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A View From the Top of the Tower:  Recognizing Bad Cases and Getting them Resolved

Presenters: 

Ted Schaer, Zarwin Baum DeVito Kaplan Schaer Toddy, P.C.

Ted has tried more than 50 trials to verdict in a number of states. He is an AV® rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell, a Certified Trial Attorney by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and has been consistently selected to the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Super Lawyers lists since 2006.

He is Board certified in Privacy and US Data Protection (CIPP/US). Ted advises clients on privacy and cyber related issues and leads the Firm’s data breach response team.
Ted completed the CLM Litigation Management Institute and has successfully obtained his Certified Litigation Management Professional designation (CLMP). Ted also received his Advanced Claims Professional designation in 2020.

He has been Board Certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy since 2006.
At Zarwin Baum, Ted serves as Director and Chair of Litigation and Chair of the Data Privacy and Cyber Security Group.

Theodore M. Schaer is regularly hired by some of the nation’s largest insurers, third party administrators, motor carriers and businesses to defend lawsuits. Since 1987, Ted has routinely defended GL, transportation, liquor liability, strict liability, and professional liability claims. He serves as National and Regional Counsel to several national accounts.
Under Ted’s guidance and supervision, Zarwin Baum has a uniquely experienced Catastrophic Accident Response Team (“CAT Team”) staffed 24/7, 365 days per year. Working with a team of experts and investigators, numerous carriers and self-insureds rely on Ted’s expertise to direct the CAT team’s early investigation and manage large claim exposure.

Tony Tutoni

Session A: Emerging Risks: Unintended Consequences When Artificial Intelligence and IoT Devices Collide

Presenters:

Beth Fitch, Righi Fitch Law Group

Elizabeth S. Fitch is a founding member of Righi Fitch Law Group. She is a trial attorney with over 33 years of civil defense experience and has the AV Preeminent Rating. Beth has defended numerous multimillion-dollar cases, ranging from catastrophic injuries to construction defect cases. She has represented all types of professionals, from lawyers to real estate appraisers. Because of her defense of insureds under general liability insurance policies, Beth has successfully handled the entire gamut of complex tort cases, ranging from construction mishaps to products liability. In 2017, Beth was selected as a Business Insurance Women to Watch Honoree, and in 2021 she was recognized again as a Southwest Super Lawyer, which makes that her ninth year in a row.
Beth is certified by the International Association of Privacy Professionals. The CIPP/US certification is the preeminent privacy credential in the US private sector. Beth counsels companies and insureds on cyber hygiene and data privacy, as well as cyber security best practices. She serves as a breach coach for cyber exploits and data breaches. Beth serves as the Co-Dean of the CLM School of Cyber Claims. She advises clients on privacy and cyber security involving PII, PHI, and PCI; serves as a breach coach; and leads the firm’s data response team.

The nature of complex civil and cyber litigation not only requires experience and knowledge about the substantive law but also requires sophistication in addressing the interrelated contractual and complex insurance issues. Beth has developed expertise in risk management and assists clients with risk transfer strategies.
Beth focuses her time working with clients on mitigation of cyber risks and strategic planning for the complex cases. Recognizing that clients are best served by quick case resolutions, at the outset of every case, she looks for innovative solutions to bring about the client’s desired result in an economical and expedient manner.

Beth is a third-generation Arizonan and comes from a long line of entrepreneurs. Her family started several successful retail businesses and owned cattle ranches. As a result, she understands the business needs of clients and applies entrepreneurial principles to her practice.

Jennifer Thomas, Van De Poel, Levy, Thomas LLP

Jennifer is one of the firm’s top litigators and trial counsel. She obtained her B.A. degree from the University of Oregon in Journalism and her J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law, IIT. Jennifer is licensed to practice in both state and federal courts in California and Illinois.

Specializing in complex product and premises liability cases, transportation litigation and employment cases, Jennifer’s legal experience brings a wealth of litigation and trial support to the firm’s clients. She has handled multi-million dollar transportation, wrongful death, products and premises liability cases in both state and federal court, representing local, national, and international corporations and organizations. She represents private industry, insurance companies, and self-insured corporations of all sizes while litigating and resolving high-profile cases.

Jennifer is lead for the firm’s 24/7 emergency responses team which handles all types of catastrophic accidents as well as media relations. She promotes early resolution when possible, through litigation tactics and early settlement discussions. She is also very successful in obtaining winning results for her clients through motions and pre-trial strategy, having many cases dismissed or settled following rulings on motions. She has also obtained defense judgments following court trials on technical legal issues in addition to defense verdicts in high-exposure jury trials.

