Matthew Adler is currently with XL Catlin, a worldwide group of insurance companies and he works out of the Los Angeles office as a senior claims consultant. At X Catlin, Mr. Adler handles a variety of claims including excess, reinsurance and wrap programs involving commercial and residential construction. Mr. Adler was previously with OneBeacon and handled construction defect claims and coverage actions of all types, exposures and jurisdictions across the United States. Mr. Adler’s prior work history includes many years at The St. Paul/Travelers and The Zenith Insurance Companies. In addition to the construction field, his experience includes general liability, SIU and Workers Compensation. He is a past President of the Construction Defect Claim Managers Association (CDCMA). Mr. Adler is a frequent speaker at various seminars and industry events on a variety of claims related subjects. Mr. Adler earned his bachelor degree from Pitzer College and is proud to serve as an executive board member of a local theater group, The Production Company.
 

Samia H. Nettles is a shareholder in Richardson Plowden in the Charleston office. She focuses her practice in general litigation, construction law, land use and zoning, appellate law, historic preservation law, homeowners' association representation, personal injury litigation, and insurance defense. She has taken numerous cases to trial, obtaining complete defense verdicts in many of them. Ms. Nettles holds law licenses in both South Carolina and Georgia and practices throughout those states.

Before joining Richardson Plowden, Ms. Nettles clerked for The Honorable Deadra L. Jefferson of the Ninth Judicial Circuit and was an associate attorney at the Pritchard & Elliott law firm in Charleston. She has legal experience working in Washington, D.C. and for local South Carolina organizations prior to joining Richardson Plowden.

Ms. Nettles’s experience includes:

Litigating construction defect claims  Zoning Disputes  Homeowners Association representation  Toxic Tort/Asbestos Litigation  Business Disputes  Business Incorporation  Personal Injury Lawsuits  Insurance Defense  Appellate Practice

Pro Bono/Community Involvement

Board Member, Preservation Society of Charleston. In this role, she aids the Society’s mission to advocate for harmonized and sensitive growth in, and the protection of, historic areas by working on zoning, planning and development issues with the city, as well as local developers, contractors and residents. She also holds a master’s degree in historic preservation and has worked for the Army Corps of Engineers, the National Park Service and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. From 2008 to 2010, Ms. Nettles joined in taking a vital case on the issue of zoning law to the South Carolina Supreme Court. Past President, James L. Petigru American Inn of Court 

Publications/Writings

Articles Editor, Charleston Law Review

A Partner at Butler, Denise M. Anderson is the Chairperson of the Firm's Construction Litigation Practice  Group. Denise is Board Certified in Construction Law by the Florida  Bar and is an AV peer-rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell.While she currently practices primarily in the fields of construction  defect and product liability, in her legal career she has handled a  large variety of insurance related disputes involving coverage and subrogation. Her construction experience includes the representation of general contractors, developers, designers, every trade in the construction process, as well as suppliers and manufacturers of building components. She has served as the chairperson of several national construction seminars and regularly speaks to clients and peers on a variety of construction and civil litigation topics.After serving as the Regional Chairperson (Southern Region) for the Women in Construction Litigation Alliance (WCLA), Denise was appointed to the Board of Directors of the WCLA in 2015. Denise is also the National Membership Vice Chairperson of the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys (ADTA).  In addition, Denise has served as a Florida delegate for the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance. In 2013, she was appointed to serve as the Chairperson of the Steering Committee for the CLM's production of a Claims Handling Manual which is national initiative undertaken by 150 attorneys from across the U.S. and Canada.  Also, for the second year, Denise was selected as a Chairperson for the CLM's Annual Construction and Environmental Conference which will be held in Atlanta the first week of November, 2015 (Boston 2014).She received her Bachelor of Arts, with high honors, from Auburn University (1991) and her Doctor of Jurisprudence from Mercer University School of Law (1994). Denise is licensed to practice in the state and federal courts of Florida and the state courts of Georgia.  Her professional memberships include the Association Defense Trial Attorneys, Women in Construction Litigation Alliance, The Florida Bar, the State Bar of Georgia, the Hillsborough Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Hillsborough Association of Women Lawyers, the Defense Research Institute, the National Association of Subrogation Professionals and the Claims & Litigation Management Alliance.She has also been a member of the Junior League of Tampa since 2002, serving on committees for community projects to assist foster children, children aging out of foster care, children's literacy, among others. Denise is a native Floridian and has been employed with Butler since November 1995.

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. 

Arash S. Arabi is the managing partner with Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara LLP’s Los Angeles Office.  Mr. Arabi joined Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara, LLP in 2002.  He concentrates his practice in all aspects of complex civil litigation including general liability, construction, product liability and wrongful death/catastrophic injury. 

Mr. Arabi is licensed to practice in the State of California as well as the United States District Court (Central District of California) and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal. Mr. Arabi received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics, Magna Cum Laude, from Ithaca College in New York. He thereafter earned his Juris Doctor degree from Pepperdine University School of Law in 2003. During law school, Mr. Arabi participated in Moot Court, was Chairperson of the prestigious Dalsimer Moot Court Competition and was Managing Editor of the Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal. Mr. Arabi’s article, Renegotiating Third World Debt, 3 Pepp. Disp. Resol. L.J. 251, was published in 2003.

In Ms. Ashcraft’s role as Corporate Vice President, she works in conjunction with the President and Chief Operating Officer to determine the strategic direction of all MC Consultants, Inc. consulting groups, as well as carry out the corporation’s strategic plan through overseeing operations, developing functional roles and assigning responsibilities to employees who report directly to her. Ms. Ashcraft is also responsible for oversight and workflow monitoring of forensic consulting projects, as well as staff supervision and development. Ms. Ashcraft’s years of industry experience in both insurance and litigation is extensive which positions her to add tremendous value to the corporate management team.

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. 

In his capacity as Vice President of Risk Management for Coastal Construction Group, Brandon manages all facets of Coastal’s risk management and insurance programs, including Subcontractor Default Insurance, Wrap-Ups, Claims, and a Captive insurance company. In addition to working to assure broad and cost-effective insurance protection across all operations and on a project-by-project basis, Brandon also oversees Subcontractor Prequalification as well as Loss Prevention and leads efforts to make Risk Management a Profit Center for Coastal.
 
Prior to joining Coastal, Brandon was a founding partner of Beane & Bennett Construction Risk Specialists (BBCRS). BBCRS was a full-service retail insurance brokerage formed to partner exclusively with the construction community for industry specific risk management needs.
 
Before starting BBCRS, Brandon was an executive with Aon Construction Services Group, overseeing construction insurance services for the Southeast. His clients included many large Contractors and Developers.
 
Earlier in his career, Brandon was part of the Risk Management team for Centex Construction Group. For Centex, Brandon oversaw and supervised CCIPs as well as other insurance programs.
Brandon began his career in Boston, working for Marsh, as a Wrap-Up administrator.
 
Brandon’s clientele has included large regional & national General Contractors, major public entities, and both local & international Developers. Brandon has extensive experience in a variety of major construction markets, including the Northeast, the Midwest, and predominantly, the Southeast.
 
Brandon is on the Board of Directors of the South Florida AGC and heads the SFAGC Risk Management Committee. He speaks frequently at local and national events such as the ENR Risk Summit, The AGC Risk & Surety Meetings, IRMI, and the AGC National Conference.

Dan co-founded and serves as the Executive Chairman of Wood, Smith, Henning & Berman, a full service law firm with over 400 attorneys with offices throughout the United States.  In his role as Chairman, Dan is responsible for the high level management of the firm, execution of the firm's strategic vision and ensuring its overall effective operational management. Representing Fortune 500 companies and mid-market businesses, Dan is a recognized authority on commercial and business law, has received Martindale Hubbell's highest rating of "AV Preeminent," and has been selected a California "Super Lawyer" on numerous occasions. Dan's legal work spans matters involving business issues, professional liability, real estate, intellectual property, entertainment endeavors, and construction-related issues.  Dan has worked for many years closely with the domestic and London insurance markets, has successfully tried numerous complex cases to verdict and has been instrumental in several groundbreaking favorable rulings in the appellate realm.  He has served as a court appointed arbitrator and mediator, and serves as monitoring and coordinating counsel for clients throughout the United States.

Memberships and Accomplishments: Firm Chairman, Wood, Smith, Henning & Berman; 2015 –Present, Managing Partner, Wood, Smith, Henning & Berman; 2007 – 2015, Member, Young Presidents' Organization Santa Monica Bay Chapter (YPOSMB); 2009 – Present, Member, Council on Litigation Management, Professional Liability Committee Member, California Building Industry Association Legal Action Subcommittee Member, Professional Liability Defense Federation Member, Defense Research Institute, Technology Committee Member, National Association of Home Builders Construction Law Attorney Forum Member, Building Industry Association of Southern California Member, Association of Southern California Defense Counsel (ASCDC) Member, Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. (RIMS) Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America Quarterly Contributor to Residential Design and Build Magazine, AV Preeminent Lawyer by Martindale-Hubbell, Certified Continuing Legal Education Instructor at the Litigation Management Institute (LMI) at Columbia University Law School.

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.

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

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.

I am a partner in the New York Office of Wilson Elser and have been with the firm for over 18 years. My practice is litigation with an emphasis on construction site liability and general casualty claims. I am a trial attorney and have tried cases in all five New York City Boroughs, and the surrounding counties in both State and Federal court. My practice includes a fair amount of experience in products liability, insurance coverage, and premises security including the above referenced areas.

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.
 

Mike Bramhall is a Senior Structural Engineer and licensed Structural Engineer in seven states, a licensed Professional Engineer in eleven states and a LEED® Accredited Professional. He has over 25 years of structural engineering, consulting, and forensic engineering experience and holds a Master of Science degree in Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture; both earned from the University of Washington.
 
As an item writer and grader for professional engineering structural exams, Mr. Bramhall is uniquely qualified to provide expert opinions on a broad range of engineering topics. He has extensive experience in designing, analyzing and evaluating all major building types, framing systems and construction materials such as concrete, masonry, steel, aluminum, wood, and fiber wrap applications.
 
Mr. Bramhall’s professional experience includes the structural analysis and design of building and non-building structures, seismic evaluation and rehabilitation of existing structures, field investigations and conditional assessments, as well as the design of repairs for structural and foundation failures, peer reviews and value engineering. Notable highlights in the Northwest include the lead structural engineer on many of the buildings on the Microsoft main campus and the striking Central Terminal at SeaTac Airport.

