Matthew Morrison has years of experience focusing on complex claims, litigation management and insurance coverage issues from both the perspective of an insurer as well an attorney in private practice. In his current position with American Faminly Insurance he is responsible for all litigation outcomes across the enterprise including claims and corporate litigation. He is admitted to practice before the state courts of Illinois and Wisconsin, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, the Wisconsin State Bar Association, Claims & Litigation Management Alliance Advisory Board and serves as a professor at CLM’s Litigation Management Institute. In 2013 Matt was named Litigation Management Professional of the Year by CLM.

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

Mariela began her insurance career in 1988 and brings with her 36 years of insurance experience, with 25 of those being in leadership roles in both SIU and Claims. Aside from insurance companies, Mariela's career encompasses being a Special Agent with the National Insurance Crime Bureau, as part of the Mid-Atlantic Task Force, covering PA, NJ, and DE. Mariela is a member of the National African American Insurance Association (NAAIA) and an active advocate for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI). In June of 2022, Mariela was designated as one of the non-attorney members of the Florida Bar Grievance Committee for the 11th Judicial Circuit for Miami-Dade County. Mariela attended the University of South Florida where she pursued a double major in Criminal Justice and Voice Performance. She holds FCLS, CATI, and CCP designations, and is currently working on her ACP. In 2019, Mariela was the recipient of the Jerry Zappolo Distinguished Service Award,  the highest honor and most prestigious award presented to an individual by the FIFEC (Florida Insurance Fraud Education Committee) Board of Directors. Mariela currently serves as Chair of the Fraud Risk Committee for the State of Florida P&C Insurance Fraud Task Force, and in December 2023 was elected to the Board of the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, where she is also an active member of their Fraud Risk Task Force . She is currently the National Director of SIU & Fraud Compliance for Assurant, based out of Miami, FL.

Frank Smith began his insurance career with Liberty Mutual Insurance Company in March, 1987. After completing claims training, he served as an adjuster, Senior Adjuster and Supervisor within Liberty Mutual offices in New York, Chicago and Des Plaines, Illinois. Areas of specialization included, Workers Compensation, General Liability, Auto Liability, Illinois Structural Work Act and New York Labor Law.In December of 1992, Frank joined Reliance National Insurance Company, New York, as a Claims Account Manager. He served in that role, and advanced to the position of Vice President. He was charged with leading a team that provided claims oversight on the largest account within Reliance National, the ARAMARK Corporation.

In March of 2000, Frank joined Kemper Insurance Company in Philadelphia, as the Vice President of Claims. He continued to manage the ARAMARK account through their transition to Kemper.In October of 2004, Frank joined XL insurance Company. He holds the position of Vice President – Head of US Risk Management and Program Claims. His responsibilities include management of these books of business, as well as all unbundled TPA relationships. He has developed the XL management approach to TPA’s, and has helped implement these principles across the globe in all areas where XL conducts business.

He has spoken at numerous industry events on topics relating to Claims Management , TPA Management and Medical Management. He has also authored several articles on these subjects.Frank holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from St, John’s University in New York. He resides in New York City.

Rosanne Crowley has been a Claim Account Manager of US Risk Management at XL Insurance since September 2005 and is located in Los Angeles, California. Within the position she oversees accounts and Third Party Administrators, has account management responsibilities as well as technical authority of large Workers Compensation, Auto and General Liability Claims on a national basis. She is the XL Practice Lead for all fraud related activities and matters. She began her career in 1985 at Kemper Insurance where she held various positions during her 18 years of employment there including those of a claims examiner, claims supervisor and claim account manager. In 2003 she joined Argonaut Insurance as an account manager, holding that position until 2005 when she joined XL Insurance.

Combined background in international law, corporate and investment banking and insurance, Tienneke Petit has been assisting clients around the globe, working on projects involving international business, governance, legal and regulatory compliance, strategic positioning, insurance programs, claims and litigation management, risk portfolio review and many more.

Holding prior positions as independent attorney with Cottyn in Brussels, legal and regulatory counsel at Euronext-NYSE in Paris, international claims manager at AXA Corporate Solutions in Paris and New York and currently owner and CEO of PetitConsult as well as being Governance Lead at BNP Paribas USA, Tienneke has been and still is very actively involved in international claims and litigation management. She has acquired in-depth experience unravelling the intricacies of (international) litigation management and is focused on proactively searching for resolution while creating an environment of integrity and trust.

Tienneke holds Master in Laws degrees from the Catholic University of Leuven (BE) and the University of Sceaux-Paris (FR) and a LLM European Company Law from the University of Exeter (UK). She also holds the Associate in Risk Management Certificate (USA).

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mary Anne Medina lives in Florida and is the Vice President of Field Pros Direct.  She is the former Vice President and Director of Vale Training Solutions, the training resource in the insurance industry.  She is a highly skilled industry professional, recognized consultant and expert.  She has extensive experience in Claims processes redesign and developing claims handling departmental procedures and training. Her experience includes development of training processes used by top 10 P&C Insurers and Fortune 500 companies.  She is a highly skilled industry professional and recognized expert. Her background of experience covers a wide geographic area, with both catastrophic and daily claims handling.
 
She is currently using her education, training, knowledge and real-life experiences to train and develop others in the industry with an emphasis in consulting, expert services, writing, research, speaking and training. Her experience in the Independent Adjusting field and work with carriers brings the unique ability to design programs that facilitate the needs of clients in today’s ever-changing claims environment.  Mary Anne has been published in several major industry publications, magazines, newsletters and web-exclusives. She is a regular presenter at conferences and industry events.

Her affiliations include: AIC,  SITE (Society of Insurance Trainers and Educators), PCCP (Association of Property and Casualty Claim Professionals ), CLM (Claims and Litigation Management Alliance), NAIW (National Association of Insurance Women) along with other industry professional organizations. She currently holds adjuster license(s) in numerous states and has successfully developed approved courses for continuing education throughout the U.S.

