CLM’s Litigation Management Task Force has been hard at work in 2025, with subcommittees meeting on a range of key industry topics from billing, to recruitment and retention, to AI and technology. At this year’s Annual Conference, Task Force Steering Committee members briefed attendees on what the task force has been up to and what can be expected going forward. Panel members at the conference included moderator Cayce Lynch, administrative partner, Tyson & Mendes LLP; JD Keister, attorney, McAngus Goudelock & Courie, LLC; Steven Donnelly, chief service officer, Amerisure Mutual Insurance Company; Cathleen Rebar, partner, Rebar Kelly; Krista Glenn, executive vice president and chief claims officer, Westfield Specialty; and Matt Morrison, vice president of litigation, American Family Insurance.
Lynch identified the latest supposed “bad word” in the industry, “collaborate,” after a claims professional came up to her and indicated that they were tired of hearing about collaboration. “I don’t care, and we don’t care—we’re going to talk about it, because it’s so important,” emphasized Lynch. “Any moment that we are spending not working together, plaintiffs’ bar continues to win.”
Pain Points
The panel discussed three critical areas: talent recruitment and retention, professional skills development, and cost management strategies.
Talent Recruitment and Retention
The speakers discussed the severe talent shortage affecting both carriers and law firms, with many young professionals leaving the industry entirely rather than simply changing firms. “For us, about one of every 20 stays in our industry and heads to another defense firm,” noted Keister. “They are leaving our industry. That is why we’ve got to do a better job of selling benefits of what we do, the good of what we do, and try to alleviate some of the stress.” Keister’s firm conducts an exit interview for every lawyer that is leaving the firm, and he recommends this strategy so firms can be aware of what they need to improve on and understand why lawyers are leaving.
"For the last four years, I've been using the word talent crunch, and I think crunch is probably not the right word. I think we're at a crisis, both on the law firm side and on the industry side," stated Keister. The panel cited several factors contributing to this crisis, including work-life balance concerns, compensation challenges, and the industry's failure to effectively market itself to new graduates. Glenn opined that the industry has "been doing a terrible job as defense bar and as carriers of making this career as interesting to people coming out of school as it actually is. We're not making it sexy."
Furthermore, law firms haven't fully adjusted to the post-COVID world, and younger generations have different expectations about work. In addition, industry pressures, including billing rate constraints, impact what firms can pay lawyers. The turnover among younger associates, as a result, is creating burnout among senior lawyers who traditionally weren't at risk of leaving. When junior positions remain unfilled, routine tasks and reports fall to already overworked employees.
The panel also discussed how the industry needs to better articulate the benefits of working in insurance defense, including the opportunity to develop broad litigation skills and business sophistication. It must also recognize that the younger generation values different things, and traditional incentive structures may need to evolve. Most importantly, both carriers and law firms need to work together to create sustainable solutions that will attract and retain talent for the future.
Professional Skills Development
The traditional in-office mentoring model has broken down, with fewer opportunities for new hires to learn from experienced professionals through daily interactions, according to the panel.
Furthermore, what were once routine claims are now becoming high-risk cases. This makes it harder to provide hands-on experience to new attorneys, which was traditionally one of the main attractions of insurance defense work. The plaintiffs' bar is also better funded now through third-party litigation financing, driving up settlement values and verdicts.
Morrison referenced an article he saw, which said that in the last five years, the top 50 verdicts have doubled. “That has a ripple effect all the way down to every matter that comes into education. So, how we train…[develop, and position] people for success…we have to find a new way to do it, because it is so different now in terms of the risk.”
Cost Management Strategies
The panel also addressed the traditional billable hour model, with many suggesting it creates misaligned incentives between carriers and law firms. Donnelly noted, "We all agreed with the [CLM 2023 and 2024] survey [results] that [show] spending more on defense does not necessarily get you a better case outcome."
The discussion also explored how artificial intelligence (AI) might impact legal work and billing, with panelists acknowledging both opportunities for efficiency and concerns about implementation costs and data security. “If AI is replacing our billable hours and we’re spending money on it, where is the benefit to our firm?” Asked Rebar. “We see it coming, so we need to come up with solutions as to how we integrate AI into our practice in a way that economically makes sense.”
Morrison talked about cost management outcomes, noting that, “one of the things that permeates no matter what your guidelines say or your strategy: We’re all measuring success in a similar way in terms of the ultimate outcomes of the organization,” he explained. “So, combined ratio, loss ratio, expense ratio: Everything we do translates into that determination of the success of the organization from a carrier perspective.”
The session concluded with a call for continued collaboration through CLM to develop innovative solutions that benefit all industry stakeholders. “I have three words for you: technology, change, and collaboration,” concluded Lynch.