Expert – Architect
Licenses/Certifications
• Architect - California State Board of Architectural Examiners No. C 27545
• General Contractor – California State Licensing Board No. 679185
• LEED AP BC+D
Areas of Focus
• Architectural Design
• Architectural Project Management
• Modern Design
• Adaptive Reuse
• Building Technology
• Coastal Commission
• Contracts
Project Expertise
• Single Family Residence
• Multiple & Complex Residential
• Historic Preservation
• Retrofit Design
• Commercial Buildings
• Government Buildings
• Tenant improvements
• Healthcare Facilities
Areas of Expertise
• Forensic Investigation
• Document Analysis
• Repair Recommendations
• Contract Disputes/Construction Claims
• Building Code and Materials Research
• Standard of Care
• Standard of Practice
• Architect Professional Liability
• Expert Witness Testimony
• Water Intrusion Investigation
• Renovation and Restoration Techniques
• Professional Risk Management Consulting
• Construction Contract Bidding and Negotiation
• Project Management
• Architectural Design, Documentation and Construction Contract Administration of Low, Medium and High-rise Residential and Institutional Buildings
• Construction Claims
• Production Systems Consulting
• Technical and Construction Contract Administration
• Architectural Drawings and Specifications
• Construction Delay Claims
Education
• Masters of Architecture, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
• Bachelor of Arts American Civilization, Brown University, Providence, RI

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. 

THOMAS A. BALESTRERI, JR has dedicated most of his 35 years in practice to the representation of developers, property owners and general contractors in litigation, negotiations and risk management. Enjoying the highest AV rating, Mr. Balestreri has tried a number of high exposure cases with great success. He has earned the trust of developers who have retained him to manage problem situations that require an intimate understanding of development and construction practices as well as a firm understanding of the needs of homeowners and tenants. Most particularly, Mr. Balestreri has represented the firm’s clients in many matters, including:

Representation of the developer of one of the first San Diego downtown high-rise condominium developments. This highly complex, multi-party case was finally resolved to the satisfaction of the developer after several years of litigation with one of the toughest plaintiff firms in Southern California.

Litigation against the soils and design engineers of another high-rise project in downtown San Diego following the collapse of the temporary soil nailing system during the excavation of the site. 

Defense jury verdict for client land developer charged with causing catastrophic landslide and destruction of more than half dozen million dollar homes in Dana Point. 
 

Virginia E. Balogh has been an industry professional for over 20 years.  Although she started life as a plaintiff’s attorney representing injured people in auto, premises and workers’ compensation matters, she soon moved ‘in-house’.  Ms. Balogh has handled litigated claims in diverse areas of insurance – Workers’ Compensation, Commercial General Liability, Professional Liability, Construction Defect.  She has also managed multi-party litigation with significant coverage barriers and presented at national conferences. 
 
Ms. Balogh is currently a Technical Director for Nationwide’s E&S/Specialty division. 

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. 

Caryn L. Bellus is a board certified appellate lawyer whose practice includes all aspects of the firm’s legal work.  She specializes in the areas of civil appeals, civil litigation support and insurance coverage. Her extensive appellate experience includes appearances before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the Florida Supreme Court and all five Florida District Courts of Appeal. In addition, in the areas of insurance coverage and bad faith, Caryn is an expert in providing coverage analysis and litigating the interpretation of insurance policies.

Caryn is the Past Chair of The Appellate Practice Section of The Florida Bar and on the Appellate Court Rules Committee. I am the the Chair of the Florida Defense Lawyers Association’s Amicus Curiae Committee.

Ms. Bellus was voted a Florida Super Lawyer in Appellate Practice from 2006 through 2016, named one of Florida's "Best Lawyers" in Appellate Practice from 2013 through 2017, named one of Florida Trend’s Legal Elite in Appellate Practice from 2009 through 2011, and selected as a "Top Lawyer" in Appellate and Insurance Coverage by South Florida Legal Guide each year since 2005.

Prior to joining Kubicki Draper, Ms. Bellus served as a law clerk for the Honorable Gisela Cardonne-Ely at the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Florida.

Certifications/Specialties:
Florida Bar Board Certified - Appellate Practice
Certified Continuing Education Instructor, State of Florida

Education:
University of Florida College of Law, Gainesville, FL (J.D., 1995)
University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL (B.A., 1991)

For professional association memberships and special awards and recognitions, please visit:  http://www.kubickidraper.com/staff_detail11.php?MemberID=8



 

Bob provides Claim Services for Construction Services Group and Aon risk Services clients and Account Executives. He assists Aon clients in management of their claim exposures under both insured and self-insured programs. He is multi-line trained but has extensive experience in Builders Risk, Operations and Completed Operations claims in both Commercial and Residential construction. While at Aon, Bob has provided Construction-related consulting for BART, Stanford, Regents of the University of California (Builders Risk), Obayashi and many other Aon CSG Clients. Prior to Aon, he was the outsourced Global Claim Manager for Apple Computer, a position he held for 10 years. Prior consulting engagements include Cal Vet, LA MTA (Builders Risk Tunnel Collapses) and SSL (Latex Mass Tort Cost Recovery).
 
Bob has a broad range of experience in the investigation, management, and resolution of complex claims and exposures. This includes extensive experience with multi-party construction claims and in selection and management of Third Party Claims Administrators. In addition to Construction exposures, Bob has extensive claim advocacy experience in Professional Liability and Electronic Errors & Omissions Programs. 
 
Prior to joining our firm in 2007, Bob served as Senior VP at Marsh Risk Consulting, Claims Manager positions for George Hills Company, Crawford & Company and Alexsis, where he served as Regional Claims Manager for the western states region. Bob also held Claim Supervisory positions at Wausau Insurance Companies and Maryland Casualty Insurance Company. Bob has 37 years’ industry experience in various claim management capacities to include Independent Adjuster/TPAs, Insurers and brokers. Previous employers include Marsh Consulting Services, George Hills Adjusters and Alexander & Alexander.

Education:
BS, Political Science, University of South Dakota and law school at University of South Dakota
Holds a California Workers’ Compensation self-insurance certificate

 

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.

Responsible for monitoring, managing, evaluating, and resolving large construction defect claims thoughout the United States. The claims primarily involve owners, developers, and large general contractors.

Duties include evaluating coverage under GL and OCIP/CCIP policies at both primary and excess levels, reviewing contracts, attending mediations, and setting reserves. Settlement analysis includes presentation of claims to upper management in furtherance of obtaining authority and negotiating to efficiently resolve claims.

David S. Blau is the founding partner of the Blau | Keane Law Group, P.C.  Mr. Blau graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1989, and a Juris Doctorate from Loyola Law School in 1993. Mr. Blau has extensive transactional and litigation experience in various areas of law, including entertainment, intellectual property, insurance coverage, corporate and business formation, development and compliance, construction, employment, premises liability and personal injury. Mr. Blau is licensed to practice in the federal and state trial and appellate courts throughout California, and has engaged in all aspects of litigation, arbitration, mediation and trial.

Mr. Blau is a member of the State Bar of California, ASCAP, and the American Federation of Musicians. Mr. Blau is the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer for Mesmer, Inc., a music production and artist management company, and is the Manager of CLDMJA, LLC, a real estate holding group.

Mr. Blau takes pride in his and his firm's efficient and effective handling of matter, and coordination with carriers, risk managers, claims adjusting firms and retained defense counsel to proactively address coverage, contribution, allocation and additional insured issues and disputes. 

Ken Bloom is a founding partner of gartner + bloom PC PC an AV rated law firm with offices in New York City and Springfield, New Jersey. Ken is a skilled trial attorney, who concentrates his practice in the areas of Casualty/Liability Defense including New York Labor Law (Scaffold Law) matters; Insurance Coverage; Construction Litigation including construction defect, EIFS, apparent microbial growth (AMG), asbestos and lead paint matters, commercial auto, as well as Insurance Fraud Defense and Commercial Litigation.

Ken was admitted to the bar in the District of Columbia in 1981; New York 1982; Pennsylvania 1990; the U.S. District Court, Eastern and Southern District of New York in 1983; U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York in 1990; U.S. Supreme Court in 1985; U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan in 1988; and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit 1990.

Ken is a member of the New York State Former District Attorneys Association, Brooklyn, New York; Pennsylvania and American Bar Associations- member of the Tort and Insurance Practice Section and Alternate Dispute Resolution Section; Co- chair of the Construction Committee of the ABA Section on Dispute Resolution (2004-2005); District of Columbia Bar and the New York County Lawyers Association.

He is a frequent lecturer on construction and coverage related topics, as well as ADR He has served as both Vice-Chairman and Chairman of the MC Consultant’s East Region Construction Defect Conference 2010-2014. He has lectured at the West Coast Casualty Construction Defect Conference and has been selected as a New York Superlawyer 2007- 2016, as well as one of the Top Attorneys in New York 2013.

Mr. Bloom has recently been appointed to the prestigious Claims and Litigation Alliance Construction Defect Board of Directors, an assembly of some of the top construction defect professionals in the country.

Anne capped off a 30-year career when she retired in 2021 after serving as the CEO of CLM for three years.  During her tenure, she combined her passion for continuing education and bringing together industry professionals and focused on furthering the CLM mission of educating claims and litigation management professionals. She joined CLM at a pivotal time with the infusion of energy generated by the affiliation with The Institutes and the related transformation of the CLM into a non-profit organization and focused growth and renewal.

Prior to joining CLM, Anne was the Managing Partner of the Chicago office of Cozen O'Connor where she practiced in the areas of professional liability and insurance coverage. In that role, she represented architects, structural, civil, mechanical and electrical engineers, lawyers and land surveyors. In addition to representation in traditional litigation, Anne has appeared in a variety of alternative dispute formats including arbitration and mediation. She also provided general corporate counseling to design professionals related to contract negotiations, risk management, insurance procurement and coverage, fee disputes and employment issues.

 

Jeff Bogert is an attorney with McGuinness & Cicero/Chubb Group of Insurance Companies Staff Counsel, located in Sunrise, Florida.  Jeff is Board Certified by the Florida Bar in Construction Law and represents Chubb and its affiliates’ insureds in construction defect, premises liability, personal injury, wrongful death, and products liability cases throughout Florida. 

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.
 

MELANIE M. BROWN, J.D. is the Head of Complex and Specialty Claims at Munich Re Specialty North America. She has over 20 years of experience in casualty and specialty lines including Professional, Healthcare, Public Entity, Construction, Environmental, Reinsurance and Surety. Melanie previously worked at Markel and was in private practice for 11 years where she actively participated in mediations, arbitrations, and trials. Melanie graduated from the University of Virginia with Distinction and received her Juris Doctor from Washington & Lee University.  Melanie is an avid tennis player and reader.
 

 

TYLER M. BUNTING has held various program and claims management positions in the insurance industry and is currently a Claim Manager with NBIS Construction & Transport Insurance Services, Inc.. Preceding his current role, Mr. Bunting was a Claim Manager at AmTrust Financial Services, a Claim Manager at Corvel Corporation, as well as a Senior Claims Program Manager and Casualty Claims Manager at QBE North America.  Mr. Bunting has 30 years of experience in the insurance industry, including investigations, complex claims handling, and management of losses throughout the United States, 

Mr. Bunting holds the AIC, SCLA, AINS and FCLA designations.  Mr. Bunting earned Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Utah in Political Science and Criminology.

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.
 

Kevin Caberto, CRIS (Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist) is the Construction Defect Claims Manager with Argo Group.  Based in Northern California, Kevin currently manages a claims team responsible for handling a nationwide portfolio of construction defect claims.  Kevin has over 22 years of claims and dispute resolution experience.  He is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine (1996).

David has been the General Counsel of Structure Tone (www.structuretone.com) for over 25 years.  Structure Tone, a worldwide construction services leader, provides comprehensive construction services for commercial, education, mission critical, healthcare, hospitality, retail, life sciences, and government clients.  Structure Tone’s portfolio includes renovation and expansion, new construction, and infrastructure upgrades – integrating sustainability, utilizing BIM and delivering projects through CM, GC D/B and IPD.

During his career at Structure Tone, David has been responsible for overseeing all aspects of the delivery of Legal Services to the Structure Tone organization, including contract administration, litigation and managing a very comprehensive insurance program.  At times, David has acted as the defacto Risk Manager of the organization and is responsible for the design, development and implementation of its insurance program, including a rolling CCIP program, Master Builders Risk Program and a Subcontractor Default Insurance Program.
David supervises and manages in-house and outside counsel on both insured and noninsured litigation, and works closely with the safety and risk management departments.  He directs the firm in contract negotiations and is a member of Structure Tone’s Corporate Compliance Committee.

David has a BA degree from Manhattan College and a JD degree from Fordham University School of Law.

Lisa M. Cappelluti is a Partner in the San Francisco office of Gordon & Rees and is a member of the Construction practice group. Her practice emphasizes the representation of developers and general contractors in construction disputes and contract consultations. She has represented clients in a wide variety of cases, for both residential and commercial construction projects.

Ms. Cappelluti has substantial experience assisting developer and general contractor clients in construction litigation and contract matters. She represents clients throughout the state in pre-litigation disputes and construction litigation involving defect issues, construction site injuries, environmental issues, mold claims, contract and delay claims impacting both residential and commercial construction projects. Ms. Cappelluti's trial successes include obtaining a defense verdict on two separate construction trials as well as favorable trial verdicts in construction site injury and construction defect trials. In addition, Ms. Cappelluti has been instrumental in assisting clients in forming corporations, preparing residential development documents for associated real estate transactions, and preparing contracts for developer and construction clients. She also has advised her clients on the procurement and administration of WRAP/OCIP insurance policies. She frequently lectures to members of different contractor groups on construction issues, contract disputes and risk allocation issues facing the construction industry. She also has published several articles for the construction industry.

Lisa graduated the University of San Francisco, 1994; and Santa Clara University, 1988.
 

Mr. Carlson is the founding partner of the firm and is board certified as a specialist and expert in construction law by the Florida Bar. He is a member in good standing of the State and Federal bars of Florida and the United States Virgin Islands. Mr. Carlson graduated from the Max M. Fisher College of Business at the Ohio State University and earned his Juris Doctorate from Capital University Law School (cum laude).  In addition to being board certified in construction law, he holds the highest Martindale-Hubbell Preeminent AV Peer Review Rating.

Mr. Carlson’s practice is focused on complex tort and commercial litigation where he has successfully represented clients in high value construction, products liability, class action and insurance matters.  In the litigation context, this includes mechanic’s liens, delay claims, contractual disputes, warranty claims and construction defect and products liability litigation.  In the non-litigation context, Mr. Carlson enjoys consulting on transactional matters, including the negotiation and development of contracts and insurance programs.  He has extensive experience evaluating and coordinating insurance programs, construction subcontracts, and helping our clients implement other pre-litigation risk management strategies.  Mr. Carlson handles matters throughout the State of Florida and the United States Virgin Islands.   

Mr. Carlson has also served as a speaker and panelist on issues regarding construction management, insurance and business risk and complex litigation.  

