Member for CLM's Wiki Guide and Claims Handling Manual. 

She is a Certified Mediator and was an adjunct faculty at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law for a decade teaching Negotiation and Mediation and is a frequent speaker on negotiation and mediation skills.

Jim Reilly has worked with professional liability insurance for over 30 years in various underwriting, product development, and marketing capacities, including the following:
Drafting and implementing applications into the marketplace
Drafting and implementing policy forms and endorsements into the marketplace
Drafting and implementing rates and premiums into the marketplace
Interacting with brokers on a daily basis to place coverage
Assisting brokers with teleconferences/ visits to clients to help in the placement of coverage
Assisting in the implementation of risk management reviews for law firms.

Erin M. Ringbloom is a Vice President of North American Claims at Allied World Insurance Company in Farmington, CT. She manages the team responsible for handling the company’s employment practices liability and governmental liability claims nationwide. Before assuming this role, Erin was an Assistant Vice President and Senior Claims Analyst with Allied World, handling complex employment practices and governmental liability claims. She is a graduate of Western New England University School of Law and a member of the Connecticut Bar.

Dean Rocco represents employers of all types and sizes across the country as well as executives and members of management. He advises clients on issues such as managing employees with disabilities and medical leave rights, building sound personnel policies and complying with workplace regulations. Dean maintains a significant practice defending employers from lawsuits alleging workplace harassment, denials of disability or medical leave rights, unlawful termination of employment, and wage and hour violations.

A distinguished labor and employment law attorney, Dean lends his knowledge and perspective to proactive counseling and training measures as well as the efficient and effective litigation of employment law disputes. As a recognized authority in his field, Dean is often asked to lecture on evolving employment law topics.

COUNSELING & TRAINING Clients routinely seek Dean’s help navigating difficult personnel issues, managing employees with disabilities and medical leave rights, complying with wage and hour regulations and developing sound personnel policies. Clients also call on Dean to train management and employees on a variety of subjects, such as discrimination and harassment prevention, managing employees within the law, and complying with wage and hour laws.

EMPLOYMENT LITIGATIONDean maintains a significant employment litigation practice covering a broad range of cases, including breach of employment contract, discrimination and harassment, violations of disability and medical leave laws, and workplace torts such as defamation and wrongful termination in violation of public policy. In addition, Dean frequently litigates individual, representative and class action wage-and-hour lawsuits alleging claims such as denials of meal periods and rest breaks, misclassification of employees, non-payment of wages, off-the-clock work, unlawful commission and bonus plans, and violations of statutory pay provisions.

Dean has also successfully enforced employer-promulgated arbitration programs, secured restraining orders against employees involved in workplace violence, and prosecuted actions against employees engaged in unfair competition and misappropriation of trade secrets.

BAR ADMISSIONSCalifornia EDUCATION Pepperdine University School of Law, J.D., 2000, Judicial Externship, Los Angeles County Superior Court, Honorable Lawrence J. Mira University of Michigan, B.A., 1997

 

Ronna Ruppelt is a dynamic leader with a distinguished career in the insurance industry, now bringing her expertise to Freeman, Mathis & Gary LLP as a Partner and Director of Client Relations. Before joining FMG, Ronna served as the CEO of CLM (Claims & Litigation Management Alliance), the nation’s largest association of claims professionals and attorneys.

Ronna's impressive career spans top 20 insurance carriers, where she held senior roles such as SVP, General Counsel, Secretary, Chief Claims Officer; VP of Claims and VP of Casualty Claims. She has led large teams, sometimes over 300 strong, driving organizational transformations and implementing comprehensive claims, litigation management, compliance, regulatory, and risk reduction programs.

Ronna began her career as a young lawyer in an insurance defense firm and quickly established herself as a thought leader in the industry. She is frequently sought after as a speaker and author and is a nominated member of the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC). Passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion, Ronna is a recognized champion for these values in the workplace.

Licensed to practice law in Ohio and Georgia, Ronna is also deeply committed to civic engagement. She has served as the chairwoman of the board of the Georgia Symphony Orchestra and was a founding director of another arts organization, highlighting her dedication to the community beyond her professional achievements.
 

Dustin S. Sachs is an Associate Director in the Global Legal Technology Solutions Information Security practice. He oversees and manages all collections and digital forensics matters for the Discovery Consulting team, and works with the Information Security team on proactive and reactive cybersecurity matters. He assists with all phases of the forensic and information security process from planning and collection to analysis and reporting so that attorneys, auditors, and investigators can make informed decisions. He provides objective assessments of digital evidence in matters related to legal or ethical issues, data breach incidents, theft of valuable information, and other corporate investigations.
 
For more than ten years, Dustin has analyzed thousands of computer laptops, desktops, servers, and mobile devices in the support of civil and criminal litigation and internal investigative matters. He has received extensive training in digital forensics, evidence handling, and computer investigations.
 
Dustin holds several industry recognized digital forensics and cyber security certifications, and is a recognized thought leader. He also is a Licensed Private Investigator in the states of Texas, Michigan, and Florida. 

Heather Schwartz Sanderson holds the distinction as one of the foremost nationally recognized legal experts on Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) Compliance. An awarded blogger and sought-after national speaker, Heather is known for her cutting-edge legal expertise, practical analysis of complex topics, expert technical guidance, and passionate industry advocacy.In January of 2021, Heather founded Sanderson Firm PLLC, a law firm committed to providing expert MSP compliance solutions and first-in-class service commensurate with the skills, principles, and values that Heather has spent her career cultivating.
 
Prior to launching Sanderson Firm PLLC, Heather served as Chief Legal Officer for Franco Signor for 6 years, a leading national MSP services provider, until its ultimate acquisition by ISO CP in 2020. Prior to her tenure as CLO at Franco Signor, Heather previously served as both Corporate Counsel for Optum as well as Staff Counsel for ExamWorks Compliance Solutions. Heather’s vast array of legal experience and advocacy in MSP compliance includes serving as an MSP expert both in Federal class action litigation as well as in litigated matters at the state level and participating as an active proponent in Washington D.C. for MSP legislative reform since 2011. Heather is proud of the industry’s accomplishment of the passage of both SMART Act (2013) and PAID Act (2020).
 
Heather was recently appointed as a Committee Member of the MSP Task Force which sits within The Center for Law and Public Policy for DRI (the Voice of the national defense bar association) and additionally serves as an Ambassador for the Women to Watch Foundation, a 501(c)(3) entity serving humanitarian initiatives for women.
 
A recipient of a 2018 Business Insurance Break Out Award, Heather’s articles have been featured in well-known industry publications such Risk & Insurance, Workerscompensation.com, Defense Research Institute (DRI), and Claims and Litigation Management (CLM) Alliance Magazine.
 
 

Stefani Schwartz has devoted her legal career to representing employers in all aspects of employment law, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wrongful termination matters. Her track record of success speaks for itself.
 
From start-ups to Global franchises, Stefani dedicates herself to counseling clients and ensuring that proper and effective employment policies are in place. In-house counsel, human resource professionals and risk managers alike look to her for assistance in hiring, firing, and disciplining employees. Employers rely on her knowledge and experience providing compliance counseling with issues relating to discrimination, harassment, leaves of absence, wage and hour laws, and restrictive covenants.
 
If the client is involved in litigation they can rest assured that Stefani possesses the experience and gets the results one expects from a leading attorney. She has represented hundreds of clients in state and federal court proceedings, arbitration proceedings, and before administrative agencies.  Stefani has several reported cases and has been successful with jury and non-jury trials. Most recently Stefani was appointed to the NJ Supreme Court Committee on Model Civil Jury Charges.  As the Chair of the Firm’s Labor and Employment section, she prides herself not only on her personal victories, but on the success of her team.
 

Caryn Siebert is VP - National Director of Carrier Engagement at Gallagher Bassett (GB). GB is the premier provider of global claims/risk services, dedicated to superior outcomes and exceptional service. In her role, Caryn formulates strategic initiatives and builds lasting/productive claims/risk management partnerships in the carrier marketplace. She collaborates with industry leaders as they seek out creative/efficient alternatives to optimize their claims outcomes in ongoing and discontinued LOBs creating a better experience by partnering with GB. Delivering results through relentless execution, she focuses on quality products, excellence in customer service and pro-active risk management. She’s been the public voice of claims and related issues for GB, while leading internally through example and influence, mentoring, and open communication, honesty, and passion. She is a sought-after speaker and expert bringing creative solutions to audiences, projects and challenges.

Caryn was most recently awarded the 2024 CLM Lifetime Achievement Award. Other accolades include 2017 CLM Litigation Management Professional of the Year, 2017 WCC Ollie Award Winner, 2019 NRRDA President’s Award recipient, 2020 RISE Mentor of the Year, 2023 CalState Fullerton Industry Leadership Award, and 2023 WorkComp Central CompLaude for Philanthropy. 

Ms. Siebert led the claims operations of Knight including oversight of TPAs and internal claim teams. Prior to that, under her guidance as CEO, Carl Warren & Company made the 2014 Inc5000 list of fastest growing private companies and was awarded the National ESOP Company of the Year for 2013. Prior to Carl Warren, Ms. Siebert was Chief Claims Officer of Safeco in Washington and part of a leadership team that overhauled the claims operation. Prior roles include Director of Commercial Claims for GE-ERC; SVP of Claims/Customer Operations/General Counsel for GE-Coregis in Illinois; Assistant GC for Crum & Foster in NJ and Associate at LeBoeuf, Lamb in NY.

Andrew L. Smith is a Partner in the Cincinnati office of Rolfes Henry Co., LPA, who concentrates his practice in the areas of construction law, insurance defense, and bad faith litigation defense. He has extensive experience in state and federal courts in Ohio, Kentucky, and across the country. He enjoys representing plaintiff and defendant insurers, corporations, condominium associations, builders, contractors, and homeowners of all shapes and sizes.
 
Andrew is a frequent author and speaker on legal issues throughout the country. He is the creator of the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Ohio construction law blog, Between the Law and a Hard Hat. 
 
Andrew is an active member and participant of the Construction and Insurance Law Committees for the Ohio Association of Civil Trial Attorneys (OACTA), Defense Research Institute (DRI), and Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM). He is the CLM Southwest Ohio Chapter Education Director, a member of the CLM Construction Claims Magazine Board and involved with the Education Committee and Safety Committee for Allied Construction Industries (ACI) here in Cincinnati, Ohio. 
 
In his free time, Andrew is a huge college football and basketball fan. He turned this passion into co-hosting BearcatsSportsRadio.com and promoting the University of Cincinnati athletics program.
 

Mike is the founder and President of Axis Insurance Services, LLC and PL Risk Advisors, Inc. both nationally recognized Professional and Management Liability insurance brokerages.

Mike has become a valuable market resource and has been frequently requested to be a speaker, panelist and writer on professional and management liability risk and insurance. Having over 25 years of experience in the industry, he brings a wealth of knowledge and a unique ability to create innovative coverage solutions.

In 1999, Mike founded Axis Insurance Services, LLC to provide customized Professional Liability solutions for business and in 2012, and he formed PL Risk Advisors, Inc. to create a presence in the wholesale E&O market. Today, both companies are enjoying success across the areas of errors and omissions liability, directors and officers liability, commercial crime, EPLI, privacy and network security.

Formerly a CPA audit manager at Coopers & Lybrand (now PWC), Mike managed audit and consulting services for insurance and healthcare clients, including some of the nation’s most well-known Fortune 500 companies. He specialized in mergers and acquisitions and insurance company liquidations. Dealing with hundreds of insurance companies, agencies, reinsurers and alternative risk companies provided him with valuable insight into the needs of his clients.

At Medical Inter-Insurance Exchange (MIIX), a medical malpractice carrier, Mike was responsible for assisting the company in mergers and acquisitions and development of numerous insurance programs. Later, as the Chief Financial and Operations Officer of a related company, he built a physician-owned insurance carrier from the ground up, including all hiring, systems development, licensing and marketing.

Mike lives in Wayne, NJ with his wife Kathy and his son Drew. Mike volunteers, was a Lay Leader in his local church and part of a community Emergency Response Team. He also enjoys scuba diving, fishing and attending sporting events.


 

Wendy S. Smith is the Chair of the Northeast Workers’ Compensation Department.  Wendy is responsible for defending insurance carriers, self-insured entities and third-party administrators in workers’ compensation, general liability and subrogation matters in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.  Wendy’s mission is outstanding client-service and strives for the highest standards in legal work.  She provides legal counseling and representation to local and national businesses, servicing the following industries: financial institutions and insurance companies in the construction, health care, retail, food and beverage, hospitality, staffing agencies, manufacturing and transportation.  In 2016, Wendy prevailed in a four-day trial involving a slip and fall at an apartment complex.

Wendy is experienced in all levels of workers’ compensation matters, from higher volume, routine injuries to complex cases involving unique medical, legal or factual circumstances.

Manager – Legal Resource Control Unit, The Cincinnati Insurance Companies
 
Brad Spicer has over 23 years of P&C insurance experience, ranging from claim handling, to litigation supervision, to a management roles in The Cincinnati Insurance Companies’ Complex Claims group.  Brad currently oversees CIC’s Medicare claim handling compliance and serves as Manager of CIC’s Legal Resource Control Unit, where he also oversees CIC’s legal e-billing technology, legal spend analytics and is responsible for maintenance of CIC’s approved panel legal counsel, litigation guidelines, and billing guidelines.  Brad holds an M.B.A. degree, as well as AIC, AIS, and INS designations.

 
 

Kevin Tarango has been in the insurance industry since 2011. He started his insurance career at Federated Insurance after completion of an 11 month insurance academy. Kevin was brought on to Heffernan Insurance to lead their Cannabis Division which currently helps cannabis operations throughout California and Las Vegas. The Cannabis team’s long term commitment to community and strong relationships with insurance company partners has made them a perfect choice for dispensaries, growers, manufacturers, and distributors.

Kevin attended Boise State University on a golf scholarship. He enjoys working out. His favorite time of year is March Madness.

Katherine C. Tower has been in the Insurance industry for 11 years. Katherine has managed litigation of professional liability and commercial litigation claims, including actions involving Directors & Officers, Employment Practices, Real Estate, Lawyers, Medical Malpractice and Accountants. Prior to transitioning to the Insurance industry, she served as a litigation attorney for various insurance defense firms. Katherine earned her B.A. from Northwestern University, her J.D. from Valparaiso University School of Law, her MBA from National Louis University Graduate School of Business.