MELANIE M. BROWN, J.D. has extensive experience with coverage and defense of Professional Liability and General Liability claims.  She has been a Director of Professional Liability at Markel Services, Incorporated overseeing a team of managers and examiners handling Architects & Engineers, Construction Defect, Medical Malpractice/Healthcare, and Environmental matters nationwide. She has also handled Agents & Brokers, Miscellaneous E&O, Products Liability, and Legal Malpractice claims.  Prior to joining Markel in 2008, Melanie practiced law in Chicago for 11 years. During that time, she focused on professional liability, commercial litigation, and pharmaceutical products liability and was most recently with the firm of Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold LLP 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.
 

 

Tom Brown manages a team of claims professionals at National Claim Services, focusing on Construction Defect claims. He has held VP, AVP and Director positions at insurance companies, brokers and insurance software vendors, including QBE, ACE, CNA, Fireman’s Fund and OneShield. Tom has headed up operations involving complex, multi-jurisdictional claims, including construction defect, environmental and product liability. Tom has a BBA in Business from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and MBA from the University of Michigan. He has numerous designations, including Certified Internal Auditor, Senior Claim Law Associate and Fellow, Life Management Institute.
 

Dave provides a wide range of Risk Management Services to Aon’s clients from hazard assessments and site visits to training and consulting.  He is responsible for reviewing Health & Safety Programs, assisting clients in developing new programs, training employees, and enhancing our client’s accident prevention programs. Dave has over 20 years of construction industry experience throughout the country, with a focus on project supervision and safety management. Dave managed the Health and Safety of an 18 story R&D Laboratory, 24 story mixed-use Residential Project , 35 story Mixed use Residential building, 28 story Hotel and two 8-story residential towers with below grade parking garage.   He conducted site safety orientations, inspections, conducted job safety analyses, while developing and implementing a Risk Assessment Program and training curriculum for field supervision; he executed a Behavioral Safety Program from inception to integration; implemented a daily pre-task planning program; and was the onsite safety coordination administrator of an Owner Controlled Insurance Program. Dave has managed contractors on various projects at a major airport; reviewed and approved safety plans and job hazard analyses; conducted daily safety inspections; worked with the administrator on the airport’s Owner Controlled Insurance Program; worked closely with engineers on pre-planning major phases of construction; and assisted in the design and implementation of public safety procedures. As an Environmental Health and Safety Consultant, Dave was the Onsite Safety and Health Officer for bridge rehabilitation projects, building demolition projects and hazardous waste sites.  He conducted indoor air quality surveys; co-wrote health and safety program with resident CIH and had responsibility to monitor asbestos and lead abatement work.  Dave has conducted "Toolbox" safety meetings; conducted job site audits; performed job hazard analyses; and has conducted noise and vibration surveys. Dave’s body of experience brings a strong discipline of safety and hands on experience to our client’s projects. He is uniquely qualified to understand both the contractor’s perspective as well as the Project Owner’s perspective in the delivery of a safe work site.

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.
 

Drew Hamilton Butler is an equity shareholder at Richardson Plowden in Charleston, South Carolina. He joined the firm in 2002 at the Columbia office and helped to open the Charleston branch office in 2012. As a trial lawyer, he focuses his practice on general litigation, including construction litigation, products liability defense and personal injury litigation.  Mr. Butler has sucessfully defended high-profile, large-loss, construction-defect claims in State and Federal Court where he has represented general contractors, developers, subcontractors and bonding companies.  

Mr. Butler has previously presented at local and national conferences on issues associated with AIA Contracts, Understanding the Current CGL Policy in the context of Construction-Defect Claims, and The Role of Performance Bonds and Additional Insureds.  

Mr. Cate has broad and extensive experience in design, engineering, and construction.  Mr. Cate is a licensed civil engineer, structural engineer, general contractor and swimming pool contractor.  He has designed, engineered, and constructed a wide and diverse range of projects including single-family residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial projects.  Mr. Cate has particular skill in structural damage assessment and repair protocols.  Using his background in construction and his skills in structural engineering he is able to quickly and efficiently develop scope of repairs, costs, and impacts relating to building damage.Mr. Cate provides expert services in matters relating to design, engineering, and construction of buildings and premises liability issues that arise at both residential and commercial properties. 
 
Mr. Cate is also certified as a mobile crane, overhead crane, tower crane, and rigging inspector.  He is well versed in crane operations and provides expert analysis and investigation of crane accidents.

In addition to his expertise in structural engineering and construction, Mr. Cate is a leading expert in swimming pools and waterparks.  He is nationally certified as an Aquatic Facility Operator and Instructor, has published articles, and provides classroom instruction regarding swimming pool and water attraction design, construction, and operation.  Government Jurisdictions including Health Departments and Building Departments routinely rely on Mr. Cate for consulting and peer review services for swimming pools and water parks.
 

Marie Cheung-Truslow, Esq. is the Principal and Owner of the Law Offices of Marie Cheung-Truslow.  She is a trial and appellate counsel concentrating on complex, high stakes, insurance-related litigation, with particular emphasis on multiple line subrogation, first party coverage issues and appraisal and reference proceedings.
 
Ms. Cheung-Truslow is a 1991 graduate of Boston College Law School, 1985 of Columbia University School of Social Work and 1983 of Notre Dame de Namur University. She is admitted to practice in all courts in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, the First Circuit Court of Appeals, and admitted pro hac vice in state and many federal trial and appellate courts throughout the United States.
 
Ms. Cheung-Truslow has been a speaker at Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) , PLRB/LRBB, IASIU Annual Seminar on Insurance Fraud; International Institute of Loss Adjusters; National Society of Professional Insurance Investigators; National Association of Subrogation Professionals; New Hampshire Adjusters’ Association; Honorable Order of the Blue Goose International; and Property Claims Network on insurance related topics. 
 
Ms. Cheung-Truslow is a member of Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts (AALAM), Boston Bar Association (BBA), (fellow) Council of Litigation Management (CLM), Editorial Board Member of the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, International Association of Special Investigations Units (IASIU), Loss Executives Association (LEA), National Association of Subrogation Professionals (NASP), Order of the Blue Goose International, Bay State Pond Chapter, and Vermont Captive Insurance Association.
 

Kevin’s practice focuses on complex litigation matters, including construction defect, commercial, and insurance coverage disputes. He represents business entities in litigation involving business dissolutions, contract disputes, and intellectual property disputes, as well as target defendants (including business and government entities) in complex products liability and construction defect matters. Before joining the firm and moving back to Portland, Kevin practiced law in California, specializing in complex commercial, products liability, and construction litigation.

 

Academic and Professional Credentials

University of Southern California Law Center (USC), J.D.
University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), B.A. Political Science

Admitted to California State Bar, U.S. District Courts (Central and Southern Districts of California), and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Background and Experience

Ms. Cohen began practicing in the areas of first and third party insurance coverage and bad faith litigation. In addition, she has defended insured's in a variety of actions ranging from premises liability to construction defect.

Ms. Cohen has prepared numerous cases for trial and has prevailed in several jury and court trials. She has argued and won many motions for summary judgment, including those dealing with complex coverage issues. In addition, she has researched, drafted and argued several cases in the Court of Appeal, including Rosenbloom v. Hanour Corp., (1998) 66 Cal.App.4th 1477, Travelers v. Transcontinental (2004) 122 Cal.App.4th 949, Parkwoods Community Association v. California Insurance Guarantee Association (2006) 141 Cal.App.4th 1362, and Fort Bragg Unified School District v. Solano County Roofing Inc. (2011) 141 Cal.App.4th 891.

Ms. Cohen has been named a Southern California Super Lawyer by Law & Politics Magazine several years in a row.

Ms. Cohen has taught paralegal students at the University of California, Irvine in the areas of legal ethics and legal writing. She also developed a course in insurance law that she taught for several years.

Ms. Cohen has been a lecturer at the Complex Civil Litigation Workshop for California Judges, and has also been a guest speaker at the MC Consultants Construction Defect Seminar, DRI Construction Defect Seminar, HB Litigation, Construction Defect Seminar, and West Coast Casualty's Annual Construction Defect Seminar.

Ms. Cohen is currently a member of the California State Bar and the Orange County Bar Association. In addition, she has participated in the Santa Ana Stay In School Program, and is on the executive committee and is the President Elect of the William P. Gray Inn of Court. She is AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

Ryan Coons is the Director of Construction Defect Claims for Amerisure Insurance Company with over 15 years of commercial claims experience. In Ryan’s current role he’s responsible for leading a team of eight claims professionals including one Manager who handle construction defect claims throughout the U.S. with an emphasis on the FL, TX, AZ, and SC jurisdictions. Ryan also serves as a faculty member in the CLM Claims College - School of Construction as a co-instructor for a Level 1 course.

Alicia G. Curran chairs Cozen’s Bad Faith Practice Group.  Her practice focuses on representing and advising insurance companies in complex coverage and extracontractual third- and first-party matters.  She leads a legal team focusing on the representation of insurers and the defense of their insureds. Her emphasis on early development of factual issues, innovative case positioning, problem resolution, and timely information assists her clients in obtaining positive case results. Now concentrating her practice primarily in the areas of bad faith insurance litigation, insurance coverage, and agent and broker malpractice, she also has prior experience and continues to receive litigation assignments involving professional liability, construction defect, defamation, premises liability and general tort matters.

Alicia earned her BBA, where she specialized in finance, from Texas Tech University.  She also has a MBA from Southern Methodist University and earned her law degree from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.

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

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

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

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

Robert “Bob” de Flesco is an associate in the firm’s Miami office. Mr. de Flesco devotes most of his practice to various areas of construction law, including representation of contractors and developers in construction defect claims. Mr. de Flesco also represents design professionals and consulting engineers in professional liability claims.

Mr. de Flesco earned his B.S. in Accounting from Boston College. Following his undergraduate studies, he worked as a Certified Public Accountant for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and Tyco International.

Mr. de Flesco graduated magna cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law. While in law school, he received several honors and distinctions, including: Dean’s List (four semesters); Outstanding Merit Scholarship; Daniel Murray Scholarship; Dean’s Certificate of Achievement in Legal Research and Writing, International Finance, and Mindful Ethics; Honors in Litigation Skills Pretrial and Trial Classes; and the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Award for Excellence in Litigation Skills. He was an Associate Editor of the Inter-American Law Review as well as a member of the trial team.

After law school, Mr. de Flesco served as a judicial fellow for the Honorable Cecilia M. Altonaga, U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of Florida. Thereafter, and before joining our firm, Mr. de Flesco practiced general and commercial litigation. He also second-chaired a federal jury trial.