Expert – Fenestration
Affiliations
• Professional Member of ASTM, Sub-Committee member E06
Areas of Focus
• Window Assemblies
• Window Manufacturer
• Curtain Wall Analysis
• Developer & Subcontractor Coordination
Project Expertise
• Residential
• Commercial
• High Rise Construction
Areas of Expertise
• Forensic Investigation
• Document Analysis
• Repair Recommendations
• Delay Analysis
• Contract Disputes
• Building Code and Materials Research
• Standard of Care
• Expert Witness Testimony
• Water Intrusion Investigation
• Upgrade and Renovation Practices
• Risk and Construction Management Consulting
• Construction Design
• Quality Control
• Submittal Management
• Specifications Compliance
• Overall Job Site Responsibility
• Change Order and Cost Management
• Coordinate Bid Process
• Negotiate Construction Management Contracts
• Testing Requirements
• Insurance Coverage Issues
• Construction Project Management

Scott is the Co-Owner of Social Detection, Inc and has over twenty years of experience in insurance investigations. Social Detection, Inc is a unique People Search Engine that Finds, Filters, and Organizes information. Social Detection, Inc also offers a Concierge Report Service for select clients that utilize our Social Media Internet Analysts and find information on their claim files. Scott is a graduate of Rowan University and has worked with Kroll/InPhoto Surveillance and Titan Investigative Alliance.
Mr. Catron previously created the "Gotcha! Deep Internet Search". A unique manual search algorithm utilized to find data about a person on public internet sites including social network profiles, criminal records, civil records, property records, motor vehicles, new articles and much more. The all-encompassing profile is a cost effective tool that reduces claims exposure and claims costs.
Mr. Catron is a CEU Instructor in Florida, Delaware and Georgia and has presented "Internet Investigations - Deep Internet Mining" and "Using Technology To Investigate Insurance Fraud" courses at numerous venues including RIMS Nationals Conference, claims associations, insurance carriers, Fortune 500 companies, Third Party Administers and insurance fraud conferences including FIFEC.
Mr. Catron is affiliated with the Central Jersey Claims Association, the South Jersey Claims Association, the Delaware Claims Association, both the New Jersey and Pennsylvania Self-Insurers' Associations.

Mark is a trial lawyer with over 30 years of experience in state and federal courts in practice areas of construction, product liabilty, transprortation coverage and bad faith.  A cum laude graduate of Northwestern University School of Law, Mark brings legal scholarship to his clien'ts business needs combined with tenacicous advocacy to achieve advantageous resolution of difficult matters. Mark has represented the London Market and other international insurers on substantial catestrophic claims for over 25 years.  He is a sought after speaker at industry conferences and identified as a strategic thought leader on claims management, litigation and resoluton. Mark is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell.  He has been identified as a Super Lawyer in both Illinois and California.  He has been honored with the Trial Lawyer Award in Illinois for the largest subrogation recovery in Cook County, and was recently recognized as the Trial Lawyer of the Year by Old Republic Insurance Company for consecutive years in 2012 and 2103.  

Michael Coffey, a founding partner of the New York law firm of Coffey Modica, is a preeminent trial lawyer sought by companies globally for his experience and success in handling complex, high-exposure insurance defense litigation. He has handled many of the largest insurance-related claims and litigated matters in New York state over the past 25 years and has served as a defense attorney in more than 125 jury trials for companies and syndicates in state and federal courts throughout the United States, as well as has arbitrated and mediated over 300 matters to a successful conclusion.

Tanya Cronau is a graduate of The Florida State University College of Law and is authorized to practice law in Florida.  In 2013, Tanya began her career as a Senior Claims Analyst in AIG’s Construction Defect unit, and later worked as a Senior Claims Specialist in QBE’s Construction Defect Claims unit.  Since 2017, she has been practicing Insurance Coverage litigation, specifically focusing on Construction Defect disputes.

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.     
 

Steve is a recognized leader in construction law with more than 25 years of experience. Prior to joining Build Group, Inc. as General Counsel, Steve was a partner at Haight, Brown & Bonesteel where he handled hundreds of construction law matters, and spent years cultivating relationships. Clients retained Steve because of his expertise, legal abilities, and his total devotion to client satisfaction. Steve shared his expertise and insights with others by routinely speaking at conferences, seminars or webinars. Steve also served as leader of Haight’s Construction Law Practice Group.

Steve brought these skills to work as General Counsel for Build Group, Inc. On a daily basis, Steve works on contracts, employment issues, claims handling, or works with project teams to ensure projects are delivered as promised. Coming to work for Build Group has been a great experience for Steve. The working environment and culture are second to none, and a reflection of the great people in the organization at all levels.

La Tonya Darby, Vice President, Senior Liability Consultant and Coverage Counsel, Unison Risk Solutions/RCM&D.

Jerri A. DeCamp focuses her litigation practice in the areas of construction law, general liability, toxic exposure and premises liability within the New York State and Federal Courts.  Over the course of her career, Ms. DeCamp has obtained extensive experience defending property owners, contractors, construction managers, safety consultants and subcontractors in bodily injury and property damage construction related claims. Ms. DeCamp has effectively advocated for her clients before the various departments of the New York State Appellate Court.
Ms. DeCamp’s litigation experience also includes representing insurance companies in declaratory judgment actions. She also advises excess carriers as monitoring counsel in large exposure cases. Admitted to Bar: New York Connecticut U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York

Billy Deragon is an experienced Claim Director with a proven record of handling and overseeing Complex General Liability and Auto Claims. Billy has had excellent success in litigation management, ADR, and conducting comprehensive claim investigations.

Billy’s experience includes Construction, Auto Liability, Product Liability, General Liability and Trucking.

David Gray Douglas is a partner with the firm of Yaron & Associates, located in Oakland, California. David’s practice includes insurance coverage and insurance coverage litigation, including general liability, commercial auto, and public officials and management liability, among others, throughout the United States. David’s clients are primarily national and international insurance carriers, and third-party claims administrators, but he also represents policyholders on occasion.
 
David was admitted to the California bar in December, 1993, and is admitted to practice before all the federal and state courts in California, as well as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

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.

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.

Elizabeth Ferguson is a member of the firm's Professional Liability Department.  Her practice focuses on the defense of  Owners, Contractors, Material Suppliers, Developers, and Design Professionals (Architects, Engineers, and Surveyors) against claims of liability, breach of contract, construction defect, design defect, delay, liens/bonds, insurance coverage issues, and licensure issues.  She also provides transactional support for her construction clients, including contract drafting and review.  Elizabeth has been Board Certified in Construction Law by The Florida Bar since 2009 and is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell. She serves on the Florida Board of Professional Engineers, appointed by Gov. Rick Scott. 

Elizabeth is a Construction Panel Arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association, has served as a professor of Construction Law, and is a frequent speaker on legal and construction industry issues.  As a Florida Board Certified expert in construction law, her typical matters include  residential, commercial and roadway construction matters, from pre-suit through trial and arbitration.  She also defends clients before professional licensing boards related to disciplinary and licensure issues.

Elizabeth Fitzpatrick is General Counsel for Island International Companies providing legal counsel for all Island Companies and affiliates on areas of the law impacting the business, including the preparation, review and negotiation of contracts and other agreements, insurance and risk mitigation, cyber-liability, and advising and training company managers on industry specific regulations and developments.

Ms. Fitzpatrick has significant experience representing insurers and insureds in defending and instituting declaratory judgment actions and assisting clients in analyzing, arbitrating, negotiating and providing coverage opinions on issues arising under a variety of insurance policies, including commercial general liability, OCIP, professional, directors’ and officers’, employment practices, premises, commercial and automobile liability policies, as well as focusing on environmental coverage, cyber liability and social media issues. She also has an extensive appellate background in both state and federal courts.

She is Vice Chair of the Torts, Insurance and Compensation Law section of the New York State Bar Association where she previously served as chair of the Continuing Legal Education Committee, receiving the Chairperson of the Year award for 2012. She also serves as local chair and overall statewide planning chair for various New York State Bar Association seminars, including the Law School for Insurance Professionals and the Advanced Insurance Coverage Seminar. 

Nationally, she is an active member of the highly selective, invitation-only Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel. She is also active with DRI, the largest organization of defense attorneys in the country. Ms. Fitzpatrick has been recognized as among the top ranked attorneys in the state and is listed in New York Super Lawyers Magazine. She is AV rated preeminent.

An adjunct professor of Insurance Law at Touro College, she is a graduate of St. John’s University School of Law and Pennsylvania State University.

Mark has 29 years of continuous claim experience. The last 14 years has been dedicated to construction liability claims both in directly handling them and managing those who do. His expertise is primarily with high exposure claims. Mark is an avid runner and especially enjoys trail ultra-marathons from 50ks to 100 milers. 

Jennifer Franklin is an expert in claims and litigation management with more than 25 years experience in the insurance industry. She resides in Jacksonville, FL and is a Director for AFICS. She is responsible for managing four teams of construction defect specialists that handle Construction Defect claims in 19 States and four teams that handle the large loss specialty complex/litigated claims.  
Jennifer has a Business management degree from  University of Phoenix and holds the Senior Claims Law Associate (SCLA) designation from the American Educational Institute.
 

Tom has 39 years’ experience in Claims, and has 21 years in construction claims handling and supervision experience.
Responsibilities:
•     Oversight of large, complex construction defect claims with significant exposure in CA and the Pacific Northwest.
•     Develop reserves and authority for construction defect large loss files up to $500,000.
•     Work with Travelers legal, engineering and coverage groups on achieving expedited favorable outcomes of litigated cases involving issues of coverage, causation and contractual analysis.
•     Provide training and mentoring to field staff and offices throughout the western region.
•     Collaborate with Claim Account Executive’s and Underwriters to ensure consistent delivery of exceptional claim service.

Elaine Fresch is a senior partner in the Los Angeles and Las Vegas offices of the national litigation defense firm Hawkins Parnell. She specializes in construction defect litigation, representing developers, general contractors, subcontractors, design professionals and product manufacturers. She develops aggressive strategies to defend her clients cost-effectively. Elaine has tried complex construction defect cases and handled various complex commercial/real estate litigation matters in federal and state courts. She has also arbitrated construction cases successfully over the years. She is aggressive in her pursuit of settlement on cost-effective and strategically sound terms for her clients. Elaine also represents product manufacturers in complex subrogation claims and defends various clients in general liability and construction accident lawsuits. Elaine is a member of CLM's Construction Leadership Team  and is a member of CLM's Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She is also a Charter Fellow of the Construction Lawyers Society of America and a Senior Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America. Elaine has been honored with the Larry Syhre Commitment to Service Award for her contributions to the construction industry.

Glenn Fuerth is co-chair of the firm’s Architects and Engineers Liability practice. Glenn has extensive, national experience assisting architects, engineers, contractors, subcontractors and property managers with virtually any potential legal issue that arises in the commercial construction industry. He has developed a particular concentration in crane liability and defect claims, including representing the crane owner in litigation arising from the 2008 crane collapse accidents at East 51st and East 91st streets in Manhattan.

In his litigation practice, Glenn has prosecuted or defended numerous delay damage claims, design claims, lien actions, change order claims, injured worker claims and construction bond/surety claims arising from the construction of office, residential and institutional properties. This work has included significant litigation that permits architects to seek damages for economic losses. He has represented clients at trial in state and federal courts nationwide, as well as at arbitrations and mediations. Glenn also represents clients in the negotiation of contracts between the various parties on a construction project, including owners, contractors, subcontractors, design professionals and consultants. In addition, Glenn has managed Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance audits on a national level, and has defended clients against safety and code violation citations by OSHA and the New York City Department of Buildings. Glenn has addressed architects and engineers at CLE programs covering the New York Rules of Professional Discipline and other topics, and recently gave a presentation on investigating catastrophic construction accidents at a Defense Research Institute seminar.

Glenn is admitted to the New York Bar Association and is admitted to practice in U.S. District Court, Eastern and Southern Districts of New York U.S. Court of Appeals, Second and Third Circuits. He graduated Fordham University School of Law, J.D., 1978 and George Washington University, B.A., 1975

Adam Ganzell is a professional in the construction industry with over 15 years of experience. After nearly a decade spent in estimating, project management, quality assurance, long-term home performance and field management across all aspects of residential vertical construction, the economic downturn provided the opportunity to enter the world of construction defect risk and litigation management. Although apprehensive at first, Adam has come to thoroughly enjoy and thrive in this fast paced and challenging environment. Over the past four years Adam has taken on a roll in operations, building an extremely high performing post close services team and managing risk and litigation concerns for the Northern California Division of a large national residential builder.

Jeffery A. Garofalo is a seasoned construction litigator based in Procopio’s Las Vegas office. He is a Martindale-Hubbell Preeminent AV Peer Review rated attorney who has successfully resolved cases with a total exposure of over $600 million in his 25-year career.  Before coming to Procopio, Jeff was a shareholder at Lee, Hernandez, Landrum and Garofalo, where he handled cases venued throughout the Southwest. 

His construction practice includes litigation of class actions, single-family and residential matters, disputes involving high-rise and commercial structures, and product defect cases.  He is frequently consulted to address risk management, contract negotiation and early dispute resolution; as well as mechanic’s lien and delay claims.  Jeff also litigates commercial and business disputes, environmental claims, and general liability and tort cases.

Ms. Garvin has over 20 years of experience in the insurance industry with experience handling a variety of claims, including complex construction defect, premise liability, product liability, environmental liability, complex coverage issues, and auto dealer liability and management of claims throughout the United States, as well as serving in various leadership roles.

Ms. Garvin holds Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of South Florida in Finance and Economics and has also earned the CPCU, SCLA and AIC designations.

Diana Gerstberger has an extensive background managing and handling  a variety of complex litigated claims including New York Labor Law, Products Liability, Premise Liability and Construction Defect matters. Ms. Gerstberger is currently Vice President of Casualty Claims at Arch Insurance, where she manages the Construction Defect and NY Labor Law claims teams. Previously, Diana was a Primary Claims Manager at AXIS Insurance where she managed a team of  adjusters as well as handled a claims pending consisting of primarily of New York Labor Law, Premises liability and Products Liability losses.  Additionally, Diana has served in various mentoring and  leadership roles while at Zurich, Catlin, XL Catlin, AXIS and Arch.  Ms. Gerstberger has over 21 years’ experience in the insurance industry as a claims professional and insurance defense counsel. She obtained her JD from California Western School of Law and she is licensed to practice in California.

Tom Gesner is the Vice President of Construction Defect with Applied Claims Group. Following his graduation from high school, Tom served on Active Duty with the U.S. Marine Corps and after serving our country, he attended the University of Maine at Fort Kent obtaining his A.A. in Criminal Justice and B.S. in Social Sciences. He was employed as a Reserve Police Officer while in college and briefly attended Cal Western School of Law before beginning his career with Farmers Insurance in San Diego. Tom has worked in the insurance industry over 30 years handling both personal and commercial lines, including educator's legal liability, municipalities’ legal liability and environmental tort with extensive experience in construction defect. He was part of the original construction defect litigation team at Golden Eagle. Tom has experience as a Quality Assurance Claims Auditor responsible for project management, development of best practices and claims auditing. He was also a Home Office Examiner responsible for the oversight of Large Loss Litigation CD claims and direct handling of multiple jurisdiction Developer and General Contractor claims. As a HO Examiner, Tom was also responsible for Surety Bond, Cargo, Excess and International claims while supervising claims with large reserves in the TX and IL claims operations. Growing up he spent many years working for his father (a General Contractor) as a Carpenter's Helper developing construction skills that would later prove valuable while handling CD claims at several different levels. 