In addition to providing advice and counsel to clients, businesses, and risk managers, Jennifer has presented seminars in the United States and United Kingdom to organizations and businesses on trial strategy and risk reduction techniques and has authored articles on liability topics and other legal updates. She is a member of many defense related organizations as well as the State Bar of California, The Illinois State Bar, Contra Costa County Bar Association, ADC of Northern California, International Association of Defense Counsel, Themis Advocates Group, TIDA, Phi Alpha Delta, Sigma Kappa Sorority and Order of Omega.

Lars Daniel, Envista Forensics 

Mr. Lars Daniel is the Practice Leader of the Digital Forensics Division. Mr. Daniel is the co-author of the book Digital Forensics for Legal Professionals: Understanding Digital Evidence from the Warrant to the Courtroom, published by Syngess. He is also co-author of the book Digital Forensics Trial Graphics: Educating the Jury Through Effective Use of Visuals, Published by Academic Press. Mr. Daniel has qualified as an expert witness and testified in both state and federal courts, qualifying as a digital forensics expert, computer forensics expert, cell phone forensics expert, video forensics expert, and photo forensics expert. He has testified for both the defense and prosecution in criminal cases and the plaintiff and defense in civil cases. Mr. Daniel has provided training to many thousands of attorneys and claims professionals with over 300 classes taught, providing CLE (Continuing Legal Education) and CE (Continuing Education) classes Across the United States. 

Amanda Patton, GAIG

Amanda began her career working full time as a law clerk at a Personal Injury Firm in downtown Cincinnati while attending Chase College of Law’s evening part time program. She graduated Summa Cum Laude and continued with the firm as an Associate Attorney. She represented Plaintiffs in both Kentucky and Ohio and has argued before the Ohio Appellate Courts. In February of 2022, she switched careers and began working in insurance. Amanda handles Complex Casualty claims for Great American’s Alternative Market Division and prefers a hands-on approach working with Defense Counsel to develop case strategies. 

Session B: Strategies to Maximize the Use of an Expert

Presenters:

Daniel Church, Morrow, Willnauer, Church

Dan has tried more than 75 cases before juries and represented clients in civil trials in 15 states. He is also national counsel for bad faith and asbestos cases. His practice areas include Corporate and Business, Insurance, Personal Injury, Products Liability, Professional Liability, Toxic Tort Litigation, Railroad, and Transportation. 

Dan is a speaker on legal topics including association law, ethics and values in the workplace, negotiating employment contracts, negotiating severance agreements, bad faith insurance, wrongful death issues, and federal civil procedure. He also authors codes of ethics for professional associations and boards of directors. 

Melissa Lin, Righi Fitch Law Group

Melissa Lin is a partner at Right Fitch Law Group and has earned the AV Preeminent Rating. Her practice includes insurance coverage and the representation of individuals, businesses, contractors, and municipalities in tort and contract litigation, primarily in the areas of general liability, personal injury, employment, construction defect, and product liability litigation. She was peer selected as a Best Lawyer in America in Construction Law for 2021-2022, and honored as a 2012-2019 Southwest Super Lawyers Rising Star. In 2018 the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) recognized her as one of the nineteen Best Under Forty attorneys in the country for her prominence and distinction in the practice of law and her demonstrated commitment to Asian Pacific American civic or community affairs. In 2013 she was named to Lawyers of Color’s Inaugural Hot List for the Western Region, and as one of the top valley attorneys in Phoenix by North Valley magazine. She has spoken and been published both locally and nationally on legal writing, diversity and construction law.
Melissa is especially adept at dealing with difficult individuals and scenarios. In situations where most attorneys would snap and let their emotions take over, she is able to calmly diffuse the situation and move the case forward to the benefit of the client. She is a skilled counselor that is able to analyze complex matters and provide clear explanations and solutions for clients.

Her strong analytical skills have guided multiple carriers in evaluating difficult and complicated coverage claims. She has successfully assisted employers, dealing with complex discrimination and hostile work environment charges and navigating EEOC investigations. Her ability to effectively defend, litigate, and negotiate on behalf of clients is the result of her well-established reputation in the legal community as an accomplished and honest attorney.

Session A: The Attorney-Insurance Carrier Relationship: Are We Partners or Enemies? 

Presenters:

Howard Klar, Gallo, Vitucci & Klar, LLP

One of the founding members of Gallo Vitucci Klar LLP and current Managing Partner, Howard has over 25 years of experience in complex civil litigation cases including construction defense, transportation, insurance coverage, premises cases, professional liability and product liability matters.