Ms. Mickey S. deLaup graduated from LSU Law School in 1981 and has been a litigation and insurance defense attorney for the last 38 years.  She is the Owner of Mickey S. deLaup, APLC, a lawfirm which specializes in the defense of insurance defense claims including construction claims, public entity claims in state and federal court, premises liability, product liability, and other litigation matters throughout the state of Louisiana.  Ms. deLaup is active in the legal community and currently serves as the President of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel for the 2018-2019 year.  She is a past president of the Jefferson Bar Association.  She has served many terms for the Louisiana State Bar Association Board of Governors and House of Delegates.  Ms. deLaup has been chosen as  Louisiana Super Lawyer and Top Attorney in Louisiana for several years.  She was selected to the City Business Leadership in Law class of only 50 attorneys selected in the New Orleans area.  She has trained and practiced as a mediator for local and national mediation groups.

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.

Bert Dizon, CCP, ACP is currently the Claims Manager for Cardinal Captive Strategies, who manages claims and risk for multipe construction captives throughout the US.  

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

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.

Chad N. Dunigan is a partner with Koeller, Nebeker, Carlson & Haluck, LLP and is licensed to practice before all Courts in the States of  Florida, Texas, California and Nevada. He is a member of the firm’s construction, business litigation, and environmental practice groups.

Mr. Dunigan specializes in construction law, including all areas of public and private contracting, bidding and protest issues, mechanics' liens, public and private stop notices, licensing and surety disputes. As an advocate, Mr. Dunigan has represented owners, general contractors, and design professionals in connection with a wide variety of public works and private construction projects. Mr. Dunigan serves as an advocate to his clients in connection with major construction claims, including prosecuting and defending against claims of defects, delay, acceleration, escalation, default termination and surety disputes, mechanic’s liens, and stop notice remedies.

 Mr. Dunigan often counsels his clients on the effective management and evaluation of the wide array of documents generated and exchanged during the course of construction of a complex project. This includes assisting clients in the presentation of claims, including those arising from denied change order requests and/or claims for extra-contractual work. As insurance and bonds often play a vital role in most construction disputes, Mr. Dunigan has considerable experience handling insurance coverage claims, including errors and omissions, builder’s risk, environmental contamination, and general liability.

 In addition, Mr. Dunigan frequently handles matters associated with a wide variety of environmental laws, including hazardous substance laws (e.g. CERCLA and Superfund) and claims of bodily injury or property damage caused by exposure to known contaminants.

 Mr. Dunigan has significant trial experience, having prepared for and conducted numerous trials and arbitrations. He is also highly experienced in Alternative Dispute Resolution efforts, such as mediations, settlement conferences, and non-binding arbitrations.

 

Julian Ehrlich is a member of Aon’s Construction Services Group (CSG) national claims leadership and directly oversees the claims team in the greater New York/New Jersey region. This team of claim professionals advocates for superior claim service for wrap up and traditional clients on issues ranging from accurate reserving to appropriate resolution strategies to an expanded carrier view of coverage. 
 
Julian is a Past President of the Defense Association of New York (DANY) and has written for the New York Law Journal’s Outside Counsel and Expert Commentary columns regularly for more than 15 years. He has authored more than 40 articles on insurance, coverage and tort liability trends and emerging issues in numerous trade, industry and law journals. He is also a coauthor of the definitive treatise on New York Labor Law published by the New York State Bar Association and has been quoted in Crain’s New York Business, Claims Journal, ENR (Engineering News-Record), and Business Insurance.  

Kevin Follett is a Senior Claims Analyst for The RiverStone Group LLC, a provider of run-off claims management services for Fairfax Financial LLC. Based in Manchester, NH, Kevin Follett provides an oversight role to several CD books of business. He started his career as a multi-line agent selling insurance for auto, home, life and mutual funds and progressed to claims for auto, home and bodily injury claims in Personal Lines. During his 16 years with RiverStone, Mr. Follett served as part of the Construction Defect Project team, handled CGL commercial claims including Asbestos, New York Labor law and General Contractor claims. Mr. Follett has over 27 years of insurance claims and dispute resolution experience at several insurance companies in the Northeast. A 1988 graduate of North Adams State College, Mr. Follett earned a B.A. in Finance. 
 

Laura M. Forrest has over 20 years of experience counseling and defending clients in matters related to insurance coverage, construction disputes, and other civil litigation. She focuses her practice on representing insurers in insurance coverage litigation arising under a variety of policies, including commercial general liability, homeowners, automobile, umbrella, and other policies. She also devotes a portion of her practice to representing community and homeowners’ associations through North Carolina, resolving disputes between associations and developers, and educating homeowner’s association board members on evolving legal risks and responsibilities. She also has experience in general liability defense spanning motor vehicle negligence, premises liability, and more. Laura has first-chaired jury and bench trials, argued hundreds of motions, and managed cases from inception through trial.

Laura earned the designation Certified Litigation Management Professional (CLMP) from Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) and speaks frequently on a national level with CLM regarding insurance coverage matters and other topics relevant to the insurance industry. In addition to her years in private practice, Laura draws on experience as a former staff attorney with Fulton County, North Carolina, and as a former staff member of the North Carolina National Guard, where she provided soldiers and their families with information regarding family law, consumer law, estate planning/administration, taxes, immigration, landlord/tenant issues, and military law.

Education:
Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, J.D., 1999
Public Interest Law Journal (Formerly Loyola Poverty Law Journal): Managing Editor

University of North Carolina at Wilmington, B.A., 1993

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.
 

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.

Valerie Garcia devotes her practice to civil trial work and arbitration. Starting her legal career in the courtroom as an Assistant Deputy Public Defender, Valerie is well prepared to represent her clients through all phases of litigation, including deposition, mediation, arbitration, and trial. Valerie prescribes to a process of early case analysis that helps her clients chart the appropriate course for a winning outcome, be it settlement, mediation, or litigation. With a broader focus on resolution - and litigation just one of the available options - Valerie helps her clients preserve valuable relationships and see their way to optimal resolution based on cost-containment, damage control, and legal strategies. When an aggressive defense at trial is the best course, Valerie is a vigorous advocate in any litigation setting.

 

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. 

Mr. Gillespie has over 10 years of claims experience in the insurance industry. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a BS degree in Biology/Pre-Medicine. After a number of years in customer service and sales for the pharmaceutical industry, he entered the claims industry in 2005 gaining experience in Georgia as a self-employed independent adjuster and a construction estimator.  Ken joined the Builders Mutual in the first quarter of 2011 as a Multi-State Senior Adjuster specializing in litigated claims.  He was promoted in late 2013 as a Supervising Litigation Adjuster.
Ken also is certified as Residential Haag Roofing Inspector.  Ken has presented on panels for DRI, ALFA and CLM.  

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.

Anne M. Lawlor Goyette has streamlined and resolved thousands of civil disputes as a full time Special Master, Mediator, and Arbitrator since 1998. The majority of these cases are multiparty complex cases involving construction, real estate, insurance and related issues. Ms. Goyette also has mediated hundreds of medical product cases nationwide.

Ms. Goyette is an ADR panelist for numerous appellate, state and federal courts, serves as Special Master and Referee for more than two dozen California Superior Courts and acts as Special Master and Arbitrator in national and statewide class actions. She enjoys the highest Top Rated Lawyer-AV® Preeminent™ Martindale Hubbell rating, Super Lawyers® distinction in Alternative Dispute Resolution and California Charter Membership in the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals.

Angela Hagerty is a Construction Defect Examiner for Align Claims Services, Inc. She manages complex litigation cases across the U.S. Angela has been in the insurance industry for over 31 years with the last 19 years dedicated in the construction defect arena. Construction defect is an area Angela enjoys given the uniqueness of the cases which entail complex coverage issues, differences in legal venues, risk transfer opportunities and that the cases require strong negotiation skills.

Angela obtained her undergraduate at Mills College in Oakland, CA and an MBA from the University of Phoenix. She believes in a lifelong learning philosophy obtaining her CPCU as well as several insurance designations from The Institutes which includes AIM, ARM, ARM-E, ASLI, AINS and designations from CLM which include CCP and ACP. Angela also serves as an instructor at Claims College and is President of the Sacramento CLM Chapter in Sacramento, CA.

James W. Hailey III is a Partner with the law firm of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard and Smith LLP, and operates out of its New Orleans office. For over the past two decades, he has assisted his insurance and corporate clients in detecting, defeating and deterring fraud. He has handled numerous first and third party fraud/bad faith claims, including trucking/transportation staged accidents, passenger stuffing incidents, uninsured motorist defense, suspicious slip and fall and other bodily injury claims, false builder’s risk claims, insurance coverage issues, fire cause and origin investigation, illegal practice of law by public adjusters, material misrepresentations, collusion and theft.

Mr. Hailey’s SIU work includes the investigation of the illegal corporate practice of medicine, which has resulted in guilty findings and the forced closings of several medical corporations in Louisiana. He has helped several clients in pursuing civil claims against the administers and owners of these medical corporations, seeking restitution from the corporations as well as individual claimants by various theories of liability, i.e., fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, federal RICO statutes, unjust enrichment and the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act, among others. Mr. Hailey Co-authored, "Defending Against Insurance Fraud Claims", Author of featured article of CLM's Claims Management magazine, Speaker at 2013 CLM's Bad Faith Insurance Coverage Mini-Conference.  Mr. Hailey has given numerous speeches for industry and client conferences addressing the best techniques to detect, deter and defeat insurance fraud. In addition, Mr. Hailey is the founding secretary of CLM's Southeastern Louisiana Chapter and a member of the Insurance Fraud Committee where he acts as Adjuster-Training Chair.

Risk Management: In February 2017, Aaron transitioned his legal career to risk management when he joined Turner Construction Company to head its NY Risk Management Team. Aaron is responsible for managing all of Turner’s risk management, insurance, claim, and loss control programs for the NY Business Unit’s construction activities.

Aaron leads Turner’s NY Risk Management Team in its coordination with the NY Business Development Team and Corporate Risk Management Team when bidding jobs with the following insurance products: Wrap (CCIP/OCIP) and Corporate insurance programs; Builder’s Risk; SDI; Pollution; Professional; Railroad Liability; and Contractors Equipment Plant, Property, and Equipment.

Daily interaction with the NY Business Unit’s Senior Leadership. Coordinate complex claims with Turner’s Operations Teams, Risk Management Teams, Safety Teams, and Legal Department, various insurance carriers, and legal counsel designed to aggressively manage reserves and resolve claims.

Aaron obtained his Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist certification in 2018.

Legal: Prior to joining Turner, Aaron was a Partner at Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker. He managed complex, high-exposure construction, transportation, and premises liability matters involving personal injury and property damage claims in NY State and Federal Courts. Coordinated initial case fact investigation and developed early case analysis, valuation, and resolution strategies. Emphasized client communication, adhered to client guidelines, employed proper case staffing, development of realistic case budgeting, obtained leverage points for settlement negotiations, explored ADR opportunities, and conducted trials.