Rima Ghandour is the principal of Ghandour Law, a full-service law firm in Portland, Oregon.  Rima, a Lebanese-American, has practiced in construction defect, insurance defense, commercial and business litigation, and related areas for 15 years.  After working with boutique construction defect firms in California and Oregon and as in-house counsel with Safeco, Rima opened Ghandour Law in 2013.  She earned a B.A. in International Relations from Colgate University in 1994 and a J.D. from the University of San Diego in 1998.  She is admitted to practice in Oregon, California, Washington, and Idaho.  Rima is a on the executive committee of the Owen Panner Inn of Court.  Rima is past president of the Queen's Bench, the Multnomah chapter of the Oregon Women Lawyers Networking Committee and past president of the Multnomah Bar Association. Rima is also active in the community, and is a co-founder of the Arab American Cultural Center of Oregon and current board member.  Rima is also a board member of the Oregon Law Foundation.  In her spare time, Rima enjoys skiing, travel and the outdoors. 

 Betsy A. Gillaspy is a co-founder of the firm and is the managing partner. Throughout her career, Betsy has represented a wide array of clients. This has included developers, general contractors, product manufacturers and businesses of all sorts. Betsy is known for her aggressive, yet thoughtful representation of clients. Martindale Hubbell rates Betsy “AV”, its highest ranking of attorney skills and abilities, and Super Lawyers Magazine named Betsy a 2014, 2015, and 2016 Super Lawyer, a designation that recognizes a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Betsy is admitted to practice law in Washington, Oregon, Arkansas, Texas and the U.S. District Court-Western District of Washington. Betsy speaks frequently to insurance and industry groups.
 

Stephanie is managing partner in the Atlanta, Georgia office of Goodman McGuffey LLP. She has 20 years of experience and concentrates in the areas of insurance coverage, coverage litigation, and bad faith defense. A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Stephanie slowly made her way down South after high school, receiving her BA from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C and her JD from the University of Georgia School of Law in Athens, Georgia. Stephanie has successfully prosecuted and defended declaratory judgment actions, defended high value bad faith actions, and regularly provides coverage advice for insurers, risk managers, and TPAs related to all types of policies.Additionally, Stephanie travels throughout the United States speaking to insurers, risk managers, and lawyers regarding issues involving insurance coverage, bad faith, ethics, and professionalism.

Yolanda Gonzalez has been in the insurance industry for over 20 years as a claims professional and in management. She has worked in a myriad lines of business ranging from personal lines (auto/homeowner), personal umbrella, CGL, and construction defect coverage. Ms. Gonzales is currently a Senior Claims Adjuster with North American Claims Services, Inc. Ms. Gonzalez has extensive experience handling and supervising large, complex, multi-party complex construction defect matters across various states across the country on behalf of insurance carriers, including direct primary carriers for the developer and/or general contractor entities, and including WRAP/OCIP policies.

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.

Christopher J. Hallman

Chris Hallman is Deputy General Counsel of TRI Pointe Group, a family of regional homebuilders including Pardee Homes, TRI Pointe Homes, Maracay Homes, Trendmaker Homes, Quadrant Homes and Winchester Homes . He has been General Cousel of Pardee Homes since 2007. Prior to joining Pardee Homes in 2005, he was a partner at the Law Firm of Koeller, Nebeker Carlson and Haluck. He is a graduate of San Diego State University and California Western School of Law and is admitted to practice in all State and Federal Courts in California and Nevada.
 

David Harrigan is a Senior Partner at Luks, Santaniello, Petrillo, Cohen & Peterfriend. He is a Board Certified Construction Law Expert by the Florida Bar and a member of the Construction Defect Litigation Group. David has been rated DistinguisedTM by Martindale Hubbell and his peers. His practice is primarily focused on commercial and construction litigation matters, including construction defect and contact claims on behalf of architects, engineers, developers, contactors, and subcontractors. 

David Harris is a partner at Haight Brown & Bonesteel, LLP. He is based in San Francisco and is a member of the firm’s Construction Law and Employment & Labor Practice Groups. Mr. Harris is a seasoned litigator, and has been lead counsel on complex, multi-party cases in federal, state and administrative courts. In addition to his litigation strengths, Mr. Harris has many years of experience representing clients in mediation and pre-litigation settlement negotiations.

Prior to joining Haight Brown & Bonesteel, Mr. Harris was Chief Legal Counsel for one of the nation’s largest roofing and solar corporations. While Chief Legal Counsel, Mr. Harris handled a myriad of complex claims involving construction defects, mechanic’s liens, performance and payment bonds, products liability, prevailing wage, and personal injury claims. Mr. Harris personally litigated and resolved more than 500 cases.

Mr. Harris’ experience in employment & labor litigation focuses on counseling and defending clients in wrongful discharge, wage and hour, and labor disputes in administrative and state courts. Mr. Harris’ practice also involves employer side negotiation with unions, and drafting trade and employee contracts.

Mr. Harris also has substantial expertise regarding the right to repair (SB800) act, licensing, insurance, surety and performance bond claims, and OCIP and wrap agreements in California and other states.

Mr. Hawkins possesses over 26 years of experience in real estate finance, land planning and development, acquisition and management. He has held numerous executive management positions at Unified Capital Corporation, Beztak Development Company (Major Partner was Eli Broad of Kaufman & Broad) and The Warmington Company. In 2001, Mr. Hawkins co-founded Statewide Acquisition Corporation. Since its inception, the company has acquired, renovated, and converted nine apartment/condo communities totaling 1,550 units valued in excess of over $450 million including 480 apartment units throughout four communities. Villagio LLC, which also operates under the name Waterbridge, is located in San Diego, California. This organization primarily operates in the Real Estate Agent, Commercial business / industry within the Real Estate sector. This organization has been operating for approximately 13 years. Villagio is estimated to generate $830,000 in annual revenues, and employs approximately 10 people at this single location.

Kent Hawkins is a graduate of Pepperdine University with a degree in International Finance, including extensive studies abroad at the University of Heidelberg in Germany.

 

A specialist in construction defect and property damage litigation, Michael has been a leader in his field for more than three decades. In addition to California, Michael also leads the law firm of Hearn & Fleener in Colorado representing owners and associations across Colorado.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Delaware and has a Juris Doctorate from Western State University College of Law. He is a member of the California and Colorado State Bars and licensed in Federal Court. Recently, he became a member of the Tribal Courts and is representing Native American Tribal Counsels concerning construction defects in residences, hotels and casinos.

Michael’s reputation extends far beyond the courtroom. For more than 20 years, he has been an invited panelist for many legal workshops hosted by the Community Associations Institute, Southern California Defense Council, Design Professional Insurance Company, West Coast Casualty Annual Construction Defect Seminar, and numerous insurance and management companies.

Michael’s experience is buttressed by his stake in a real estate development firm leading successful new commercial developments since the mid 80’s. Participating in the design and construction of numerous commercial buildings gives him an extremely strong culmination of experience in both law and construction.

Sandra Heiden is Senior Claims Examiner.

Sandra has over 25 years experience in the legal and claims industry.  Prior to joining ARCH, she had been in the Construction Defect units at AmTrust, Navigators and CNA, as well as several years as an insurance defense attorney.  Her specialty has been multi-state construction defect, wraps, subcontractors & developer’s cases but she has extensively handled primary and excess commercial and personal lines complex casualty claims, stock broker/investment cases, fraud investigations, real estate, errors and omissions, excess/surplus lines and product liability cases.

She is a graduate of UCLA (B.A., major- Music Education), and Western States University, School of Law.  She holds adjusters licenses in all States. 

Stephen J. Henning is the co-founder of Wood, Smith, Henning, and Berman, LLP, a prestigious Am Law 125 law firm with a nationwide presence spanning 36 offices across the United States. Renowned for his expertise as a litigator, Steve has garnered national recognition for his exceptional results in complex construction, real estate, business, and employment litigation. He also enjoys experience handling all facets of professional liability, and toxic tort litigation.

Steve regularly represents Fortune 500 companies and prominent figures in the business community, represents some of the largest residential and commercial public and private owners, homebuilders, developers, investors, contractors, and lenders in the nation. His track record of success has solidified his reputation as a trusted legal resource for high-profile clients.

As a sought-after thought leader in the legal field, Steve is a frequent speaker and prolific author on emerging issues. In recognition of his exceptional contributions, Steve was honored with the 2019 CLM's Professional of the Year for Outside Legal Counsel award. He also is the first defense lawyer to receive the prestigious Jerold S. Oliver Award for his significant contributions to the construction community. In 2022, Steve was named the RISE Mentor of the Year, further solidifying his status as a respected leader in the industry. His exceptional legal writing skills were recognized with the prestigious 2023 Law360 Distinguished Legal Writing Award, highlighting his ability to articulate complex legal concepts with clarity and precision.

Chief Risk Officer for a developer in California and Nevada. With over 10 years experience as a risk professional I have strategically managed risk across various business ventures and projects located throughout California and Nevada including home building operations, commercial developments, retail shopping centers, apartments, condos and townhomes, small industrial, golf courses, hotel and casino operations and various ranches. Experienced professional in purchasing insurance coverages for all aspects of the business, risk financing, loss control, safety, litigation management, claim management, risk financing and contract compliance.

Henrietta Hinojosa, Senior Vice President of claims with National Claim Services LLC, has over 20 years experience in the insurance industry. In her current role, her responsibilities include oversight and management of commercial general liability claims with specialization in construction defect claims.  As part of oversight and management, Mrs. Hinojosa  develops and implements best practices for claims handling. In addition to oversight and management duties, Mrs. Hinojosa negotiates and manages of relationships with carriers, sister companies, vendors and other partners. She earned her Bachelors of Business Administration with focus in Risk Management and Insurance from the University of Georgia. She has also earned her Associate in Claims designation. Prior to joining National Claim Services, Mrs. Hinojosa  handled general liability claims involving construction defect, long term exposure including FEMA Trailer & Chinese Drywall, and New York Labor Law for the ACE Group of Companies.

Michael A. Hinojosa is the President and Chief Claim Officer for National Claim Services LLC,  a third-party claims administrator for programs under the Starwind Specialty Insurance Services, LLC.  As a seasoned claims executive with over 40 years of experience, he has built his successful career through innovation and intellectual talent development.  He is recognized as a “hands-on roll up your sleeve” results-oriented Leader with the ability to quickly identify opportunities, formulate strategic plans and implement new processes in challenging and diverse environments.

Prior to joining National Claim Services, he held the position of Chief Claim Officer for American Safety Insurance Company and Westchester Fire Insurance Company. Additionally, he held various positions of increasing responsibilities with USAA and the Chubb Group of Insurance Company’s.

Susan Hogan represents insurers nationally in insurance coverage disputes. Sue provides coverage advice and litigates insurance issues arising from construction, products liability, environmental, sexual misconduct, business tort, and commercial claims.
 
Before establishing her practice in Maryland, Sue practiced law in California, where she devoted her practice primarily to representing insurers in complex coverage disputes in California, Nevada, and the Pacific Northwest.
 
Sue is a certified mediator, and served as a mediator for the San Francisco and Contra Costa Superior Courts.
 
Sue is a frequent lecturer on insurance coverage issues. She has presented at and authored written materials for various industry conferences and meetings, including those sponsored by the Insurance Coverage Litigation Section of the American Bar Association, the Defense Research Institute, the National Business Institute, MC Consultants, Inc., and the Construction Defect Claims Managers Association.
 

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.
 

Susan Johnson was elected to serve as State District Court Judge, Department 22, commencing January 1, 2007, and she primarily hears civil and construction defect matters. Judge Johnson has been a resident of the greater Las Vegas area since November 1963. She graduated from Ed. W. Clark High School in 1977, and UNLV in 1982, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in business administration with a dual major in public accounting and investment finance. She thereafter graduated from McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, in 1985, and has been a member of the Nevada and California State Bars since 1985 and 1986, respectively. Judge Johnson is also admitted to practice before the United States District Court, District of Nevada (since 1985), Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (since 1986), and United States Supreme Court (since 1989).

Before assuming the bench, Judge Johnson, an attorney of over 21 years, was A-V rated by Martindale-Hubbell, and the President/Sole Shareholder of her own law firm, whose practice included civil litigation, personal injury, security and/or premises claims, domestic or family law, wills and simple estate planning. Her background also includes insurance and civil rights defense, and having active trial practice. Judge Johnson also acted as an arbitrator, who has arbitrated at least 600 matters, mediator, Settlement Judge for the Nevada Supreme Court, short-trial judge for the Eighth Judicial

Judge Johnson is also involved in the community. She has been married to Eric Johnson for over twenty-three years, and is very active in her two daughters’ schools and other activities.

My insurance claim career spans 43 years, all of which have been spent managing, directly or in a supervisory capacity, commercial and personal lines insurance claims.  For the last 28 years, I have specialized in commercial long-term exposure, or continuous property damage/bodily injury/toxic tort claims on a national basis, in particular construction defect, and product liability, and design professional liability claims. I frequently collaborate with underwriting professionals to draft and redraft policy language.  My experience also includes construction accident claims, particularly third-party-over actions in New York.
 
During the first 14+ years of my career, I supervised personal lines claims, both on a primary and umbrella basis, in the State of New Jersey.  It was during this time, in the early 1990s, that I qualified as an expert in the evaluation of automobile bodily injury claims in Federal Court.  On behalf of the U.S., I testified as an expert in Newark Federal Court in two related automobile insurance fraud prosecutions of a fraud ring that included a physician, three attorneys, and their respective office staffs.
 
I am a staunch proponent of lifetime professional development as evidenced by my participation in formal programs as well as by my creation and delivery of webinars and workshops.

Joseph Kaneda graduated from the University of California at Irvine before receiving his law degree from McGeorge School of Law. He is a member of the California Bar, Arizona Bar, Nevada Bar, Federal Bar for the Central District of California, Orange County Bar Association and Consumer Attorneys of California.

Mr. Kaneda has been recognized as a California Super Lawyer in construction litigation and has served as an instructor in California construction defect law and insurance coverage seminars. Mr. Kaneda focuses his practice on the representation of California homeowner associations in construction defect claims.
 

Gary Kaplan is the Leader for AXA XL’s North America Construction unit. Gary joined the company in May 2010 to develop a new business unit solely dedicated to addressing the risk management needs of the Construction industry. Since joining, Gary has recruited a team of construction insurance, loss control and claims specialists, each with more than 20+ years of industry experience, and built the market leading North America Construction unit. He now leads a customer-centric team focused on building long-term relationships with contractors to clearly understand their changing business needs and to provide them with the innovative products and services to help them protect their profitability, maintain a competitive edge and improve safety on the jobsite. 

Prior to his current position with AXA XL, Gary spent more than 20 years with Zurich North America Commercial, including several years as President of Construction.  During his tenure at Zurich, Gary was responsible for North America Commercial's wide-ranging portfolio of operational transformation initiatives and driving the associated cultural and change management programs. 