Mark Walls is currently the Vice President Communications & Strategic Analysis with Safety National, a leading provider of alternative risk funding products including excess workers’ compensation, deductible casualty, loss portfolio transfers and reinsurance. His focus is on industry education and monitoring workers’ compensation issues nationwide. The majority of Mark’s 27 year career was on the claim side, giving him perspective into the day-to-day challenges faced by employers, carriers, and TPAs. Mark is also the founder of the Work Comp Analysis Group on LinkedIn, which with over 29,000 members is the largest online discussion community dedicated exclusively to workers’ compensation issues. In addition, Mark is co-host of the Out Front Ideas educational series, a frequent speaker at industry conferences, writes columns for a variety of sources, and is quoted regularly in multiple media outlets.

Prior to returning to private practice in 2002, I served as Vice President of Litigation Management for Fireman's Fund Insurance Company. In this position,  I was responsible for a Staff Counsel Program composed of over 400 attorneys and support staff located in 41 cities in the United States. I also advised claims management on the selection and retention of outside counsel.
I am currently the Managing Member of a Firm specializing in Personal Injury Defense, Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith Litigation. The Firm also has expertise in Employment Law. We focus on litigation avoidance, providing immediate advice and counsel to employers. If needed, however, we have significant trial experience in all areas of Employment Law.
In addition to insurance carriers, the Firm client base is composed of automobile and truck dealers, non-profit corporations, senior living facilities and hospice.
The Firm services all Georgia Counties and is admitted in all three Federal District Courts in the State.

After a 2 year sabbatical in the UK, Claire has returned to Claims as a Claims Attorney with Carolina Casualty/a W.R. Berkley Company.

Claire has practiced law and worked in claims and claims management in California, Florida, Kansas and Missouri.  Claire was formerly the Director Claims Litigation for GeoVera Advantage Insurance Services, Inc.  

In her role as the Director of Claims Litigation, Claire mamaged the litigation team, developing and implementing the company's litigation strategies, provides in-house training both pre-suit and during  litigation, was responsible for keeping abreast of new legislation and case law affecting GeoVera's business and participated in the drafting of policy forms. 

Claire graduated from the University of San Diego where she received a B.A. and JD and she is licensed to practice law in California, Missouri and Kansas.

Jennifer L. Wojciechowski is VP of Operations at Community Association Underwriters of America, Inc., a division of Alliant Underwriting Solutions. In that capacity, she works with all departments to drive CAU's goals and initiatives.  Previously, Ms. Wojciechowski served as Casualty Claim Manager.  In that role, she was responsible for management of a team of general liability & directors and officers liability adjusters.  She supervised and conducted insurance coverage analyses, initiated and drove claim resolution strategy and managed litigation.  Jennifer has experience negotiating and drafting Alternate Fee Arrangements. Prior to joining CAU, Jennifer practiced law with at a prominent Philadelphia law firm where she was a member of the Business Insurance and Bad Faith Litigation Practice Group. She represented numerous insurers in coverage disputes concerning primary and excess policy obligations for various types of insurance claims. Ms. Wojciechowski represented clients in litigation such as insurance coverage declaratory judgment actions and bad faith actions as well as other business and commercial disputes, including contractual indemnity and breach of contract claims. Jennifer's experience includes EPLI, school board legal liability coverage, police liability coverage, municipality E&O coverage, accountants E&O, Lawyers malpractice and other miscellaneous exposures.Jennifer is a frequent lecturer on community association and insurance issues.  She is a member of the Community Associations Institute and frequent presents at the CAI Law Seminar.  Since the inception of Claim College, she has returned to each year both as an Executive Council member and faculty.  She was appointed to the Executive Council for the School of Casualty Claims in 2014.  In 2013, she attended the Litigation Management Institute and attained the CLMP designation. At the 2014 Annual Conference, she was recognized as one of four finalists for the Litigation Management Professional of the Year award. Jennifer is a member of the Pennsylvania and New Jersey bars.

Linda Youngerman joined Lockton in 2015 as a VP Senior Claims Consultant in the Northeast Risk Practice. Possessing over 20 years of claims advocacy experience across multiple lines of coverage, Linda is able to provide her clients with superior claims service delivery.

Prior to joining Lockton, Linda served in various roles within the insurance industry. Most recently, while at a regional broker, she collaborated with her clients to reduce their total cost of risk by engaging in strategic discussions and implementing tactical plans to meet their goals and expectations. In addition, Linda was also focused on advocating on behalf of her clients in managing losses to obtain favorable outcomes.

With more than 25 years of experience, Maria Elena Abate has built a reputation as an expert in complex commercial and insurance litigation. She is regularly called upon to lecture, serve on industry panels, and advise insurance companies, adjusters, agents and their employees on ways to eradicate fraud, prevent bad faith, and diversity their workforce, through education and communication. In her diverse practice, Ms. Abate handles a wide variety of insurance related matters, which include, class action defense, coverage determinations, bad faith avoidance, fraud avoidance, adjuster, agent and broker E&O claims. From licensing and liability matters, coverage disputes, errors and omissions, insurance solvency concerns, investigations and disciplinary proceedings, to new challenges like cyber-risk and social media she has successfully assisted insurers, adjusters, agents and brokers navigate their duties and obligations under the law.

Tara Acton has been the Director - Claims and Counsel for Lumen Technologies and its predecessors since October 2008. In this role, she is responsible for the casualty claim program, including management of Lumen's third party administrator. She is also involved in the oversight of outside counsel handling liability claims. Prior to joining Lumen's risk management department, she spent a year in the law department focusing on litigated liability claims. Before moving in-house, she was in private practice at Berenbaum, Weinshienk & Eason, P.C. and Cooley Godward LLP in Denver. Tara earned her B.A. degree from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor and J.D. degree with honors from the Emory University School of Law. She is admitted to the Colorado state bar.  She holds the following professional designations: Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter from the Institutes (CPCU), Associate in Captive Insurance from the International Center for Captive Insurance Education (ACI), and the Associate in Claims from the Institutes (AIC).  In May 2019, Tara was named a Break Out Award Winner - West Region by Business Insurance Magazine, which recognizes the next generation of leaders in the insurance sector for their leadership, expertise and professional skills.

Christopher L. Aikens, Sr., is a respected claims executive and industry educator with over 20 years of experience leading complex liability, professional lines, cyber, and multi-line claims operations. He currently serves as Liability Claims Director for General Liability & Professional Liability at Reserv, where he oversees a team of GL and Cyber claims professionals and drives strategy for investigations, reserving accuracy, fraud mitigation, litigation management, and operational excellence. He partners closely with clients, brokers, policyholders, and internal stakeholders to strengthen claim outcomes and enhance best-practice standards across the organization.

Before joining Reserv, Christopher served as Assistant Vice President of Claims within the Carrier Practice at Gallagher Bassett Services, Inc., leading branch operations, implementing technical standards, and collaborating across business units to improve processes and elevate client service. He previously served as Senior Claims Manager for Moss & Associates, where he managed the company’s full property and liability claims portfolio, guided investigations, clarified complex coverage issues, and supported enterprise-wide risk and claims strategies.

Earlier in his career, Christopher held progressively senior roles at Gallagher Bassett, AmTrust Financial Services, and CNA Insurance. His technical background includes New York Labor Law, complex general liability, medical malpractice, commercial auto, and other high-severity matters, including unsupported excess litigation. His foundational leadership experience in telecommunications and customer service further shaped his strengths in communication, coaching, and performance management.

Christopher is also a frequent national speaker and multi-year CLM Conference Panelist, presenting on topics such as catastrophic injury defense, the Reptile Theory, expert methodology challenges, and optimizing panel counsel performance. His sessions are known for blending real-world case insight with practical and strategic guidance.

He holds a Florida All-Lines Adjuster License and completed studies in Legal Studies at Keiser University and Voice & Musical Performance at Syracuse University. 
 

Melissa draws upon more than 30 years of legal experience to resolve a variety of civil litigation matters including construction defects, all types of personal injury, landlord-tenant, and habitability matters. A part-time private mediator, arbitrator, and special master since 2010, she made the decision in 2016 to follow her passion and transitioned to full-time neutral work. She volunteered as an arbitrator, mediator, and settlement judge for local courts before embarking on her private mediation practice and has served as a judge pro tem and settlement officer for the Sacramento County Superior Court for over two decades.

As an Arbitrator and a Referee, she has earned a reputation for being neutral, flexible, and thoroughly prepared. She prides herself in managing efficient hearings and allows everyone to feel heard and respected.

As a Mediator, Melissa’s friendly demeanor, combined with her direct and persistent approach, provides a sound foundation for the candid dialogue required to achieve resolution. She has the insight and experience to efficiently identify issues and discern on a case-by-case basis how to get parties engaged in bringing about resolution. Her goal is “to bring to the negotiation table a distinct set of problem-solving skills that will assist the parties in resolving their disputes on their terms so that they can get back to what they care about most in their lives – their families, their businesses, their passions.”

Bruce Astrachan is Senior Counsel, Claims, for Retail Business Services, the services company of Ahold Delhaize USA. Serving a portfolio of local grocery brands including Stop & Shop, Food Lion, GIANT/MARTIN’S, Hannaford, Giant Food and Peapod, which collectively span 23 U.S. states, operate more than 2,000 stores and have some of the most extensive supply chain operations on the East Coast, Retail Business Services leverages scale to drive synergies and provides innovative solutions, as well as industry-leading expertise, insights and analytics to local brands to support their strategies. Astrachan provides legal advice and guidance to the claims department of Retail Business Services and works with claims leadership to establish a focused legal strategy. He is also responsible for monitoring changes in the law affecting claims in states where Ahold Delhaize USA’s local brands operate, and training claims staff on legal issues that affect the handling of claims.
 
Prior to joining Retail Business Services, Astrachan was Manager, General Liability, for Ahold USA, a position he held since 2010. Before joining Ahold USA, Astrachan spent 11 years at MAC Risk Management, where he held several positions including Senior Claims Analyst and Senior Claims Examiner. He began his career as an attorney, practicing in both the public and private sectors in Rhode Island.
An advocate for community and associate engagement, Astrachan is a leader within the legal department’s engagement committee, organizing educational, career development and social opportunities. He also volunteers with Retail Business Services Cares, the company’s community engagement platform, dedicated to providing hunger relief and strengthening communities. Astrachan holds a B.A. in political science from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, and a J.D. from Western New England College School of Law in Springfield, Mass. He and his family reside in Enola, Penn.

Adam Beltz is Director of Select Risk Claims for Markel Services, Inc. His team is responsible for a wide variety of 1st and 3rd party transportation, marine, general liability and other specialized claims. Prior, he was a Regional Lead Examiner in the Claim Litigation Unit for the National Indemnity and Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Groups of companies. Before joining National Indemnity Company, Mr. Beltz was an Executive Team Leader of Assets Protection for Target Corporation and a Police officer/investigator for the Lincoln, Nebraska Police Department. Mr. Beltz received his undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and his MBA from Creighton University. Mr. Beltz holds the Senior Claims Law Associate designation

Peter Biging is a partner at Goldberg Segalla LLP, where he heads up the firm’s Management and Professional Liability defense practice in the New York metropolitan area, and serves as Co-Chair for the firm's nationwide M&PL Practice.  He is an experienced trial lawyer, with more than 30 years of experience in the state and federal courts of New York, and a skilled appellate lawyer, who has successfully argued appeals in New York’s First and Second Departments, the Court of Appeals, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.  His successes have led him to be AV rated by Martindale Hubbell (their highest rating), and to repeated recognition as a New York Super Lawyer (which honor was again bestowed on him in 2021).  Peter’s practice areas include defense of errors and omissions claims against a wide variety of professionals, defense of all manner of directors and officers liability claims, as well as employment practices litigation on the side of management, and commercial litigation.  He also handles insurance coverage work for both E&O and D&O.  Peter is a past Chair of the American Bar Association’s Professional Liability Insurance Committee and the Professional Liability Defense Federation’s Insurance Agent/Broker Claims Defense Committee.  He currently serves as Chair of the ABA's Media, Privacy and Advertising Law Committee, and as Secretary for  the PLDF Board of Directors.  In addition to his work as a trial and appellate lawyer, Peter is a prolific author and lecturer, whose publications have appeared regularly in the the ABA Magazine The Brief, the ABA TIPS Journal, the PLUS Journal, DRI’s For the Defense, and numerous industry trade publications.  He can be reached at pbiging@goldbergsegalla.com. 

Jennifer Brooks f/k/a Miller is an experienced litigator and trial lawyer.   She is a founding partner of Hamilton, Miller & Birthisel, L.L.P., a Martindale Hubbell® AV rated® minority certified law firm consistently ranked among the top ten most diverse law firms in South Florida by the Daily Business Review.  She is the Managing Partner of its Fort Lauderdale and U.S. Virgin Island satellite offices.Ms. Brooks is AV rated® by Martindale Hubbell®, was recognized in 2012 as Woman of the Year by the National Association of Professional Women, named as a Top Lawyer by the South Florida Legal Guide, and recognized as a “Super Lawyer” by Law and Politics.Ms. Brooks has dedicated her practice to civil litigation, defending major insurers and corporations in a wide variety of industries including retail, restaurants, product manufacturers, distributors, cities and municipalities, international businesses, doctors and other medical professionals, the world’s largest passenger cruise lines, and major marine domestic and international underwriters in claims of personal injury and wrongful death, premises liability and negligent security, insurance coverage and bad faith, labor and employment, medical and professional malpractice, admiralty and maritime, commercial litigation, hospitality, transportation, and product liability.