Robert Luskin is an accomplished litigation defense attorney representing clients in both federal and state courts throughout Georgia and Tennessee. Robert maintains a vast practice defending corporations and individuals in various complex litigation matters. He has extensive experience in the areas of product liability, premises liability, professional negligence, questionable insurance claims and other insurance coverage matters. Robert also represents various companies with regard to employment related matters including discrimination and harassment issues.

Robert is a recognized thought leader often presenting at national risk management and claims litigation conferences throughout the country.

Susan Kaufman was previously employed at Travelers Insurance Company for over 20 years, most recently as a Director in the Claim Legal Department. In that role she was responsible for analyzing and addressing Bad Faith allegations against the company relative to Personal Lines business in Florida. Additionally, she was responsible for analyzing and resolving coverage issues. Ms. Kaufman also created numerous Continuing Education courses and provided invaluable training to the claims staff. This included many courses on Good Faith Claims Handling, Mediation Strategies, various coverage issues such as Uninsured Motorist coverage. Ms. Kaufman is a Florida Supreme Court appointed County Court Mediator. She is also a certified instructor for Continuing Education credits in the State of Florida, and she has obtained her certification as both a Commercial Lines Coverage Specialist and Personal Lines Coverage Specialist. Susan obtained her degree in Business from the University of Florida. She is a native of South Carolina, and a longtime resident of the South Florida area.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Patricia Carbone was a environmental and commercial law litigator prior to joining CNA. Upon joining CNA's Environmental and Mass Tort Claim (E&MTC) department in 1996, Ms. Carbone was responsible for managing the litigation of declaratory judgment actions against the company and implementing resolution strategies. As a member of the E&MTC Strategic Claim Unit, she coordinated company coverage positions for environmental, mass tort, and asbestos coverage actions and assisted the claim staff in the handling and resolution of larger claims. As the Director of the Silica Unit, she coordinated the company's coverage response to silica claims and was instrumental in supporting the litigation strategy for the insureds' defense. In 2005, Ms. Carbone became the Director of HealthPro's Advanced Medical Technology (AMT) claim team, a unit handling pharmaceutical, medical device and nutraceutical claims. As part of this team, she worked with claim staff, underwriters and risk management partners to service CNA's AMT customers by developing and implementing effective litigation strategies, and creating and interpreting policy language. Currently a member of CNA's Specialty Line Strategic Claim Unit, Ms. Carbone continues these efforts with AMT claims, while also working to develop and implement claim resolution strategies for HealthPro's professional and hospital liability claims.

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

Peter Klee's focus is defending insurance companies and their affiliates that are sued in individual actions and class actions for bad faith, fraud, unfair competition and other torts. He has handled over 1,000 such cases throughout the country over the past 25 years. His client list includes most of the major insurance carriers doing business in California, including Allstate, State Farm, Fireman's Fund, MetLife, Infinity, St. Paul-Travelers, and the Automobile Club of Southern California.
Mr. Klee has handled numerous jury trials in both state and federal court. No client represented in trial by Mr. Klee has ever been held liable for breach of insurance contract, bad faith or any other tort. Mr. Klee is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a member of ABOTA.. Mr. Klee has also been recognized as one of California's Top 100 Attorneys by the Daily Journal.
Mr. Klee is also a frequent lecturer on insurance issues, and he has conducted training seminars for insurance organizations as well as lawyers.
Mr. Klee serves on the firm's Board of Directors.
Recognition
• Chambers USA Ranking - 2012: Band 3, 2011: Band 3, 2010: Band 3, 2009: Band 4 - Insurance, Insurer Firms, California
• Martindale-Hubbell® AV Rating
• Fellow, American College of Trial
• Associate, American Board of Trial Advocates
• Recognized as one of the Daily Journal's "Top 10 Leading Rainmakers - 2009"
• Recognized as one of California's "Top 100 Attorneys" by the Daily Journal in 2007
• Co-Counsel for Du v. Deerbrook Insurance Co. - Selected by the Daily Journal as one of the "Top Verdicts of 2010."
• One of the 500 lawyers in America selected as “New Stars” for 2006 by Lawdragon
• Best Lawyers in America® - (Insurance Law)
• Super Lawyers: Corporate Counsel - (Insurance Coverage)
• Super Lawyers: Business Edition - (Insurance Coverage)
• San Diego Super Lawyers - (Insurance Coverage)
• Top 50 San Diego Super Lawyers -

Suzanne M. Ganier has spent the bulk of her twenty-one year career working with, and for, insurance companies.  She has personally handled hundreds of cases in various insurance areas.  She has tried multiple cases to verdict, and arbitrated over 100 additional cases.

Suzanne began her career in Chicago, where she spent ten years trying insurance cases both in private practice and as part of the legal department of two major insurance companies, as well as the Chicago Transit Authority.  In 2005, she moved to Arizona, working private practice and as part of the legal department of a major insurance company, with a focus on all types of insurance matters.

In 2008, Suzanne transitioned into litigation management becoming the Director of Litigation for Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. Suzanne managed thousands of litigated claims arising out of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Gustav, and non-catastrophe litigated claims and class actions.  Through this experience, Suzanne became an expert in bad faith law, good faith claim handling, and litigation management. Her responsibilities included, drafting & implementing Billing Guidelines & Litigation Procedures, implementing a legal invoice review program.  The program returned a ROI of 9% at her departure, including savings associated with flat fees.

In 2011, Suzanne became Corporate Counsel for a large, super-regional insurance carrier in Jacksonville, Florida.  In this position, Suzanne was responsible for various legal, regulatory, compliance, M&A, and corporate governance matters as well as reviewing the invoices of all firms assigned to these matters.   

In February 2013, Suzanne founded ALEXI Professional Services, Inc., offering her expertise in legal invoice auditing, insurance coverage, bad faith, claim and litigation management.