Gary’s professional career spans nearly 40 years primarily focused in underwriting management positions of Construction and Energy. Gary is a graduate of Northern Illinois University with a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, holds a Construction Risk Insurance Specialist (CRIS) designation, and is also recognized for his dynamic presentations and articles on his Leadership, Planning and Execution Model, Relationship and Change Management, Communications, and the Fundamentals of Leading a Business Unit.

Wendy Keenan is a partner at London Fischer, LLP in its New York City office and is the head of its Cybersecurity – Insurance Coverage and Response Team. Wendy also co-heads the firm’s Program Management Team, a dedicated group of attorneys who offer claim management, insurance coverage and analysis, and risk management services to domestic and foreign insurers.  She specializes in handling complex professional liability coverage matters for claims made under primary, umbrella or excess policies. Her legal experience includes all types of specialty lines and professional liability claims, including, but not limited to cyber, lawyers, architects and engineers, mortgage brokers, insurance agents and brokers, employment practices, directors and officers.  On behalf of professional liability insurers, Wendy investigates claims, evaluates coverage, and provides opinions on coverage, liability and early resolution strategies.  She handles all aspects of coverage disputes, including coverage litigation.  Wendy also directly represents insureds in employment practices and A&E matters.

Wendy also has in-depth experience reviewing and drafting insurance policies and endorsements.  Earlier in her career, Wendy was seconded on multiple occasions to a Lloyd's, London insurance syndicate, where she assisted claims professionals and underwriters in handling claims, programs, and policy drafting.

Wendy lives in Oakland, New Jersey with her husband Christopher, and eleven year old son, Zane. She is a first Dan black belt in Taekwondo.

Eric is a partner at Dunn Carney who heads the firms Insurance Defence Practice Group.  He started at Dunn Carney upon receiving his JD in 1992 and became a partner in 2000.  Eric handles an array of litigated matters, including construction claims, business and contract disputes, products liability, and a variety of personal injury defense primarily involving wrongful death and castrophic injuries.  

Eric has been defending construction defect and design claims since the late 90's, many involving complex architectural and engineering issues.  He represents developers, general contractors, architects, engineers, and many types of subcontractors.  Eric was among the first to defend high-rise construction defect claims with his representation of the developers involved in Portland's South Waterfront.

Eric is recognized as a SuperLawyer and one of the Best Lawyers in America.

Bradford Kilbourn is a Large Loss Construction Defect Specialist with AXA XL.  Mr. Kilbourn received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio University and his Master of Sciences degree from the University of Cincinnati.  Mr. Kilbourn has also earned his CPCU designation.  He has 25 years of experience in the insurance industry with a focus on commercial general liability and construction defect claims.  
 

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.

Doug Koeller is a partner with Koeller, Nebeker, Carlson & Haluck, LLP. Mr. Koeller attended college at San Diego State University, where he earned his Bachelor's in Business Administration. After college, Mr. Koeller attended California Western School of Law where he graduated in 2008. 

Mr. Koeller has extensive experience in the representation of national developers and general contractors in residential and commercial construction litigation. Mr. Koeller has also represented policyholders in insurance coverage disputes and defended personal injury matters in industrial and construction settings. Mr. Koeller has focused on obtaining outstanding results for his clients through hard work, attention to detail and creative thinking.

Outside of work, Mr. Koeller enjoys spending time with his wife and children. In addition, he is an avid sports fan, especially Lakers basketball and USC football.
 

Jamie Kuebler is a partner with Traub Lieberman Straus & Shrewsberry LLP’s New York office where he handles a broad range of civil litigation in State and Federal courts. Mr. Kuebler’s practice includes the defense of construction accident, construction defect, professional liability, motor vehicle, insurance coverage and lead paint exposure matters. He focuses on New York State Labor Law claims and the defense of architects and engineers.

Mr. Kuebler is a member of the Bar of the State of New York, and is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District. He holds memberships in CLM, DRI, the ABA Litigation Section and the New York State Bar Association Insurance, Torts & Compensation Section.

Mr.  Kuebler graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2006, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management, with a minor concentration in Political Science. He received his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from New York Law School and is now a mentor with New York Law School’s Student Mentor Program.

Mr. Kuebler was recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in 2014 and 2015, a distinction awarded to only 2.5% of lawyers in New York.

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

Andrew Lankler is a partner in the New York office of Baker Botts. Mr. Lankler is an experienced litigator who has extensive trial experience in white collar criminal, regulatory and complex civil matters at federal, state attorney general, and local levels. Mr. Lankler has represented clients in high profile matters, dismissals and summary judgments. Mr. Lankler is also often retained to conduct internal investigations of companies and to serve as a monitor of companies performing work on public contracts.

Mr. Lankler is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has also been named by Super Lawyers, 2015 as being in the top 5% of white collar criminal attorneys in New York City and is AV rated by his peers.

Mr. Lankler served as an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office and was the Inspector General of the Battery Park City Authority. Prior to joining Baker Botts, Mr. Lankler was a founding partner at Lankler Carragher & Horwitz LLP.

BARBARA LASKARIS-LORIGAN has held various risk and claims management positions in the construction and insurance industries and is currently the Vice President and Head of Claims for Golden State Claims Adjusters headquartered in Carlsbad, California.  Ms. Laskaris-Lorigan was previously an Assistant Vice President for the Construction Defect Specialty Unit at Arch Insurance; a Construction Claims Manager and Large Loss Specialist at Gallagher Bassett Services; the Regional Manager of Claims, Contracts and Credit for SelectBuild, a subsidiary of Building Materials Holding Corporation; Southwestern Regional Team Manager for construction defect claims for Zurich North America; and the Construction Liability Claim Manager for the former Arrowhead Claims organization. Ms. Laskaris-Lorigan has over twenty-six years of experience in the construction defect industry, including investigations, complex claims handling, and management of losses throughout the United States, and has lectured before various legal and trade organizations. Ms. Laskaris-Lorigan is currently the President of the San Diego Chapter of CLM.  In her spare time, she enjoys running and has captained a relay race team that has raised over $110,000 for Taking Control of Your Diabetes, a charity that promotes education for those suffering from diabetes.
 

Mr. Lee is the founding member and managing partner of the Firm. Mr. Lee graduated with honors from the University of Southern California, receiving his Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Language in 1991. He then attended Pepperdine University School of Law and received his Juris Doctorate from that institution in 1994. Mr. Lee is a member of the Federal and State Bars of California and Nevada, and has appeared before the Nevada Supreme Court.

Following graduation, he joined a leading California law firm, where he focused his practice on complex civil litigation including construction defect, governmental torts and medical malpractice. Through his California law firm, Mr. Lee then opened the predecessor office to the Firm in Nevada in October 1996.

Throughout his career, Mr. Lee has focused his practice in California and Nevada on the representation of “target” defendant contractors (master developers, subdivision developers and general contractors) in all construction related claims. Mr. Lee tried to verdict one of the first construction defect cases in Southern Nevada.

Mr. Lee is frequently a featured speaker at local and national seminars on construction defect litigation, including a special engagement at the Nevada State Bar Convention. Mr. Lee has also served as one of the Bar’s representatives (on behalf of developers and general contractors) on multiple committees to improve pre-trial and trial procedure for construction defect cases in the State of Nevada.

For more than 25 years, Steve has focused on coverage, liability, risk transfer and litigation management. He has extensive experience handling and managing large commercial general liability claims on primary and excess layers, including claims within large SIRs and wrap policies.

Sompo is an international commercial property & casualty specialty insurance company where Mr. Lokus is the VP of Casualty Construction Claims. Prior to Sompo, Mr. Lokus was the Assistant Vice President, Construction Claims at The Hartford, Western Regional / Casualty VP for Navigators Insurance, Claims Supervisor at Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company and Branch Manager for West Coast Casualty Service, Inc. 

A renowned thought leader in the construction and casualty markets, Steve serves as a member of the advisory board of the ClaimsXchange, Provost for the ClaimsXchange Construction Claims Academy, co-chair and a board member for the Perrin Conference's National Construction Defect conference and an instructor of IRMI's Construction Risk Management Boot Camp. He is also a frequent speaker at industry events, including CLM's Annual Conference, CLM's Construction Conference, Perrin Conference's Construction Defect Conference, West Coast Casualty Construction Defect Conference and many others.  

Gary London is widely regarded as one of the nation’s foremost real estate advisors to many of the nation’s largest developers, investors, lenders and real estate asset managers and owners, Mr. London has been at the forefront in understanding and describing the many demographic, technological and societal changes which are transforming our cities and regions.

In practice as an analyst and strategic advisor for six decades, he has a reputation as a prescient, forward thinker who translates opportunities (or problems) into profits.

Mr. London is a Partner of London Moeder Advisors, a diversified real estate strategic advisory, development management, investment, capital access and analysis firm whose clients include investors, developers, lenders and public agencies. He is also considered to be one of the most experienced and effective expert witnesses in real estate litigation involving issues about valuation, damages, best practices and market analysis.

Mr. London is an Instructor at The Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate, University of San Diego. He formerly was a Professor at Arizona State University’s graduate program in real estate development (MRED). He had taught at the University of California, San Diego Extension for 24 years. Previously, he was West Region Director of Real Estate Consulting for Price Waterhouse and Executive Director of The Goodkin Group. He is a graduate of U.C. Berkeley and received his Master’s degree from San Diego State University.

A “Distinguished Toastmaster” in Toastmasters International, Mr. London speaks regularly to industry and business organizations, frequently writes and is often quoted in the national and Southern California media, and is a columnist for the San Diego Business Journal. He is also featured in the San Diego Union Tribune’s weekly “EconoMeter” sharing his views on the great economic issues of our time.

 

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.

David Marino is the US Construction Industry Leader for Marsh. He is responsible for strategy, leadership and growth of the Construction Practice, including the timely delivery of resources and services to ensure high client satisfaction. 

David provides support to 600 Marsh colleagues who serve more than 1,200 construction clients across the US.

David enjoys 25+ years of construction industry experience.  Prior to joining Marsh, he held a number of regional and national leadership roles in construction for a global broker and was formerly president of Allied North America Insurance Brokerage of New York, a privately held national insurance brokerage dedicated to construction.
 
David brings significant experience designing, developing, and delivering innovative risk management programs and solutions for firms engaged in infrastructure, general building and specialty contracting.  During his career, David has designed programs for complex infrastructure, including alternative project delivery projects and Public Private Partnerships (PPP), advised clients during merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions, developed solutions for controlled insurance programs, and managed challenging claims to satisfactory outcomes.

David is based in New York and is a frequent speaker at various industry risk management conferences and forums.

Education

BBA, cum laude - St. John’s University, College of Insurance with a major in property and liability insurance.

Affiliations

Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU)
Governor, NY Building Foundation, NY Building Congress
Member, The Beavers Organization

Robert F. McCarthy is a Regional Director with Selective Insurance Company of America. As a legal practitioner, Bob was a trial and appellate lawyer with over 25 years of experience who represented individual litigants, business entities, and insurers in state and federal courts, arbitrations, and declaratory judgment actions, and has tried numerous cases to verdict in matters ranging from complex contractual disputes to multimillion-dollar first- and third-party litigation. Bob's current experience includes policy planning and enterprise risk management as well as oversight of litigation and vendor management on a national scale. 

Mr. McDonnell represents some of the leading companies in the world in complex litigation, class actions and mass tort litigation. He has advised industry leaders on jury and risk analysis and has frequently been engaged to provide advice on the appeal of major verdicts.
 
He has a nationally recognized practice in advising insurance companies and Risk Managers on the handling of complex and large insurance claims, both domestically and internationally. Mr. McDonnell advises insurance industry leaders and some of the leading companies in the world and their Risk Managers on risk and coverage.
 
Mr. McDonnell represents both corporate policyholders and domestic and London market companies and syndicates in catastrophic losses in the U.S. and around the world. His insurance practice is domestic and international in scope and includes concentration upon all aspects of insuring agreements. His recent and current work includes counsel and resolution of large loss and complex coverage throughout the U.S., England, Central America and South America. His practice addresses primary, excess and umbrella environmental, intellectual property, employment, fidelity, construction and architects and engineers, all aspects of professional liability, aviation, marine, trucking, commercial general liability and property
claims.
 
He has lectured on insurance coverage and bad faith for continuing legal education organizations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Mr. McDonnell is actively involved in providing CLE insurance presentations to insurer and corporate clients and general counsel staff.
 
He is a veteran appellate advocate of the Pennsylvania and New Jersey intermediate and high courts and the Third Circuit. Mr. McDonnell has tried numerous jury, arbitration and non-jury civil tort and declaratory actions to verdict in the state and federal courts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
 

EDUCATION

University of Maryland and Merrit College, Oakland, California

1966 - 1967

MILITARY SERVICE

U.S. Army Intelligence Corps, 1966-1969. Including service in Vietnam, 1968.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Claims Resource Management, Inc./ACCLAIM Administrators, 1988-Present

President and founder

Harbor Insurance Co., 1973-1988

Adjuster, 1973-1974

Assistant Branch Manager, 1974-1977

Home Office Property Claims Manager, 1977-1978

Assistant Vice President, 1978-1980

Vice President and General Claims Manager, 1980-1987

Senior Vice President, 1988

Member, Board of Directors, 1988

GAB (General Adjustment Bureau), 1969-1973

Multi-line claims adjuster, handling all types of claims from auto and homeowners to large commercial

property and casualty losses.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Excess/Surplus Lines Claims Association

President, 1986

Member, Board of Directors, 1984-1987

Craig S. Meredith is a lawyer who has successfully served as a mediator in hundreds of cases involving complex insurance disputes, including construction defect cases, inter-carrier and insured-carrier disputes, broker disputes, bad faith litigation, bodily injury suits, and other disputes. Additionally, he has participated in more than 400 settlements of major construction litigation as coverage counsel for the developer or general contractor.

Mr. Meredith is most widely known for his expertise in the areas of insurance coverage with a primary emphasis on general liability coverage issues for commercial construction, construction defect, engineering and infrastructure, and environmental matters. He is deeply familiar with issues that arise under CGL coverage, as well as property insurance, builders risk insurance, bonds, SubGuard claims and professional liability insurance. Mr. Meredith is also respected for his ability to form relationships with both carrier representatives and outside counsel.

Mr. Meredith’s expertise is widely used around the country in disputes related to large commercial and industrial projects, residential projects, and his experience includes cases that have involved port facilities, hospitals, museums, water treatment facilities, glass furnaces, and steam boilers.

Mr. Meredith is sought out as a national and international speaker on topics related to construction defect and commercial general liability coverage.

 

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. 

Justin D. Monahan joined Ball Janik LLP in 2009 in the firm’s Construction Defect and Litigation practice groups. He previously practiced as an associate attorney with another Portland area law firm, where he litigated multi-million dollar construction defect and collapse cases on behalf of homeowners and homeowners’ associations. Trained in architecture, Mr. Monahan brings unique perspective to the firm’s growing construction practice. His knowledge of construction detail and ability to work closely with architects helps the firm’s litigation team build a strong visual story for the jury.