EDUCATIONJ.D., University of Florida College of Law, 1997B.A., University of Florida, 1994

ADMISSIONSFloridaU.S. Virgin IslandsU.S. District Court for the Southern, Middle, and Northern Districts of FloridaU.S. District Court, U.S. Virgin IslandsEleventh Circuit Court of AppealsThird Circuit Court of AppealsU.S. Supreme Court

NOTABLE VERDICTS AND TRIAL EXPERIENCE

Defense verdict where plaintiff was injured in a restaurant, had multiple neck surgeries and claimed she could no longer be gainfully employed. Plaintiff’s demand was $7 million. Defense verdict in a Jones Act trial (standard of care is slight negligence), where plaintiff claimed that his work was unreasonably dangerous which led to a three level cervical fusion and resultant medical malpractice claim.  Plaintiff’s demand was $6 million. Successfully handled numerous catastrophic cases, some involving mass torts, to satisfactory conclusion. One such case involved 40 claimants from an amphibious vehicle crash.  Injuries included severe internal injuries, surgical neck, back, and knee injuries, and other injuries. Successfully defended largest retail mall in the U.S.V.I. in wrongful death claim where tenant was shot while leaving premises. Mall was sued for negligent security in failing to have proper number of security officers on duty, inadequate lighting, insufficient video surveillance, insufficient video surveillance monitoring, and  lack of patrolling in the mall parking lot at the time of the incident. Successfully defended claims of multiple plaintiffs against U.S.V.I. bank and ADT against allegations of negligent security during a bank robbery where 11 patrons and employees brought suit.  Trial involving plaintiff who allegedly suffered brain injury on hotel property due to improper scuba instruction. Obtained favorable verdict of $300 K which was considered a defense verdict for client. Indemnification/contribution product liability trial, where plaintiff lost substantial portion of arm. Brought third-party action against product manufacturer and obtained verdict against the product manufacturer and also an award of attorney’s fees. Successfully represented major hospitality concerns and cruise lines in various wrongful death and personal injury cases throughout districts in Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands.RECOGNITION AV® Rated by Martindale Hubbell for the highest level of professional excellence Board-Certified in Admiralty and Maritime Law, by the Florida Bar Recognized as a Florida Super Lawyer by Law & Politics Woman of the Year, 2012, National Association of Professional Women Top Attorneys in Florida, Transportation and Maritime, American Registry Top Up and Comer, 2013, South Florida Legal Guide Top Lawyer, 2014, South Florida Legal Guide

MEMBERSHIPS

Namwolf - National Association of Minority & Woman Owned Law Firms Women's International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA) Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute, Member Maritime Law Association of the United States, Member International Council of Cruise Lines, Executive Member Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM)  Advisory Board, Seafarer’s House Executive Board, Broward Legal Aid

LaGreta Burch began her career over 19 years ago in the insurance industry. She has handled personal and commercial auto/property/bodily injury, commercial liability, and commercial construction defect claims as a field adjuster. LaGreta currently works as a Litigation Specialist and celebrating her 10 years of service with Westfield Insurance. She also has Claims Management experience for Safe Auto Insurance and previous experience as a Commercial Representative for Nationwide Insurance.

LaGreta regularly advises and works with defense counsel in multiple venues to resolve litigation cases.   Her primary duties include but limited to setting an early, strategic game plan for each case, and creating opportunities for potential of resolution considerations. Additionally, LaGreta is a key player in working with Special Unit Investigation department/counselor to help prevent fraudulent cases.

In 2014 & 2015, she received OARS (Official Active Resolution Strategy) awards from Westfield Legal Department for her efforts in resolving two different cases in a timely, cost-effective, and creative manner. LaGreta is a member of National Society of Professional Insurance Investigators (NSPII) and Claims Litigation Member (CLM). 

Currently, LaGreta has dual careers with over 20 years’ experience in accounting/taxation. She is completing her MBA at Keller University – Columbus, Ohio (2017) with plans on achieving her Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in 2018.  
 

Mr. Carlton represents business clients in complex civil litigation. He provides consultation and representation in numerous areas of insurance coverage and defends insurers and third-party administrators with respect to coverage disputes and claims of insurance bad faith, deceptive trade practices and insurance code violations. He also defends insureds in business and personal injury litigation, including attorney professional liability, auto liability, premises liability, products liability, construction defect, catastrophic injury, and first party property claims; and maintains a commercial liability practice representing construction companies, self-insured employers and other business entities.

Patrick Carroll, AIC, ARM is a Senior Claims Consultant at Aon Global Risk Consulting and has 29 years of experience, having worked for Travelers Indemnity Co. and Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. in a variety of positions within their claim departments. Prior to joining AON 13 years ago, Mr.  Carroll held the position of Complex Director for AIG in the Excess Casualty Claim Department. Mr. Carroll’s responsibilities include the delivery of client specific casualty claims consultative support designed to improve his clients’ Total Cost of Risk, both domestically and internationally. He is a casualty coverage advocate and specializes in managing catastrophic matters and complex litigation. Mr. Carroll has a BBA in Management from Hofstra University and is the Vice President-Treasurer of the New York Claim Association.
 

ADAM G. COHEN is a partner at the Wellesley, MA law firm of Davids & Cohen, P.C. (also with offices in Providence, RI, Hartford, CT and Tampa, FL).  His practice focuses in the areas of property and casualty claims, insurance coverage issues, premises liability, products liability, dram shop, social host liability, construction law, and commercial litigation.  He is a member of the state and federal bars of both Massachusetts and New Hampshire, as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Cohen has extensive trial, appellate, and arbitration experience with an emphasis on first- and third-party insurance defense matters.  He is a cum laude graduate of Clark University and Suffolk University Law School. He has lectured extensively on insurance, evidentiary, reinsurance, and mold matters and has written numerous articles on these subjects.  He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, the Defense Research Institute, the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance, and the Boston Association of Claims Executives.  He also serves on the Advisory Board of Pitching In For Kids, a Boston-based charity.

 

 

Mr. Colburn is a shareholder of Downs Stanford and opened the Austin, Texas, office. He is board certified in Workers’ Compensation Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He is a certified lobbyist and attends Legislative meetings and hearings. Mr. Colburn is the firm’s representative at Division meetings. He has extensive experience in all phases of dispute resolution before the Division of Worker’s Compensation and in district courts across the state. The State Bar Of Texas Workers’ Compensation Section awarded Stuart “The Barb-wire Award” for lifetime service in the area of workers’ compensation. He also received the Comp Laude Award by Workcompcentral.com for his contributions as a defense attorney. Mr. Colburn was the founder and first Chair of the State Bar of Texas Workers’ Compensation Section. He is a co-author of the Texas Workers’ Compensation Handbook published by LexisNexis. Mr. Colburn served as a Contributing Editor for the Texas Insurance Code Annotated and contributor for The Complete Guide to Medicare Secondary Payer Compliance. He serves on the Executive Committee of the LexisNexis Advisory Board for Larson’s on Workers’ Compensation. He served as founder and first chair of the executive committee for the workers’ compensation subgroup for the Primerus Defense Institute. He is extremely active in the education of attorneys, adjusters and employers for workers’ compensation and bad faith allegation, and is certified by the Texas Department of Insurance as a continuing education provider. The TexasBarCLE Staff awarded Mr. Colburn the Standing Ovation Award recognizing his efforts, commitment and leadership. A sought-after speaker, Mr. Colburn has delivered over five hundred speeches regarding Workers’ Compensation across the country. He also served as the Course Director for numerous programs including the Texas State Bar’s Advanced Workers’ Compensation Seminar and Texas Workers’ Compensation Forum.

Sally is Technical Director for Professional Liability Claims, currently focusing on Insurance Agents’ E & O (including Life Agents and Brokers), Securities Dealers and Registered Reps Professional Liability, Employment Practices, D & O and miscellaneous E &O. In that capacity, she is engaged in oversight of high exposure, unusually complex or “trend” claims, training and developing claims personnel, and working closely with business partners on product and coverage form development. Sally has been with Fireman’s Fund for over 25 years, with the majority of the time spent in the claims arena—both in the field and at the home office, where she currently works. 

Nationwide is number 85 on the Fortune 500 list of companies and a two-time recipient of the J.D. Power 100 Best Places to Work. Carolyn Crawford is Commercial Claims Director leading the national Construction Defect segment of the Complex Claims organization for Nationwide. Carolyn has over 30 years in the Insurance Industry with a wide range of disciplines and specialty handling to include General Liability, Workers Compensation, Commercial and Non Standard Auto and National Accounts. During her 30 plus years in the industry, Carolyn has held both technical and leadership positions with major carriers such as Fireman’s Fund, CNA, AIG, One Beacon, Travelers and now Nationwide. 
Carolyn currently serves as a member on the CLM Construction Defect Advisory Board.     
 

Mitchell Dane-Henry is the current Senior Manager Insurance Programs at Sprouts Farmers Market. In this role, he is responsible for procuring and managing the insurance program at Sprouts while interfacing with various departments within the organization to help assess and manage its internal and external risks. In addition, he oversees the internal and external claims roles at Sprouts. Prior to joining Sprouts, Mr. Dane-Henry began his career in 2007 with a non-standard insurer based in Illinois, Founders Insurance Company, handling personal and commercial automobile losses before moving to Travelers to join their inland marine division and most recently held the role of Claims Manager at Retail Properties of America, Inc. where he was primarily responsible for handling the organization’s property and casualty claims nationwide. Mr. Dane-Henry received his Bachelors of Arts from DePaul University located in Chicago, Illinois. He currently holds a Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation as well as an Associates in Claims (AIC) designation. In addition, he holds two CLM sponsored designations which are the Certified Litigation Management Professional (CLMP) and the Certified Claims Professional (CCP). Mr. Dane-Henry is currently serving on the Young Professionals Advisory Board as well as is a Regional Chair for the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance.

 Margie spent the first 17 years of her legal career as an insurance defense litigation attorney representing design and construction professionals in Illinois State, Federal and Appellate Courts. Margie now handles design professional claims for Architects & Engineers, Construction Managers, Contractors, and Real Estate Developers in her role as Sr. Claims Counsel for Hiscox USA.

Brian J. Donnelly is a partner in the firm’s General, Tort and Insurance Litigation department. Over his 30 years of practice, Brian has tried numerous high exposure cases in both state and federal court. Several of these cases have drawn attention from the media including the first case to go to trial of a firefighter involved in the post 9/11 recovery efforts at the World Trade Center site and the alleged rape of a minor at a prominent university.

Brian also coordinates the response of self insured retail and transportation clients to catastrophic incidents.  He is the supervising partner for cases involving some of the largest self-insured retail and transportation companies in the United States.

Prior to joining Cullen and Dykman, Brian served as a partner with ADM in its New York City office and was an Assistant District Attorney in the Nassau County District Attorney's Office.  During his three years as an ADA he tried twenty five jury trials to verdict, many involving serious felony offenses. 

Brian is a frequent lecturer to various clients, bar associations and defense associations.  He also serves on the Independent Judicial Screening Panel for the New York County Democratic Party. In this capacity Mr. Donnelly worked with fellow panel members to conduct a screening process whereby candidates for judicial office in the Civil Court, New York County were evaluated solely on individual merit without political influence or political interference being a factor.

Steve Dzury is the Senior Vice President, Claims for Premia Solutions, Inc.  Prior to joining Premia, Steve was the Senior Vice President, Casualty Claims for IAT Insurance Group.  Prior to IAT, Steve built and led the claims organization as the Senior Vice President of Claims for Berkley Public Entity Managers, a WR Berkley company.  Previously, Steve has acted as the Vice President of Claims for ACE USA, managing diverse claims teams and varied claims groups throughout the United States and Canada.  Before ACE, Steve reorganized a small excess claims group for Investors Underwriting Managers, a Markel Company, and worked as a Complex Director for AIG Excess Claims in New York.  Steve began his career as an Assistant Account Manager with The Travelers Special Liability Group, in Baltimore Maryland.  Steve graduated Cum Laude with a BA in Political Science from Temple University, and an MS in Business Management from the Johns Hopkins University Carey School of Business.

Victoria Ersoff is a litigation attorney with over 20 years’ experience in all facets of complex litigation. Her innovative case handling has yielded an unbroken string of defense verdicts for clients involving complex issues of law. Victoria is nationally known for her expertise in defending commercial and business litigation, mold and water damage, mass tort, and real estate and land-use litigation. Victoria’s practice also includes the defense and prosecution of claims involving construction-related issues, employment defense, entertainment and new media, toxic tort and occupational exposure and environmental matters. Her clients include Fortune 500 companies, hospitals, boutique hotels and global hospitality companies, Academy Award nominees, studios, real estate developers / general contractors, and big-box stores. Victoria serves as a Temporary Judge on the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Jim Everett leads the Insurance Claims Division at the ECM Insurance Group which consists of Everett Cash Mutual and 1ST Choice Auto Insurance Company.  Jim began his insurance career in 1985 as a field claim adjuster and during his career held various domestic and international P&C claims positions including, Claims Adjuster, Subrogation Manager, District Claim Manager, Claim Auditor, Major Case Claim Consultant, Claim Director and VP of Claims. A graduate of the College of New Jersey, Mr. Everett has earned his AIC, CPCU and CRIS designations.    

Lance J. Ewing has extensive executive experience in the field of risk management and insurance including his current role EVP of Risk Management at Cotton Holdings, Inc.. Previously he was Industry Practice Group Leader for AIG. Prior to this position; he served in senior risk management capacities for Harrah’s Entertainment, Caesars Entertainment, GES Exposition Services/VIAD and for the City of Philadelphia School District. Mr. Ewing additionally worked for various insurance companies including Lumbermen's Underwriting Alliance, Pennsylvania Hospital Insurance Company (PHICO) and NY Lumberman's Insurance Trust in risk management and risk control capacities.

Mr. Ewing received his Master's degree in Law & Justice from the University of Pittsburgh and completed his second Master's degree in Occupational Safety Engineering. In addition to his Associate in Risk Management (ARM) designation and his International Certified Risk Manager (CRM) designation, he is a matriculated Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) candidate and has completed his Enterprise Risk Management Professional designation (ERMP).

Lance was National President 2003-2004 for the Risk & Insurance Management Society (RIMS) and was also the Chief Risk Officer (CRO).  He teaches risk management as a faculty member for the National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research.  In 2004, the Lance J. Ewing Educational Scholarship was established for the Certified Risk Management designation.  He serves on the University of Mississippi RMI Advisory Board.

Mr. Ewing was honored as the Real Estate Insurance Leader 2014-2015 for Globe Street and was the 2008 Risk Innovator of the Year.  In 2007, Lance was named Risk Manager of the Year.  He is a frequent speaker on enterprise risk management, claims, disaster recovery and risk financing.  He has spoken internationally to promote insurance and risk management in Asia, North America, South America Europe and Australia.   Mr. Ewing continues to be a strong and outspoken supporter of the insurance and risk management industry.

With a career dedicated to representing the interests of the insurance industry, Eric Fitzgerald has extensive experience in a variety of insurance coverage and professional liability matters for insurance companies in state and federal courts throughout Pennsylvania and New York. His practice includes professional, casualty, property and special lines including errors and omissions; cyber; directors and officers; employment; law enforcement liability; commercial property; boiler and machinery; inland marine; builder’s risk; owner-controlled insurance programs (OCIPs); commercial auto and workers’ compensation. Eric also has experience serving as both a mediator and arbitrator in insurance coverage disputes.

Eric is one of a select number of attorneys in private practice who has received his designation as a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and Associate in Reinsurance (ARe). He is extremely involved in the CPCU Society, having served on the Executive Committee of the Society’s National Board of Governors, the Nominating Committee and its Champions Committee and is a former CPCU instructor. In addition, he participated in drafting several textbooks in association with the American Institute for CPCU.

He is also a Certified Litigation Management Professional with the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) and an instructor in the CLM’s Claims College. Eric is a member of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS), the Property Legal Research Bureau (PLRB) and the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel (ACCEC).