In August 2014, Suzanne joined Elevate Services, Inc. where she directs Elevate’s legal invoice review business.  Elevate’s Legal Bill Review department practice focuses on designing, implementing and overall management of legal bill review for diverse clients.  

Practice Areas:

Corporate Litigation
Claims Litigation, Class Actions, Complex Litigation
Bad Faith and Extra Contractual Litigation

Education:

B.A. - Union College, Schenectady, NY
J.D. - Emory University, Atlanta, GA

Professional Profile:

Deanna joined the Corporate Litigation Group in the General Counsel's Office in December 2009.  She manages all corporate litigation by or against Fireman's Fund Insurance Company arising out of underwriting, extra contractual and/or other general business disputes.  She provides pre-litigation counseling and advice on all aspect of the business.

Gina G. Smith is a Chief Legal Counsel with the Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS), Office of the General Counsel, Criminal Law and False Claims, in Tallahassee, Florida.  In that capacity, she is the chief legal advisor to the DFS Division of Investigative & Forensic Services, Bureaus of Insurance Fraud, Workers Compensaion Fraud and Fire, Arson and Explosives Investigations. Prior to returning to public service, she was a Partner at Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP devoting her practice to first party property coverage matters, primarily those involving suspected arson and fraud. Prior to joining Butler, she was a prosecutor for twelve years, prosecuting white collar crime, health care and insurance fraud. She has considerable trial experience, was board certified in criminal trial law until shifting to civil practice, and is Martindale-Hubbel AV-rated.

Ms. Smith received her Bachelor of Arts degree, with honors, in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley Masters in Public Administration from the University of Southern California, graduated, with honors, from the Florida State University College of Law. She has beenadmitted to The Florida Bar since 1987 and is admitted to practice before all Florida federal district courts, the 4th and 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

Ms. Smith has been a DFS certified instructor since 2002 for continuing education courses in adjuster law, policy and ethics.  She is a former Co-Chair of the CLM Insurance Fraud Committee, a CLM Certified Litigation Management Professional, past president of FACAP, a member of the Florida Property and Casualty Insurance Fraud Task Force, and the Florida State University College of Law Board of Visitors.

Her article, "Keys to Good Faith Fraud Referral", appeared in the August 2013 CLM’s Claims Management magazine.

Robin Smith Westcott is currently serving as the Florida Insurance Consumer Advocate, having been appointed to the post in July 2011 by Chief Financial Officer, Jeff Atwater. Robin began her legal career in 1993 with the Florida Department of Insurance, Division of Rehabilitation and Liquidation as an attorney handling legal matters relating to the receivership estates of insolvent companies. Robin served with the Receiver until 2001 when she left to enter private practice. Robin returned to the public sector in 2002 with the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation where she served as Assistant General Counsel and Counsel to the Florida Partnership for School Readiness. In 2004, Robin returned to the Office of Insurance Regulation as an Assistant General Counsel. Robin was appointed as the Director of Property and Casualty Financial Oversight in 2007 and served as the Acting Deputy Commissioner for Property & Casualty prior to being selected by CFO’s Atwater to serve as Executive Director for the Medicaid and Public Assistance Strike Force in March 2011.

As Florida’s Consumer Advocate, Robin has sought to engage with consumers of our state to identify broad public policy insurance issues that deserve redress and bring facts, data and analysis to assist policymakers in developing good public policy to respond to these issues.

Robin earned a Juris Doctor from The Florida State University College of Law and was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1993. She received her Bachelors of Science from Florida State University in 1991.

Thomas F. Segalla, a founding partner of Goldberg Segalla, is a nationally recognized authority on bad faith, reinsurance, and insurance, and an ARIAS-U.S. certified arbitrator and mediator. Retained as counsel and as a consultant by numerous major insurance carriers and policyholders in more than 40 jurisdictions nationally and internationally, he has also served as an expert witness in more than 100 bad faith, coverage, and extracontractual cases across the country.
 
Tom is the co-author of the renowned insurance law treatise Couch on Insurance 3d and editor of the Reinsurance Professional’s Deskbook, published by Thomson Reuters and the Defense Research Institute (DRI). He currently serves on DRI’s Publications Board and Barrister Task Force and has previously served as chair of DRI’s Insurance Law Committee, chair of its Law Institute, and a member of its Board of Directors. He is also a member of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, and immediate-past president of the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel. An AV Preeminent-rated attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers, and other publications and organizations for his superior skills and accomplishments across numerous areas of the law, Tom is also the recipient of DRI’s Louis B. Potter Lifetime Professional Service Award, Best Lawyers in America’s Buffalo Insurance Law “Lawyer of the Year” Award, the Defense Association of New York’s (DANY) James S. Conway Award for Outstanding Service to the Defense Community, and the State University of New York at Buffalo Law Alumni Association’s “Distinguished Alumni Award for Private Practice.”

Maggie is a member of Coronado Katz LLC (www.coronadokatz.com) in Kansas City, Missouri.  Given the firms unique location on the state line between Missouri and Kansas, Maggie practices extensively in the federal and state courts of both states.  Maggie’s legal career began at Sherman Taff Bangert Thomas & Coronado, PC. After leaving Sherman Taff in 2000, Maggie held positions as an attorney in the claims department of a large insurance company and as a litigator for a larger Kansas City defense firm.  Maggie rejoined Sherman Taff in 2006 after the birth of her son, where she remained until the end of 2011. On January 1, 2012, Maggie, along with five other attorneys from Sherman Taff, opened Coronado Katz LLC.
 
Maggie’s practice focuses on public entities, including educational institutions, employment, construction, and general insurance defense. Maggie’s experience as a claims professional gives her unique insight into meeting the needs and requirements of insurance professionals and in-house counsel.
 
Maggie is the Lead Chair of CLM’s Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee, as well as a member of CLM's Diversity Committee. Maggie is also a member of various other national and state legal organizations.