Howard’s area of expertise includes high exposure and sensitive litigation arising out of the defense of general contractors in the New York City crane collapse cases, common carrier litigation and products liability defense. Howard was appointed as lead counsel to formulate and successfully execute the global settlement resulting out of the 2008 East 51st crane collapse which caused numerous fatalities and extensive and costly property damage. He also defended one of the country’s largest bus companies when its double decker bus crashed into a Syracuse bridge resulting in fatalities and catastrophic injuries, as well as defending one of the country’s largest big box stores in numerous product liability cases brought by plaintiffs alleging both severe and disfiguring burns caused by alleged improperly designed decorative “liquid gel” candles.

Under Howard’s leadership, GVK has tripled its numbers and expanded its offices to include New York City, New Jersey, Westchester and Long Island. By fostering the addition of non-traditional practice groups and adding attorneys who promote the highest level of skill and expertise, Howard maintains a philosophy and culture that fosters economic efficiency on behalf of GVK’s clients.

Howard is a founding member and a leader of the Themis Advocates Group, a national network of elite insurance defense litigators in most of the major cities in the US. Themis provides GVK with a national footprint that many regional firms lack, high-level educational opportunities and an enhanced means of communication for its insurance and self-insured defense clients. Howard has been a regular presenter on varied insurance topics at Themis Conferences around the country.

Howard has annually been named one of New York’s “Super Lawyers” since 2011, an honor received by only five percent of New York lawyers each year. Howard is a 1989 graduate of Boston University School of Law and a 1986 graduate of Emory University.

Michael 'Maz' Mazurczak, Melick & Porter, LLP

Maz has been at Melick & Porter his entire legal career. He began as a Law Clerk in the summer of 1988 and joined the firm as an Associate in the fall of 1989.
Maz has extensive experience in complex civil litigation matters, representing clients in both federal and state courts for over 30 years. A significant portion of his practice involves employment law and includes providing major national corporations with oversight and defense of their employment litigation. Much of that entails early and quick evaluation and resolution of claims or lawsuits by private mediation. He also defends companies on housing discrimination, sexual harassment, and a wide variety of wrongful termination, discrimination, and retaliation claims.

Maz also represents national youth organizations and private schools throughout New England on negligence claims involving sexual abuse. Maz has handled, defended, and tried dozens of cases involving premises liability, liquor liability, construction litigation, gasoline contamination, oil spills, asbestos, product liability, and other complex litigation.
A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Maz obtained both his B.A. and J.D. from Marquette University. During law school, he served as the Executive Editor of both the Marquette Law Review and the Journal of the National Sports Law Institute. He published a Comment in the Marquette Law Review on Rule 11 sanctions in the Seventh Circuit. He also published an article in the Illinois Bar Journal on obscenity law. While in law school, Maz interned for Judge John L. Coffey of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. At graduation, Maz was honored with the Dean's Award for Outstanding Service to the Law School and Profession.

Maz continues to be an active contributor to legal scholarship. He is a frequent author in the National Retail and Restaurant Defense Association newsletter. Maz is also a frequent speaker for national insurance companies and insurance trade associations on topics such as early mediation, employment litigation, toxic torts, and defense of sexual abuse cases. He has also lectured for the national Non-Profit Risk Management Institute in Washington, D.C.

Maz is a Senior Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, an invitation-only national trial lawyer honorary society, was also elected a Member of the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel after an extensive peer review selection process. Maz has been consistently recognized by Massachusetts, New England, and national Super Lawyers which are annual listings of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. He has been recognized as a 2022 Best Lawyers for his work in Litigation - Insurance and Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants.

Maz volunteers at Justice Bridge, mentoring recent law school graduates who are providing legal representation to individuals of modest means. He is also an avid college and professional sports fan and loves his Green Bay Packers and Boston Red Sox.

Michele Fenice, Chubb

Michele Fenice is Vice President, EPLI Claim Leader at Chubb. Michele leads a team of lawyers and insurance professionals handling employment practices liability litigation matters. Michele joined the organization in May 2004.

Before to joining Chubb, Michele spent time at Gulf Insurance Group, Bear Stearns and AIG. Michele was also an associate with the law firm of Gorlick, Kravitz & Listhaus.

Michele received her law degree from New York Law School and her undergraduate degree from Albright College.

Michele serves on the Board of Step Up.

Session B: The Tech ToolBox: Game Changer Investigation Methods to Uncover Deception

Presenters:

Donna Burden, Burden, Hafner & Hansen, LLC

Donna L. Burden is an experienced trial attorney and a founding member of Burden, Hafner & Hansen, LLC. She practices throughout New York State in the areas of trucking and transportation negligence, automobile liability, labor law, employment law, sexual harassment and discrimination, school law, products liability, medical device, municipal law/government liability, professional liability and premises liability. She has approximately 30 years’ experience defending against catastrophic personal injury claims.