Laura Foggan is chair of Crowell & Moring LLP’s Insurance/Reinsurance Group. She counsels insurers and reinsurers on strategic opportunities, litigation trends, and emerging risks such as COVID-19, autonomous vehicles and drones, ESG obligations, privacy and cyberliability, global warming (climate change), internet-of-things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and utilization of blockchain or distributed-ledger technology. Serving as national coordinating counsel and lead litigation counsel in a wide range of complex insurance matters, she represents insurers in significant first and third-party coverage matters.  She has participated in more than 300 appellate cases including key national precedents on insurance issues. A Chambers-ranked Band 1 practitioner who is included in the Best Lawyers in America directory for insurance law, Laura has been described by LawDragon 500 Magazine as "one of the most successful advocates for the insurance industry to ever practice.

Vincent Gerbino is a founding partner at Bruno Gerbino Soriano & Aitken LLP. His extensive litigation skills and a teamwork approach were recognized when he received a prestigious 2020 award from International Advisory Experts for his excellence in premises liability law. In 2022 he spearheaded the effort to get his firm selected as one of only 10 members nationwide of the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud.

His strong trial skills were put to the test in 2009 when he served as lead counsel in a $28 million insurance fraud case against a doctor who was wrongly paid monies under the “New York No-Fault Law.” The case, which was decided by a jury in favor of the insurance carriers, remains the only jury verdict on the issue of fraudulent incorporation. In 2019 the NY Court of Appeals unanimously reaffirmed the decision.

Gerbino is frequently asked to offer his insight into relevant issues affecting the insurance industry, particularly pain management. He spoke at the CLM Focus event in 2020 in a virtual presentation called "How to Manage the Wealth in Pain Management.” Also that year, he blended his passions for law and education to teach for The School of Casualty Claims for the CLM Alliance Claims College.

Gerbino has served on panel discussions, presented at conferences and published articles including his most recent “Telehealth: A new fraud frontier or a welcome expansion of Technology” for the March issue of CLM Magazine as well as others involving pain management.

Outside of the legal field, he is a board executive for an independent private school. Each year he is asked to deliver the commencement speech because of his dedication to the school. He is also a member of Vistage, the world's leading advisory and executive coaching organization.
 

Cathy Gicker has 45 years with Allstate with the last 30 years in the SIU as a field investigator, manager and now the Litigation Specialist investigating all suit cases in Pennsylvania. This involves investigating and directing house and retained counsel on case strategy, medical defense, preparing the insured for trial and referring fraudulent claims to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) and local Law Enforcement agencies. Cathy is also an Allstate Ambassador promoting the company to the public through speaking engagements and community involvement.

Cathy was the Vice-President and then President of the Delaware Valley Chapter of the International Association of Special Investigation Units (IASIU) from 1994-2000. She was elected to the International Board of IASIU for 2000-2002 and then served as the Vice-President of IASIU from 2003-2009, chairing the Chapter and Seminar Committees.. She was the President of the Philadelphia Loss Conference (PLC) for 2011-2013. Cathy’s professional designations are Fraud Claim Law Specialist (FCLS) and Certified Insurance Fraud Investigator(CIFI)

Greg Gilliam is Claims Manager with Schools of Ohio Risk Sharing Authority (SORSA), located in Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Gilliam oversees and handles the full line of property-casualty claims on behalf of one of the largest school districts risk pool in Ohio. Prior to joining SORSA, Mr. Gilliam was the Claims Supervisor for the County Risk Sharing Authority (CORSA). In this position, Mr. Gilliam supervised a staff of claims professionals handling the full line of property-casualty claims for the largest public entity risk pool in Ohio.

He began with Alternative Service Concepts (ASC) as first a Claims Adjuster, and then Claims Manager for this third-party administrator responsible for handling CORSA's claims, This TPA handled not only the public entity claims of CORSA, but also private sector accounts with construction, transportation, and food service industries.

His claims experience includes general liability and public officials error and omissions coverage, police liability insurance coverage, commercial lines insurance coverage, school districts liability, property and inland marine insurance coverage, in addition to the related claims and litigation for all. He is involved in complex litigation associated with the public sector, and skilled in mediation and alternative dispute resolutions.

Mr. Gilliam assisted CORSA as a frequent presenter for their statewide member information and risk management seminars. He was also a part of CORSA's participation in the Association of Governmental Risk Insurance Pools (AGRIP).

Mr. Gilliam is a Fellow in the CLM, and holds the Senior Claims Law Associate designation, as well as the CLM's Certified Claims Mediation Professional designation.

Tom Glassman is a Shareholder in the Cincinnati office of Bonezzi Switzer Polito & Perry and practices in Ohio and Kentucky. Tom is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell and was recognized as a Super Lawyer in Ohio and Kentucky from 2017 through the present..

Tom represents a wide variety of clients, including property and casualty insurers, along with restaurants, retailers, governmental entities, and religious and non-profit organizations.  Tom handles both liability defense and coverage matters.

Tom has handled over 40 jury trials and 50 appeals. He has successfully represented clients before the Ohio and Kentucky Supreme Courts.  In addition to representing clients in appellate matters, Tom has served as amicus counsel in a number of cases in Ohio and Kentucky.

Tom is a graduate of the Salmon P. Chase College of Law, and has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Cincinnati. He is in the Fulbright Scholar program and has taught at law schools in Ukraine, Moldova, and Latvia. The Ohio Association of Civil Trial Attorneys honored him with their Distinguished Contributions to the Community Award.

 

Kate is a Managing Director and Senior Coverage Specialist for Marsh Inc. FINPRO, specializing in complex coverage and claims issues concerning cyber, directors and officers liability, professional liability, employment practices liability, and fiduciary liability insurance. Prior to joining Marsh, Kate practiced law, focusing on coverage counseling and litigation with respect to management liability lines. Kate has participated as a speaker, panelist, and/or organizer for a variety of industry and client events concerning coverage and claims matters. She received a J.D. degree from Albany Law School of Union University where, she served as a Note & Comment Editor for the Albany Law Review. She earned her B.A. from the State University of New York at Oneonta. Kate is a member of the Bar in the States of New York and Connecticut. She is a former Chair of the Committee on Insurance Law of the New York City Bar Association and also previously held the positions of Secretary and Chair of the Subcommittee on Legislation for that Committee. 

Jerry is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer.  He is nationally recognized as a Top Ten Defense Lawyers in the US by one of the largest insurance companies in the world. He is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, an invitation-only trial honorary society composed of less than one-half percent of lawyers in the US. Jerry is also Board Certified in Maritime Law, has been recognized as a “Super Lawyer” by Law & Politics since 2006 and is named as one of Florida’s “Legal Elite” by Florida Trend. He has been selected as one of America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators® for 2018—by invitation only and is reserved to identify the nation’s most exceptional trial attorneys in high value, high stakes matters. In 2016, he was selected by the Dade County Bar Association as one of Miami’s top 10 trial lawyers to present in its annual Super Lawyers CLE Mock Trial and also received the Anthony G. Marshall Award as Hospitality Lawyer of the Year.  In 2017, he was a finalist for the Council on Litigation Management’s (CLM) Professional Outside Counsel of the Year Award and also nominated by his peers in the Dade County Bar Association as a Legal Luminary. He was also selected as Lawyer of the Year for 2022 by Best Lawyers. Jerry was re-elected in 2023 as a Top 100 Black Lawyer in the state of Florida. This honor is awarded by The National Black Lawyers association and given in each state or region to only 100 recipients with reputations for providing excellent legal representation in their respective practice areas. 

Victoria Hampson is a Senior Claims ResolManager for The Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement retailer.  As a Senior Claims Manager, Tori manages the Alternative Dispute Resolution program for The Home Depot, working toward early resolution of claims through the mediation process for all stores across the country.  Tori also manages the Early Case Assessment program aimed at successful resolution of lawsuits against Home Depot prior to engaging the services of outside counsel and incurring legal fees.  
Tori has been with The Home Depot for 24 years in the Legal Department and has served in the roles as Commercial Litigation Paralegal, Senior Paralegal, Sr. Customer Resolution Specilaist and Claims Manager prior to her current role.  Tori graduated from California State University Fullerton where she obtained her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice.

Steve Henne is Vice President of Claims and Shareholder Initiatives for The National Catholic Risk Retention Group. He is responsible for claims for The National Catholic which writes third party coverage for 56 Arch/Diocese and one Catholic Order group across the United States. He has been with National Catholic since December of 2005 and has been working with Religious/Non-Profits specifically since 1991.

In addition to his Claims role he also provides Risk Management services to their Shareholders/Insured's. Steve has 37 years of Claims and Risk Management experience with various carriers, a TPA and a broker.

 

Kelly Hopper Moore is an experienced claims leader who had managed claims departments for carriers, a state and a healthcare provider. She has served in positions as a Claims Executive Director, Litigation Manager, and Home Office analyst. She has handled and managed multi-line claims in all 50 venues, both commercial and personal lines, including excess and surplus, first and third-party. She has led claims departments and teams both in the field and within corporate offices.    She has participated in CLM via conference presentations, claims college faculty and school executive council, ADR committee co-chair, and article authorship. She is past president of the PNW Chapter of CPCU. 

SKILLS SUMMARY
Board Certified Civil Trial Advocate, National Board of Trial Advocacy, 2008. Managing trial attorney with over twenty-five years of trial practice experience in Ohio; management of multiple attorneys and support staff and effective operation of trial counsel office;
LEGAL EXPERIENCE:

Bonezzi, Switzer, Polito and Hupp                    Nov. 2014 - Present

Trial Attorney/Shareholder    Handling complex injury litigation in Ohio in a variety of genres including general liability, products liability, workplace torts,  medical and professional malpractice, coverage and auto liabilty defense involving basic to catastrophic injury.

Isaac Wiles                Medina, Ohio                Sept, 2011 –Nov. 2014
Building a Northern Ohio presence for a well established Columbus based litigation and full service firm.  All types of catastrophic injury litigation from dramshop, products liability, transportation, general and medical malpractice.
Managing Attorney, Kerns & Proe
Cleveland, Ohio April 1993-September, 2011
• Created the house counsel program for a $1 Billion insurer.
• 18 years of successful trial outcomes and favorable resolutions of litigation against insurer and its insureds.
• Dozens of jury trial results individually and as manager of other attorneys in the staff counsel office, with overwhelmingly favorable results to the insurer and its insureds.
• Co-ordination of staff attorneys and claims professionals to achieve extraordinary results for insurer and insured clients.
• Conduct training and support operations for local claims staff regarding negotiation and substantive legal and medical issues confronting them.
• Two time recipient of FRAUD ACE AWARD for thwarting fraudulent claims.

Cronquist, Smith, Marshall & Weaver Nov. 1987-April 1993
Cleveland, Ohio
• Trial Associate in boutique insurance defense trial office.
• Responsible for handling and trying lawsuits relating to a multitude of tort and contract litigation matters, including toxic tort, complex litigation, construction litigation and property and casualty litigation.

Neipp and Wingart Nov. 1986– Nov. 1987
Toledo, Ohio
• Managed and tried dozens of subrogation litigation matters
• Trial counsel in insurance defense litigation and some plaintiff’s personal injury litigation.

Judge Melvin Resnick
Judical Clerk Mar. 1983-Oct. 1986
Toledo, Ohio
• Administered criminal and civil docket for Hon. Melvin L. Resnick, Chief Judge of Lucas County Court of Common Pleas.
• Research and writing of draft opinions, conducting pretrials and mediations and administering Visiting Judges docket
EDUCATION
Juris Doctor University of Toledo/ College of Law 1986
B.S. Journalism/ Public Relations, cum laude 1982
Ohio University, Athens, Ohio

Professional Memberships & Associations

National Board of Trial Advocacy
• Board Certified Civil Trial Advocate, 2008
Ohio State Bar Association

• Fellow, Ohio State Bar Foundation, Inducted with Class of 2007
• Delegate, Ohio State Bar Association Council of Delegates, 2001-Present
• Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee – 2000-2002
• Staff Counsel Committee
• Chair of sub-committee to present Ethics seminar at OSBA Convention 2005
• Speaker, “What’s In a Name- Ethics of Naming Staff Counsel Office” 2004
• Member since inception of Committee in 2003
• Negligence Committee– 2001-Present
• Chair, Negligence Law Committee 2010-2012
• Insurance Law Committee 2001-Present
• Special Committee on Subrogation—2009
• Special Committee To Review Model Rule 1.15—2008
Ohio Association of Civil Trial Attorneys
• Trustee, Board of Trustees, 2007- Present
• Chair, Personal Injury Defense Committee, 2007-2009
• 2008 Committee Chairperson of the Year Award
• 2009 OACTA Distinguished Service Award
Cleveland Bar Association:

• Executive Council, Young Lawyers Section – 1988-1994
• Liaison to Board of Trustees – 1993-1994
• Chair, Young Lawyers Section – 1993-1994
• Chair-Elect, Young Lawyers Section – 1992-1993
• Secretary, Young Lawyers Section – 1991-1992
• Chair, Practice & Procedure Clinic, Seminar on Ethics, Professional Discipline & Substance Abuse – 1990-1994
• Chair , United States Supreme Court Admissions Tour – November, 1993
• Member, Young Lawyers Committee Against Violent Crime – 1993-1994
• Chair, Cleveland Young Lawyers Affiliate Outreach Project, Pre-Conference
American Bar Association
• ABA , Young Lawyers Division, Affiliate Outreach Projects, Miami Beach (1990), Marco Island , Fla (1992)
• ABA Young Lawyers Leadership Conference, Boston , MA (1992)

John Loyal is a partner in the firm’s Philadelphia office.  He is co-chair of the firm's Cybersecurity, Information Privacy and Data Security team and focuses his practice primarily on cyber and privacy matters.

Over the last several years, there has been an exponential rise in cyber related incidents impacting companies of all sizes and of varying market segments.  Mr. Loyal serves as breach counsel to these companies, providing guidance and legal counsel to impacted entities.  Specifically, Mr. Loyal specializes in coordinating the breach response for his clients by closely working with companies to help identify the nature and scope of the incident and ensuring compliance with all applicable state, federal and international laws.  He works with his clients to provide regulatory correspondence and to handle any resulting litigation arising from a cyber or privacy matter.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Loyal had the unique experience of managing cyber claims for a leading cyber insurance carrier.  Thus, he is well versed in working with his clients in conjunction with their cyber insurance provider.

Mr. Loyal is admitted to practice in New York as well as the U.S District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Mr. Loyal received his B.A., cum laude, from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 2007 and his J.D. from New York Law School in 2010, graduating magna cum laude.

Marty Lundstrom is assistant general counsel with Spark Energy, Inc. managing compliance, contracts and litigation. Prior to joining Spark, Marty worked at Haynes and Boone in their business and environmental litigation groups and in house positions with Hess and Charming Charlie managing global litigation matters. Marty graduated from the University of St. Thomas with a BA in International Studies and received her JD and MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. 