Rory Eric Jurman's practice is focused on providing strategic and cost-effective counsel to Fortune 500 companies, insurers and self-insureds. His practice includes insurance coverage, bad faith, professional malpractice, products liability, and commercial litigation.

Rory provides coverage advice concerning virtually every type of general, excess and professional liability insurance policy, including employment practices liability, directors and officers liability and malpractice/errors or omissions policies for various professions. He handles the investigation and evaluation of multi-faceted and high-exposure claims, including class actions and complex coverage issues. Rory has litigated numerous trials through appeal, including multi-party cases, and major declaratory judgment, liability, and rescission actions.

In addition to his legal work in the insurance industry, Rory also handles a broad range of litigation matters. His practice includes the defense of medical professionals, life science companies, professional negligence matters, defense of Life and Disability Insurance matters, commercial litigation, and products liability. He has litigated, arbitrated and mediated cases throughout Florida.

Ryan Gavin is one of the founding members of Kamykowski, Gavin & Smith.  Ryan has a diverse practice including professional liability, premises liability, automobile and transportation liability, product liability, and insurance coverage.  He has been in practice for nearly 20 years and is well versed in the needs and expecations of insurance and corporate claims professionals. 

His professional liability practice includes the defense of both medical and non-medical claims. He defends health care providers, including physicians, physicians' groups, hospitals, and other institutions in medical negligence cases.  He also defends other professionals in errors and omissions ("E&O") claims.  Ryan's experience in E&O litigation includes the representation of insurance agents and brokers, third party administrators, corporate directors, and actuaries.  He has tried more than 30 cases to verdict including high exposure claims alleging brain injury, death, and significant economic loss. He has many defense verdicts in recent years that have been recognized as being among the top defense verdicts in the state of Missouri.

As mentioned above, in addition to his professional liability experience, Ryan has extensive expertise in the defense of many other injury, death, and insurance disputes.

Ryan has been invited to present to industry and professional groups on a number of occasions.   He has, for example, presented to insurance brokers and agents on the topic of errors and omissions claims, medical school residents regarding malpractice litigation, and insurance claims professionals with respect to the use of forensic accounting experts.  

Jacquelyn Beatty, a CLM Co-Chair for Washington State, is a shareholder with the Seattle, Washington firm Karr Tuttle Campbell, where she chairs the Insurance and Appellate Practice groups. She has litigated insurance coverage and bad faith cases on behalf of insurers, corporations, and government entities for over twenty five years. Her experience also includes the defense of construction defect, toxic tort, professional malpractice and employment practice matters, and general commercial litigation. She graduated from the University Of Washington School Of Law with Honors in 1987 and holds undergraduate degrees from Brown University and Columbia University School of Nursing. She earned her CPCU and ARM designations in 2003 and 2004, and her CLMP designation in 2012.  In 2010, 2011, and 2013 she was voted one of Washington’s Top Fifty Women Attorneys. Ms. Beatty has successfully represented insurers in published and unpublished cases. She is Martindale Hubbell AV Pre-eminent rated.

Ms. Adams, a shareholder in the West Palm Beach office, maintains a complex trial practice specializing in bad faith and claims administration defense, personal injury and medical malpractice. She has taught many bad faith, claims administration, and medical malpractice seminars for insurance companies and medical facilities. She received the Bronze Award from the Florida Supreme Court for her pro bono work representing mentally handicapped indigents through the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach. She is an AV rated trial lawyer, and typically tries 3 - 5 cases per year in various jurisdictions around the state. She is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, a national organization that recognizes extensive trial experience and professionalism, and works to preserve the integrity of the jury trial system.

Ms. Adams was admitted to the FL Bar in 1994 and is admitted to the U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida. She received her JD, cum laude, from the University of Miami School of Law, Coral Gables, FL in 1994 and her BA from Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL.

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.

Frank began his career in insurance with Safeco in 1994. During his tenure at Safeco Frank served in various roles within the Claims Department including that of Regional Analyst and National Excess Liability Manager. Following the acquisition of Safeco by Liberty Mutual, Frank served as a Chief Litigation Manager with Liberty’s Agency Markets Corporation Litigation Management Group. In January of 2012 Frank took a new position as a Claims Unit Leader with America First Insurance in Richardson Texas.

Frank received his CPCU designation in April of 2001 and has since completed five additional professional designations including the Senior Claims Law Associate designation, and Associate Designations in Claims, Reinsurance, Risk Management and Insurance Accounting and Finance. He is a Fellow of the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance, and currently serves as Vice President of the Dallas Chapter of the CPCU Society.

Frank lives in Wylie Texas with his wife Jennifer and their three children.
 

Jeffrey G. Rapattoni is a Shareholder in the Fraud/Special Investigation Practice Group at civil defense litigation firm, Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin. Jeffrey focuses his practice on insurance fraud, bad faith and SIU related matters.

Jeffrey litigates insurance fraud and fraud-related matters throughout the state of New Jersey and has coordinated complex litigation strategy and fraud related investigations in various other states. He has extensive training and background in provider-based investigations, underwriting fraud, policy voidance, and staged accidents. Other practice areas include large loss property claims, coverage, general civil litigation, and appellate practice. He also has significant experience in large settlement negotiation, mediation, and arbitration. As part of his practice, Jeffrey has worked with experts in the fields of cause and origin and bad faith as well as local and Federal authorities.

Jeffrey is frequently asked to lecture on a variety of insurance topics including insurance fraud and bad faith. He is a regular presenter for and on behalf of several local and national insurance organizations. He also provides legal education seminars for various clients and organizations across the country. Jeffrey's efforts in the defense of insurance fraud have earned him a certificate of appreciation from the National Insurance Crime Bureau, and in 2009 he received the President's Award from the New Jersey Special Investigators Association.

After graduating with a BA Degree from Villanova University in 1997, Jeffrey served as a Legislative Correspondent for United States Senator Arlen Specter in Philadelphia and Washington D.C., where he assisted in drafting legislation and conducted legal investigations. While attending Rutgers Law School, he served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Judge John A. Almeida, J.S.C. Burlington County-Civil Division, where he drafted various tentative dispositions of the Court and assisted in court-ordered mediation sessions.