Ms. Burden is a frequent presenter on and instructor in trial advocacy skills, including on topics such as transportation law (trucking and buses), traumatic brain injury/mild traumatic brain injury, emergency response, handling life-care plans at trial and employment law matters. She speaks on a variety of topics at seminars and conferences held by national defense counsel organizations and groups such as DRI and IADC, and also including groups focused on the transportation industry, such as TIDA, CTLA and the Arkansas Trucking Seminar.

Ms. Burden has participated in mock trials, mock mediations and other presentations through the Themis Advocates Group. She is a frequent contributor to various national newsletters and publications on a variety of topics, including transportation, product liability, toxic tort and cyber liability.

Ms. Burden was nominated to the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) in 2011 and was elected to the Board of Directors at the IADC’s 2022 Annual Meeting in Berlin, Germany. She also currently serves as vice president of the IADC Foundation. Previously, she served as the IADC’s Social Justice Pro Bono Committee vice chair of membership, and in numerous roles with the organization’s Transportation Committee, including as chair, vice chair of programs and projects, and vice chair of trucking. In addition, she served in 2016 as a member of the IADC’s Board of Directors Nominating Committee, and in 2015 as a member of the IADC’s Trial Academy faculty.

An accomplished trucking law attorney, Ms. Burden has also been selected for membership in the Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA), the only international organization devoted to the defense of the trucking industry in personal injury, property damage, and workers’ compensation claims, and is serving a third term on the Board of Directors and is also General Counsel.

Ms. Burden coordinates the Burden, Hafner & Hansen Emergency Response Team, which includes attorneys, field adjusters and accident reconstruction experts. The team is available 24/7 to handle all kinds of catastrophic loss response, including in major trucking, busing and automobile accidents; product failure; falls; and other incidents involving significant injury or loss of life.

Lara Lickhalter, Cassiday Schade, LLP

Lara Lickhalter is a partner in the firm's Chicago office and Chair of the firm's Business Development Committee. Lara represents companies from a wide range of industries, including retail, insurance and transportation. She concentrates her practice in the area of transportation, representing motor carriers, logistics providers, commercial and contract carriers, and cab companies in areas of bodily injury, property damage, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and DOT requirements.

Lara has significant experience in immediate response, preparing on-site defense strategy, coordinating the securing of evidence and experts, and responding to catastrophic losses throughout Illinois.

Lara is a member of the Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA). Membership is offered to distinguished attorneys with a major portion of their current practice dedicated to trucking defense work and are recommended and sponsored by TIDA members and clients. She is also a member of DRI- Trucking Law Committee, Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) and Themis Advocates Group.

Lars Daniel, Envista Forensics

Mr. Lars Daniel is the Practice Leader of the Digital Forensics Division. Mr. Daniel is the co-author of the book Digital Forensics for Legal Professionals: Understanding Digital Evidence from the Warrant to the Courtroom, published by Syngess. He is also co-author of the book Digital Forensics Trial Graphics: Educating the Jury Through Effective Use of Visuals, Published by Academic Press. Mr. Daniel has qualified as an expert witness and testified in both state and federal courts, qualifying as a digital forensics expert, computer forensics expert, cell phone forensics expert, video forensics expert, and photo forensics expert. He has testified for both the defense and prosecution in criminal cases and the plaintiff and defense in civil cases. Mr. Daniel has provided training to many thousands of attorneys and claims professionals with over 300 classes taught, providing CLE (Continuing Legal Education) and CE (Continuing Education) classes Across the United States.

Curt DeVries, Fraud Sniffr, Inc.

Curt DeVries is the founding president of Fraud Sniffr, Inc., a hybrid human/technology startup which has revolutionized social media surveillance for insurance companies and law firms throughout the USA. Founded in 2013, the company has seen nearly 100% YOY growth for 8 years in a row.

His background as a claims manager with 30 years experience in handling property, liability, and workers compensations claims as well as his work with TPAs has provided experiential knowledge of the jurisdictional issues and the need to streamline workflows facing claims programs in nearly every state in the country.

Specialties: Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). I also have 26 years of experience with complex liability claims nationwide. I am familiar with Sedgwick, Gallagher Bassett, Crawford, SRS, Cambridge and Corvel operating systems.

Diversity Presentation

Moderator: Jaion Chung, Poole Shaffery

Jaion Chung is a Partner in the Los Angeles and Orange County offices of Poole Shaffery.