As a Senior Vice President/Managing Director of Claims at IMA, Donna is leading the effort to reimagine Claims Consulting for the future, along with a talented team of claims professionals providing risk management and claims advocacy services for clients in all lines of business.  Donna has over 30 years of insurance experience, with an extensive claims background in personal and commercial lines and unique expertise in construction operations, construction defect and insurance coverage.  Before joining IMA in 2021, Donna led the claims practice for the Mountain West Series of Lockton Companies and spent over a decade with The Travelers Companies, a Fortune 100 property and casualty insurance carrier, overseeing complex claims and subrogation, providing coverage advice and managing coverage litigation involving construction claims.

Jeremy Mahugh spent 10 years in the US Special Operations, where he went on to become and deploy as a Navy SEAL Sniper. After his time in the SEALS, Jeremy returned to the Middle East as an operative for a National Level Intelligence agency for an additional five years. After 17 deployments later, Jeremy returned home to work on a successful political campaign for a US Congressman from Montana. In 2014 Jeremy co-founded DeliverFund.  DeliverFund is a nonprofit, private intelligence organization challenging the status quo in the fight against human trafficking by targeting the human trafficker. Jeremy focuses on training, equipping and supporting law enforcement so their efforts to counter human trafficking can be scaled as a solution to Human Trafficking in the United States.
 

Chris Mandel is SVP of strategic solutions for Sedgwick and Director of the Sedgwick Institute, where in both roles he is responsible for helping the company reach its strategic vision of serving current and evolving needs of itscurrent and future customers, as well as help lead the industry vertical to the next level and beyond. He founded two firms,specializing in risk management and insurance services. Mr. Mandel has more than 25 years of experience in insurance and large global corporate risk management. He has pioneered the development of integrated risk management at USAA, where S&P rated USAA as “excellent” and a “leader in ERM”. His career included leadership roles at Liberty Mutual, Marsh, Verizon, American National Red Cross, PepsiCo and USAA, and he has served in numerous leadership positions with the Risk and insurance Management Society. He has held appointments to: the Spencer Educational Foundation Board; the Board of the risk retention group for the American Orthodontics Association; the Center for Enterprise Risk Management Advisory Council (University of GA); and the Advisory Boards of AIG, the Nonprofit Insurance Alliance Group, Liberty Mutual, Zurich American, FM Global, G4S and Willis. He was elected a founding member of Risk Who’s Who in 2008. He is recognized by his peers as a thought leader in ERM and related disciplines.

Training and education

B.S. in Business Management from Virginia Tech and a MBA from George Mason University. He was conferred the CCSA (2007), CPCU (1987), ARM(1990), ARM-E (2015) and AIC (1982) designations. He is a frequent industry speaker and author and writes the “Claim Management column for IRMI and contributes to the Risk Insider collumn at Risk and Insurance magazine and was named Risk Manager ofthe Year – 2004.In 2016 he was honored with RIMS' Goodell Award recognizing lifetime achievement in the risk management profession.

Jim Martin is the Head of US Claims Operations for Reserv. As a Senior Property and Casualty Insurance Executive, Jim is experienced in the development and implementation of strategic vision across numerous national and international claims portfolios. He has managed multi-jurisdictional litigation involving cases valued up to $500 million in the areas of commercial and personal lines property, casualty and specialty lines. Mr. Martin’s expertise is at capitalizing on opportunities to maximize performance, while leading cross-functional teams to ensure the achievement of key objectives. A graduate of Ohio University and the University of Akron School of Law, Mr. Martin is a licensed attorney who has been admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Michael W Melendez is a commercial litigator focusing on all types of complex insurance coverage, including construction defect, advertising injury, personal injury, directors and officers, and general liability. Mike provides claims handling and coverage advice to insurers, defends bad faith suits, and litigates declaratory relief and contribution actions.

Mike has designed and given several presentations to claims professionals and attorneys on insurance coverage and general legal issues including claims practices, construction defect, additional insurance, independent counsel, ethics, and bad faith.

Mike has represented clients in numerous jurisdictions throughout the United States, and has tried cases and argued appeals in both state and federal courts. Mike is licensed to practice before all the state and federal courts in California and Nevada, and has been admitted to the US Supreme Court, the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit and the US Court of Claims.

Mike has earned Martindale-Hubbell's "A-V Preeminent" Peer Review Rating. He has also been selected as a Northern California Super Lawyer, a designation reserved for the top five percent of the bar.

Mr. Mensch is currently VP of Claims and Risk Management with American Trucking & Transportation Insurance Company. Formerly, he was with USA Truck, Inc. 5+ years and with Tyson Foods, Inc. for 17 years. He has experience in every aspect of claims and litigation handling and is licensed as a Casualty Adjuster in the state of Arkansas. He also has training in the areas of accident investigation, accident reconstruction, personal injury evaluation, and litigation preparedness. Mr. Mensch responsibilities at USA Truck included the management of all property damage, subrogation, and personal injury claims with his personal interaction in catastrophic cases, and in all litigation. He works closely with defense counsel in evaluating, negotiating and preparing cases for trial.

Education:
Santa Clara University School of Law (Juris Doctor, Cum Laude)

University of California, Berkeley (Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Summa Cum Laude)
Chi Omega Philanthropy Chair

Michele Newman's Claim handling career began in 1985 with Aetna Life & Casualty and continued with Connecticut Medical Insurance Company in 1988 and has over 30 years’ experience handling bodily injury and medical professional liability claims and lawsuits. She brings a wealth of experience to her position as Litigation Manager at Hamlin & Burton with a significant record of managing and resolving claims of the highest settlements with the greatest savings based upon fair resolution values. 

Ms. Newman graduated from Southern Connecticut State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science.  Ms. Newman also earned her Certification in Mediation from the Program on Negotiation at the Harvard Law School in 2006 and in 2011 she achieved her Certification in Claims Litigation Management from Claims & Litigation Management Alliance hosted by Columbia Law School; November of 2015 completed the Program on Negotiation Master Class at the Harvard Law School; has earned her ACP and CCP designations and currently serves as Co-Dean for the School of Mediation at CLM's Claims College. 
 

Patrick Norris is a partner in the Charleston office of GRSM. His practice focuses primarily on professional liability defense, design/construction litigation and general liability/personal injury defense.  Patrick also provides non-litigation support to his design professional and contractor clients, including contract drafting and review, navigation of subpoenas, and legal advice related to emerging industry issues.  

Patrick is a frequent speaker at seminars and conferences, including events for The Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM), American Institute of Architects (AIA), and local/regional trade organizations.

Patrick was selected as one of the Super Lawyers Rising Stars® in South Carolina from 2016 to 2019–a peer-nominated award for no more than 2.5% of attorneys in each state. He has been honored as one of the top construction attorneys in the area by Charleston Business Magazine’s “Legal Elite” Feature, another peer-nominated award.

Patrick graduated cum laude from Clemson University (Financial Management) and summa cum laude from Charleston School of Law.  He is a graduate of CLM’s three-year Claims College program in the School of Construction Claims and earned his Certified Claims Professional (CCP) designation.

Patrick grew up in coastal South Carolina and has been in Charleston for the past 25 years.  In his spare time, he enjoys writing/playing music, supporting his beloved Clemson Tigers, and spending time in the Blue Ridge mountains.

Steve Pachman is a partner at Philadelphia-based Montgomery McCracken. His practice concentrates on defending catastrophic sports injury matters and counseling on institutional liability issues concerning sport-related concussions. His representations include defending a number of high-profile, nationally-publicized concussion cases brought against NCAA member universities, high schools, athletic trainers, coaches, and team physicians. 

Pachman also is a frequent speaker on legal matters concerning the management of sport-related concussions, recently presenting at the NCAA Safety in College Football Summit, College Athletic Trainers Society Annual Symposium, Fiesta Bowl Spring Summit for NCAA head coaches and athletic directors, Oklahoma Sooner Sports Medicine Symposium, UNC Neurotrauma Symposium, Big 10/Ivy League Traumatic Brain Injury Summit, and University of Michigan Concussion Summit.

In addition, Pachman has authored a number of articles regarding how schools and health care professionals can minimize their risk of legal liability for sport-related injuries and defend against concussion lawsuits. His recent article, “Legal Aspects of Concussion: The Ever-Evolving Standard of Care,” was published in the Journal of Athletic Training. 

Pachman received his J.D. degree from Temple University School of Law, where he was an editor of the Temple Law Review.  He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park.

Bill is a partner in the Mobile, Alabama office of Austill, Lewis, Pipkin & Maddox, P.C.  He has a civil defense practice, focusing on the defense of personal injury, workers' compensation, premises liability and general liability matters. 
 
 Admitted to practice in Alabama and Florida, he is an experienced trial and appellate attorney in both state and federal courts throughout Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.  He is AV rated in Martindale-Hubbell.  He is a member of the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association, the Defense Research Institute (Construction Law, Trucking Law and Workers’ Compensation Committees) and the Florida Bar.  He is past Chair of the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Defense Research Institute and is a frequent speaker at professional education seminars.  He is a Fellow of the American College of Workers' Compensation Attorneys and co-Chair of the National Workers' Compensation Review Program at the annual WCI Conference. He co-authored the CLM Workers' Compensation Claims Handling Guide for the State of Alabama for use by claims professionals and members of CLM.  He served as chair of the Workers' Compensation Section of the Alabama State Bar from 2006-2007He earned his J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1989 and his undergraduate degree in English and History from Birmingham-Southern College in 1986.
 

Mr. Polini has 20 years of experience focused on risk management and insurance.  He has a unique combination of insurance brokering, underwriting, environmental engineering, risk management and consulting credentials and a strong commercial construction background.  Mr. Polini joined Allied World Assurance Company in August of 2011 as an Assistant Vice President in the Environmental division. Prior to joining Allied World his insurance career included working for two premier carriers, XL Environmental and ACE, USA., as well as acting as an environmental insurance broker for New Day Underwriting Managers, a specialty intermediary for this industry.  While at XL and ACE he worked primarily as an underwriter managing an annually renewable book of business.  He was often sought for special projects such as form revisions, peer training and high profile client interface. New Day Underwriting presented an opportunity to use his skill set to procure optimal environmental insurance solutions for client in this specialty market. In his current capacity at Allied World he is the Vice President and Product Line Manager for the Contractors Pollution and Professional Liability platform.  In that capacity he is tasked with the development and deployment of combined contractors professional and pollution liability products as well as managing a book of mono-line contractors professional liability business.  

Laurie Randolph focuses her practice on both trial and transactional work for
professionals such as architects and engineers.

She has extensive experience in handling litigated matters arising from the
design and construction process, as well as drafting and negotiating contracts
on behalf of design professionals.

Ms. Randolph's practice also includes insurance coverage issues as they relate
to construction. She has extensive experience in handling litigation and claim
matters as well as with counseling and advising clients on transactional and
operational issues.

Professional Background
Ms. Randolph joined Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP in October 1979. She is a
member of the firm's Management Committee and a past co-leader of the firm's
Real Estate & Construction Practice Group.

 

Mary has been a Senior Investigator with the auto and home division of MetLife Insurance for 22 years.  Mary serves as team leader for her group.  Mary is also a Director of the International Association of Special Investigation Units (IASIU) and serves the Board as Chair of the Certification Committee.  Mary holds an MA from the University of Texas at Arlington in Urban Affairs.  Mary resides in the Dallas, Texas area.

Karen Salmon, Esq. AIC, AIS, is VP at GB Healthcare, currently working as the client liaison between GB Healthcare and one of their most prestigious healthcare client partners.  Working directly with C-suite level program executives, she provides direct oversight of large exposure complex professional and general liability claims, and directs the strategy of the program; from evaluation, retention and direction of counsel, as well as cases strategy and finances.  Karen is key in ensuring their program is at the forefront of industry standards. Karen is an IronMan triathlete, ultra marathoner, and yoga teacher, further marrying discipline with her mindset to aid client parters in achieving their program goals. By engaging in these activities, she has the space to think strategically, and align this with her client service model. Karen is a graduate of Indiana University Bloomington, and New England School of Law. A member of the South Carolina Bar, Karen holds insurance adjuster licenses in multiple jurisdictions, and has earned the Associates in Claims (AIC), and Associate in Insurance Services (AIS).  She previously served as the Regional Manager, NC and VP of Hospital and Allied Claims for MagMutual Insurance Company. 
 

Stew Schmella has practiced law throughout Texas since 2001. As a civil trial lawyer, Stew has handled a wide variety of cases on both sides of the docket, including insurance matters, personal injury cases, commercial cases, professional liability cases, employment cases, and toxic torts. Stew's extensive insurance experience includes litigating complex first-party and third-party insurance coverage matters. Stew has worked with a wide variety of individuals and businesses in civil disputes, including financial institutions, insurance carriers, legal and engineering professionals, and other businesses, large and small.

Stew traveled to Houston in 1994 to attend Rice University. Stew earned his bachelor's degree in political science from Rice in 1998. Following college, Stew attended the University of Law School, where he graduated magna cum laude in 2001.

Stew is a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution sections of the State Bar of Texas and Houston Bar Association. Stew is also a member of the Texas Association of Mediators and the College of the State Bar of Texas.

Stew volunteers as a mediator at the Dispute Resolution Center of Harris County. Stew also volunteers to assist United States veterans through the Veterans Legal Initiative and the HBA Veterans Legal Clinic. Stew also speaks to schools and community groups as a member of the Houston Speakers Bureau.

Stew enjoys movies, cooking, and baseball. Stew is also a member of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).

Stew makes his home in Houston with his wife, Sam, and their twins, Laney and Neil.

Diane Skinner is a System Director, Claim Operations with CommonSpirit Health (formerly known as Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI). She has over 25 years of claim management experience, focusing on the defense of medical malpractice claims.  Diane has worked at CHI since October,1999.  She provides day-to-day operational oversight of Liability Claim Staff and ensures appropriate handling and successful disposition of all claims with a high level of service to insureds.  She has direct oversight of the employed physician line of coverage, D&O, CYBER, crime, fiduciary liability, as well as the property line of coverage.  Additionally, Diane is responsible for promoting and accomplishing the directives and strategies of the Enterprise Risk Management Group including the development and implementation of best practices for claims management.  Her focus is on protecting the assets of CommonSpirit Health within the organization’s risk appetite.  Diane earned her undergraduate degree from Widener University and her MBA with an emphasis on Hospital Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University.

Jeff leads the broking operations for RT’s Environmental and Construction Professional
Liability Practice. In addition, he assists in establishing the strategic direction and vision for the
practice. Jeff’s expertise includes construction-related professional liability insurance (including
contractors protective, owners protective and project professional liability for architects,
engineers and contractors programs), environmental insurance and risk management services
associated with each.
 