Miles Moody earned his undergraduate degree from Georgia State University.  He also earned his Juris Doctorate from Atlanta Law School and is a Graduate of the Herschel E. Cole League of Honor Graduates.  Early in the course of his insurance career he also earned his AIC designation.  His professional experience spans over 34 years in the insurance industry.  As a Complex Claims Specialist for Westfield Insurance Company, he is responsible for supervising complex claims in the commercial arena for the Southeast.  His claims experience includes matters involving heavy litigation in construction defect, premise liability, commercial motor carrier, personal injury and advertising, and other casualty related claims.  He also served as Vice President of the Southern Loss Claims Association.

Terri Moran has been a Senior Vice President and Western Regional Executive for Vela Insurances, a WR Berkley Company for the past 6 years. She is responsible for managing underwriting groups that insure a variety of construction products for general contractors and sub-contractors in the Western Region.   Additionally, she is responsible for a team that underwrites both Commercial and Residential Wrap Ups and large Project Specific business nationally. Terri Moran has more than 35 years of underwriting and marketing experience in the Commercial insurance arena. She is on the Board of Directors for the California Surplus Lines Association and is very involved in programs that attract young people to the insurance business.
 

Doreen Munzenberger is a Complex Director, P&C Severity/Excess Casualty at AIG in the Greater New York City Area, a position she has held since 2008. In this capacity, among other responsibilities, Ms. Munzenberger handles a case load of Construction Accident related cases which are complex and carry high exposure cases.
 
Previously Ms. Munzenberger was an Insurance Construction Technical Specialist at St. Paul Travelers and a Senior Case Manager with Liberty Mutual Insurance Company.
 
Ms. Munzenberger is a widely recognized expert on Labor Law and Coverages issues and possesses a passion for teaching. She has assisted the CLM Long Island Chapter with her Labor Law and Risk Transfer presentations in the past couple of years.
 
She is Licensed Adjuster in 28 states, holds a Senor Claim Law Associate designation and a 10 Hour OSHA Certificate.
 

William A. Nebeker, Esq. is the managing partner of the Phoenix office for the law firm of Koeller, Nebeker, Carlson & Haluck, LLP. He practices in the area of insurance litigation defense with an emphasis on personal injury and construction defect litigation. Mr. Nebeker received his B.S. degree in political science from Arizona State University and his J.D. degree from Pepperdine University School of Law. After admission to both the California Bar in 1976 and the Arizona Bar in 1977, Mr. Nebeker began his career as House Counsel for Home Insurance. After entering private practice, Mr. Nebeker became one of the first lawyers certified by the Arizona Board of Legal Specialization for personal injury and wrongful death litigation. Mr. Nebeker has tried to conclusion over 75 civil jury trials. Mr. Nebeker is an active member of the Arizona Bar Association, the Defense Research Institute, the International Association of Defense Counsel, the Arizona Association of Defense Lawyers and the American Bar Association. He is also a member of the California Bar Association and the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel. Mr. Nebeker is AV peer rated by Martindale Hubbell and in 2008, Mr. Nebeker was elected an Advocate Level Member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). Mr. Nebeker has been selected as a Super Lawyer for the Southwest Region four the past four consecutive years and was nominated for Fellowship in the Litigation Counsel of America, Trial Lawyer Honorary Society.

Mr. Nebeker is a recognized national speaker on construction litigation issues and has successfully represented developers and general contractors in all phases of litigation for the past 30 years in both Arizona and California. Mr. Nebeker has spoken at and presented written materials for the following organizations: West Coast Casualty, Mealey Publications, Lorman Educational Services, National Business Institute, Maricopa County Bar Association, MC Consultants' Construction Law Seminars, Defense Research Institute and the State Bar of Arizona.

The Arizona office, currently managed by Mr. Nebeker, includes ten attorneys as well as five paralegals. The caseload involves traditional litigated cases including automobile, premises, and product liability. In addition, in the construction defect arena, the firm is currently representing Beazer Homes, Centex Homes, Fulton Homes, Ryland Homes, Meritage Homes, D.R. Horton Homes, Toll Brothers, Shea Homes and Pulte/Del Webb Homes. Recently, this firm was named Pulte Homes Litigation Counsel of the Year (2006 and 2008).

Mr. Nebeker has several published opinions in the Arizona and California Court of Appeals. See: Gouvis Engineering v. Superior Court, 43 Cal.Rptr.2d 785 (1995); Camelot by the Bay Condominium Owners' Assn. v. Scottsdale Ins. Co., 27 Cal.App.4th 33, 32 Cal.Rptr.2d 354 (1994); Equitable General Ins. Co. v. Helm, 128 Ariz. 6, 623 P.2d 365 (Ariz. 1981); La Jolla Village Homeowners' Assn. v. Superior Court, 212 Cal.App.3d 1131, 261 Cal.Rptr. 146, Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 12,277 (Cal.App. 1989); Decca Design Build v. American Automobile Insurance Co., 206 Ariz. 301, 77 P.3d 1251 (Div. 1 2003).

Kay Newton is Assistant Vice President and Associate General Counsel at RiverStone Claims Management, LLC. She has been with RiverStone since November 2001, and before joining the Office of General Counsel, was a Senior Case Manager in the Major Claims Unit focusing on construction defect claims. In her current position Kay oversees litigation of coverage issues in a number of states and reviews case law developments in various jurisdictions primarily in construction defect matters. 

Nathan Owens manages the Las Vegas office. He represents businesses and individuals operating in a wide array of economic sectors including real estate, construction, insurance and health care in all stages of litigation in state and federal court.

Nathan has litigated and tried complex lawsuits and commercial disputes for his clients involving a broad range of tort and contract claims, including matters related to statutory and regulatory violation, fiduciary duties, misrepresentation, misappropriation of trade secrets, infringement of trademarks, unfair business practice, construction defects, insurance coverage and fraud.

Nathan has extensive experience in the representation of developers and general contractors on risk management strategies, including contractual and insurance matters outside of litigation. As a former residential developer himself, Nathan understands the complexity of issues builders and developers face in all aspects of development and construction. He uses his firsthand knowledge to bring a unique approach to problem solving.

A frequent lecturer and author, Nathan has written numerous articles on construction contract and risk management issues. He has also spoken at construction and real estate industry events, on topics including risk management, insurance, construction disputes and litigation developments.

In addition to being licensed in Nevada and California, Nathan is certified in Alternative Dispute Resolution from the prestigious Strauss Institute for Dispute Resolution. He devotes time to the pro bono representation of indigent clients in a variety of litigation and contract matters. Nathan is also on the board of the Waypoint Children’s Foundation which serves to enrich the lives of children through educational programs focused on the ocean.

Nathan was also a member of the 1992 National Championship Division I Men’s Volleyball Team while enrolled at Pepperdine University.

Laura is a Partner in the Charleston office of Gordon & Rees. For over 16 years, she has successfully developed and executed resolution plans representing corporate entities and individuals in pre-litigation disputes and litigated cases. Laura holds an AV Preeminent Peer Review rating by Martindale-Hubbell and has been named a Super Lawyers Rising Star. Laura's practice focuses primarily on litigation providing corporate clients with exceptional legal services in the areas of construction defects, product liability, personal injury, and premises liability defense.

In addition to her practice with the firm, she is a published author, respected speaker, and avid volunteer. She served nine years on Board of Directors for the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association, founded SCWLA Public Service Committee, and has served on CLM's Diversity in Construction Committee. She is a graduate of the South Carolina Bar Leadership Academy's 2014 class and is a certified mediator.

Commercial Litigation
Construction Litigation
Premises and Personal Injury Litigation
General Liability

William J. Peters specializes in construction at Gordon & Rees and is head of the Construction practice group. His practice includes matters involving alleged construction defects, delay and disruption, product liability, contract negotiations and trade secrets.

Mr. Peters has represented developers, owners and design professionals in his practice at Gordon & Rees. He has conducted major litigations on behalf of these clients in state and federal courts as well as before the American Arbitration Association. These matters include: large public and private projects as well as multi-family and single family residential projects.

Mr. Peters has also been active in advising clients on contract negotiations, bid disputes and risk management options. He is frequently involved prior to the commencement of litigation and prior to the completion of a project to give advice on appropriate dispute avoidance actions that can be taken.

Memberships
Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California
American Bar Association, Tort and Insurance section
San Francisco Bar Association

Jayne Ann Skrzysowski Pittman was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Jayne earned her undergraduate and master degrees from the University of Scranton in 1994 and her Juris Doctor from the University of Miami in 1997.
 
Presently, Jayne leads as the Chairwoman of her firm’s Construction Practice Group. She is a liability partner in the Orlando office where she defends general contractors, subcontractors, manufacturers, suppliers and design professionals in complex construction defect litigation, and products liability cases in civil, federal and arbitration venues. Also, she represents carriers at mediation on insurance coverage issues relating to construction litigation to include additional insured recovery and indemnification demands. She has been the primary lead counsel in numerous multi-million dollar construction defect cases including residential, multi-family, single family custom homes, condominiums and commercial buildings with values in excess of $25 million.  
 
She has presented numerous seminars on construction topics that include additional insured recovery and current Florida construction law to adjusters and construction professionals on both the state and national venues.
 
She has obtained AV Preeminent Peer Rated Martindale Hubbell rating. Jayne is a Florida Board Certified Construction Lawyer and currently is serving on the Florida Bar Construction Certification Committee. Jayne has been a member of the Florida Bar since 1997 and is admitted to practice before all Florida state courts and the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
 
Prior to joining her firm, Jayne served in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corp (JAGC) for six years, stationed with the 82nd Airborne Division and U.S. Army Special Forces Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. She was an airborne soldier with over 25 military parachute operations.
 
Jayne resides in Orlando with her husband, Mike, two children Mackenzie and Sean and two dogs, Davy and Lady Raven.
 
 

Kenna Plangemann is the Senior Director of Claims, Associate General Counsel at Suffolk. Suffolk is one of the most successful privately held building contractors in the country.  With annual revenue of $2.9 billion, Suffolk provides preconstruction, construction management, design-build and general contracting services to clients in the healthcare, science and technology, education, federal government and commercial sectors. Engineering News-Record ranked Suffolk #23 on its 2018 national list of “Top 400 Contractors.”  Forbes ranked Suffolk #158 on its 2017 list of “America’s Largest Private Companies.” At Suffolk, Kenna is responsible for the Claims Department and manages a team of adjusters supervising a broad range of national claims. These claims arise out of numerous lines of coverage including General Liability, Pollution, Professional Liability, Errors and Omission, Subcontractor Default Insurance, Builders’ Risk, Auto, and various Wrap-Up insurance programs.  Prior to joining Suffolk, Kenna worked at AIG managing complex, high exposure construction defect and coverage claims.

Stuart Poage is a Board Certified Construction Attorney, Florida Supreme Court Certified Mediator,  and panelist on the American Arbitration Association's Construction Law and Consumer Law arbitration panels. He is currently a partner at Pennington, P.A., where he maintains an active mediation and arbitration practice. He was previously an office-managing shareholder for Kubicki Draper's Jacksonville and Tallahassee offices. He is licensed to practice law in Florida, Georgia and Kentucky state and federal courts. His practice areas include mediation/arbotration, construction defects, premises liability, product defects, automobile/personal injury accidents, as well as complex civil litigation including wrongful death claims and property disputes. During his legal career, he has worked for and on behalf of both insurance companies and individual corporate entities in additional areas of law including worker's compensation, disability claims, and federal black lung litigation. In his spare time he enjoys running marathons, playing golf and spending time with his wife Stacey and their two children Alexa and Ryan.
 
 

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.

Over the past 19 years, Ms. Rai has devoted a significant portion of her practice in the areas of construction defect litigation and general liability in both California and Arizona. Ms. Rai has represented hundreds of contractors in complex litigation cases and has successfully taken cases to trial and negotiated settlements and dismissals for many of her clients. Ms. Rai is a member of the California State Bar, Idaho State Bar, the State Bar of Arizona, the Maricopa County Bar Association, the Arizona Association of Defense Counsel, and the Construction Section of the Arizona State Bar. She is the past chair of Arizona State Bar’s Construction Section and also co-authored The Arizona Construction Law Manual, published by the State Bar of Arizona. Ms. Rai continues to publish and speak on issues related to general liability and construction claims.

JOHN ANDREW RAMIREZ.  Admitted to bar: 1997, Texas. Admitted to practice before: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit; U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, Western and Southern Districts of Texas; all Texas State Courts.

Education: Texas A&M University (B.S., 1993); South Texas College of Law (J.D., 1996).

Speaker/Lecturer: Personal Injury/Wrongful Death Litigation; Bad Faith; Litigation Following Catastrophes.

Member: Houston Young Lawyers Association; Mexican-American Bar Association of Houston; State Bar of Texas; Houston Bar Association; Texas Association of Defense Counsel; Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA); also named Texas Super Lawyer by Texas Monthly (2011, 2012).

SpecialtiesBoard Certifications: Personal Injury Trial Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Mr. Ramirez is "AV" rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

Since 1996, Mr. Righi's practice has concentrated on representing individuals, contractors and businesses in tort and contract litigation, primarily in the areas of construction defects, complex litigation, general liability, personal injury, product liability and insurance bad faith.

Mr Righi began trying cases in 1993 as a Deputy Maricopa County Attorney. He has tried over 50 cases to verdict in courts throughout the State of Arizona. His trials have involved a wide variety of issues: vehicular homicide in his early experience as a prosecutor; a variety of significant injury cases; lost profits resulting from product defect; a construction defect trial involving the catastrophic failure of Northland Pioneer College in Holbrook, Arizona; and the total destruction of a residence in Sedona, Arizona due to the alleged diversion of flood waters. He achieved defense verdicts and cost awards in favor of his clients in his three latest trials. In addition, Mr. Righi successfully defended a single family construction defect case in a AAA fast-track Arbitration in 2010. 

Mr. Righi defends owners, developers and general contractors in complex construction defect matters. Mr. Righi represents the interests of clients at the request of national insurance carriers and understands how to effectively manage insurance defense litigation. Mr. Righi has expertise in managing the prosecution of third-party litigation on behalf of owners, developers, and general contractors and understands how to effectively pursue primary and additional insurance coverage for his clients. Mr. Righi has experience pursuing equitable contribution on behalf of insurance carriers and has expertise defending insurance bad faith issues that arise from complex litigation including defect and toxic tort litigation. In addition to his trial experience, Mr. Righi has taken significant cases to binding arbitration, pursued cases to judgment to secure payment on behalf of his clients and argued before the Arizona Court of Appeals.

I am in my twentieth-sixth year in the field of insurance claims. I started my career with Liberty Mutual, handling large commercial accounts such as Sears, UPS, Haverty's Furniture, and AFC. I also handled premises liability claims for Darden Restaurants.

I joined Nautilus Insurance in July 2006 and have gained substantial experience handling medium to large exposure bodily injury and property damage claims. Since 2010 I was tasked with handling construction defect claims across the U.S., mostly on behalf of sub-contractors/artisans. I also handled coverage files relating to construction defect litigation.