Specialties
Insurance Defense
Insurance Fraud and SIU
Large Loss Property Claims
Medical Provider Fraud
General Civil Defense

My more recent successful representations include:

Defeated a bad faith action where plaintiffs sought treble and punitive damages based upon coverage denials.

Secured a voluntary dismissal regarding a $750,000 fraudulently submitted homeowner's claim.

Recovered large sums of money improperly paid to fraudulent medical providers.

Michele Wojcik has over twenty years of experience advising insurance carriers regarding their coverage obligations, and litigating insurance carriers’ duty to defend and indemnify.  Michele Wojcik is proficient in all lines of insurance coverage including personal lines, commercial lines, professional lines and specialty lines.  In addition, Michele Wojcik defends insurance carriers against extracontractual claims.  She is often retained by the insurance carrier pre-suit in order to assist the carrier in moving forward with the claim while protecting the carrier against potential extracontractual claims.  Michele prides herself on her ability to assist insurance carriers in trouble shooting sticky situations and coming up with creative solutions.  Michele joined the firm in 1998 and soon thereafter became known as the go to person for insurance coverage and extracontractual claims.  In addition, Michele defends attorneys and other professionals against claims of professional liability and handles general defense matters including complex claims. Michele has argued before the Appellate Court and Supreme Court of Connecticut.
Michele frequently presents seminars and learning work-shops to her clients on issues of insurance coverage and avoiding extracontractual claims.  In addition, Michele has been a presenter for to the ABA TIPS Annual Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee Midyear Program, CLM Insurance Coverage Committee Conference, and NBI.
Recently, Michele was inducted as a new member into the FDCC (Federal of Defense and Corporate Counsel). She is currently a co-chairperson of CLM’s Insurance Coverage Committee, and a member of the CBA. Michele is a past chairman of the Newington Town Plan and Zoning Commission and a volunteer for Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters. In her free time, Michele enjoys sailing with her husband, cooking, and spending time with her yellow lab.
 

Heather Clemmensen is Senior Coverage Counsel for Navigators Insurance’s U.S. Casualty Division. In her role as Navigators’ only in-house coverage attorney, Heather provides comprehensive coverage and extra-contractual litigation management and oversight as well as multi-jurisdictional strategic advice and counsel to her national Claim client and underwriting business partners, including good faith claim handling, regulatory compliance, and risk transfer. Heather's areas of expertise include general liability, with an emphasis on construction and construction defect, excess, property, professional liability and environmental insurance coverage. Prior to joining Navigators, Heather served as coverage counsel to Travelers Insurance’s general liability construction division in the Western and Southwestern regions. She also successfully represented many clients in a variety of environmental, toxic tort, premises liability and insurance coverage disputes in private practice.

Jeff serves as the Director of Claims for Catholic Mutual Group, the largest provider of P&C coverage for the Catholic Church in the US and Canada.  Prior to this current role, Jeff served as Director of Claims for Advanced Disposal, a waste disposal provider reaching over 15 States.  He also served as Sr. Manager of Liability, Auto and Property losses for BILO/Winn-Dixie Stores, a retailer of over 500 grocery stores serving 8 States in the southeast US.  Jeff started his insurance career with Empire Fire and Marine/Zurich US.  He served 14 years with Zurich in various Claim and Operations leadership roles.

Jeff is the 2013 CLM Litigation Management Professional of the Year, has had the privilege to speak at many CLM local and National events and has published three articles in Litigation Management magazine.  He splits duties as the CLM Regional Chair for the Midwest region, is a Co-Chair for the CLM Religious and Non-profit Committee and serves on other various committees.

Jeff is a Cum Laude graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and holds the SCLA designation.

Chris is currently Associate General Counsel for North American Risk Services (NARS).   Previous to joining NARS, Chris served as a Senior Advisor to Suite 200 Solutions, LLC.  Prior to joining Suite 200 Solutions, LLC, Chris served in several C-Suite roles for Canal Insurance Company --  including General Counsel/Corporate Secretary, Chief Claims Officer and Chief Operating Officer.   

Previous to joining Canal, Chris served as Division Counsel to a division of AIG.  He has also served as Corporate Counsel to Progressive Insurance Company and as a Trial Attorney for a Birmingham, Alabama based law firm.  Chris is a frequent lecturer on the topics of litigation management, bad faith, insurance compliance programs and enterprise risk management fundamentals. 

He is a  graduate of the University of Alabama School of Law, is admitted to several state and federal bars, has earned CLM's Certified Claims Professional and Advanced Claims Professional Designations.  He is also active in the Defense Research Institute, the Association of Corporate Counsel, Trucking Industry Defense Association, Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, and the American Bar Association (where he is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation).

David M. O’Connor of O'Connor & Associates, LLC, an AV-rated six-lawyer Boston firm, defends claims against policyholders and represents carriers in coverage and unfair claims practices litigation. Mr. O’Connor is recognized in Martindale-Hubbell’s Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers and has been  a Massachusetts Super Lawyer in mulitple practice categories. Mr. O'Connor regularly presents to industry groups on contractual risk transfer; insurance coverage; extra-contractual exposures; and defending unpopular corporate targets.  He obtained a B.A. from Georgetown University and is a cum laude graduate of Boston College Law School, where he was Articles Editor for the B.C. Environmental Law Review. He is admitted in Massachusetts; the  U.S. District Court, Districts of Massachusetts, Connecticut and  Arizona; and the  U.S. Court of Appeals, First and Ninth Circuits.

Patrick has over 20 years of Property & Casualty Insurance experience with insurance carriers as well as with third party administrators. Through his years of service he has amassed a wide range of technical and managerial expertise which includes daily and catastrophic claims management, training and regulatory compliance. In addition to his claims expertise, Patrick is also well versed in underwriting, marketing and reinsurance issues within the Property & Casualty industry.