Over the span of my career in claims, I've handled personal lines auto and homeowners claims, commercial
general liability, product liability, commercial auto, professional liability, excess, New York labor law,
construction defect, liquor liability, OCIP/CCIP claims from the simple to very complex, from the initial
investigation through litigation.

Miranda Soto is Florida Bar Board Certified in Civil Trial Law and has tried approximately 50-70 cases to verdict. She specializes in high-stakes litigation and complex commercial cases on behalf of private equity, hedge funds, high-end insurance companies, law firms and other sophisticated businesses in cases involving commercial and business disputes, professional and legal malpractice claims, product liability, complex fraud matters, public policy matters, cases of first impression, high-stakes personal injury cases, franchisee/franchisor litigation, trust and estate litigation and premises liability at the state and federal levels. Miranda also handles tobacco, addiction and smoking-related injury litigation. Additionally, she has a strong reputation as a lawyers’ lawyer and often serves as a consultant on legal and accounting malpractice claims.

Understanding her clients’ business is at the core of Miranda’s solution-based approach. She knows that learning the ins and outs of her clients’ business is crucial in order to provide the best legal advice possible. As legal issues often extend to the company as a whole, Miranda focuses on minimizing disruptions to the business that can and do arise from legal challenges. Her goal is to leverage all possible opportunities for a quick resolution.

Miranda began her career as an Assistant State Attorney in the Miami-Dade County State Attorney’s office. Miranda was Lead Counsel for Allstate’s Miami and Ft. Myers legal offices.

When Miranda is not practicing law, she enjoys hand building pottery, watching Alabama football games, reading, traveling and spending time with her daughters and friends. 

Education:
Drake University School of Law, J.D., 2002
University of Alabama, B.A., 1998, Communications and Information Sciences

Hillard M. Sterling is a commercial litigator and trial lawyer with thirty years of experience bringing cases to successful resolutions through settlement, judgment, and verdict in tribunals across the country. Hillard brings a strategic, creative, and focused approach to his clients’ cases and disputes, and a wealth of litigation and trial experience at firms ranging from big law (Kirkland & Ellis, Arnold & Porter) to boutique.

Hillard’s matters span the spectrum of commercial and insurance-defense matters, including professional-liability cases (defending agents, brokers and financial advisors), technology system-implementation disputes (representing vendors and customers), cyber matters (breach coaching and counseling clients on risk reduction), privacy cases (defending clients against allegations of wrongful disclosures and access), defamation claims (defending and bringing claims on behalf of private and public figures), intellectual property (defending against infringement allegations), and a panoply of other business disputes representing companies, shareholders and LLC members.

Hillard has served as an expert commentator in print and broadcast media on breaking stories in the technology-law realm. He also speaks at conferences across the country regarding a wide range of technology and cyber issues as well as other insurance-defense topics.

Mr. Sterling is a 1986 graduate of Northern Illinois University, where he received his B.A., summa cum laude. He received his J.D. in 1989, magna cum laude, and Order of the Coif, from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was an Executive Editor of its flagship law review, the Georgetown Law Journal.

Mr. Sterling is admitted to practice law in Illinois and Washington, D.C., and various federal courts including the trial bar of the Northern District of Illinois.

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

Anna D. Torres is a seasoned civil litigator with over 30 years of experience. Her practice focuses on all aspects of third party insurance defense litigation, including personal injury and wrongful death, premises liability, products liability, construction defect, automobile and transportation, liability coverage and insurer bad faith claims.

In 1985, Ms. Torres received her B.A. degree with distinction in English from San Diego State University and received her Juris Doctorate from Stanford Law School in 1988.

Ms. Torres began her legal practice in San Diego, California . In 1994, she relocated to Florida where she continued in private practice in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. She is the founder of TorresVictor.  

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

Ms. Torres is licensed to practice in Florida and California and is admitted to practice in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, United States District Court Southern District of California, and the Southern, Middle and Northern Districts of the United States District Courts in Florida .

She is a member of the American Bar Association and a number of insurance industry associations. She is currently serving as Co-Chair of the Insurance Coverage Litigation Committe of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation.

SPEECHES, LECTURES AND PAPERS

Ms. Torres is a frequent speaker in continuing legal educational programs and insurance industry conferences. She has been a speaker on topics ranging from fraud, advanced personal injury practice, civil discovery, insurance law and litigation and ethics, at these representative events:

Property Loss Research Bureau, American Bar Association, National Business Institute,Joint DIF/SIU Insurance Fraud Conference, South Florida Claims Association and Florida Defense Lawyers Association.

Ms. Torres has been approved to instruct adjuster continuing education by the Florida Department of Financial Services.

Marisa Trasatti is a trial attorney with over 25 years of experience. She focuses her practice on defending high-profile clients against matters involving life sciences, product liability, toxic tort, premises liability and commercial claims. She also serves as General Counsel to the largest California-based founder-owned medical laser and light manufacturer in the world.
 
With extensive experience as lead counsel, both locally and nationally, Marisa has represented U.S. and international manufacturers of chemicals, medical devices, pharmaceuticals and hoteliers in the hospitality industry. Her passion lies in achieving the best results for her clients, tailoring strategies to their specific needs while fostering positive attorney-client relationships.
 
In addition to her legal practice, she has authored several notable articles and presented on a wide range of legal topics, including alleged human trafficking in the hospitality industry, social inflation, crisis management, privacy/cybersecurity, preemption and learned intermediary defenses. Marisa is the recipient of the coveted Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC) Connect Award for her business referrals, John Appleman Award for her committee leadership of the FDCC Drug, Device and Biotechnology Committee and is a two-time winner of the Andrew C. Hecker article award. Sciton also awarded her with the company's "Founder's Award" in July 2024, the highlight of all her client recognitions.
 
Marisa is active in numerous prominent local and national bar associations. She holds a Governor-appointed position as a Commissioner on the Maryland Judicial Disabilities Commission and was recently elected as a Representative to the ABA House of Delegates.
 
Outside of her legal practice, Marisa leads an active lifestyle with her friends and family, and enjoys all outdoor activities including golf, swimming, and running. She is also a Persian cat lover and car enthusiast, with a particular passion for collecting Porsches with her Dad.

Pat has been with Bonezzi Switzer Polito & Hupp Co. L.P.A. since 2016.
She has been involved with the insurance industry since her graduation from law school working first as an in-house subrogation attorney and then a claims litigation attorney before entering private practice in the Cincinnati area in 1992. She spends her days working in the insurance defense and insurance investigation fields. Pat has successfully defended a wide array of cases ranging from coverage issues to bad faith, including intentional torts, building risks, and significant personal injury cases, among others.

Areas of Practice: Insurance Coverage, Bad Faith Litigation, Property and Casualty Defense, Claim Investigation

Education: University of Kentucky, College of Law- Juris Doctorate December 1980
 Michigan State University-B.A. Humanities prelaw with honors, 1977

Steven C. Velardi is Claims Counsel in Casualty Claims, at Navigators Claims in Stamford, Connecticut.  Steven takes an active role in claims handling and litigation including involvement in motion practice, litigation planning, early resolution strategies, expert witness retention, and trial monitoring. Steven handles mostly major bodily injury losses and has broad experience with dram shop cases and negligent security matters. 
 
Prior to Navigators, Steven was a practicing trial attorney in Connecticut doing Plaintiff work in bodily injury, criminal defense and workers’ compensation. 
 
Steven graduated from Quinnipiac University in 2007 with a B.S. and graduated from Quinnipiac School of Law in 2011. Steven maintains his license to practice law in Connecticut.
 

Michelle Villarreal is the president and owner of Occupational Accident Risk, Inc. is a Third Party Administrator for self-insured workers compensation and Non Subscriber work injury benefit programs.  OAR is a certified woman owned business offering services in English and Spanish.  They are located in San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country.  Michelle is also a trial monitor and an expert witness on insurance matters. 
 
While attending St. Mary’s University of San Antonio Michelle Villarreal she displayed her dedication and passion by working at Cigna Companies.  She has since acquired 30 years experience in the insurance industry.  She has been an active member of the National Association of Women Business owners, and has served on the board of the San Antonio Claims Association, and they are a member of the Texas Alliance of Non-Subscribers, American Association of Insurance Management Consultants (AAIMCO), Assocation for Responsible Alternative to Workers Compensation, (ARAWC) and Texas PRIMA. 
 
Occupational Accident Risk, Inc. is a Certified Education provider for the Texas Department of Insurance and today offers a program entitled “What Would you do Claims Edition”
 
 

Sergeant John Wall is a 25 year veteran of the Houston Police Department (HPD). In 2014, he played a key role in the implementation and development of the newly formed HPD Vice Division, Human Trafficking Unit (HTU). The HTU is responsible for investigating and combating all aspects of Human Trafficking in and around Houston, whether in the sex industry, or forced labor, including both domestic and international trafficking. In October 2016, the Houston Police Department and YMCA International received a federal grant award for 1.5 million dollars to continue the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA) of the Southern District of Texas.

Sergeant Wall was instrumental in writing the grant and serves as the HTRA task force supervisor, managing investigations, operations, and administrative duties. Since its inception in 2004, HTRA has been recognized as a national model in identifying and assisting victims of human trafficking and prosecuting those engaged in trafficking offenses. Sergeant Wall works closely with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies on the issue of human trafficking well as the City of Houston and Harris County legal departments, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, the United States Attorney’s Office, and various non-governmental organizations.

He holds a Master Peace Officers Proficiency Certificate from the State of Texas and has over 2,600 hours of law enforcement training, a Bachelor’s degree from Midwestern State University, and a Master’s degree from the University of Houston-Downtown. 
 

Mr. Walters currently acts as the managing Partner of the firm. In addition, Mr. Walters handles all aspects of litigation, focusing primarily in the areas of insurance defense and coverage issues. He has litigated cases involving personal injury, including wrongful death, quadriplegia, loss of limb, medical malpractice, construction law, bad faith, products liability, employment law, mass torts including asbestosis and silicosis, coverage issues, and declaratory judgment actions. Mr. Walters also has significant experience in arguing before the Kentucky Supreme Court and the Kentucky Court of Appeals, and has been hired on several occasions to serve as appellate counsel. Mr. Walters also handles all aspects of worker's compensation claims and is a trained mediator. 

Charles is in Kubicki Draper’s Miami, Florida office. He is an experienced litigator and trial attorney having tried over eighty cases to jury verdict. Charles’s knowledge and capability has allowed him to have a varied and successful practice representing individuals, corporations, insurance carriers, public and government entities in transportation litigation, premises liability, UM insurance defense, construction accidents, boating accidents, insurance coverage including first-party property damage, and fraud and products liability matters. Charles is a Florida Certified Continuing Education Instructor and is requested to conduct seminars on varying legal topics including bad faith avoidance, comparative negligence in tort law, significant issues in first-party litigation, fraud and insurance coverage issues. As Kubicki Draper’s Chief Diversity Officer, Charles has a passion for driving diversity, equity, and inclusion and mentorship not only in the legal industry, but as a director for the Florida Chapter of National African American Insurance Association (NAAIA, Florida Chapter), he continues to play an integral role in encouraging diversity, equity, and inclusion in the insurance industry as well.

Lee Weatherly has been lead counsel in over 75 jury trials and is a member of both the South Carolina and Kentucky Bars. He has tried cases to verdict involving medical malpractice, premises liability, food contamination, automobile and motor carrier liability, business and commercial litigation, employment litigation, and property disputes.  Lee’s current practice focuses on cases involving medical malpractice and defending commerical entities in personal injury matters. 

Lee is a graduate of Centre College and the University of Kentucky College of Law, where he was a member of the Kentucky Law Journal (Law Review).  He is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) an invitation only organiation of experienced trial attorneys and judges.  Lee lives on the Isle of Palms with his wife and two daughters.  

Ralph Woodard is a Claim Manager at Navigators Insurance Company. Ralph manages one of the two construction defect teams and a general liability adjuster. He has 30 years of claim experience both handling and managing claims. Ralph was on the claims/legal team and instrumental in making positive law (won) on an Advertising Injury unfair competition claim in the California Supreme Court.  He is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in Economics including certificates in general liability, coverage, decision tree analysis, claim management, litigation, and negotiation skills.
 

Dave Zehner is a founding partner of Zehner Trial Consulting. Zehner Trial Consulting is a provider of superior mock trials, focus groups and jury selection services. Zehner Trial Consulting uses the latest research in cognitive theory to design research exercises to test the essential elements of cases and determine what will shape the verdict of the jury. During his career, Dave has consulted on more than 800 cases in 42 states and over 180 venues in all areas of the law, specializing in professional negligence, employment, intellectual property, white collar criminal, capital crimes and complex commercial cases. Dave has also assisted clients in selecting over 120 juries in venues throughout the country. Before becoming a trial consultant, Dave taught high school history for five years and coached the freshman and JV basketball teams. Dave also coached the Academic Decathlon team to three San Diego County championships and one fourth place finish in the state of California. Dave also appeared on Jeopardy!, and his crushing defeat was made even more enjoyable by being called "evil" by Alex Trebek for working as a jury consultant. 

A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in History and International Political Economies, Dave was a University Fellowship recipient while earning his master's degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago and ABD status for his PhD in the Public Policy Analysis Program. 

Melisha Zeigler is an experienced commercial insurance professional with over two decades of comprehensive and progressive experience. Currently, she is employed with Liberty Mutual Insurance as a Senior Technical Specialist in the Strategic Professional Risk department, where she is responsible for providing world-class insurance service to business clients. Prior to being employed with Liberty Mutual, Mrs. Zeigler worked as a Commercial Litigation Specialist, Special Investigator and Consultant for companies such as Allstate, AIG and the Hartford.  She is also an active public speaker, Arbitrator, a Fellow of the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance and holds a property and casualty insurance license in all required states. Mrs. Zeigler earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VA Tech) and also holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Phoenix, Schaumberg Illinois campus. In her spare time, she enjoys participating in community service projects and spending time with her family.

Dale serves as Vice President in PURE's Legal and Compliance Division. He has enjoyed a multiple-company, multiple role career that included a long run at Allstate, serving as both Assistant General Counsel for Litigation and Vice President of Claims.

Dr. DOUG BENNER is an Independent Consultant and serves as the Chief Medical Officer of EK Health as well as the National Medical Director of Macy’s & Bloomingdales Claims Operations and as the Medical Consultant for Western States of Marriott International Claims Operations.  He has Lifetime Board Certification in Occupational Medicine and is Certified as a Medical Review Officer.
 
He was with Kaiser Permanente for over 35 years and created 31 Occupational Health clinics and developed the Kaiser Hospital and Permanente Clinic Employee Health Services for the Northern California Region.

Ed joined Cumberland after 19 years as an insurance defense trial lawyer in New Jersey. Ed manages claims professionals handling a wide array of claims including auto, premises liability, personal and commercial general liability, construction defect and employment practices liability.