I specialize in coverage analysis as well as ADR efforts and negotiations directed at resolution of claims and litigation on behalf of our policyholders. I attend mediations across the country on larger exposure claims, and am experienced at in-person negotiations.

I joined RLI Insurance in August 2018 and handled construction defect claims on behalf of both general contractors and subcontractors/artisans. 

In February 2022, I joined Tokio Marine HCC. I handle complex litigated construction defect claims, primarily those with WRAP policies and excess policies for primarily developers and general contractors.

Hon. Jose M. Rodriguez was appointed to the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit in Florida by Governor Jeb Bush in the year 2000. Judge Rodriguez was previously a County Judge in the same Circuit appointed by Governor Lawton Chiles in 1994. Judge Rodriguez has served in the Complex Business Litigation, Criminal, and Family Divisions and he is presently assigned to the International Commercial Arbitration Division of which he is the Administrative Judge. He also serves in the Asbestos and Civil General Jurisdiction Trial and Appellate Divisions in the Circuit. Judge Rodriguez attended Indiana University (Maurer) School of Law in Bloomington, Indiana where he received his J.D. degree and Florida International University where he received his B.A. degree. Judge Rodriguez has been thrice nominated for judicial appointment to the Third District Court of Appeal of Florida and has been thrice considered for appointment by Florida Governor Rick Scott.

Judge Rodriguez is an adjunct professor at the Florida International University, College of Law since 2011 and teaches “Florida Civil Procedure” and “Law, Science and Technology”. He is also a member of the faculty at the Florida International University Legal Studies Institute and teaches Introduction to the U.S. Legal System and U.S. Constitutional Law, since 1994.

Judge Rodriguez is also an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University (Maurer) School of Law in Bloomington, Indiana and teaches “Courtroom Procedure”, since January 2018. He is also a member of the Alumni Board and Latino Advisory Board.

Judge Rodriguez is a published author, his works include a “Florida Civil Procedure” Cases and Materials, Second Edition, textbook, Carolina Academic Press and two practice treatises, “Florida Civil Procedure” and “Florida Evidence” with publisher Mathew Bender/Lexis Nexis.

Jannea Rogers is a partner in Adams and Reese’s Mobile, Alabama office.  She has engaged in civil litigation in Alabama, Florida and Georgia for over 25 years, handling all phases of representation of clients from initial investigation through trial and appeal. Her practice focuses on defense in the areas of product and premises liability; professional malpractice, including medical, architectural and engineering; D&O liability; and insurance coverage litigation. 

Jannea represents insurance agents, brokers and carriers in issuance of coverage opinions and pursuit of declaratory judgment, defense of bad faith failure to investigate or pay claims, and defense of accounting and legal malpractice claims and securities fraud matters.

In her product liability practice, Jannea represents manufacturers and their insureds in product design and defect claims as well as warning, labeling and instruction claims, marketing representation, warranty and recall. 

Jannea also defends clients in claims of fraud, intentional interference with business relations, fair debt collection practices, contracts, and management and ownership disputes among shareholders/members. 

Jannea is admitted to practice in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.  She received her Juris Doctorate from Cumberland School of Law in 1989, and a bachelor of science from Spring Hill College in 1985.

 

Mary Rowe is one of the Construction Defect Claims Managers for Markel Corp where she manages a department that handles all Construction Defect Claims nationwide. Markel has CD examiners in California, Virginia, Arizona, Deerfield and New Jersey that report to her. She has held a number of claims management positions for the last 30 years.

Mr. Sajor started private practice with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Newport Beach in 1984 where he specialized in real estate law. In 1987, Mr. Sajor joined a group of 17 lawyers who left Gibson Dunn to form Pettis, Tester, Kruse & Krinsky, an entrepreneurial firm specializing in real estate and corporate law. After eight years in private practice, Mr. Sajor moved in-house as corporate counsel with Catellus Development, a publicly held commercial and industrial development company. In 1994, management at Capital Pacific Holdings, a former client, requested that Mr. Sajor join them as General Counsel and Vice President. While at CPH, Mr. Sajor spent much of his time attending to construction defect litigation and risk management issues including insurance coverage. In 1998, Mr. Sajor returned to the transactional side of real estate law joining Centex Homes as Regional General Counsel of the West Coast Region. Mr. Sajor was appointed as a Vice President of Centex in July 2002. As a result of the merger with Pulte Homes in 2009, Mr. Sajor now serves as Area General Counsel – West Area and Vice President focusing on real estate transactions, contracts and risk management issues.

Todd Schweitzer is a Senior Claims Advocate at Marsh responsible for claims advocacy on behalf of Marsh clients.  Prior to Marsh, from December 2020 to April 2022, he worked at Aon in a similar role.  From 20018 to 2020, he was a vice president of claims responsible for the management of claims for LPT reinsurer SunPoint Holdings. Prior to joining SunPoint, he worked for Zurich for ten years (2008-2018) and Travelers for nineteen years serving in multiple managerial and technical capacities.  His professional experience over the last thirty three years includes both handling and managing claims involving general liability, products liability, premises liability, auto, construction defect, professional liability and medical malpractice exposures.  He has extensive litigation management and legal audit experience. 

Mr. Schweitzer has lectured extensively on various construction, insurance and claim related topics to attorneys, construction professionals, agents, brokers and insurance industry professionals, including The Association of Southern California Defense Counsel, West Coast Casualty Construction Defect Conference, Defense Research Institute, Utah Association of General Contractors, Claims & Litigation Management Alliance, Willis Construction Risk Conference and the MC2 Construction Defect Conference.

He received his B.A. in Finance with a minor in Accounting from Western Connecticut State University (1987) and the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation (1995).  At the 2009 West Coast Casualty Conference, he received the Larry Syhre Commitment to Service Award.  He is a current member of the Construction Defect Claim Managers Association.

Jay Sever is a partner in the Insurance and Reinsurance group of Phelps Dunbar. He is the Regional Practice Coordinator for the firm's insurance practice group and is also head of the insurance and reinsurance practice group in the New Orleans office. He serves as local, regional and national coverage counsel for both foreign and domestic insurance companies. He counsels clients, manages disputes and tries cases involving a wide variety of insurance coverage issues, including matters arising from bad faith, construction defects claims, third-party liability claims, first-party claims, professional liability claims, crane and rigging claims, racing and competitive sport claims, entertainment claims, transportation claims, environmental claims, general and toxic tort claims, advertising, copyright and trademark claims, media liability claims, multiple-year trigger and allocation issues, marine liability claims, Louisiana direct action claims and numerous others.

In addition to handling cases in Louisiana and California courts in which he is admitted, Jay also has acted as lead counsel in cases pending in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington. Jay's practice, both litigation and counseling, involves attorneys from all of Phelps Dunbar's offices in the Gulf South and, where necessary, local counsel in states throughout the United States.

Leon’s past responsibilities and experience included management and adjustment of primary and excess claims involving civil rights litigation arising from professional liability, public officials’ legal liability, school board legal liability and police professional liability. These lines of coverage involved professional liability, wrongful acts, wrongful termination, employee dishonesty, sexual harassment and wrongful death claims. His past insured included governmental and public entitles, special districts, school districts and law enforcement agencies.
 
Leon’s current responsibilities include management and adjustment of complex commercial and residential construction defect claims (on a primary and excess basis) involving developers, and general contractors covered by CGL and WRAP policies. His clients include various syndicates of Lloyd’s, carriers specializing in providing coverage to the construction industry and risk retention groups, many of which provide coverage over large Self-Insured Retentions. 
 
Leon began his claims career in 1985 with Liberty Mutual Insurance Company as a Multi-Line Adjuster. In 1990, he moved to CNA as a Workers’ Compensation Specialist.  Soon thereafter, he moved to Fireman’s Fund as a Multi-Line Adjuster. Leon joined Network Adjusters, Inc., in 2002 as one of the original “start-up” members in Denver, where he continues the management and adjustment of claims, as a General Adjuster.
 
Leon received his B. A. in Business Administration from Western State College in 1985 and is a graduate of the NICB. His continuing education includes participation in many seminars involving Construction Defect, Settlement Negotiations and Accident Reconstructions, as well as participation in multiple continuing education courses required by the states wherein he holds licenses.
 

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.

Justin Siebert is a graduate of The University of Connecticut and holds a CRIS designation. In 2010, he started his professional career with the Complex Claims Group at The Hartford where he handled third party general liability claims, including environmental pollution, asbestos, silica, construction defect, and toxic tort claims. Afterwards, he spent time as a Claims Specialist in The Hartford's Latent Property Damage Group ("LPD"), handling construction defect claims. In April of 2016, Justin was promoted to his first management role within LPD and is currently managing a group of five adjusters who handle construction defect claims in Southeastern US.
 

John has spent over 25 years in the legal, insurance and risk management field.  Starting with a small defense litigation firm, he moved to Liberty Mutual where he’s held various positions in the Commercial Insurance claims operation.  Managing a nationwide Construction Defect and complex claims group, he’s also served in Liberty’s specialty claims group handing excess, MDL, and other litigation worldwide.  Recently he served in Liberty’s litigation management group and is currently in the Strategic Initiatives group overseeing claims and litigation management initiatives.  In addition to his legal and claims background, John has served as a risk advisor and speaker for the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity and for the past 10 years, he’s served USA Hockey as a risk manager.  A graduate of Chapman University with a BSBA in finance and economics, John also studied at the University of Hong Kong focusing on international law.  He received his law degree from the Santa Clara University School of law, where he was a member of the Moot Court Board, Order of Barristers and active in Phi Delta Phi.  He resides in Orange County, California.

David B. Simons is a Vice President and the Assistant General Counsel in the Legal Department of KB Home, a national homebuilder whose operations has delivered new homes to thousands of American families in over fifty years of operations. Mr. Simons is responsible for litigation, ethics, and compliance and has been with KB Home since July of 1998. 
 
He is responsible for the Company’s litigation reserves and reporting and presents to the Audit Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors quarterly on major exposures and ethics and compliance issues. Mr. Simons chairs the Legal Action Committee of the California Building Industry Association and actively supports the General Counsels of the Leading Builders of America.
 
Mr. Simons formerly practiced with Cooper, White and Cooper in San Francisco California. His practice focused on commercial litigation with an emphasis on defending residential and commercial construction developers, contractors, and design professionals in real estate and construction-related litigation. 
 
Mr. Simons received his B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of California at Davis. During law school, he served as senior notes and comments editor of the Law Review.
 

Laurence possesses over 20 years of experience in the insurance and risk management field. Working as a commercial claim adjuster for several years, he handled a variety of CGL claims for customers in various industries, including retail, trucking, manufacturing and construction. He then transitioned into a producer role working first for a large direct writing carrier and later as a producer for a regional agency. In 2005, Laurence joined Turner as the Los Angeles’ office claims and insurance manager. Since then, his role has expanded to include all insurance, litigation and surety matters for Turner’s Southwest operations.
 
Laurence received a Bachelor of Arts in English from UCLA. He has also earned his ARM and CRIS designations. Laurence is a licensed resident insurance producer. 
 

Kevin D. Smith is an active trial lawyer who has spent the majority of his professional life trying cases on behalf of Fortune 500 companies and major corporations. In his 30 years of practice, Kevin has defended commercial,  professional liability,  product liability,  transportation and catastrophic matters in state and federal courts. Despite having to frequently, overcome difficult challenges on liability and damages in high exposure cases,  Kevin has obtained victories on behalf of his clients in an impressive ninety four percent of the cases he has tried. This has resulted in Kevin being elected to the prestigious American Board of Trial Advocates and regularly honored as a Southern California “Super Lawyer.”

Education: Pepperdine University School of Law (J.D., 1983), Pepperdine University (B.A., 1980). Memberships: American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS), Professional Liability Defense Federation Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America, Trucking Industry Defense Association, ABA (Professional Liability, Product Liability; Commercial Transportation), American Trucking Association, DRI (Commercial Litigation; Commercial Transportation; Professional Liability; Product Liability), Court Appointed Arbitrator & Mediator, Los Angeles County Superior Court. Awards and Accomplishments: AV Preeminent Lawyer by Martindale-Hubbell, Named Southern California Super Lawyer.

Keith Smith is a skilled trial lawyer known for his expertise in handling a wide variety of complex matters for both public entities and private clients. His practice areas spans complex commercial litigation including issues involving construction, securities/FINRA, employment, directors and officers, catastrophic injury and professional liability matters. He also handles numerous matters involving sureties, including payment and performance bond claims, mechanic’s lien release bonds, litigation bonds, surety takeovers and defaults on construction projects.

Keith is regularly retained by public entities and private clients for his litigation prowess handling high exposure catastrophic injury matters. These include traumatic brain injury, wrongful death, amputations and disfigurement claims. Keith acts as National Coordinating Counsel for a major motion picture studio for all injury claims nationwide, is regularly retained as monitoring counsel by clients and insurers to oversee and then take to trial large exposure claims. Under this umbrella are all facets of injury matters for motor carriers, public entities and private companies in growing out of transportation related issues. He is a sought out speaker at regional and national conferences where he shares his knowledge and experience on cutting edge trial issues ranging from nuclear verdicts to the reptile theory.

In the construction arena, Keith regularly represents residential and commercial builders, public and private owners, construction managers and design professionals in complex construction law matters. He has a proven record of results in matters involving almost every conceivable issue that can arise from a construction project. This includes payment disputes, mechanic’s lien, stop notice, bond claims, construction defects, delay, acceleration and inefficiency claims, extra work, differing site, changed condition and change order claims, construction site injuries, bid protests, debarment proceedings and False Claims Act disputes. 
 
 

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.
 

Bob Stahl is an Assistant Vice President of Construction Defect Claims for Amerisure Insurance Co. with over 30 years’ experience in the property and casualty claims industry and 25 years of management and leadership responsibilities. Bob graduated from Michigan State University and began his career with Liberty Mutual in Sacramento, CA. Having worked in California, Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida, and as a Home Office Claims Consultant, Bob has multi-jurisdictional claim experience.  Bob’s expertise includes:  multi-line claim strategies and expense control; multi-jurisdictional coverage analysis and application, and developing, leading and retaining claims talent.  Currently, Bob heads the auto liability, general liability and construction defect Technical Claims Unit, a corporate claims group that oversees claims nationwide.  Bob is a member of the CLM Construction Claims Advisory Board and also serves on the Construction Claims College committee.

Dave joined West Coast Casualty Service in 1993, and currently has over thirty-nine (39) years of diverse experience spanning the insurer, self-insurer, third party administrator and independent adjusting arenas all across the United States, Canada, England and Austria. Dave’s central focus has been on the investigation of all aspects of construction defect claims, amongst other things. He has been involved in the creation of innovative methods for the reduction of claims handling expenses Dave is often called upon to testify as an expert in construction defect and insurance related litigation and has been asked to be a consultant on articles involving construction featured in the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, Big Builder Magazine, Insurance Journal and the Orange County Register. Each year Dave coordinates our annual Construction Defect Seminar which is most highly attended construction defect event worldwide. Dave speaks at other seminars discussing vital issues. Dave has handled national multi-million dollar exposures including the coverage, liability and damage aspects of insurance related claims. He presently is the technical supervisor for all our TPA accounts. Dave is a past Vice President and past Secretary of the Construction Defect Claims Managers Association. In addition, he is a member of the Registered Professional Adjusters Program, the Society of Insurance Trainers and Educators and the National Association of Insurance Litigation Managers. Dave is on the President Circle of Habitat for Humanity, serves as Secretary/Treasurer of the Malibu Lost Hills Sheriffs Foundation (2011-present) and is an advisor to the Thousand Oaks Police Departments Charitable Foundation (2007-present).