Aaron aggressively defended complex construction lawsuits brought under the NY Labor Law. Managed the defense of clients with construction and environmental related exposures. Conducted crisis responses. Advised on guidelines, procedures, and safety programs to assist clients in complying with the Labor Law, New York State Industrial Code, OSHA, and other administrative codes. Aaron also managed a national transportation account with a cost effective, result oriented case handling approach.

Ms. Hanavan is Assistant Secretary for Catalina U.S. Insurance Services LLC in addition to her role as Claims Manager. Ms. Hanavan joined Catalina in 2015 as part of the acquisition of ProBuilders Insurance Company (PBSIC) and NBIS, a third party handling the claims for PBSIC, having spent seven years in their claims department.  Prior to  NBIS, Ms. Hanavan worked at RiverStone as Claim Manager of the San Diego office. Ms. Hanavan is an accomplished insurance claims professional with expertise in construction defect, general liability, personal injury, auto and property claims adjusting.  Her claims experience includes over 30 years in the industry.  For the last 18 years, Ms. Hanavan has been involved in the management side of claims. As Senior Claim Manager her responsibilities include oversight of claim exposure, providing authority and supervising claims personnel.   She is a graduate of the University of Phoenix with a degree in Business Management.  She is a graduate of the FDCC Litigation Management College and Graduate Program. Ms. Hanavan also holds adjusting licenses in 29 states. 

Bob’s practice focuses on representing general contractors, subcontractors, owners and suppliers in contract negotiations and disputes, construction defect lawsuits, insurance coverage matters and personal injury and toxic tort matters. He is also experienced in serving as outside general counsel in out-of-state litigation.

Prior to joining Munsch Hardt, Bob was the Director of the Construction and Surety section of a mid-size law firm based in Houston, Texas. In addition to his solid legal career, Bob also brings several years of construction management experience in commercial, heavy highway and industrial process construction for companies such as H. B. Zachry, W. S. Bellows and Austin Commercial.

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

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

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

Hon. Rex Heeseman (Ret.) is at JAMS, Los Angeles, after serving over nine years as a Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court. Following his graduation from Stanford Law School, he was an Assistant United States Attorney. Commencing in 1974, he practiced as a business litigator at private law firms and acted as an arbitrator and expert witness. 

Judge Heeseman actively manages the resolution of complex, multi-party construction disputes concerning owners, developers, general contractors, subcontractors and design professionals. His experience includes trials, arbitrations and mediations spanning a wide array of construction, construction defect, engineering and infrastructure disputes involving single family homes, public facilities, condominiums and high rise buildings.

Judge Heeseman is widely known for his insurance expertise which he often applies to the resolution of construction matters. He coauthors The Rutter Group’s California Practice Guide: Insurance Litigation. He frequently writes and lectures on insurance, construction and business torts topics.

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. 

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, Vice President of Property & Casualty with National Claim Services Inc, her responsibilities include oversight and management of commercial general liability claims with specialization in construction defect claims. National Claim Services Inc. is a third-party claims administrator wholly owned by Allstar Financial Group, a managing general underwriting agency. National Claim Services handles the claims on policies underwritten by the Allstar Financial Group of companies. 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.

Lorri Hoffman is a Claims Manager for The Main Street America Group. She has more than 25 years experience in the insurance industry. She resides in North Chesterfield, VA. She is responsible for managing a team of construction defect specialists handling both the defense of the insured and additional insured issues throughout the US territory.

Lorri is also an arbitrator with Arbitration Forums focusing primarily on Products Liability cases. She holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU); Associates in Claims (AIC) and Senior Claims Law Associate (SCLA) designation.

Mr. Hollingworth holds an advanced degree in Human Factors Engineering and has over 20 years of management and supervision at major insurance companies.  Managed environmental, mass tort, construction defects and sexual abuse claims.  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
 

Kelly is an Insurance and Risk Consultant with her focus in the Architects/Engineers & Construction space for over 30 years. Kelly is a major stockholder and Vice President at Insurance Office of America (IOA), San Diego branch office.   
Her focus in the Design and Construction risk space affords her the opportunity to truly understand her client’s specific challenges and design a risk transfer program specific to their ever-changing needs. 
Kelly spends much of her time reviewing and negotiating contracts on behalf of her Design Professional clients.  How she longs for a fair and reasonable contract with an insurable indemnity, limitation of liability clause and payment within 30 days of invoice.
Kelly holds her Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation since 2003.  She is an associate member of AIA, ACEC and BIA and an active member of the Professional Network of Agents.  Kelly has also served on the AIA Contracts Committee.  She is also a member of CLM.
A California Native, residing in beautiful Ramona, Kelly has been married 27 years with two beautiful boys who are now young adults, (insert wrinkles here).
In her free time, Kelly enjoys water skiing, hiking and travel. She wants to live in a world filled with innovative businesses, books that come bundled with See’s Chocolate and a force field around her business suits that repel dog hair.
 

Jeremy Huish is an attorney and Certified Public Accountant, licensed in Arizona. In his role at Artex, he is responsible for overseeing the development of single-parent captives for clients across a wide array of industries. He is an active member of the Self Insurance Institute of America (aka SIIA) and has participated in meetings with Congress, the Treasury Department and the IRS.
Prior to joining Artex in 2009, he spent 7 years in Washington, D.C. as a tax attorney for a Big 4 accounting firm and an international law firm. His experience includes international, federal, state and local tax matters, including experience advising the largest U.S. banks on the taxation of their U.S. and foreign clients. Jeremy has two accounting degrees (B.S. in Accounting - Arizona State University, Master’s in Accounting - Brigham Young University) and two law degrees (Juris Doctorate - Brigham Young University, LL.M. in Taxation - Georgetown University).  He is married with three sons who keep him busy.
Expertise in:

• Design, formation, and management of captive insurance companies
• Captive domicile selection
• Regulatory requirements for captive insurance companies

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

 

Cindy is the Senior Vice President of Specialized Risk Claims at Navigators Group Inc., an international specialty insurance holding company. At Navigators, Cindy manages a team of claim professionals who handle Commercial Auto, Environmental, Property, Run-off, Surety, Life Science, and Media Arts and Entertainment claims. Cindy was previously at AIG where she was the Global Head of Environmental Claims. Cindy has an A.B. in Mathematics from Occidental College, an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Arizona State University, and recently earned a Masters of Science in Risk Management from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Mr. Jardin practices in the areas of professional liability representing architects, engineers and attorneys, general business litigation with a focus on contract disputes, construction disputes and public entity liability. For more information about Mr. Jardin’s practice areas, please call or e-mail him at your convenience.

Education

Northwestern University School of Law (J.D., 1996)

University of California at Berkeley (B.A., English Literature, 1993)

Bar Admissions

California, 1997

Court Admissions

U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 1998

U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California, 1998

U.S. District Court, Central District of California, 2000

U.S. District Court, Southern District of California, 2000

U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 2000

Professional Memberships

The State Bar of California

Orange County Bar Association

American Bar Association

Engineering Contractors’ Association

Southern California Development Forum

Published Decisions

Delon Hampton & Associates, Chtd. v. Superior Court (2014) 227 Cal.4th 550

Jason currently handles a wide range of high exposure and complex claims in Munich Re Specialty Insurance’s (MRSI) Complex Team.  Prior to joining MRSI in 2022, he handled professional liability claims at Markel Corporation, focusing primarily on Architects & Engineers matters nationwide.  He has also handled construction defect claims and complex coverage matters while working in the Complex Casualty group at AIG.  Before working in claims, Jason practiced law in New Jersey and New York while working at Methfessel & Werbel - a mid-sized insurance defense firm.  While in private practice, he handed property damage, bodily injury, insurance coverage, contract, and commercial issues.  Jason attended Rutgers University and received his Juris Doctor from Seton Hall University School of Law.  Between college and law school, Jason worked in the construction industry, drafting bid proposals for a construction management company and an architectural/engineering firm.

Mr. Kadlec practices as a civil/structural forensic engineer and expert witness related to construction, construction defect, builders risk, and property claims and litigation. Additionally he provides mentorship and technical oversight to industry colleagues and regularly collaborates with industry professionals.

Mr. Kadlec began his engineering career as a design professional and performed civil and structural engineering design of residential, commercial, marine, and industrial structures, which included supervisory roles in design and technical oversight. He transitioned into forensic engineering and is experienced investigating losses following fires, explosions, vehicular impacts, weather/catastrophe events, structural failures, civil/earthwork failures, and construction deficiencies. His experience with construction and design defects includes evaluations in civil and structural engineering matters, specifically related to residential, commercial, industrial, marine, and mixed-use properties.

Mr. Kadlec is a frequent presenter at industry seminars across the United States on the topics of forensic engineering, expert witness testimony, and construction defect claims. As a licensed Professional Engineer in 18 states, and credentialed by NCEES as a Model Law Engineer, Mr. Kadlec has provided expert witness testimony through sworn affidavits, deposition, and trial.

Karen Keniff serves as Senior Vice President, Large Accounts for Zurich's Construction Industry Segment. In her role she is responsible for leading underwriting as well as product and service strategies to provide risk management solutions for contractors and owners. She joined Zurich's Construction unit in 2001, serving as a Casualty Vice President for the South Central Region. Since this time, she has held several national leadership roles in the Construction practice, most recently leading the Large Construction Management customer segment. Karen originally started her insurance career at her family's independent agency in Texas, and went on to grow her industry and management experience at AIG. In her 8 year tenure there, she focused on the risk management and umbrella divisions in the Southwest Region. She earned her MBA in Risk Management from the University of North Texas, and her Bachelor of Science in Economics from Texas A&M University. She holds the Charted Property Casualty Underwriter, (CPCU), Certified Risk Managers International (CRM) and Certified Insurance Counselors (CIC) professional designations. A resident of Baltimore, Maryland, Karen is an active member of the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). She is also a founding member of the Texas A&M Women Former Students’ Network -- a network designed to expand the connection of former students with current students and to promote engagement of women in the educational, charitable, and cultural life of Texas A&M (aggiewomen.org).

Alicia specializes in the litigation of claims involving employment practices, professional liability, and construction-both defect and catastrophic personal injury. She is a fierce advocate for individual, public, and private clients facing allegations of unfair employment practices, negligence, and products liability. She likewise has a proven track record in her defense of physicians, nurses, hospitals, dentists, optometrists, veterinarians and insurance professionals whose professional credentials and skills have been called into question by former clients and patients. She is widely known for her success in handling complex employment issues, both at the counseling stage and after a legal or administrative process has been initiated, for businesses ranging from small shops to Fortune 500 companies. Alicia is regarded by peers, clients, mediators, and judges as being a creative pragmatist that is adept at assessing risk and formulating legal strategies that yield positive results for her clients.