Mike Gates currently serves as President and Executive General Adjuster for Property Loss Services, Inc dba PLS Claims a regional independent adjusting company in Atlanta, Georgia. He has served as President of Southern Loss Association, a claims group for property adjusters, attorneys and other insurance professionals interested in furthering education and communication in the loss adjustment field since 1957.

After receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree from Vanderbilt University in 1973, Mike began his claims career with The Continental Insurance Companies in Orlando later transferring to Atlanta as a regional supervisor responsible for large losses and the property claims product in 23 offices in seven states.
In 1983, Mike started in the independent adjusting business where he has worked for 26 years. In 1997, he established Property Loss Services which currently has branches in Georgia, Dallas and Tampa,. He is a member of the Atlanta Claims Association and the Atlanta Insurance Professionals. He enjoys “Fellow” status with CLM.

Over the years, Mike who has an AIC designation has taught IIA courses and other classes. He has addressed local claims and professional groups and both the Southeastern and Midwestern Claims Managers organizations on various topics including environmental claims. He has also been a presenter at the PLRB national and regional conferences on “Commercial Theft Claims”, “Period of Restoration” and “Rejecting Proofs of Loss and Denial of Claims.”

He has participated as either an appraiser or umpire in over 400 loss and damage appraisals in multiple states including Florida.
 

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

Kevin M. Quinley is the Principal at Quinley Risk Associates, LLC.  He is a nationally recognized authority on claims-handling and litigation management.  He has over 30 years experience in managing casualty claims and litigation.He has a BA from Wake Forest University and an MA from the College of William & Mary.  He holds the Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation and specialty designations from the American Insurance Institute in Risk Management (ARM), in Claims (AIC), in Reinsurance (ARe), in Management (AIM) and he holds the Registered Professional Adjuster (RPA) designation.  Kevin is also a licensed Property & Casualty Insurance Consultant in Virginia.A Contributing Editor to Medical Product Outsourcing magazine, Kevin is the author of over 700 published articles and ten books.  The latter includes Managing Product Liability Risk and Avoiding Litigation.  Kevin is a co-author of the CLM "Product Liability Adjuster Training Course."  He is a frequent writer, speaker and trainer on topics relating to claims and litigation management.  Law firms and clients throughout the country seek him out as a testifying expert on litigated matters relating to bad faith, extracontractual liability, claims-handling and adjuster standard-of-care.  You can reach him at kevin@kevinquinley.com and follow him on Twitter @ClaimsCoach.

Ms. Buchman is a Partner at Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP, and devotes her practice to large, complex first-party coverage matters, fire, water damage and theft claims, insurance fraud, construction defect litigation, reinsurance, bad faith, appeals, and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).

Ms. Buchman is a co-author of Scary Stuff: Insurance Claim Files And Exceptions To The Attorney-Client Privilege, which was published in the August 2012 Mealey's Litigation Report.  She is also the co-author of ‘Bad-Faith' Discovery: Claim Files, Training Materials, Personnel Files, And The Kitchen Sink, which was published in the January 2013 Mealey’s Litigation Report and Who Is Entitled to the Claims File?, which was published in the March  2013, Mealey’s Litigation Report.Before joining Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP, Ms. Buchman served as in-house counsel with a large general contracting/construction management company and prior to that was in private practice specializing in general civil litigation. She also served as a mediator in court-ordered civil cases (including construction) and insurance matters and as an arbitrator for both the National Association of Securities Dealers and the American Arbitration Association. Before moving to Florida, Ms. Buchman practiced law in New York where she also researched, co-authored and revised Architect-Engineer Liability Under New York Law.
Ms. Buchman is a member of The Florida Bar as well as the New York Bar and the Pennsylvania Bar (inactive status). She is also certified by the Florida Supreme Court as a mediator, and is admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the Southern District of Florida, and the Northern District of Florida.
Ms. Buchman graduated from the University of Virginia with a BA in Economics (after having transferred from The Johns Hopkins University). She received her JD from Dickinson Law School (which is now part of Pennsylvania State University), where she was a member of Law Review and the Trial Moot Court Board. Ms. Buchman also received her LLM in Trade Regulation from New York University School of Law.

Brian Henry is a Shareholder with and President of Rolfes Henry, and serves the firm as from its Florida offices.  Brian has an extensive background in insurance litigation, fire science litigation, and product liability, and he has served as national coordinating and trial counsel for several Fortune 500 companies.  Brian’s practice also includes the representation of expert witnesses whose qualifications or methodology have been challenged in litigation.  He has handled over 125 Daubert-type challenges in nearly thirty states, and he provides consultation to expert witnesses throughout the country.
 
Brian is one of only a handful of attorneys in the United States to achieve the Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator designation from the National Association of Fire Investigators, and he is a frequent guest lecturer at seminars across the country.  He represents the National Association of Fire Investigators on the NFPA 921 Technical Committee, and has helped draft numerous provisions of that Guide.  He has conducted depositions, Examinations Under Oath, and trials to juries throughout the United States.
 
Brian has been included in SuperLawyers multiple times since 2011, and holds an AV® rating from Martindale Hubbell, the highest possible rating given for legal ability and ethical standards.  Brian is admitted to practice law in twenty-five different jurisdictions, including Florida, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Tennessee.    
 

Desiree Tolbert is AVP, National Technical Compliance with the Sedgwick Workers’ Compensation Practice Group.. She is based in Lake Mary, Florida.  Ms. Tolbert has over 35 years of experience as an insurance professional with a record of success in the areas of multi-jurisdictional claims handling, management, marketing, regulatory compliance and customer service.
Ms. Tolbert holds a certification in workers’ compensation litigation from the WCCP. She has earned the Associate in Claims (AIC), Associate in Risk Management (ARM) and Associate in Service designations (AIS) through the AICPU.