Joel Sternstein is a Claim Account Manager in the large construction unit at Arch Insurance Group, Inc.   He currently handles general liability (including bodily injury and construction defect) automobile, and workers compensation claims.  Prior to Arch, Joel was a construction claims manager at Starr Companies where he specialized in construction claims – particularly general liability, auto, and excess exposure.   Prior to Starr, Joel was an adjuster for CNA where he specialized in construction, medical products liability, and toxic tort claims.  Joel is a licensed attorney in Illinois and practiced law at three government agencies before moving to the insurance industry in 2005.

Gary Strong focuses his practice in the areas of construction litigation and professional malpractice defense including representation of design professionals, insurance brokers, real estate agents, lawyers, and accountants in the state and federal courts of New Jersey and New York. He has represented a variety of clients in the construction arena, including project owners, developers, design professionals, general and prime contractors, and specialty trade contractors, in all phases of construction and commercial litigation. He regularly counsels clients during the pre-construction and construction phases on issues including contract negotiations, risk management, and disputes. His representation extends to both public and private projects, and addresses payment claims, delay and impacts, acceleration, design issues, lien law, bond claims and surety issues, defective work, and wrongful termination. He has extensive experience in construction lien foreclosure actions involving the New Jersey Construction Lien Law and New Jersey’s Municipal Mechanics’ Lien Law.

Gary is a member of the Young Leadership Committee of the ACEC. He is editor of the Construction Law Newsletter of the Construction Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar.
 
 

Paul is a key member of the Alliant Construction Services team team and is located in our San Francisco, CA office. He is responsible for the oversight of claims, claim account management and the delivery of claim services for various insureds.. Paul works closely with carriers and underwriters and provides oversight to ensure adherence to best practices. His responsibility coincides with the overall objective of the Construction team which is to provide superior service to our clients which ultimately drive superior results. Paul has 15 plus years of industry experience.

Anthony Terranova is currently Vice President, Commercial Casualty Claims at QBE North America. He focuses on the oversight of catastrophic construction and transportation related claims. Prior to joining QBE, he was an Assistant Vice President, Construction in a global carrier's Major Case Unit. Anthony was also previsouly a partner at a NY/NJ regional law firm in its Construction and Design Professional Units where he represented clients in pre-suit matters and in litigation in New York, New Jersey and Federal Court under Commercial General Liability and Professional Liability Policies, respectively. Anthony also has experience as a professional liability adjuster from when he worked at a major, national insurance carrier and a third-party administrator where he handled Architects & Engineers claims. 

 

Jon Terry has a thriving litigation practice and focuses on complex and commercial litigation. He is admitted in Federal and State Courts. He has litigated and tried cases in construction, breach of contract, construction defect, property insurance/bad faith, personal injury, wrongful death, premises liability, and products liability.  He is also a partner at the prestigious boutique firm of Terry ??Mudge LLP. Mr. Terry speaks and presents at numerous regional, national and international conferences and seminars  to various insurers, businesses trade groups.  Mr. Terry is Martindale Hubbell “AV” rated, the highest peer based rate indicating preeminent legal abilities and highest ethics.

Mr. Terry is a member of the Defense Research Institute, Building Industry Association, J. Reuben Clark Law Society, The CLM Alliance, the Orange County and San Francisco Bar Associations, and Phi Alpha Delta legal fraternity.  Mr. Terry received his J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1990 and his B.A. in U.S. History/American Studies from Brigham Young University in 1987.

Wendy Testa is a partner and cochair of Wilson Elser’s national Complex Tort & General Casualty and Design Professional practices. She focuses her legal practice on risk management services, and defense and insurance coverage litigation in the areas of professional liability, including architects/engineers as well as other construction professionals; real estate and insurance brokers/agents; construction/construction defect liability; product liability; and contract drafting, negotiating and risk transfer disputes on behalf of developers and contractors. Wendy handles defense and coverage matters for the U.S. and London insurance markets. Her understanding of these markets and varied underwriting practices as well as her experience in drafting and interpreting policy language contributes to her effectiveness with coverage analysis and as a litigator in her areas of practice.
 
In addition, Wendy has a breadth of real estate E&O defense experience managing and resolving claims on behalf of large national property management and brokerage firms as well as litigating disputes throughout the United States on behalf of real estate brokers, appraisers, title abstractors, home inspectors, insurance brokers, managing agents and broker-dealers. In addition to efficiently managing claims, she assists our real estate professionals in licensing and regulatory matters as well as navigating complex contractual issues, leases and agency agreements; performing due diligence related to acquisitions; helping to ensure fair housing and other applicable statutory and/or local code and regulatory compliance. Wendy’s experience in the insurance and real estate industries results in spot-on analysis of liability and exposure and effective resolution strategies.

Linda Tonkovich is a Senior Claims Examiner for Arch Insurance Group Inc. in Orange County, CA. She is responsible for the handling of large, complex construction defect claims for major contractors across the United States. She also provides TPA oversight for numerous defect claims. In addition to commercial and residential construction claims, her experience over the past forty years includes handling claims and coverage issues involving General Liability, Products Liability, Professional Liability, Errors and Omissions, Employment Practices and Intellectual Property exposures. Prior to Arch, her work experience was at Gallagher Bassett, OneBeacon, Fireman’s Fund and Aetna Casualty. She is the current Chair of the Speakers and Topics Committee for the Annual West Coast Casualty Construction Defect Seminar. She earned her bachelor’s degree at California State University, Fullerton.
 

John H. Toohey is a Partner for Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara, LLP. Mr. Toohey is an A.V. Preeminent rated attorney with a practice that is focused on contract negotiation and litigation, complex product liability, and construction. He has successfully represented hundreds of clients in alternative dispute resolution and trial, including multiple cases to jury verdict.

Mr. Toohey was recently recognized by Los Angeles Magazine as one of the “Top Attorneys in Southern California”. He has been selected into the “Lawyers of Distinction”, which limits membership to the top 10% of lawyers in the United States based upon qualifications, license, reputation, experience, and disciplinary history. Mr. Toohey has also been selected to the 2017 - 2025 California Super Lawyers list. This is an exclusive list, recognizing no more than five percent of attorneys in the state.

John Toohey was selected as a 2019 California Litigator of the Year by The American Institute of Trial Lawyers, which is an invitation only organization composed of premier trial attorneys from all over the county. He has also been nominated as a Top 100 member of the American Academy of Attorneys, a national organization of elite attorneys actively practicing law who are dedicated to the promotion of excellence in their field.

Mr. Toohey is admitted to practice in the State of California, the State of Texas, the State of Arizona, and the State of Colorado.

Wilson Townsend is a Vice President of Claims of The RiverStone Group LLC, a provider of run-off claims management services for Fairfax Financial LLC. Based in Manchester, NH, Mr. Townsend manages teams adjusting Asbestos Pollution and Health Hazard (APH), Construction Defect (CD), General Liability, Worker’s Compensation, Errors & Omissions (E&O), and Directors and Officers E & O claims, and other commercial lines claims. He has past experience with Commercial Auto, Garagekeepers, and Personal Lines claims. During his almost 16 years with RiverStone, Mr. Townsend has served as Technical Manager of the Construction Defect Unit overseeing and managing the disposition of over 15,000 CD claims, as Assistant Vice President in the Litigation Unit handling complex coverage litigation, and his present position as Vice President of Claims with responsibility for various claims operations. Mr. Townsend served as the business lead on a three year business transformation project which successfully implemented new software applications and business processes. Mr. Townsend has over 28 years of insurance claims and dispute resolution experience at several insurance companies in the Northeast and Midwest. A 1987 graduate of University of Massachusetts at Amherst Mr. Townsend earned a B.A. in Political Science and a Senior Claims Law Designation (SCLA) from the American Educational Institute.

Kasey C. Townsend is Partner-in-Charge of Murchison & Cumming's San Francisco office, where she handles general civil litigation including construction defect and injury, employment law, general liability, habitability and representing HOA Board of Directors for the Sacramento and San Francisco Bay areas. She has extensive experience in all phases of litigation including Mediation, Arbitration and Trial. Ms. Townsend is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

Her career at Murchison & Cumming began in the San Diego branch office, as an Associate Attorney specializing in civil litigation defense including personal injury, employment, property and construction law. In 2003, Ms. Townsend opened the branch office in Northern California and became Partner in Charge of that office continuing an active civil litigation defense practice retained by individual companies, private clients and insurance companies. Her published decisions include Aas vs. Superior Court, 24 Cal. 4th 627.

Ms. Townsend is a member of the State Bar of California, the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys (“ADTA”), Defense Research Institute ("DRI"), Claims & Litigation Management Alliance (“CLM”) and Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California and Nevada ("ADCNCN"). She has written monthly articles for the California Real Estate Reporter.

Ms. Townsend is admitted to practice before all California State Courts, the United States District Court for the Northern, Eastern, Central and Southern Districts of California, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Ms. Townsend is a graduate of the California State University, Chico (B.A.) and the University of San Diego School of Law (J.D.) where she served in the Student Bar Association as a Class Representative.
 

George R. Truitt, Jr. is the Managing Partner of the firm’s Construction Group, which is dedicated exclusively to the counseling and litigation of construction-related matters. Mr. Truitt is a Board Certified Specialist in Florida Construction Law. He was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1992 and has been A-V Rated by Martindale Hubbell since 1998. For the past twenty-three years, he has devoted his practice to construction litigation and risk management counseling, including the representation of design professionals in professional liability claims, developers, contractors, and subcontractors in construction defect, contract, inland marine (builder’s risk coverage and litigation) and lien enforcement claims, and payment and performance bond sureties in public and private bond and subrogation claims.

Mr. Truitt obtained his Bachelors of Science from Rollins College, cum laude, in 1988 and his Juris Doctor from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law School in 1992. He is admitted to The Florida Bar and the United States District Courts for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida. Mr. Truitt is a member of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the Florida Bar, the Construction Association of South Florida, the Latin Builders Association, the Professional Liability Attorneys Network (PLAN), the American Institute of Architects, and the Miami-Dade County Bar Association.

 

Steve Tuller is a Vice President with DecisionQuest in its Washington, D.C. office. Drawing upon his background in both psychology and law, Mr. Tuller works with law firm, corporate and insurance clients to help them more clearly understand the strengths and weaknesses of their cases from the trier-of-fact’s perspective. He frequently conducts focus groups and mock trials, develops opening and closing statements, conducts witness evaluation and communication training, develops juror profiles, and assists in court with jury selection, and helps trial teams to refine key case themes and hone trial strategy.    
 
Over the course of his 25-year career, Mr. Tuller has been retained in more than 700 matters in state and federal courts throughout the United States across many areas of the law including product liability, professional malpractice, toxic tort/environmental, intellectual property, medical malpractice, employment, catastrophic personal injury, white collar crime, insurance coverage, and transportation, among others. 
 
Mr. Tuller is a frequent speaker at law firms, corporate legal departments, and state and national CLE conferences about juror persuasion and litigation strategy.  He earned his Bachelor of Science in Psychology from James Madison University and a Juris Doctor from Golden Gate University School of Law. He is also a member of the Virginia State Bar, the American Society of Trial Consultants, and a Fellow with the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance.

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.

Tami G. Vail, Esq. is the Managing Partner of Kahana Feld’s San Diego office. Ms. Vail is the Chair of the Public Entity Counseling and Litigation practice group and Co-Chair of the General Liability practice group. Ms. Vail is a member of the National Appellate Litigation & Consulting Group.
Ms. Vail’s practice includes significant and diverse civil litigation and trial experience in both state and federal court.  Ms. Vail routinely defends hotels, health clubs and restaurants in general liability matters.  Ms. Vail also regularly represents governmental entities in personal and catastrophic injury, wrongful death and employment matters, as well as law enforcement and security personnel in civil rights claims.
Ms. Vail’s employment practice involves the representation of employers in matters involving the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), and claims of discrimination and harassment in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and the Unruh Civil Rights Act.
Ms. Vail also represents contractors, business owners and various professionals in complex business and contract disputes.
Ms. Vail has both served as appellate monitoring counsel and has experience conceptualizing and drafting dispositive and other motions, writs, and briefs on significant and catastrophic property and casualty matters of all kinds.
Ms. Vail tenaciously defends her clients with razor sharp focus, and works diligently to understand her client’s operations and business while applying the applicable law.  Ms. Vail’s ability to thoroughly assess factual information in a calm and direct manner while analyzing potential exposure leads to satisfactory dispute resolution.

In addition to obtaining favorable outcomes for her clients, Ms. Vail loves spending time with her family and participating in school activities and sports with her two young sons.  Ms. Vail donates her time to the various charities her children’s school are involved in, including providing food and resources to underprivileged families.

With over 15 years of construction experience, Carmen has a proven track record of completing complex projects with fast track schedules, and has demonstrated her leadership skills by successfully managing large construction teams. 
 
Carmen received her bachelor’s degree in Construction Management from North Carolina A&T State University. She has served as Construction Manager, Construction Engineer, Management Consultant, Scheduler, and Safety Director on various projects for Turner Construction Company. Carmen has been actively involved in major Turner projects throughout the country, including: $65M Ten-Fifty B Street Apartments; $102M Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego; ongoing modernizations at multiple schools for Grossmont Union High School District; St. Vincent DePaul School in Nashville, TN; and a $40M capital improvement program for 12 New York District City Schools. 
 
One of her most notable projects was the recently completed award winning $185M San Diego New Central Library. Carmen recently completed construction on the 16-Story Sempra Energy Headquarters Project and is currently heading up efforts on the 36 story residential high rise in downtown San Diego, valued at $220M Ballpark Village.
 
Carmen is a recipient of ENR California’s prestigious Top 20 under 40 Award, San Diego Metro’s Top 40 under 40 Award, and was recognized as a San Diego Women Who Mean Business by the San Diego Business Journal. She was also named a Cool Woman of San Diego by the Girl Scouts of San Diego. She is the past Chair of Associated General Contractors’ Education and Foundations for Success Committee and formerly served as a board member for the San Diego Architectural Foundation. She has also served on the North Park Community Association Board of Directors and the Balboa Park Conservancy Board. She is currently serves as a Board of Director for the Girl Scouts of San Diego.

 

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.

Larry serves as Chief Executive Officer for The New Home Company. As founder, Larry leads the company’s overall vision, strategic planning and policy making. Larry’s 30 years of success are distinguished by a conscientious approach toward clients, communities and employees. This includes his many charitable commitments such as serving on the boards of HomeAid America and Interval House and his dedication to helping cities, families and neighborhoods. Larry founded The New Home Company on these same principles.
 