She upholds the firm’s service oriented approach in dealing with all aspects of civil litigation, whether responding to an emergency involving a catastrophic injury (as part of the firm’s emergency response program), to obtaining verdicts, and having judgments affirmed on appeal. As a civil defense litigator whose primary areas of practice include trucking accident claims, cargo claims, product liability, and general liability, Jaion works with her clients to obtain practical resolutions in an effective and efficient manner.

Jaion has been consecutively recognized as a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers Magazine between 2012 and 2017.

Jaion is a member of International Association of Defense Counsel, an invitation-only, peer reviewed group of approximately 2,500 members consisting of the world’s leading corporate and insurance lawyers and insurance executives.

Jaion also belongs to the Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA), a nonprofit association dedicated to sharing knowledge and resources for defense of the trucking industry.

Jaion is also a member of Themis Advocates Group, a national network of preeminent law firms.

In her spare time, Jaion enjoys anything related to food, from cooking to dining out. She also enjoys traveling and experiencing new cultures.

Presenters:

Alma Aguirre, Sheehy, Ware, Pappas & Grubbs

Ms. Aguirre has been in practice for twenty years and is dedicated to litigating matters on behalf of defendants. In addition to her trial experience, she has worked on several appellate matters with favorable results. Her work is divided between commercial matters, personal injury claims, employer’s liability, and first party insurance defense.

As part of her work on employer’s liability cases, she has represented employers in litigation with OSHA following fatality or catastrophic loss events. Her personal injury experience includes a number of premises liability claims for a large commercial retail space investment firm and one of the largest grocery chains in Texas. Some of her other clients are trucking companies, contractors, builders, apartment complexes, and field services providers. Her work on first party insurance defense includes catastrophic loss claims, property damage and uninsured/underinsured motorist claims.

Ms. Aguirre joined the firm in 2010 having spent the first 9 years of her practice working for a Houston defense firm where she concentrated on commercial litigation, transactional litigation for small businesses, employment and wage/hour matters, and toxic tort litigation. Her commercial litigation practice included defending a number of matters relating to damages to telecommunications infrastructures.

Ms. Aguirre moved to Houston in 1990 to attend college at the University of Houston. She grew up in San Salvador, El Salvador where she lived until she completed her secondary education in the country’s premier Catholic education institution. She maintains close ties to her country of origin and makes available her experience assisting Salvadoran business owners and entrepreneurs in the Houston area.

Donna Burden, Burden, Hafner & Hansen, LLC

Donna L. Burden is an experienced trial attorney and a founding member of Burden, Hafner & Hansen, LLC. She practices throughout New York State in the areas of trucking and transportation negligence, automobile liability, labor law, employment law, sexual harassment and discrimination, school law, products liability, medical device, municipal law/government liability, professional liability and premises liability. She has approximately 30 years’ experience defending against catastrophic personal injury claims.

Ms. Burden is a frequent presenter on and instructor in trial advocacy skills, including on topics such as transportation law (trucking and buses), traumatic brain injury/mild traumatic brain injury, emergency response, handling life-care plans at trial and employment law matters. She speaks on a variety of topics at seminars and conferences held by national defense counsel organizations and groups such as DRI and IADC, and also including groups focused on the transportation industry, such as TIDA, CTLA and the Arkansas Trucking Seminar.

Ms. Burden has participated in mock trials, mock mediations and other presentations through the Themis Advocates Group. She is a frequent contributor to various national newsletters and publications on a variety of topics, including transportation, product liability, toxic tort and cyber liability.

Ms. Burden was nominated to the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) in 2011 and was elected to the Board of Directors at the IADC’s 2022 Annual Meeting in Berlin, Germany. She also currently serves as vice president of the IADC Foundation. Previously, she served as the IADC’s Social Justice Pro Bono Committee vice chair of membership, and in numerous roles with the organization’s Transportation Committee, including as chair, vice chair of programs and projects, and vice chair of trucking. In addition, she served in 2016 as a member of the IADC’s Board of Directors Nominating Committee, and in 2015 as a member of the IADC’s Trial Academy faculty.

An accomplished trucking law attorney, Ms. Burden has also been selected for membership in the Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA), the only international organization devoted to the defense of the trucking industry in personal injury, property damage, and workers’ compensation claims, and is serving a third term on the Board of Directors and is also General Counsel.

Ms. Burden coordinates the Burden, Hafner & Hansen Emergency Response Team, which includes attorneys, field adjusters and accident reconstruction experts. The team is available 24/7 to handle all kinds of catastrophic loss response, including in major trucking, busing and automobile accidents; product failure; falls; and other incidents involving significant injury or loss of life.

Flavia Pemberton, Ascot Group

Flavia Pemberton, JD, is vice president of environmental claims for Ascot Group.