Alicia also provides HR counseling and training to various business entities and non-profit associations. She assists in the development and implementation of policies, protocols, and procedures that minimize risk and exposure on employment related matters including but not limited to wage/hour violations, medical leaves, and sensitivity training.

Alicia is an active member of the DRI Construction Law Committee and CLM. After successfully completing CLM’s Litigation Management Institute at Columbia Law School, Alicia received the designation of Certified Litigation Management Professional. She is also an Associate Member of the National Association for Professional Employer Organization (NAPEO).

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.

Professor Henry M. Koffman, P.E., is the Director of the Construction Engineering and Management Program in the Viterbi School of Engineering's Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Southern California. He is a real estate land developer, licensed building contractor, and a registered Professional Engineer in the State of California. He has 30 years of real estate and engineering industry experience. He has served as an Expert Witness in many cases. He also serves as an Arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association. His website is: www.trojanconstructionmangementllc.com

Thom Kramer is a managing principal with LJB, where he provides leadership on the company's management team. He is a registered professional engineer and a certified safety professional with 20 years of experience in design and consulting. Mr. Kramer is an internationally recognized expert in applying engineering and safety practices to reduce risk for workers at heights. He is a member of the ANSI Z359 Fall Protection Committee, and he serves as the president of the International Society for Fall Protection. Mr. Kramer holds bachelor's and master's degrees in civil engineering, along with an MBA. He is also an experienced trainer who delivers client training on a variety of topics through LJB's professional development practice, LJB University.

Mark Lanterman is the Chief Technology Officer of Computer Forensic Services. Before entering the private sector, Mark was a member of the U. S. Secret Service Electronic Crimes Taskforce. Mark has 28 years of security and forensic experience and has testified in over 2000 cases. He is an adjunct instructor for the University of Minnesota MSST program, Mitchell Hamline Law School and the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada. Mark has also conducted training for the United States Supreme Court through the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, D.C.

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.
 

Florida Bar Board Certified Specialist in Construction Law

Terry was born and raised in Syracuse, NY. He obtained his bachelor’s degree from SUNY College at Buffalo and JD from Rutgers School of Law, Camden NJ in 1993 with International Law Honors. After being admitted in NJ and PA in 1993, he joined the Florida bar in 2005. After 17 years with another firm, he co-founded Schmucker & Lavy Legal, PLLC with partner Monica Schmucker in August 2023. 
 
His practice is focused on construction-related litigation and first party insurance matters. He has represented owners, lenders, developers, general contractors and trades with respect to construction defect, lien and financing issues.  Some examples of his work include: trial defense verdict for alleged improper performance of mold remediation; summary judgment for general contractor on multimillion dollar claim for defective renovation; trial verdict of 20% of the demand.  Terry has represented insures in pre-suit investigations (including SIU) and litigated matters. 

Terry also works in the appellate courts:  Maidwell v. FIGA (Southern Fideliety) 6D23-74 (6th DCA, August 31, 2024) (affirm MSJ for insurer); Rainey v. Roop 209 So.3d 583 (2016) (affirm defense verdict); Duncan v. Citizens 172 So3d. 876 (2nd DCA 2016) (affirm defendant cost award); CTX v. Advantage, 47 So.3d 844 (2nd DCA 2010) cert den 64 So.3d 1260 (2011) (reversal for for lender in construction financing); Huff v. Strader, 31 So.3d 182 (2nd DCA 2010), (affirm MSJ for defendant); Caron v. Krol, 965 So.2d 131 (2nd DCA 2007) (affirm defense verdict);  Alston v. City of Camden, 773 A.2d 693 (N.J.,2001) (Reversal for City NJ tort claims Act); Morales v. Camden, 791 A.2d 220 (N.J. 2002) (NJ tort claims Act)

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 over 25 years Jack Levy has represented contractors and design professionals in disputes and transactions. Jack loves serving the men and women who work in the built environment, and he gives back to that community by educating them on quality assurance and risk management issues. Jack's practice also includes insurance coverage, professional liability and real estate disputes.

Vivian Lindsay is a Senior Claims Specialist with Navigators  in the SF Claims office. Vivian has over 30 years experience in the claims industry, most of involved with environmental and construction defect claims. Her specialty has been multi-state construction defect subcontractors and developer cases. She is graduate of the University of Connecticut (B.A Political Science). She holds adjuster licenses in 10 states. 

Mr. Lounsbery is a Complex Claims Analyst at RiverStone Claims in San Diego, handling both named insured and additional insured claims arising from construction defect, bodily injury, subrogation and contribution matters. Prior to joining RiverStone, Mr. Lounsbery was a practicing attorney with over 20 years’ litigation experience, primarily defending construction defect claims and construction site accidents in California. Mr. Lounsbery is a native San Diegan who enjoys spending time with his wife and two young children, particularly surfing, hiking and exploring San Diego’s restaurants and diverse neighborhoods.
 

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.

John Macy is a Branch Manager in the Aliso Viejo office of Gallagher Bassett Services, Inc., a global company, managing claims in over 60 countries. He joined Gallagher Bassett in 2012 and his responsibilities include the management of a branch handling claims for a large national residential builder.
 
Mr. Macy has over 28 years of experience in the insurance industry. He has held both technical and leadership positions with Travelers Property and Casualty Company, Carl Warren & Company and TRISTAR Insurance Group.
 
Mr. Macy is a 1979 graduate of California State University – Fullerton, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice and a 1985 graduate of Western State University where he earned a Juris Doctorate degree.

Moira is the Assistant Vice President of Claims at Network Adjusters, Inc. in Denver, Colorado. Network Adjusters, Inc. is a premier Commercial Property and Casualty Third Party Claims Administrator serving many major insurance carriers in the marketplace. Moira manages Construction Defect, General Liability, Excess, Public Entity and Professional Liability programs and promulgates excellent claim standards across all programs of the company.

Moira has 30 years of experience as a claims professional handling complex coverage cases, multi-party litigation and catastrophic claims nationally. Moira worked for American Mutual and Chubb in Boston, Massachusetts and Guaranty National, KEMPES and Network Adjusters, Inc. in Denver, Colorado.

Moira earned her Bachelor of Arts at Regis College and attended the National Law Center at George Washington University.

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

Training and education

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

The Navigator’s Group, Inc. is an international commercial property & casualty specialty insurance company. Julia has over 30 years experience   in the claims industry. She has been a Complex Claims Specialist in the Construction Defect unit at Navigators since 2011. Prior thereto, Julia was a Senior Claim Specialist at Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company for over 6 years and has served as a Senior Construction Defect Claims Adjuster at West Coast Casualty and at Carl Warren & Company as well as having been the co-owner of an independent adjustment company for 5 years. 
 
Her specialty has been multi-state construction defect subcontractors & developer’s cases but she has extensively handled primary and excess commercial and personal lines complex casualty claims, fraud investigations, auto and long haul trucking, professional and public liability, wrongful termination, molestation/ sexual harassment, errors and omissions, excess/surplus lines and product liability cases. Over the past year her focus has been on handling cases for Wrap policies.
 
She is a graduate of University of Pennsylvania (B.A., major- Theater, minor - Psychology).  She holds adjusters licenses in 13 States.
 
 

From a young age, Tyler began gaining knowledge and experience of construction management and building engineering. Having successfully completed many new high density residential projects, and managing large teams throughout the pacific northwest to maintain residential investment projects, Tyler has a well rounded history in both constructing and maintaining buildings. Tyler also has a lifetime of knowledge and experience with both manned and unmanned aircraft. He is not only an FAA licensed remote (drone) pilot, but also a licensed and rated manned aircraft pilot. Tyler founded and operated the first FAA exempted commercial drone company in Oregon, and now heads up the drone division for MC Consultants.

Paul manages a group of six claims professionals within the Construction Claims Group for Axa XL. Paul is based in Los Angeles. Prior to joining Axa XL in 2015, Paul spent 14 years at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty. Paul has 15 years of domestic and international claim handling experience, including construction, general & products liability, subrogation and toxic tort claim experience as well as reinsurance dispute resolution experience. Paul earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management from California State University at Long Beach and his Master of Science in Insurance Management from Boston University. Additionally, Paul has obtained numerous insurance designations, including the ARe, ARM, CPCU, CRIS & SCLA designations.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kevin A. Michael practices out of Cozen O'Connor's Seattle office where he is a member in the Global Insurance Group, as well as the Hiring Partner for Seattle. He joined the firm in 2005 after participating in the firm's summer associate program the year prior. He focuses his practice on complex litigation, appeals, and insurance coverage matters for London Market and domestic insurers, as well as the defense of their insureds.

Kevin counsels many of the world’s largest insurers on all types of insurance coverage matters, including general liability, construction risks, errors & omissions, and environmental policies. Kevin also devotes much of his practice to resolving first-party property claims and disputes. He frequently litigates coverage and bad faith cases in both state and federal court. Kevin also has extensive experience defending liquor liability, professional negligence, construction defect, and maritime claims. He handles matters at both the trial and appellate levels throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Kevin graduated from the University of Washington having studied political science and speech communication. He went on to earn his law degree from the University of Washington in 2005, where he was the managing editor of the Shidler Journal of Law, Commerce and Technology and a member of the Moot Court Honor Board. While in law school, he served as a judicial extern for the Hon. Robert S. Lasnik, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

Janice Michaels manages WSHB’s Las Vegas office. She has more than 30 years of experience in all aspects of litigation and is an active member of the California, Nevada and New York bars. While based out of Las Vegas, Janice handles complex litigation for her clients across the West Coast and has advised them on matters across the country. She has been selected as Nevada Super Lawyer, Best Lawyers and is AV Preeminent rated by Martindale-Hubbell. She represents businesses and individuals operating in a wide array of economic sectors including real estate, construction, insurance and professional liability in all stages of litigation in state and federal court. She is skilled in all aspects of litigation, including law and motion practice, mediation, arbitration, trial and appellate practice. She regularly represents developers and general contractors in complex construction defect litigation, product liability and associated personal injury matters, as well as related bankruptcy, foreclosure and lien matters.
 
Janice has extensive experience advising clients on risk management strategies, including contractual and insurance matters outside of litigation and has assisted with drafting proposed legislative changes to NRS Chapter 40 on behalf of the Nevada homebuilding industry. She also represents owners/developers of retail/commercial centers in matters relating to landlord/tenant disputes and eviction proceedings.