Between 1995 and 2008, he was Chief Executive Officer of John Laing Homes, where he was instrumental in growing it from a small, two-market company to the second-largest private homebuilder in the United States. In June 2006, he sold John Laing Homes in the largest private residential transaction in U.S. history. Prior to joining John Laing Homes, he was Division President for Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties for Kaufman & Broad, as well as Orange Country President of Greystone Homes. In 2008, Larry was appointed Chief Restructuring Officer for LandSource and successfully negotiated the financial restructuring of large land holdings across the U.S.
 
Throughout his career, Larry has been honored and recognized by the industry for his philanthropy, marketing excellence and visionary leadership. He holds a master’s degree in city and regional planning from Harvard University. Larry has been invited to teach classes in the real estate field at the University of Southern California; University of California, Irvine; Harvard University and Cornell University. He regularly delivers keynote addresses at national conferences for trade organizations, such as the Urban Land Institute and the National Association of Homebuilders.
 

Raymond Weisse is a Senior Vice President and Head of Casualty Claims for Ascot Group US.  He joined Ascot in August 2021 after spending 2 years as a Senior Vice President and Director of Construction Liability for Gallagher Bassett Specialty.  Prior to his time at Gallagher Bassett, Raymond served as the VP of the General Liability Claims Team and Chief Technical Officer at Navigators Insurance Company from October 2017 until May 2019 where his primary role was to oversee managers and their claims teams, and provide subject matter expertise on high exposure claims. .  During his initial tenure at Navigators, he was the Vice President of Casualty Claims from 2004-2016.  In between, he spent just over a year as the Vice President of Claims for The Americas division at SCOR Reinsurance Company.    
Raymond has over 25 years of legal and insurance industry experience, also having previously held various positions at AIG.  He is a graduate of Pace University with a BBA in Business Management and he received his J.D. from Pace University School of Law.  He is a licensed attorney admitted to practice in New York, New Jersey and Florida, holds adjuster licenses in various states, and is a Level 2 instructor with CLM Claims College. 
 

Lawrence J. West is a founding partner of Johnson, Trent, West & Taylor. He practices in the area of business litigation including construction defect and premises liability. He is an active member of the Construction Law Practice Group for the Houston Bar Association, USLAW Network and DRI. He is a frequent lecturer. He is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell and this year has again been named as a Super Lawyer. 
 

Wendy L. Wilcox earned her B.A. (1993) in Sociology, with honors, from the University of California, Los Angeles. Wendy earned her J.D. (1997), with honors, from Southwestern University School of Law. She has also received various awards, including Excellence For the Future Award – Employment Discrimination Law and Exceptional Achievement Award – Intellectual Property. Wendy focuses her attention in the areas of products, premises and professional liability, construction defect and insurance coverage litigation and employment practices litigation. She has written numerous articles concerning insurance coverage, construction defect, litigation, arbitration, expert witnesses, and has presented this material at seminars. Wendy has also represented several defendants in published California Appellate and Supreme Court decisions. Wendy is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Professional Liability Underwriters Society and Defense Research Institute. She is admitted in all courts in California, both state and federal. Wendy is also admitted to practice before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.Wendy was a speaker at the 17th Annual West Coast Casualty Construction Defect Seminar on May 13 and 14, 2010, at The Disneyland Hotel. She lectured on current construction defect and insurance issues.Wendy was a speaker at the 15th Annual West Region Construction Defect & Law Seminar on the subject of Construction Defect Class Actions on September 16-18, 2009, in San Diego, California.Wendy was a speaker at the West Coast Casualty Construction Defect Seminar held on May 14 and 15, 2009, at The Disneyland Hotel. She spoke on the various issues concerning the recent California Supreme Court decision of Crawford v. Weather Shield Manufacturing, Inc. (2008) 44 Cal. 4th 541.Flatley v. Mauro, 39 Cal.4th 299 (2006) (Represented Defendant in Anti-SLAPP Motion).“Dodging the Pitfalls of Qualifying an Expert,” Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine (September 2005).“Compelling Arbitrations and Confirming an Arbitration Award,” Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine (November 2004).CEB Advising and Defending Corporate Directors and Officers (book), Consultant (October 2004).“Applying the Litigation Privilege Before Trial” Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine (June 2003).“Making Preparations for Expert Witnesses” Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine (November 2002).“Additional Insured Coverage Claims: Where’s the Money?” The Defense Research Institute Young Lawyers Connection Newsletter (December 2002).“Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Claims: The Arbitration’s Over; Here’s the Bad Faith Claim.” This article was co-authored with Paul White and published in May 2002, for a Defense Research Institute seminar.

Brendan has more than a decade of experience litigating complex and high-stakes insurance coverage, construction, personal injury, and business matters. Brendan has a particularly deep understanding of the insurance industry. Prior to law school Brendan worked for Safeco Insurance Company as a property and casualty agent. During law school he worked in Safeco’s in-house legal department. After law school Brendan climbed the ranks and became a partner at the international law firm Cozen O’Connor, which is widely considered the “go to” law firm for the insurance industry. There he represented the world’s largest insurance companies in their most complex and high-stakes matters. Brendan now exclusively represents policyholders rather than insurance companies.

Brendan is one of the few policyholder lawyers in the United States to have received the Certified Litigation Management Professional (CLMP) designation from Loyola University School of Law in Chicago. The CLMP designation is the insurance industry’s certification program for insurance company claims managers and their counsel. Brendan is also the former president of the Washington chapter for the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (the CLM), which is the largest professional association in the insurance industry with more than 35,000 members. Brendan is also a former member of the CLM’s national construction committee.

Brendan is regularly invited to speak at regional and national conference on topics involving complex insurance claims, construction, and ethics. Brendan has been published by Litigation Management, Construction Today, and Business Insurance magazines. He was also a contributing author to the Washington Real Property Deskbook series on environmental regulation.

Brandt L. Wolkin is a partner in the law firm of Wolkin Curran, LLP, where his concentration is in insurance coverage matters.

Mr. Wolkin received his Bachelor of Arts, Phi Beta Kappa, from Hobart & William Smith College in New York and his J.D. from Boalt Hall School of Law. Mr. Wolkin’s insurance coverage practice began in the 1980's when he litigated an early generation of wrap-up insurance policies. Mr. Wolkin handles large product cases arising out of the construction industry, environmental and asbestos coverage litigation and reinsurance arbitrations, as well as continuing to handle construction defect coverage litigation.

Mr. Wolkin's published appellate opinions include Wells Fargo Bank v. CIGA, et al., (1995) 38 Cal.App.4th 936, an important decision upholding the position of Mr. Wolkin’s excess carrier client in a "drop-down" insolvency case, Pennsylvania General Insurance Company v. American Safety Indemnity Co., (2010) 185 Cal.App.4th 1515, a post Montrose “trigger case” construing language purportedly “drafting around” that seminal California Supreme Court decision, and Underwriters of Interest Subscribing to Policy No. A15274001 v. ProBuilders Specialty Insurance Co., (2015) 241 Cal.App.4th 721, invalidating a continuous loss insurer's attempt to have its defense obligation "become excess" if any other insurer also accepts the tendered defense. Mr. Wolkin lectures frequently, including speaking and presenting written materials at the International Risk Management Institute, the CPCU Annual Convention, the Defense Research Institute and the West Coast Casualty Conference.

Mr. Wolkin prides himself in his ability to resolve coverage-related matters prior to litigation being filed, or as ongoing events warrant. Mr. Wolkin is equally proud of his trial and appellate record related to such matters.

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.
 

Constance Woods is the Vice President – Legal for American Southern Insurance Company in Atlanta. Constance joined American Southern in February, 2013 after several years in private practice. In her role with American Southern, she oversees and monitors large loss claims, complex claims and claims in litigation. In addition, she litigates coverage issues on behalf of American Southern, reviews policy forms and endorsements and provides other legal advice and counsel to the Company.

Prior to joining American Southern, Constance was a Partner with Austin & Sparks, P.C. Her practice was primarily concentrated in the area of insurance coverage where she provided insurance companies with advice and opinions regarding various coverage issues related to commercial general liability, public liability, excess, commercial auto, personal auto and homeowners’ insurance policies. She also litigated insurance coverage issues on behalf of insurers and insureds.

Constance is admitted to the Georgia Bar, the Northern District of Georgia, the Middle District of Georgia, the United States Court of Appeals for the 11
th Circuit, and the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.

Constance is a graduate of Girls' Preparatory School, Chattanooga, TN; East Stroudsburg University (B.S. 1992, Business Management, cum laude); Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh (MBA 1993); and Georgia State University College of Law (J.D. 2004, cum laude,). Prior to attending law school, Constance spent 12 years in the corporate sector as a Human Resources Manager and Director.

Constance was born and raised on Signal Mountain outside of Chattanooga. She and her husband, Joe, reside in Duluth, GA. Constance is an avid golfer and devoted follower of Southeastern Conference Football.

Ted Xenakis oversees the company’s corporate insurance, surety, wrap-up and Subguard programs, providing insurance advice and support throughout the Americas region.

Mr. Xenakis specializes in claims management, assessment methodologies and claim resolution strategies providing advice and recommendations. He manages insurance broker relationships, ensures the best available programs accommodate the business insurance requirements and identifies potential CCIP projects.

Mr. Xenakis joined Lendlease in 2007 as Director of Claims, responsible for all claim functions including general liability, workers’ compensation, builders risk and professional liability. He prepared quarterly claim reports, managed the firm’s significant self-insured retention, working with the insurance companies to achieve best results. Mr. Xenakis worked closely with the Environment, Health & Safety department, identifying and addressing potential trends in claims.

Prior to joining Lendlease, Mr. Xenakis held numerous positions of increasing responsibility in the construction business where he designed and managed complete risk management programs for both developers and construction management clients.

Mr. Xenakis, a licensed insurance broker and construction risk insurance specialist, received a Bachelor of Arts in Government and Politics from St. John’s University and studied paralegal education at C.W. Post.

Tracy Yaun has nearly 20 years of claims experience including roles in Claims Management, Litigation Management, Vendor Management, Coverage, In-House Legal, and Compliance.  She has also worked as a partner in an insurance defense firm specializing in construction litigation, general litigation and insurance coverage issues. 
Tracy is currently the Head of Casualty Claims, Americas Region at AXA XL.   She manages the Company's casualty claims portfolio in the US and Canada with leadership over the Construction, Environmental, Excess Casualty, Multinational Casualty, Energy, E&S, Worker’s Compensation, and Auto/General Liability claim groups.   Prior to AXA XL, Tracy held similar roles at Central Insurance and Amerisure. 

Tracy is active in The CLM (Claims and Litigation Management Alliance) where she serves on the Construction Advisory Board and the Litigation Management Task Force Committee.  As part of CLM, she is also a Dean for the Claims College and a faculty member for the Litigation Management Institute .  Tracy is also active in RISE (Rising Insurance Star Executives) where she serves as an Ambassador, DRI, the Atlanta Bar Association and the CPCU Society where she is a former board member.   Tracy is a frequent presenter at industry conferences and is dedicated to mentoring young professionals.

Tracy was honored as a 2020 Emerging Leader from the APCIA and was also the recipient of the 2014 IAIP Region III Claim Professional of the Year Award.    She completed CLM’s Litigation Management Institute program in 2018 earning her CLMP designation.  In addition, she holds an SCLA, CPCU, ACP and CCP designation.  Tracy is also an alumna of Zurich Insurance’s Global Associate program.

Tracy graduated from Emory University School of Law where she was a member of the Moot Court Society.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Tufts University.
 

Irene K. Yesowitch understands the challenging business aspects as well as the litigation environment faced by the insurance industry.

Irene has extensive experience in what she calls “financial loss litigation.” Representing directors and officers, lawyers, and accountants in myriad matters since the mid-1980s, Irene has developed experience that is invaluable to her defense clients as well as her insurer clients. A trial lawyer at heart, she utilizes this experience and knowledge of business/corporate litigation and insurance to maximize the impact of her services to her clients.

Irene continues to provide insurers strategic analysis and advice attendant to bad faith litigation, e-commerce, marketing, product development, regulatory compliance, market conduct, agency relationships, loss control, risk management, reinsurance, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Office of Foreign Asset Control regulations. Additionally, she continues to emphasize a coverage and bad faith practice that includes litigation, coverage analysis, and other issues attendant to the business of insurance.

Irene is an avid speaker having presented numerous programs to claims and underwriting professionals, as well as lawyers, on such topics as fair settlement practices, insurance coverage analysis, evidence in a bad faith lawsuit, additional insureds and contractual indemnity coverage, the duty to defend, DOI regulations, reservation of rights, personal and advertising injury coverage, coverage for construction litigation exposures, and proper use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. The dozens of articles that she has published over the last 28 years further exemplify her place as one of the leading business and insurance coverage litigation attorneys in California.

Thomas Zawistowski, Assistant Vice President, Claims joined Ironshore in January 2013, and he manages the Architects & Engineers Professional Liability claims worldwide.  Thomas has been handling claims since 1986.  He has worked for several insurance carriers of various sizes.  He earned the designation of Associate in Claims (“AIC”) in 1996, and is a licensed adjuster in several states.  During his time in the industry he has been a Claims Manager on National and Regional levels.  Thomas has adjusted claims for Fiduciary, Errors & Omission, EPL, Professional Liability, Directors & Officers, Architects & Engineers, Construction Defect, Long Haul Trucking including intermodal transport claims, Environmental as well as other commercial and personal insurance claims.  He has handled New York Labor Law, and lectured on same to his peers. He has handled all these types of claims in multiple jurisdictions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.  He has participated in collective bargaining agreement negotiations as well.  Thomas also designed and managed matters as an Engineering Tech with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers back in the 1980’s. His thoroughness and full analysis of coverage in these areas is highly respected by his peers and attorneys in the field.    He is well versed in claims-made coverage, and has been commended by clients and London insurers on his knowledge in this and other areas.    Thomas brings to the table very strong negotiation skills and even conducted a negotiation seminar for a law class.  He has conducted other seminars for insurance carriers in this area too.  He negotiated a settlement involving a significant and highly publicized police brutality case in New York City.  He has participated in collective bargaining agreement negotiations as well.  He is a Certified Mediator specializing in the construction arena.


 

John E. Zehnder, Jr. is a Partner at McGavick Graves, P.S., handling claims throughout both Washington and Oregon.  He has practiced construction law for more than 20 years – specializing in defending developers, general contractors, architects and engineers.  Although 50% of his practice is construction related, he has a general insurance practice that includes insurance coverage, professional liability, products, employment, personal injury/death, premises liability, and appeals.  He has tried numerous jury trials to verdict and handled countless arbitrations, bench trials, dispositive motions, depositions and mediations.  Mr. Zehnder is an active speaker and has given presentations in the U.S. and London on a broad range of topics including condominium claims, construction litigation, insurance/bad faith, claims handling, cyber liability, professional liability, consent judgments, personal injury/wrongful death, negotiation, indemnity, mock juries and focus groups.  Mr. Zehnder is a member of the Washington Defense Trial Lawyers Association and Oregon Association of Defense Counsel, and is admitted to the Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California State Bars.  Mr. Zehnder received his law degree in 1991 from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, with Cum Laude, Order of the Coif and Thurston Society honors.

 
 

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.