Lewis F. Collins, Jr., is a Partner in the Tampa, Florida office of Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig, LLP. He is Board certified in Civil Trial Law by both the Florida Bar and the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and is also a Board Certified Civil Pretrial Practice Advocate by the National Board of Civil Pretrial Practice Advocacy. He practices primarily in the areas of commercial litigation, bad faith, products liability, intellectual property, drug and medical device litigation, wrongful death, employment law, and professional liability defense.

Mr. Collins is the Past President of Lawyers for Civil Justice (2009-10), the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (2006-07) and the Florida Defense Lawyers Association (1995-96). He has served on the Board of Directors of the Defense Research Institute and was honored to serve as Dean of the Litigation Management College at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University (2001 - 2002).

Mr. Collins is a Fellow of the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel, is an “AV” rated Preeminent Lawyer, a member of ABOTA and served as a Master of the American Inns of Court. He received the 1997 Florida Defense Lawyers Presidential Achievement Award and the 1996 DRI Exceptional Performance Award. Mr. Collins was recognized as a “Leading Florida Attorney” in the field of Products Liability Defense by Leading American Attorneys, has been named a “Florida Super Lawyer” and was selected one of “Tampa Bay’s Top Lawyers” by his peers.

Mr. Collins received his Bachelor of Science Degree from Florida State University in 1975 and his Juris Doctor from Loyola University, New Orleans, in 1978. He is the author of numerous articles that have appeared in national peer-reviewed legal treatises and publications. He is a frequent lecturer on trial tactics and substantive legal topics ranging from Technology, Legal Malpractice, Bad Faith and Products Liability, to discovery procedure, ethics and law firm management.

Jonathan Kuller, a partner in the firm's Princeton, New Jersey office, has litigated cases, published and lectured about insurance fraud of all types, defense of bad faith and extra-contractual claims as well as coverage and premium disputes. Mr. Kuller brings over thirty years of trial experience and a keen awareness of the insurance business to issues that directly impact clients' bottom line.

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

Gretchen's practice focuses on complex commercial litigation and data privacy compliance.  She has handled dozens of complex multi-million dollar commercial matters invovling insurance coverage over the last fifteen years in courts across the country. Gretchen also has extensive experience with privacy/data breach issues, varoius types of class action matters, and is a Certified Informational Privacy Professional/US and in Europe..Gretchen regularly partners with her clients at the early stage of a conflict in an effort to avoid future actions or to favorably position them should litigation ensue.  Her detailed analysis and early planning has resulted in her achieving a favorable resolution of numerous complex multi-million dollar coverage disputes in a cost-efficient manner.  She has extensive courtroom experience having litigated and tried complex insurance disputes in federal and state courts throughout the country, and before arbitration panels.Following law school, Gretchen clerked for the United States District Court for the District of Nevada for two years.  She began working for CBM  in 2000 and became a partner in 2004. In 2010, she was named a Rising Star by Law 360. At CBM, Gretchen has been active in management, serving as Chair of the Practice Group Chairs for 4 years, and the Chair of the Insurane Practice Group for the past 3 years.

When not busy practicing the law,  Gretchen teaches martial arts classes in San Francisco as she is a 4th degree black belt in Kwan Um Do Kwang (zen sword). She also enjoys biking, doing acrobatics, and learning French.

Donna Overholt Willis is an attorney with State Farm Insurance Companies’ Atlanta litigation firm. Ms. Willis’ practice consists of first-party insurance litigation with an emphasis on fraud and coverage disputes. Ms. Willis initiated first-party practice in State Farm's in-house litigation firms. Prior to joining State Farm Insurance Companies, Ms. Willis practiced with a law firm representing numerous insurers throughout the Southeast in first-party matters.

Ms. Willis has been actively involved in the American Bar Association. She is a past vice-chair of the Arson Project, Insurance Coverage Litigation and Property Insurance Law Committees and a past co-chair of the Appraisal Task Force. Ms. Willis regularly writes and speaks on first-party issues within State Farm, professional organizations and insurance industry organizations. Ms. Willis has been active in the International Association of Special Investigation Units and served as counsel to the board and chair of the attorney panel and co-chair of the annual seminar planning committee for many years. Ms. Willis received her B.A. in 1980 from Emory University and her J.D. in 1983 from Emory University College of Law.

David Conway is Vice President of Finance and CFO for Summit Consulting Inc. based in Lakeland, Florida. Summit is a leading provider of workers' compensation programs and services in 11 southeastern states. The company manages five workers' compensation insurance companies, including the largest carrier in the state of Florida. Summit is a member of Liberty Mutual Group, a diversified global insurer. Conway also serves on the Board of Directors of the Florida Workers Compensation Insurance Guaranty Association.

Lincoln obtained his B.A. degree in Finance from the University of South Florida, his J.D. degree with honors from the University of Maryland, and his M.B.A. degree from the University of Tampa. Prior to coming to Tower Hill, he was a Partner at the law firm of Boehm, Brown, Fischer, Harwood, Kelly & Schehing in Orlando, Florida with his practice specialty as first party insurance coverage litigation. Lincoln has practiced law over 20 years in first and third party insurance litigation, risk management and banking law. Lincoln currently supervises first party insurance litigation for the Tower Hill family of insurance companies.

WILLIAM J. KOBOKOVICH, JR. is Vice President and Associate Group General Counsel for Travelers. Mr. Kobokovich graduated from Dartmouth College in 1976 and obtained his J.D. Degree from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1979. From 1979 to 1994, he was in the private practice of law with a Baltimore, Maryland law firm, specializing in insurance defense litigation. Mr. Kobokovich went in-house to USF&G Insurance Company in 1994 and after USF&G’s acquisition by St. Paul in 1998, was asked to lead the group that manages all of St. Paul’s extra contractual litigation nationwide. Since the merger of St. Paul and Travelers in April 2004, Mr. Kobokovich’s responsibilities include management of commercial lines and personal lines extra contractual litigation nationwide. Mr. Kobokovich is A.V. rated by Martindale Hubbell, and directly handles the defense of extra contractual litigation filed against Travelers in the State of Maryland.