J. Kevin Moore is a senior attorney with Bold, Polisner, Maddow, Nelson & Judson. He has more than thirty years of experience representing clients in construction and commercial litigation matters. His clients include government and private utilities, residential developers, residential and commercial general contractors, trade contractors, and construction material suppliers. Mr. Moore has significant experience in litigating construction and construction defect matters and advising clients concerning risk management, contract formation and negotiation, and insurance issues. He also represents a variety of corporate and individual clients in both litigation and transaction matters.He has tried cases before various California Superior Courts and arbitration panels administered by the American Arbitration Association. He has also argued cases before various California Courts of Appeals.Mr. Moore has authored articles for legal publications on a variety of issues including the use of alternative disputes resolution in construction litigation and the use of affirmative defenses for fiduciaries in ERISA litigation. He has spoken on construction and litigation topics, including S. B. 800 litigation and indemnity provisions in construction contracts. He also was an adjunct instructor for the University of California, Berkeley University Extension Program.Mr. Moore is a member of the California State Bar and an inactive member of the State Bar of Virginia. He is admitted to practice before the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Ninth, and Federal Circuits; the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Northern and Eastern Districts of California; and the United States Claims Court. He has also represented clients in matters before the various Boards of Contract Appeals, the Comptroller General for the United States, the American Arbitration Association, and private professional arbitrators and mediators.

Dennis has worked for DPR Construction in the Corporate Risk Management Group for over 19 years. His main role is managing construction defects and property damage claims with a focus on alternative resolution methodologies. He also travels around the country training project teams on the nuances of insurance and efficient claims management practices. 
 
DPR Construction is a national technical builder specializing in highly complex and sustainable projects.

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).

Jeffrey R. Neidle, Esq. is Assistant Vice President, Professional Liability, at AIG where he manages a group handling severity Managed Care, Accountants, Realtors, EPL and D&O matters.  Mr. Neidle leverages over 25 years’ experience as both private counsel and an insurance executive. Formerly, Mr. Neidle served as Vice President of Professional Liability Claims at the OneBeacon Group of Insurance Companies where he was responsible for Architects & Engineers, Contractors, Lawyers, Realtors, Insurance Agents and Cyber Products. Mr. Neidle has also held leadership positions at CNA, Chubb and The Hartford where he was responsible for a range of professional liability, management liability and Directors and Officers claims. Prior to joining Chubb, he was in private practice in both Connecticut and Michigan where he specialized in civil litigation including employment defense, professional liability defense, coverage litigation and school law. He received his Juris Doctor from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, MA, a Master's Degree from Trinity College in Hartford, CT and his Bachelor of Arts degree, with honors, from The University of Connecticut. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law.

Penni Nelson oversees the procurement and maintenance of corporate domestic and international insurance for Hillwood Development Group, L.P‐ a Perot Company. Hillwood is a leader in the development and acquisition of industrial, office, and multifamily properties across North America and Europe. Hillwood is actively engaged in all stages of development including land acquisition, master planning, building design and construction. Since its inception in 1988, Hillwood has developed over 86 million square feet of industrial space and has land holdings providing another 99 million square feet of future development. Previous to Hillwood, Penni spent several years with Behringer Harvard Multifamily Advisors, now known as Monogram Residential Trust, planning and directing the placement of development insurance programs for a $1b multifamily pipeline. Ms. Nelson currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Dallas Fort Worth Chapter of the Risk and Insurance Management Society, serving as the Chairman for External Affairs and Speaker Chair for their annual fall conference. Penni holds a B.S. in Biomedical Science from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. She also holds the Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC), Associate in Risk Management (ARM), and Certified Risk Manager (CRM) designations. Penni is licensed for Property & Casualty as well as Risk Manager in the State of Texas.

Charles H. Numbers is a partner in the law firm of Meredith, Weinstein & Numbers, LLP and limits his practice to representing policyholders in complex insurance coverage disputes. The majority of Mr. Numbers' practice is devoted to resolving complex insurance coverage disputes arising from intellectual property, trademark infringement, copyright infringement, piracy, misappropriation, construction defect, environmental and broker negligence matters. His primary function in such matters is to negotiate with insurance carriers and counsel in order to maximize the funds available for settlement. This includes resolving disputes over defense, indemnity, allocation, contribution and increasing the participation of carriers providing additional insured and contractual indemnity coverage. Mr. Numbers is well respected by Special Masters, mediators and arbitrators for his ability to creatively work toward settling difficult matters.

Mr. Numbers graduated from Hastings College of the Law and was a member of the Hastings Law Journal. From 1986-1991, he practiced litigation at Farella, Braun & Martel, San Francisco, California representing commodity, accounting and security firms in trade secret disputes, and developers, contractors, owners and design professionals in complex construction defect and delay claims. Mr. Numbers' experience includes Federal anti trust litigation involving the electrical contracts at the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, several nuclear power plants in Washington State and the Washington, D.C. Metro System. He also litigated numerous matters involving defects in high-rise commercial buildings and large multi-family and single-family housing developments.

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

Cesar Pereira is the General Counsel of OHL North America, the US and Canadian operations of the Global Construction and Engineering firm OHL. OHL North America operates in Canada and has construction projects in the US States of California, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York. In his position, Mr. Pereira is responsible for managing all litigation, including insurance claims, compliance, corporate legal and construction operational risks for all the companies that make up OHL North America. Mr. Pereira has been involved in construction legal issues for over 12 years in a variety of capacities in the public and private sector.

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.
 
 

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.
 
 

Linda Pretzel has over 30 years claims and risk management experience. In addition to her extensive involvement in Construction Defect litigation (emphasis on Wraps and Developers), Linda has expertise in handling E & O (Architects, Engineers, Legal, Real-estate, Accounting, and Insurance agents), D & O, and EPLI claims. Linda’s educational background includes a Juris Doctorate and a Masters in Finance.

Practice Focus Maria Quintero devotes her practice at Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP in San Francisco, California to complex insurance coverage disputes at the pre-trial, trial and appellate court levels involving a broad range of insurance lines including property, cyber, environmental impairment, commercial general and professional liability policies.  Ms. Quintero's practice also concentrates on specialty insurance litigation, bad faith defense, and insurance agent and broker liability claims. She develops training on industry best practices and also presents and comments frequently on emerging insurance and technology topics.
 
Maria Quintero's accomplishments include securing a defense verdict in a month-long jury trial involving claims of bad faith and products liability and obtaining an award of expert witness costs and fees in favor of the defendant insurer. She has successfully opposed a writ of certiori in the U.S. Supreme Court and prevailed on numerous dispositive motions at trial and appellate court levels including motions involving additional insured issues; primary and excess issues; Coverage B; constitutional and common law claims for due process; and use of policy proceeds under directors and officers policies involving multiple claimants.
 
In addition to her practice, Ms. Quintero serves as a Board of Director for the Northern California and Nevada Association of Defense Counsel where she chairs both the Diversity Committee and Substantive Law Committee.  She is also a CLM National Co-Chair for the Extra Contractual Committee and serves on the Northern California chapter committee for CLM.   She is a member of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel ("FDCC"), the National Association of Women Lawyers ("NAWL"), the Professional Liability Underwriting Society ("PLUS") and the San Francisco Bar Association ("BASF").  She can be contacted at mquintero@hinshawlaw.com. 

 

 

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.

As a dedicated advocate, Annapurna is involved in all phases of dispute resolution, including trial, arbitration, and complex case resolution. Innovative, thoughtful, and thorough, Annapurna navigates her clients through the legal system, advising and defending the parties she represents on issues ranging from construction defect claims, contract disputes, and government investigations, to tort claims, dram shop claims, and product liability claims, to subrogation and fire loss investigations.

Annapurna’s diverse dispute resolution, negotiation, and litigation experience allow her to quickly identify the key issues in each case in order to present her clients with a comprehensive legal analysis at the very onset of the matter. She continuously provides persuasive arguments throughout the pendency of each case in order to achieve the best resolution. Annapurna is appreciated by clients and colleagues alike for her ability to analyze and understand even the most complicated matters, often involving many moving parts. An analytical thinker and intuitive problem solver, Annapurna’s proven skill in creating understandable and poignant talking points and overarching litigation strategy is the result of assimilating what can be disparate information into a compelling narrative that is straight-forward, interesting, and persuasive.

Frequently involved in cases with novel legal issues, Annapurna relies upon her keen analytical, research, and writing abilities. Curious by nature, Annapurna never hesitates to dive into learning new subject matter when it serves her client’s interest. She believes in regular and clear communication with clients and matter constituents alike, and values their perspective while keeping them in the loop.

I have extensive claims experience  in a variety of areas including Contractor's Professional and Pollution Liabilty, Architects & Engineers Professional Liability, Miscellaneous Professional Liability, Environmental and Multinational. I received my  Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Barnard College and my J.D./M.A. in International Relations from Syracuse University.  I am a licensed  attorney in New York and New Jersey.  I have also obtained my  RPLU, ARM and CRIS insurance designations.

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.

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.

Joe Russo is the National Broking Leader for the Willis Towers Watson North American Construction Team. Joe is based in New York City and serves as a senior construction casualty and project insurance resource to the Willis Towers Watson regional retail teams. He focuses on carrier relations, talent development, helping to develop the next generation of construction broking professionals, as well as key areas of Willis Towers Watson’s client deliverables including analytics applications, service and broking strategies.
Joe has 25+ years of construction risk experience dealing with issues and coverages related to Workers Compensation, General Liability, Excess Liability, Environmental Liability, Professioanal Liability and Builders Risk. That breadth of scope allows him to take a broader view of risk across all lines of insurance. Joe has been the lead broker on many of the complex construction projects that have redefined the New York landscape and infrastructure in the past 20 years.  In that role, he identifies, recruits and mobilizes key team members to bring the best of Willis Towers Watson to the client. Joe has presented at several industry events including the General Session of the 2011 IRMI Construction Risk Conference.  He was named a Power Broker in 2009. Joe earned a B.S. in management information systems and an M.B.A. in finance from Manhattan College.

 

As a member of the Real Estate, Product Liability and Construction practice groups, Brian's primary focus is on complex litigation, including construction defect. He is co-chair of the firm's Construction practice group. He also has experience in personal injury, mortgage and real estate broker/agent defense, home inspector defense, and other professional responsibility and business defense, and premises liability matters, as well as contract drafting, review and revision for his clients.

Prior to law school, Brian's business experience included government loan collections and serving as general manager of a consumer collection agency in Santa Ana, California, training and working as a DRPA mediator, and an appointment to the board of directors at the former Center for Community Mediation in Costa Mesa, California.

In his last years at law school, and for three years after law school, he was affiliated with a law firm in Orange County, California, handling primarily mortgage broker and lender defense in civil matters and before the Department of Real Estate, Department of Corporations, and the U.S. department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). He also handled matters involving personal injury plaintiff's actions, and conservatorship supervision for incapacitated injury plaintiffs.