Manage litigated and pre-suit liability claims including bodily injury, property damage, subrogation, workers compensation and other general liability claims for property and casualty insurer in NJ, PA, MD and DE. Claims areas: Auto Negligence, Slip and Fall, Construction Defect, Commercial General Liability, Workers Compensation and Employer's Liability, Professional Liability, Director's and Officer's Liability, First Party Coverage Disputes

Sandra is a partner at KBR focusing on the fields of legal malpractice, medical malpractice, nursing home liability, premises liability, and miscellaneous professional liability.  Sandra has experience representing lawyers, major metropolitan medical centers, podiatrists, psychologists, dentists, nurses, home health attendants, and various other professionals. 

During law school, Sandra served as law clerk to Judge Alphons Orie of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.  Upon graduating from law school, she served as law clerk for Justice Benjamin Mutanga Itoe and Justice Pierre Boutet of the Special Court for Sierra Leone.     

Sandra has published on topics including cyber, medical malpractice, risk management, and litigation practice.  

Jeremy Buchalski focuses his legal practice on general liability, including the defense of cases involving trucking accidents and premises liability and lawsuits stemming from harm allegedly caused by lead-based paints. In addition, Jeremy has extensive experience in the defense of employers and insurance carriers in workers’ compensation cases. His clients include trucking companies and their insurers, landlords and their insurers in lead paint actions, residential buildings in premises liability actions, and employers and insurers in workers’ compensation cases.

Prior to joining the firm, Jeremy represented the Special Funds Conservation Committee, which maintains and defends the Special Disability Fund and the Fund for Reopened Cases under sections 15.8, 14(6) and 25-a of the Workers' Compensation Law. He also has experience defending employers and insurance carriers in workers’ compensation cases, and has appeared before the Workers’ Compensation Board across New York State. In law school, Jeremy worked for the Senior Advisor for Transportation and Infrastructure in the New York State Executive Chamber and for a New York City councilmember. After law school, he worked for NYC Public Advocate Bill de Blasio.

Jeremy’s broad experience gives him particular insight into every aspect of a case, which results in superior analysis and a strong legal strategy. Knowing the case better than opposing counsel not only puts him at a distinct advantage substantively but also creates a positive impression on the court.

One of the firm's premier trial lawyers who has extensive experience in complex tort, personal injury and large loss cases involving claims of products liability, premises liability, government and public entity defense, construction site accidents and trucking/motor carrier accidents Specializes in the defense of claims of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Routinely represents retail corporations of all sizes in a wide variety of cases including wrongful death, serious personal injuries, traumatic brain injury (TBI), loss prevention and retail theft cases, and injuries caused by the criminal acts of third parties, in addition to prosecuting and defending contractual indemnity claims and breach of retail lease contract claims. Practiced law in his native Australia for four and one half years as a criminal defense attorney with one of the country's leading trial lawyers, Frank Galbally, and had the opportunity to defend clients charged with offenses ranging from murder and other serious felonies to misdemeanor battery and miscellaneous drug charges. Substantial trial experience including approximately 40 jury trials overall, and 14 jury trials and two binding arbitrations over the past nine years involving cases ranging from a wrongful death product liability suit; multiple retail store negligence cases; a retail theft battery and false imprisonment case; design defect and failure to warn; and six cases involving traumatic brain injuries, PTSD and related cognitive deficits.  His jury trial experience includes defending a tortious business interference case, as well as defending injury claims at trial involving a permanent vegetative state, fibromyalgia and TMJ syndrome.  In the bifurcated phase of the wrongful death product liability trial, he successfully defensed the claim against his client of successor liability.

As Head of Financial Lines Claims at Hartford Global Specialty , Steven oversees all professional and management liability claims handling and loss services. He leads a team of 52 claims professionals in the US with the experience and ability to handle the claims and business issues that may arise in connection with the most sophisticated errors and omissions, directors and officers, fidelity and fiduciary liability risks.  Additionally, Steven serves as a Global Financial Lines Claims head as well.

Steve’s experience includes 20+ years of managing claims and claims professionals relating to the insurance industry. Following the acquisition of Navigators by The Hartford earlier in 2019, he was asked to oversee the combined organizations. 

Steve also held various professional positions at Gulf Insurance and American International Group (AIG) as well as in the law department of Prudential Securities and Prudential Financial.  Additionally, he spent 10 years at ACE North American Claims in a senior role within the Management Liability Claims Group.  
 
He received a J.D. degree from Widener University School of Law and a B.A. degree from Rutgers College.

Dion Cominos, Firm Managing Partner, has been with GRSM since 1987 and has consistently been recognized as an outstanding practitioner by virtually every leading industry publication including Best Lawyers in America©, Martindale-Hubbell (where he has been distinguished as a top-rated, AV Preeminent lawyer) and being named a Super Lawyer® in California for each year of that program’s existence. Dion specializes in defending businesses and individuals in a wide variety of claims involving commercial disputes and professional liability matters including errors & omissions claims (including accountants, attorneys, financial planners, tax advisors, teachers, architects, engineers, and others). He has extensive arbitration and trial experience in numerous civil and administrative proceedings in federal districts and state counties throughout California. His background also encompasses all forms of alternative dispute resolution, including mediations both in California and abroad, where he has served as both a mediator and arbitrator. Dion has also served as a guest lecturer/instructor at Hastings College of the Law. In addition to being published in a number of legal journals and periodicals, he has spoken as a guest panelist at annual meetings of such organizations as the American Bar Association, the Association of Defense Counsel, and PLUS.

Amy Cooper founded a young professionals group called Rising Insurance Star Executives (RISE) in 2017 as an initiative to help bridge the talent gap in the insurance industry.  RISE boasts an annual awards program that recognizes rising stars in the insurance industry, mentorship, internships, hosts monthly webinars, and delivers scholarships for young professionals to attend industry conferences and events.  In her daily professional life, Amy Cooper is Vice President of Carrier Practice for Gallagher Bassett, a leading global TPA which provides claims solutions while integrating state of the art technology to achieve superior outcomes.  Prior to that she was Vice President at VortexLegal with responsibilities over sales, marketing, and operations. Amy was recognized by the American Legal and Financial Network as one of the leading young professionals of the year in 2015, and the youngest to receive the award to date. In 2020, Amy was awarded the Insurance Business America Rising Stars designation.  Amy is a regular speaker at conferences such as CLM, ACE, NAMIC, ALFN, and others about millennials and generational differences, diversity & inclusion, career & management, privacy & security requirements that impact the legal field, and teaches an ethics CLE for the Florida Bar.

Tony is responsible for the Cyber line of Business on the claims side, working closely with the Cyber Claim Manager and her team. Over the course of his 17 year tenure with Chubb, he has handled several large Cyber matters and frequently speaks at industry events. He is also an Advisory Board Member of the CLM Management and Professional Liability Community and the co-chair of the Cyber Committee.
 
While at Chubb, he has managed several groups handling financial lines claims, including Cyber, Media, Lawyers and Miscellaneous Professional Liability lines of business. Most recently, Tony was the Eastern Regional Manager for Large Commercial D&O claims. Prior to joining Chubb, Tony was an attorney with the law firm of Murtha Cullina, specializing in insurance coverage and commercial litigation.  Tony also served as the law clerk for the Hon. William J. Lavery, Chief Judge of the Connecticut Appellate Court.  He earned his B.A. and J.D. from the University of Connecticut and is a member of the Connecticut state and federal bars and also holds the CIPP/US  and RPLU designations.  

Edward Donohue is a partner in the San Francisco office of Hinshaw & Culbertson, LLP. Mr. Donohue represents insurance and financial services companies in litigation and regulatory matters. Mr. Donohue handles professional liability defense and coverage matters. He is a co-author of “The Lawyer’s Desk Guide to Preventing Legal Malpractice” (ABA Standing Committee on Legal Malpractice 1999) and "E&O Insurance by Line of Business Exposure", Chapter 11, Life and Health Insurance (Thompson Reuters 2014).Mr. Donohue also has extensive experience in handling directors and officers’ liability, employment, agents and brokers and financial institution bond claims. Mr. Donohue received his B.A. from Fordham University (1978) and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center (1981). He is a member in good standing of the California and Texas State Bars. 

James M. Early, CSSC, CLMP; Executive Vice President, is Ringler’s National Sales Director.  He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  After service as an Armor Officer in the U.S. Army, he began his insurance career as a Claim Representative with the Insurance Company of North America in Milwaukee, WI in 1977.  He served with INA (later CIGNA) in a number of claim capacities, returning to his native New England as Manager of the Providence Office and as a Unit Manager in Boston.

  In 1984 he joined the Providence-Washington Insurance Company as the Assistant Regional Claims Manager before entering the Structured Settlement field in 1985.  In 1996 he received his certification as a Certified Structured Settlement Consultant. The CSSC designation is granted following successful completion of a course of study established by the National Structured Settlement Association and the University of Notre Dame.  He recently completed the Course of Study through the Claim and Litigation Management Alliance at Columbia School of Law and has been designated a Certified Litigation Management Professional.

  During his career as a broker, Mr. Early arranged for over 5000 structured settlements in all 50 United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada, in personal injury and similar type claim settlements, many including complex Trust, Medicare and Medicaid issues, mass torts, catastrophic injury and environmental claims.  He is a frequent presenter on ethics in structured settlements for both the insurance and legal field seminars.
 

Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Almond appointed Mr. Early to the Governor’s Insurance Council in October 1997. Mr. Early was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Structured Settlements Trade Association in 2001. He was Ringler Associates Top Producer in 2005. He was elected by the Associates to a seat on the Ringler Associates Board of Directors in 2006. Mr. Early was elected for a second time to the Board of Directors of the National Structured Settlements Trade Association in 2007, a term which included membership on the Executive Committee. In 2009 Mr. Early was appointed as Senior Vice President with responsibility for Ringler operations in the Eastern U.S. In 2012 Mr. Early was appointed as Executive Vice President and National Sales Director with responsibility for all the agency operations nationwide. He has coached youth hockey and baseball and is a former Director of the Bretton Woods (NH) Ski Team.

Tom Fay is a Shareholder at Boyle | Shaughnessy Law. He joined the firm in 1992. Admitted to practice law in Massachusetts,  New Hampshire, and Vermont, he has extensive trial experience. His state and federal trial practice concentrates in construction litigation, transportation litigation, environmental litigation, blasting litigation, premises litigation, motor vehicle litigation, bad faith litigation, and municipal litigation. Tom is a member of the Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA), the New England Chapter of the Society of Explosive Engineers (NESEE), the Defense Research Institute (DRI), CLM, the Massachusetts Defense Lawyer’s Association (MDLA), the Massachusetts Bar Association, the New Hampshire Bar Association, the Manchester Bar Association and the Vermont Bar Association. Tom  is a 1987 graduate of Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America, where he served on the Law Review from 1985-1987. Tom graduated from Boston College, with a B.A. in Economics and Political Science. Outside of the firm, Tom is the former Chair of the Wayland Board of Selectmen, and has chaired other town committees. He is also the former President of the Boston Young Men’s Christian Union.

Katie A. Fox is a nationally recognized leader in the fields of Medicare Secondary Payer Compliance and Workers’ Compensation. As a co-founder of the Medicare Advocacy Recovery Coalition (MARC), Ms. Fox worked with Roy Franco to create a legislative solution that ultimately led to the introduction of H.R. 4796 in 2010. She continues to tirelessly dedicate herself to these efforts as a former co-chair. Ms. Fox served as the Medicare Compliance & Resolution Unit Manager for MedInsights, a GAB Robins Company and a leading provider of claims management services. During this tenure she identified the need to integrate coordination of benefits with Medicare at the claim level. This initiative led to a national training program and the deployment of a fully contained MSP Unit.Katie holds a BS in Organizational Development and Management as well as various professional certifications, such as Emergency Medical Technician, Paralegal, and Medicare Set-Aside Consultant – Certified (MSCC). She has extensive claims management experience, with over 15 years in the industry and was a General Adjuster and key claims professional.Recent Published Articles:Medicare Reporting Rules Require Further Alterations, National Underwriter, May 3, 2010Medicare Secondary Payer Reports Deadline Moved To Jan. 1, Property Casualty 360, February 18, 2010Highlights of Speaking Experience:NAMSAP Annual Meeting, 2008RIMS Webinar Series, 2009US Law Webinar Series, 2009Colorado Claims Conference 2009 & 2010Florida Workers’ Compensation Conference 2009National League of Cities 2010RIMS Rocky Mountain 2009, 2010
Professional Organizations:National Association of Medicare Set Aside Professionals- Educational and Legislative Team 2009-2010Medicare Advocacy Recovery Coalition – Co-Chair 2008-2010Colorado Self Insured AssociationProfessionals in Worker’s CompensationDenver Claims Association
Ms. Fox has focused the last 8 years on Medicare compliance and legislative reform. As the Vice President of Medicare Compliance for Franco Signor LLC, she continues to be a leader and innovator in an ever-changing and complex field. Her dedication to comprehensive improvements on the national level, continue to impact the entire industry.

Rusty Goudelock graduated from The Citadel with a degree in business administration and obtained his Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law. Rusty is a founding member of MGC. He has been representing business interests in workers’ compensation and related matters exclusively for more than 38 years. He prides himself in understanding his clients’ workforce, products, services and industry. Rusty is an active member in key national professional organizations devoted to workers’ compensation and claims industry issues, including the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) and the Defense Research Insitute (DRI). In addition, he has served the Bar and community as president of the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Educational Association, treasurer of Kids Chance of SC, chair of the SC Bar’s Workers’ Compensation Section, and Advisory Board member of the USO South Carolina. Rusty regularly lectures before various organizations on issues related to workers’ compensation and litigation management issues. He frequently appears before the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission and in state courts representing employers, self-insureds and insurance carriers. Rusty is one of the South Carolina attorneys practicing workers’ compensation law named in The Best Lawyers in America and South Carolina Super Lawyers.

Outside of MGC, Rusty can be found spending time with his family, including his wife, three daughters, sons-in-law, granddaughter, and a host of family dogs. He and his family enjoy college football together, spending time at the beach and traveling. Rusty enjoys fishing and flying. He has been a licensed pilot since age 17 and volunteers to support medical air transport missions for Mercy Flight. He is a US Army veteran.

Matt is a member of the Cyber Liability Pratice and serves as a national resource for Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services, Inc. His sole focus is on Information Privacy, Network Security, Media, and Professional
Liability exposures. Matt's primary goal is to help organizations effectively manage the threats specific to their industry and operations through close partnerships with client management teams. He works to educate and guide
his clients through the risk-identification process in order to obtain tailored coverage solutions while also identifying opportunities to implement appropriate loss control measures. In addition, he helps clients navigate
the claims process to ensure the appropriate steps are being taken to protect the organization. Matt participated in the Gallagher internship program in 2011 and officially joined the company full time in 2012.
He graduated with a degree in Insurance and Risk Management from the nationally recognized Katie School of Insurance at Illinois State University. He has worked with clients across various industries including legal,
finance, healthcare, retail and technology.

EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DESIGNATIONS
Illinois State University
Bachelor of Science, Insurance
Professional Liability Underwriting Society
Member

Rich King, Managing Member of Melchiode Marks King LLC (“MMK”), litigates disputes in all Louisiana and Mississippi courts and is also licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Rich has vast experience defending his clients in the areas of Professional Liability, Insurance Coverage, Bad-Faith, First-Party Property, Construction Law, Employment Law, Commercial Litigation, Environmental/Toxic Tort liability, Subrogation and General Casualty.
 
Rich has lectured to several organizations and clients on a variety of subjects and issues including but not limited to, Property, Bad-Faith, Construction, Professional Negligence, Alternative Dispute Resolutions, Trial Tactics, and General Litigation.
 Rich is a member of the Louisiana Bar Association, Mississippi Bar Association, Massachusetts Bar Association, Defense Research Institute, Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel, Federal Bar Association, and the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM), where he was a member of the Management & Professional Liability Advisory Board from 2014 -2019. Also, Rich is a 2013–2024 Top Lawyer, a 2012-2023 Super Lawyer, an America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigator from 2018 - 2024, has an AV Martindale-Hubbell rating and was named the 2015 Outside Counsel of the Year by the CLM.

Vance Knapp, a Denver Partner within AT’s Employment and Labor practice area, has over 20 years of experience representing a variety of employers, including those in the public sector. As such, Vance has extensive experience defending employers in single plaintiff and class actions alleging violations of state and federal law, including Title VII, ADA, FMLA, FLSA, CADA and claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1981. Vance has successfully tried cases in state and federal court. In 2016, he successfully tried an ADEA wrongful termination lawsuit involving a commercial airline pilot terminated for poor performance. He obtained a defense verdict after a five day jury trial in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. Deneffe v. SkyWest Airlines, Inc., U.S. District Court, District of Colorado, Civil Action No. 14-cv-00348-MEH. 

Vance was also a former Assistant City Attorney assigned to the Prosecution and Code Enforcement Unit. As a former prosecutor, he has tried over 300 cases, 30 of which were jury trials. During his time as an Assistant City Attorney, Vance developed a good rapport with members of the Denver City Council, command personnel in the Denver Police and Fire Departments and a thorough understanding of municipal operations. 

Vance has also been very active in the Denver legal community. Previously, he was president of the Sam Cary Bar Association, member of the Denver Bar Association Board of Trustees; and the University of Colorado Law Alumni Board.

Brian Krantz is a Claims Professional in the CNA Specialty Claim’s Management Liability, Financial Institutions and Technology unit where he focuses on Cyber, Technology and Media claims.  Brian previously managed Legal Malpractice and Reinsurance claims at CNA.  Prior to working joining CNA, Brian worked in private practice in Chicago.  He received his B.A. from Purdue University, J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law, and is currently licensed to practice law in Illinois.

Jason Lockhart’s practice focuses on workers’ compensation defense. Jason has been instrumental in the creation of an evolving business model, which is designed to satisfy client needs for alternative fee arrangements and increase client value through creation of informed workers compensation business strategies based on data-driven decisions.Outside of MGC, Jason spends time with his wife and two children, as well as watching sports. Practice Groups Workers' CompensationEducation University of South Carolina School of Law (JD) University of South Carolina Honors College (BA) Professional Memberships South Carolina Bar Association South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys' Association South Carolina Workers' Compensation Educational Association Defense Research Institute Graduate – 2015 iTs|SC Leadership InsuranceBar Admissions 2000 South Carolina Awards The Best Lawyers In America© (2015-2016) Community Involvement St. John’s Episcopal Church (Former Vestry and Junior Warden) Carolina Alumni Association F3 Columbia

John Lucas is the US Property & Casualty Claims team leader and manages a team of 15 claim handlers. John has over 21 years of experience in the insurance industry. John joined Sompo in November 2011 as an Assistant Vice President responsible for managing property and casualty claims across several books of business.  Prior to joining Sompo, John was a Claims Manager at a Fortune 200 carrier for nearly eight years, where he managed several claims teams in multiple locations on various lines of business including a National E&S program book consisting of habitational/hospitality/leisure/retail risks, in addition to Rail Road Liability. John began his insurance career at a Fortune 400 insurer, where he was a claims professional in the National Accounts Unit. Over the course of five plus years at another insurer as a Special Accounts Claims specialist, John managed claims for large clients.  John holds a BA in Biology from the University of NY, College at Oswego, and a MS in Health Services Administration from the New School for Social Research (NY).  John is a member of the Defense Research Institute (DRI) and the International Association of Claim Professionals (IACP) and is a CLM Fellow.

Ron Mazariegos is Head of Public Entity and Non-Profit claims at Ambrdige Group.  Ron manages a claims unit handling complex, high impact commercial auto, municipal liability, E&O, MPL, EPL, workers' compensation, excess casualty and reinsurance claims on behalf of insured municipalities, school districts, public risk pools, religous organizations and higher learning institutions.

Previously, Ron was VP of Claims and Vendor Manager with Arrowpoint Capital, (formerly Royal and SunAlliance Insurance), where he led a team of Workers Compensation, No-Fault and PIP claim adjusters and supervisors. Ron also managed professional lines, including Architects and Engineers' Errors and Omissions claims in the U.S. and Canada.

Ron has extensive experience representing the insurance industry on both the claims and defense side. Prior to joining Arrowpoint, Ron was an attorney with Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker, LLP in New York. His practice focused on litigation, with an emphasis on construction, professional and general liability defense, insurance coverage matters and subrogation claims. He regularly defended automobile negligence, premises liability, assaults and batteries and negligent security lawsuits on behalf of major insurance carriers, self-insureds, third-party administrators, reinsurers and municipal entities.

Ron was also a civil-trial attorney for the New York City Law Department, Office of the Corporation Counsel. As an Assistant Corporation Counsel, Ron successfully defended and resolved hundreds of lawsuits filed against the City of New York, the New York City Police Department, the Board of Education, the Department of Transportation and the NYC Sanitation Department.

Ron is a licensed attorney in New York and North Carolina. He also a licensed adjuster in NC, SC, FL, TX and GA.

Matt McColley is the Chief Claims Officer for KW Specialty Insurance Company.  
 
With over 25 years of litigation and claims experience, he has held leadership roles with both national and regional carriers in FL, VA, WI and MN.
 
Matt graduated with a B.A in History from the University of Kansas after being on active duty in the Army with the 101st Airborne at Fort Campbell KY.

Johnny Meyer is responsible for cultivating and maintaining relationships among business partners. He is focused on developing strategies and business plans with partners and executing against metrics and milestones to drive growth and revenue. Johnny has over a decade of combined experience in the workers’ compensation space, working in business development, marketing, and customer service, and obtained his B.A in Sports Management, with a minor in Business Management from Salem State University.

He currently resides just outside of Boston, with his girlfriend and puppy. He’s passionate about volunteering with the Make-A-Wish Foundation & animal shelters, traveling, cooking, and sports- especially Boston sports.

Stefano Minale is the Chief Claims Officer of Tokio Marine HCC, HCC underwrites specialty insurance products worldwide. The company operates in five segments U.S Property and Casualty, Professional Liability, Accident and Health, U.S. Surety and Credit and International. The U.S. Property and Casualty segment provides aviation, errors and omissions liability, public risk, employment practices, primary and excess casualty, brown water marine products and directors & officers liability.  Stefano has over 20 years of experience in the insurance industry. Prior to joining HCC Stefano began his carrier at AIG in the D&O and Professional Liability Claims Department. Stefano then moved to the brokerage side of the industry where was a D&O and Professional Liability broker and manager for Marsh, JLT and Willis.

Bruno Para is an Assistant Vice President and Manager with Liberty Mutual’s Corporate Legal Strategic Services (LSS) organization. His current responsibilities include the oversight of law firm relationships in the Central United States which includes 21 states extending from Minnesota south to Louisiana and east to Florida.

Mr. Para possesses a wealth of litigation experience both in and out of the courtroom. Prior to joining Legal Strategic Services in 2010, he was the Managing Principal of Litigation at Kovitz Shifrin & Nesbit in Chicago where in addition to handling complex matters, he led various initiatives to improve client services and expand worker mobility. Prior to the Kovitz firm, Mr. Para managed the Chicago Field Legal office for the Safeco Insurance Company where he tried numerous cases, developed operational efficiency standards, national best practices and new business strategies. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Safeco Insurance Company of Illinois and the Insurance Company of Illinois.

Mr. Para is a graduate of DePaul University (BS), Loyola University (MBA) and the Northern Illinois University School of Law (J.D.) where he acted as the Managing Editor of the Law Review. He is a Certified Litigation Management Professional (CLMP) and is licensed to practice in all Illinois State and Federal courts. 

Mr. Ranieri is Chair of the Environmental Law and Litigation Practice. He also practices in the areas of general liability, construction and product liability matters on behalf of self-insured entities, insurance companies and third-party administrators. Some of his significant achievements include:

- Certified Nationally as a Civil Trial Advocate; - Certified as a Civil Trial Attorney by the New Jersey Supreme Court; - Recently argued before New Jersey Supreme Court on issue of Statutory Construction for lawsuit bars (statutes of repose) - Successfully argued before the New Jersey Supreme Court, causing a change in the law for municipal liability and conditions of public property; - Successfully argued an appeal that changed New Jersey state law on Dram Shop liability for foreseeability; - Personally tried to verdict as first chair over 50 jury and 15 non-jury trials; - Lectures throughout the United States on various mass tort/toxic tort issues - Named a Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America Society (National Honorary Society of Senior Trial Attorneys) - Since 2005, Rick has been recognized by New Jersey Super Lawyers magazine as being among the top 5 percent of practitioners in his practice specialty within the State of New Jersey - Achieved an "AV Preeminent" Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell

Rich Sheridan joined Berkley Cyber Risk Solutions as SVP, Chief Claims Officer, in March of 2017.  Prior to Berkley, Rich worked at AXIS PRO, where he was a Vice President of Claims overseeing the company's claims stemming from its Miscellaneous E&O and Data Breach, Cyber Liability, and Technology product lines.  Prior to joining AXIS PRO, Rich served in a similar role at ACE North American Claims in New York and New Jersey for more 10 years, and before working at ACE, he was a Complex Claim Director for Miscellaneous Professional Liability Claims at AIG Technical Services in New York for more than five years.  Before entering the insurance industry, Rich worked as an associate at the law firms Heidell, Pittoni, Murphy & Bach, P.C., and Tellerman, Paticoff & Greenberg in New York City, and before that as an Assistant District Attorney in The Bronx, New York, for more than five years.
Rich has been a speaker on various insurance-related issues for PLUS, Net Diligence, MLRC, Eagle International, Execusummit, and for the ABA.  Rich earned his JD from Fordham University School of Law in 1989, and graduated a BA from the State University of New York at Albany in 1985.

Diane Stephens is currently Director of Excess and Transportation Programs for Triton Claim Management. She was previously the President of United Claims Service, Inc. out of Babylon, New York. Prior, she served as an Assistant Vice President at Allied World in Excess Casualty for two years, and was a Division Claims Manager with Lancer Insurance Company for 22 years, where she managed high exposure Commercial Motor Vehicle cases and specialized in trucking, buses, and limousine losses as well as being a part of an Immediate Response team. She also provided risk management training, and participated in multiple industry trade shows. In earlier claim roles, Ms. Stephens worked at Progressive Insurance as a Casualty Specialist/Casualty Team Leader, and she started her insurance career at Liberty Mutual Insurance handling multiple lines.

Diane was part of the leadership team of the Long Island Claims Litigation Management Alliance, serving as President. She is also a member of CLM's Alternative Dispute Resolution team. Diane was a proud member of the inaugural class at CLM's School of Transportation and has earned the designation of ACP. She is now a CLM faculty member, and has spoken at numerous conferences and events on a variety of topics that affect our industry today.

Mr. Thackery has responsibility for office operations at the law firm and heads the Risk Management practice.  Previously he worked with American Medical Response as their Senior Vice President of Professional Services.   At AMR Ron lead safety, risk management, procurement and controlled substances administration. Previously, he was responsible for the integration of acquired companies into the organization, fleet administration, Paramedic Schools and he continues to the Logistics team for FEMA deployments. During his 22 years at AMR he led many teams of caregivers and leaders in the development of innovative programs in EMS.  Mr. Thackery received the Distinguished Service to Safety award from the National Safety Council in 2007 the highest individual award bestowed by the Council.  He recently received the Walter J. Schaeffer award for excellence from the American Ambulance Association.  He served on the Board of Directors for the National Safety Council and chairs the Professional Standards and Research Committee of the American Ambulance Association.  Prior to his service at AMR, he was Senior Counsel to Federal Express.  He is a Board Chair for the College of Emergency Services, a Board member of the AMR Charitable Foundation and an Advisory Board Member of Securisyn. Mr. Thackery holds a BA in humanities from Christian Brothers University and a JD from the University of Memphis. 

Stephen Truono was the Vice President, Global Risk Management & Insurance for 11+ years at Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Worldwide, Inc.  based in Stamford, Connecticut until the acquisition by Marriott International Inc. in 3Q2016.  His responsibilities included leading a team of  professionals in managing the Company’s worldwide risk management initiatives including: 1) identification, analysis and evaluation of risks to which the Company may be exposed; 2) design and implementation of programs to fund/finance/transfer these risks, including placement and management of Company’s global insurance programs, and 3) collaborating with Global Safety & Security team to mitigate and control identified risks through the development and implementation of environmental, health & safety, fire prevention, life safety, security, crisis planning and claim management programs. Prior to Starwood, Mr. Truono was the Exec. Director, Global Risk Management at Avon Products, Inc. for 13+ years focusing on risk management issues relating to consumer products and brands with global manufacturing, distribution and sales operations.  He previously worked for JWP International, Marsh & Mclennan, andnd Liberty Mutual Insurance Company.

Mr. Truono has a BS degree in Physical Sciences from St. John’s University. He is a Certified Safety Professional by examination through Board of Certified Safety Professionals and has his Associate in Risk Management (ARM) with honors through Insurance Institute of America. His has served on several insurance company Client Advisory Boards, is an active member of the American Hotel & Lodging Association Risk Management Committee, Metropolitan NY Risk Manager Roundtable, and a member of RIMS. He is a Past President of the New York Metropolitan Chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers, and is currently active in various risk management and trade organizations. Mr Truono is also a member of the CLM Advisory Board.