Erin is Associate Vice President and Associate General Counsel at United Educators supervising a staff of 22 claim professionals. Erin was previously employed by CNA Insurance Companies for over twenty years and held various claim and law department roles throughout the country. Erin has also been retained as a claim handling expert as well as a bad faith expert in a number of matters in various jurisdictions. Erin received her undergraduate degree from Boston College and her law degree from DePaul University College of Law.

Practice Focus
Christopher Borders focuses his practice in both the analysis and litigation of complex insurance coverage matters, and in defending large and small companies in commercial litigation. His litigation practice includes disputes involving employment, professional liability, construction defect, as well as insurance coverage claims under primary, excess, umbrella, specialty and other coverages. He also has substantial experience with toxic tort and bad faith matters.

As a former general counsel for a public technology company as well as for a venture-backed software company, Mr. Borders also represents business clients in business contracts, marketing and promotion law, trademark and copyright applications and other business matters.
Professional Background
Mr. Borders joined Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP in December 2005. Previously he was a partner with Rivkin Radler LLP/McMillan & Shureen LLP in Santa Rosa for 11 years. He left the firm from 2000 to 2003 to serve as General Counsel for Appiant Technologies, a public telecom and Voice over Internet Protocol service provider in Pleasanton, and Mobshop, Inc., a venture capital-backed software company in San Francisco.

Early in his career, Mr. Borders was also an attorney in the San Francisco offices of Buchalter, Nemer, Fields & Younger, and Long & Levit.

Mr. Borders is active in a number of professional organizations, including the California State Bar Association, where he is a member of the Litigation Section. He is also a member of the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association and the Bar Association of San Francisco. Mr. Borders is a past Secretary of the Intellectual Property Committee of the Association of Corporate Counsel.
Publications and Presentations
Mr. Borders' publications and presentations include:

• "Recover and Rebuild, Part One: Identifying and Engaging Other Insurers,” Hinshaw’s 2011 Insurance Services Symposium, Chicago, Illinois, October 2011.
• “Key Insurance Coverage Issues,” HB Litigation conference “Challenging Times in Construction Litigation – Handling Claims in a Recessionary Economy,” Los Angeles, California, November 2009.
• “Chinese Drywall – Insurance Coverage Nightmare,” HB Litigation Conference, San Francisco, California, July 2009.
• “Placing Blame: the Effect of Adverse Economic Conditions on Liability Claims – Subprime and Beyond – Who Will Get Sued and for What?” Hinshaw’s 2008 Insurance Services Symposium “The Industry Responds to the Economic Storm,” Chicago, Illinois, October 2008.
• “Promotion and Marketing Law Review,” Harpo, Inc. and LexisNexis, Chicago, Illinois, September 2008.
• “Commercial General Liability and Professional Liability,” Hinshaw’s 2007 Insurance Services Symposium “Evolution and Revolution: Specialty Lines Coverage 2008,” Chicago, Illinois, October 2007.
• “Own What You Use and Use What You Own,” presentation, Intellectual Property Seminar Series, Sonoma County Bar Association / Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce, 2003.
• “Responding to Patent Infringement Allegations,” co-author, published in the ACCA Docket, 20, No. 1 (2002).
• “Practical Advice for Managing Patent Infringement Lawsuits”, presentation and materials co-author, American Corporate Counsel Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, 2001.
• “The Business Side of Business Method Patents,” presentation, Patent Trademark Office and American Corporate Counsel Association Joint Seminar, USPTO Headquarters, VA, 2001.
• “Proper Use of Intellectual Property in Marketing”, presentation, Promotion Marketing Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, 1999.
Community Service Activities
Mr. Borders is a past president of the Santa Rosa United Youth Soccer Club (Division 1 competitive) and a member of the Santa Rosa Youth Athletic Field Trust, and organization that develops and restores youth athletic fields

Mr. Borders has also been involved in other community organizations, including acting as Vice President of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Sonoma County.
 

Wade joined Argo Group US, Inc. in May 2010 as in-house counsel primarily responsible for managing extra-contractual litigation against Argo Group US entities, and assisting with complex litigation, discovery, and subpoenas.He was a Panelist for “Bearing Witness: Navigating the Bad Faith Minefield During Trial” at the CLM Insurance Bad Faith and Coverage Conference, September 14, 2012.Previously, he was a complex business litigation attorney with an emphasis in coverage and defense of commercial general liability and property policies. Wade has represented insurance companies in state and federal trial and appellate litigation matters.Wade currently is Province 22 President for the International Legal Fraternity Phi Delta Phi and has been an Adjunct Professor of Advocacy at South Texas College of Law, his alma mater, where he has coached numerous moot court teams to state and national championships.Wade earned his undergraduate degree in Political Science and minor in Economics from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas where he was a member of Alpha Phi Omega.He graduated magna cum laude from South Texas College of Law as a member of South Texas Law Review, Order of the Lytae, the Langdell Scholar program, and was Magister of Phi Delta Phi’s Wood Inn. Wade also earned numerous awards as a member of South Texas College of Law’s nationally recognized varsity moot court program.

Wm Scott Patterson currently serves as in-house counsel for Zurich North America, advising Zurich on construction defect, general liability, and ocean marine insurance coverage matters, as well as extra-contractual claims, across the country. He is also involved in product development.

Scott began his legal career as a trial lawyer with Fowler, White in Tampa. He subsequently managed staff counsel operations for Amerisure and Auto-Owners. Scott then transitioned to coverage, ultimately on a national basis, first with CIGNA and then St. Paul, which brought him to Baltimore. He left St. Paul to start the Insurance Coverage Law Group, with offices in Maryland and Florida. Scott then returned in-house with Zurich.

Scott received his BA and JD, with honors, from Florida State University. He is admitted to practice before all state and federal courts in Florida, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.