Brian received his undergraduate degree in philosophy, cum laude, from the California State University at Fullerton. He received both his J.D. degree from Loyola Marymount University at the Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, as well as additional mediation training under the program's founder, the late Professor William Hobbs.

Mark Savel is a licensed architect in the state of California (1979) and Nevada (1991).  He is the founding principal of Mark H. Savel Architects, Inc. an architectural firm established in 2004. Mr. Savel graduated from Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI/Arc) with a Bachelor of Architecture, in 1978. Mark H. Savel Architects, Inc. was established to provide architectural design services to business, institutions, government, community associations, and homeowners. The services offered by the Firm include architectural design, architectural programming, interior architecture, adaptive re-use, development planning, master planning, construction phase administration, earthquake damage assessment/retrofitting, post-litigation redesign, building performance evaluation, construction claim/delay analysis, and post-construction evaluation. Mr. Savel also serves as an expert witness and provides litigation support (forensic services) on the subjects of Architects Standard of Care, Building Performance, and Construction. Mr. Savel is an active member of many Business and Professional organizations, including Southern California Real Estate Alliance (SCREA), American Institute of Architects (A.I.A.), the Building Performance and Regulations Committee, Los Angeles Chapter AIA|LA Los Angeles Department of Building & Safety Code Interpretation Group.

JAY RUSSELL SEVERPartner, New Orleans Office

PracticeJay Sever practices in the area of insurance and reinsurance. He counsels clients, manages disputes and tries cases involving a wide variety of insurance coverage issues, including matters arising from bad faith, first-party claims, professional liability claims, transportation claims, environmental claims, general and toxic tort 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, Mr. Sever also has acted as lead counsel in cases pending in Texas, New York, New Jersey, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.

Prior to joining Phelps Dunbar, he served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable F.A. Little, Jr., Judge, U.S. District Court, Western District of Louisiana. He is the practice coordinator for the insurance and reinsurance group in the New Orleans office.

Representative Matters Represented insurers of treated wood company in coverage litigation involving alleged injuries caused by chromated copper arsenic (U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida). Obtained rulings from the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for insurers of metal manufacturing company relative to claims for environmental response costs. Represented insurers of chemical pesticide manufacturer relative to claims for coverage of clean-up costs at multiple sites. Defense at jury trial of insurers of major waste management company relative to coverage for clean-up and response costs at multiple sites (Texas trial court). Defense at trial of insurers of a chemical manufacturer relative to claims of coverage for bodily injury and property damage caused by alleged exposure to toxic chemical (Louisiana trial court).

Membership / Affiliations Louisiana State Bar Association State Bar of California Federal Bar Association American Bar Association

Publications/Speeches Speaker, “The Economic & Environmental Impact of the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf States,” Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, Williamsburg, VA (July 21-24, 2011). Speaker, “The Ripple Effect of Catastrophic Environmental Events: Moratoriums, Regulatory Change, and Industry Reaction-Do We Learn From Our Mistakes?” Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, Indian Wells, California (February 26 – March 5, 2011). Speaker, “Insurance Coverage Trends,” National Business Institute, New Orleans, Louisiana (June 2006 and June 2007). Speaker, “The Storm After the Storm: The Katrina Coverage Litigation,” New Jersey State Bar Association, Atlantic City, New Jersey (May 2006). Speaker, “Special Coverage of Hurricane-Related Issues,” University of Texas School of Law 10th Annual Insurance Law Institute, “Austin, TX (December 2005).

ContactCanal Place365 Canal Street, Suite 2000New Orleans, LA 70130Direct: (504) 584-9271Fax: (504) 568-9130jay.sever@phelps.com

Service AreasInsurance and Reinsurance

Education? Tulane University Law School, J.D., 1991; Senior Notes and Comments Editor, Tulane Law Review? University of Maryland, B.S., 1986

AdmissionsCalifornia (October, 1993)Louisiana (January, 1995)

Mark D. Shifton focuses his practice in the areas of complex civil and commercial litigation in the state and federal courts in New Jersey and New York. Mark routinely represents owners, design professionals, and contractors in cases involving construction disputes and catastrophic property losses, and has extensive experience representing manufacturers, distributors, and retailers of a wide variety of industrial, consumer, and recreational products, including green building products, in both individual and class actions. Mark is regularly called upon to speak to various legal, insurance, and industry organizations on various topics such as investigating and defending catastrophic property loss claims, construction defect litigation, and risk management. Mark also routinely defends professional liability actions brought against attorneys, architects, and engineers, as well as insurance industry and healthcare professionals. 

In addition to his complex litigation practice, Mark also maintains a practice in the area of green building and sustainable development, and routinely advises developers, design professionals, and contractors about the rapidly-evolving standards and developments in green building. Mark has been accredited as a LEED Green Associate by the Green Building Certification Institute, and is the editor of Green Building/Construction Law (www.greenbuildingconstructionlaw.com), a blog dealing with the legal issues surrounding green building, sustainability, and the construction industry. He has spoken widely on green building and construction issues, before a variety of organizations, including the American Institute of Architects, the Defense Research Institute, and the Property & Liability Resource Bureau.

Mark currently serves as the Marketing Chair of the Defense Research Institute’s Construction Law Committee, and recently completed a two-year term as the Chair of the Product Liability Committee’s Building Products Specialized Litigation Group.

Caryn Siebert was 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 recipient of the 2023 WorkComp Central CompLaude for Philanthropy.  GB is the premier provider of global claims/risk services, dedicated to demonstrably superior outcomes and exceptional service. She formulates strategic initiatives and builds lasting and productive claims/risk management partnerships in the national casualty carrier marketplace for GB. Caryn collaborates with industry leaders as they seek out creative and efficient alternatives to optimize their claims outcomes in ongoing and discontinued LOBs and create better experiences by partnering with GB.

Delivering results through relentless execution, Ms. Siebert’s teams focus 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, establishing organizational identity through open communication, honesty and passion. She is a sought after speaker and expert bringing creative solutions to audiences, projects and challenges.
 
Ms. Siebert led the claims operations of Knight Insurance Group including oversight of TPAs and internal teams of claims professionals specializing in the areas of auto, GL, trucking, self-storage, shared economy and specialty areas.  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.

Erik A. Sikorski CPCU, AIC is a claim executive at Builders Insurance Group in Atlanta. Mr. Sikorski graduated, from The University of Kentucky in May, 1993 and has been in the Insurance industry since September 1993. Mr. Sikorski currently leads all claims handling and litigation arising from General Liability policies. Mr. Sikorski has experience in every facet of the property casualty industry, holding such positions as Assistant Vice President, Director Complex Claims and Litigation, Director National Subrogation, Regional Claims Manager Auto/Property, State Claims manager, and Claim Manager. Mr. Sikorski is diversely experienced with claims handling process from intake through resolution, including litigation through verdict and appeals. Mastery level understanding of Auto/GL/Property claims and all associated facets. 

Mr. Sikorski has written and lectured widely on many aspects of property casualty claim handling across multiple jurisdictions. He has also spoken at various National Conferences on various property casualty claims related topics. 

PUBLICATIONS

Articles:      
“Hot Technology Scorching Results” - Claims Management Magazine, 
“The Value of Vacancy” - Litigation Management Magazine, 
“One is More than 50”- CPCU Quarterly

Novels:  The Package & Unwilling Donors

Dennis is the President of Cedar Consulting LLC, a captive insurance consulting firm.  His 25 plus years of experience in traditional and alternative insurance mechanisms include marketing and agency management; underwriting and alternative risk program structures; group captive design and implementation; and strategic captive feasibility analysis. Dennis holds an AAI designation from the Insurance Institute of America and a CPCU designation from the American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters.  He has an MA degree in Management from Regent University completing his thesis project on Alternative Insurance Programs.  Dennis is on the teaching faculty of the International Center for Captive Insurance Education (ICCIE).  His consulting practice focuses on the integration of alternative risk program structures to assist in reaching enterprise-wide risk management goals.

Steve is a Claims Manager II, CI within Construction Defect group at Liberty Mutual Insurance. He has adjusted or managed General Liability Claims, Property Claims Personal and Commercial, Auto Claims Personal and Business, Construction Defect, Intellectual Property and Employment Practices Liability Claims. Steve holds CPCU, AIC and AIS Designations.

Keith Smith specializes in construction, real estate and business litigation. Keith regularly represents residential and commercial builders, public and private owners and design professionals in complex construction law matters involving 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. This work includes risk management and litigation on projects in excess of $1 billion, including a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas strip, new schools and classrooms for public and private institutions, sports facilities, water treatment facilities, hospitals, residential tract homes and high rise condominiums. He represents school districts and public entities in all facets of litigation and risk management pertaining to their construction programs, including representation of the largest community college district in the nation regarding the implementation and administration of its $6 billion construction bond program. Keith is also an adjunct professor at the University of La Verne Law School, where he teaches California Construction Law.
 
 

David Smith is Vice President and Counsel for Litigation and Compliance at Toll Bros., Inc., a Fortune 500 Company that is the nation’s leading builder of luxury homes. At Toll, David serves as counsel to multiple divisions across the Company including homebuilding operations, apartment living operations, Toll Golf, and Toll Landscape. David also serves as counsel to the Toll Marketing and Human Resources Departments, and also serves as the chief compliance counsel. He is a graduate of Boston College and the Georgetown University Law Center.

Mr. Stewart practices in the areas of professional liability representing architects, engineers, real estate and insurance professionals as well as general business litigation with a focus on contract disputes, and personal injury cases involving catastrophic injuries.

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.

Cynthia is the Founder of Tarle Law, serving as the current Managing Partner of their offices physically located in San Diego, California as well as Austin, Dallas, and Houston, Texas. Tarle Law has been federally designated and formally certified as a Women Owned Business by the WBENC. Cynthia personally manages and supervises the firm’s four offices, litigating and serving clients across both states. She acts as monitoring counsel for her clients, managing their litigation nationwide and is a national consultant in the development of clients’ corporate insurance programs, directing contract negotiations which serve to align contract terms with insurance provisions in order to mitigate the scope of potential losses for her clients. The firm is frequently engaged as litigation and trial counsel to defend insureds in multi-party, court designated complex actions, including commercial, mixed use and industrial projects, residential construction, and school districts. The firm specializes in litigation and trial work related to catastrophic loss, traumatic brain injury, and wrongful death claims. Cynthia earned the designation of Certified Litigation Management Professional (CLMP) through the Litigation Management Institute (LMI) of Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM). She is a repeat Faculty Member for CLM’s Claims College, most recently teaching her students in the Casualty College, Litigation Management & Control. She served for several years as the California State Membership Chair for Defense Research Institute (DRI) and then as a DRI State Membership Chair Liaison, working with defense attorney leaders across the country. She is admitted to practice in Texas, California and Colorado and frequently speaks to groups nationally on topics of insurance, contracts and construction loss control mechanisms, risk transfer and litigation.  Cynthia also devotes her time to giving back to the community, holding a position on the Board of Directors for the Childhood Cancer Foundation, TeamConnor.

Wendy Testa focuses her legal practice on insurance coverage and defense litigation, particularly in the areas of professional liability; construction, premises and automobile liability; product liability; contractual disputes; and employment.

First and foremost, Wendy prides herself on being an advocate for her clients. From inception to the successful conclusion of a case, her skills, experience and focus are all directed toward achieving a cost-effective resolution strategy built around her clients’ needs. Wendy’s attention to detail and the key issues of each case makes her an efficient and effective litigator.

Bar Admissions: Pennsylvania, New JerseyEducation: Widener University School of Law, J.D., 1997; Pennsylvania State University, B.A., 1992

Areas of Focus

Professional Liability: Wendy has defended architects, engineers, lawyers, brokers and agents in professional liability actions. Working closely with clients, she seeks to create a defense strategy to cost-effectively resolve matters in litigation or those before administrative agencies and licensing boards.

Architects & Engineers: Wendy is experienced in the defense of architects, engineers and surveyors and is a member of the firm's Design Professional practice. In addition, she performs contract review and drafting services for design professionals and engages in contract negotiations on behalf of these clients. Wendy also has extensive experience in defending architects and engineers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Lawyers’ Liability: Wendy seeks dismissal of lawyers’ liability cases based on either pre-answer motions addressed to the sufficiency of pleadings and/or motions for summary judgment at the conclusion of discovery. Beyond the courtroom, she has represented attorneys in proceedings before disciplinary committees and licensing boards.

Construction: Wendy has extensive experienced in defense litigation and insurance coverage issues related the construction industry. She has defended contractors, commercial and residential construction firms, construction managers and project owners in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, including disputes related to contractual defense, indemnification and insurance coverage issues as well as construction defect claims.

General Liability: Wendy has built a diverse civil litigation practice handling premises, auto and liquor liability matters on a national basis for several Fortune 500 companies and other large self-insured clients. Wendy provides her clients with a high level of responsiveness and personalized attention to assist in risk and crisis management at the pre-litigation phase of potential claims and when preparing a defense in litigated matters. Representative clients include construction firms, commercial and residential property owners and management companies, restaurants, and food and beverage manufacturers, suppliers and distributors. In addition, Wendy has co-authored a 50-state liquor liability law review.

Insurance Coverage: Wendy's experience includes both coverage litigation and drafting coverage opinions for insurers related to commercial general liability as well as professional liability policies. She has obtained very favorable results through motion and appellate practice of coverage disputes for a number of insurers.

Product Liability: A large portion of Wendy’s practice involves the defense of product liability claims against domestic and foreign manufacturers and suppliers of construction equipment, industrial machinery; and food and beverage products. She advises clients and aggressively defends their products in complex cases arising out of a product's design, manufacture or marketing.

Emma oversees the construction and construction defect specialty claims groups within North American Claims for Chubb.  She has several years of insurance industry experience handling high exposure property damage and bodily injury claims. 

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.

 

Lisa Unger began her career in insurance in 1990 working for Chubb & Son, Inc., in New York City. She was responsible for handling various types of general liability claims including Labor Law, Products Liability, Premises Liability, Bodily Injury, Property Damage, Advertising Injury and Personal. She joined AIGTS as a Complex Director in 1996, responsible for handling excess construction defect cases, most of which were located on the West Coast. In 1998, Lisa moved to California and was a Claims Supervisor for Zurich N.A. handling mostly construction defect primary and excess claims in California, Nevada, Colorado and Texas as well as handling complex general liability claims. In 2002, Lisa begain working Markel as a Senior Claims Examiner handling construction defect claims, high exposure general liability excess/umbrella, environmental claims and coverage cases nationwide. Lisa later became part of the Global Management Liability Team handling a wide array claims involving Employment Practices and Third Party Discrimination Liability and Fiduciary Liability, Directors and Officers Liability and Tenant Discrimination. In addition to working on specialty projects, Lisa served as the west coast mediation specialist. Lisa accepted the position of Director of Casualty Claims at Hallmark Financial Services located in Dallas, overseeing a team handling construction defect and general liability claims. Lisa is currently an independent claims advocate who continues to utilize her claims, negotiation and mediation skills to effectuate meaningful case resolutions on a national basis. Lisa is a graduate of Colgate University where she was a double major in English and Fine Arts. Lisa currently served as the President of the Los Angeles Chapter of The CLM, is a Chair of the CLM ADR committees, was the Treasurer of the Construction Defect Charitable Community Foundation (“CDCCF”) and remains involved with many charitable organizations.

Wakako Uritani is a partner at Lorber, Greenfield & Polito and works out of the San Francisco office. Her practice focuses on complex litigation matters, including: public entity defense, personal injury, premises liability, products liability, professional liability and construction defect cases. She specializes in the representation of construction professionals in construction defect claims involving apartments, condominiums, high rise commercial buildings, public works, retirement centers and single family homes. She often assists clients in navigating issues of risk management, insurance coverage, contracts and pre-litigation dispute procedures in addition to securing positive litigation results. Her cases frequently involve design issues and applications of various standards of care to professional services. She also counsels businesses on contract formation and disputes.  She has successfully defended municipalities in a variety of matters involving personal injuries including traumatic brain injury and paralysis.

Ms. Uritani has obtained numerous verdicts and awards in her client’s favor.  Prior to joining her current firm, her practice was in public entity defense.  She successfully argued in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, on appeal on a motion for summary judgment entered in favor of her client.  Ms. Uritani earned her J.D. at Santa Clara University after obtaining her bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Scripps College.  She is admitted to practice in the State Courts of California and the Northern and Eastern Districts of California as well as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

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. 
 

Sarah has been practicing law for 18 years in the areas of construction litigation, professional liability, premises liability, personal injury defense, and general insurance defense and coverage. Over the years, Sarah has enjoyed defending general contractors, subcontractors, architects and engineers, and has also had experience assisting insurance carriers and clients with a variety of claims and coverage issues. A frequent speaker at seminars and events, Sarah has presented on topics such as: Preparing an Effective Trial Notebook, The Use of Biomechanical Experts, Civility in the Practice of Law, Jury Charges, Verdict Forms & Special Interrogatories, Bad Faith, AIA Contracts, Demonstrative Evidence, the Tripartite Relationship, and First Party Coverage. She was awarded the South Carolina Leadership in Law Award in 2016, which honors professionals who have achieved success in their law practice, made contributions to society and had an impact on the legal industry. Sarah is a Past President of the Charleston Lawyers Club,and is currently serving her second term on the Board of Directors for the South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys Association.  She is a Shareholder with Copeland, Stair, Kingma & Lovell, LLP in the Charleston, SC office.   

Mr. Whiteley is a Partner in the firm’s New York office, serving as Vice Chair of the nationwide Construction Practice Group, and supervising two trial teams. He specializes in the defense of construction cases under the New York Labor Law involving catastrophic accidents for several excess and primary insurance carriers. In addition, Mr. Whiteley has extensive experience in the defense and litigation of large economic damage claims for numerous regional and national construction firms and for several large public sector construction projects including the Second Avenue Subway and the East Side Access Tunnel. His practice also includes the defense of high-profile cases, including the Deutsche Bank Fire casein Lower Manhattan and the Con Edison Steam Pipe Explosion case in Midtown. Other areas of practice include premises liability, transportation,trucking, products liability involving construction equipment and handtools, property damage, as well as other general liability and complex tortclaims. Mr. Whiteley has served twice as the Co-Chair of an internationalconsortium of construction law firms. He has extensive trial experience inboth New York State and Federal Courts, and has lectured frequently ontrial preparation, jury selection, construction litigation and other litigationtopics that impact damages.

Robert is a shareholder in the Dallas office of Cooper & Scully, P.C. He focuses his practice on insurance coverage and extra-contractual litigation. He began his legal career as a law clerk for the Honorable Harry Lee Anstead at the Florida Supreme Court.
 
Robert has extensive appellate and litigation experience, with a primary emphasis on “bad faith,” breach of contract, and declaratory judgment actions in courts around the country. He has worked on a wide variety of insurance coverage disputes, including those involving advertising injuries, construction defects, environmental accidents, liquor liability, professional liability, property damage, trucking accidents, and uninsured motorists' claims. These disputes often involve significant coverage issues such as allocation of damages, number of occurrences, and trigger of coverage. He also handles complex contract disputes involving insurance and indemnity issues in the oil and gas industry.

Geoff is a partner and shareholder in Ericksen Arbuthnot's Concord office. He has worked in the legal profession since 1976 and is AV® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
 
He has worked on and handled numerous complex litigation cases, focusing primarily on construction defect and premises liability issues. He has represented owners, developers, general contractors and subcontractors in cases involving multi-tract single family dwellings, apartment complexes, condominiums, townhouses, and multi-story commercial buildings throughout Northern and Central California.
 
Geoff is a regular lecturer in the firm’s continuing education program regarding the California Fair Claims Practices Act which is certified in multiple states. He has also participated in providing training to of state insurance adjusters regarding the ins and outs of handling construction defect claims in California. He has given seminars on the use of extrapolation evidence in construction defect litigation. Geoff has published articles regarding settling around express contractual indemnity agreements, the impact of the recent case law on the Right to Repair Act, and SB 474.

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.
 

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

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

Mr. Wright is a Supervisor for Empirical Loss Management, LLC, a U.S. domiciled entity specializing in Audit, Consultation and Niche, Specialty Claim Administration Services.
 
Mr. Wright has in excess of 30 years in the insurance industry in various positions with claim administrative firms and insurers prior to joining Empirical Loss Management.
 
Mr. Wright’s experience has included expert handling of claims in material and construction defects, which includes commercial and residential complex construction defects cases, wrap-up policies, and all types of property damage and bodily injury claims in relation to construction work mostly on high rise buildings, with exposure over $1,000,000. He has also handled a variety of other claims including E&O, GKLL, Aviation, Marine, Trucking and Risk Management.
 
Mr. Wright’s responsibilities have included handling of claims in the areas of investigation, coverage, evaluation, negotiation, litigation management and resolution of serious injury claims with exposure in excess of $10M. He has also supervised and controlled litigation by choosing defense counsel, developing plans, directing litigation, and controlling legal defense expenses and cost to ensure effective resolutions.
 
Mr. Wright has served as technical resource and trained claim staff. He has supervised claim representatives and has provided customer service to insureds, agents, brokers and underwriters. 

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.

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. 
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.
 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.