Expert Details
Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith
ID: 736628
Colorado, USA
He is a published author of three full length legal treatises on insurance coverage published in 2007 and 2019.
He is also a published author of 40+ articles published by Risk Management Magazine, The Legal Intelligencer, Pennsylvania Law Weekly, Insurance Coverage Law Bulletin, Risk and Insurance, Corporate Counsel Magazine, American Banker, Practical Accountant, Partner Advisory Advantage, Insurance Services Office, BNA's Corporate Counsel Weekly, National Business Institute, Environmental Protection, Environmental Claims Journal, Real Estate Finance, ICFAI Journal of Insurance Law, Pennsylvania Law Weekly, Lorman Education, and Design Green Construction. The topics of his writings involve cutting edge insurance issues for both commercial and personal lines of insurance including, among other things, first party property insurance, business interruption insurance, general liability, directors and officers liability, errors and omissions or professional liability insurance, and surety bonds, among others.
He regularly lectures on topics within his area of expertise both in person around the country and remotely via video. His lecture topics have included insurance coverage for Covid-19 losses, tenant liability insurance, insurance for financial crisis and subprime losses, insurance for real estate and construction liabilities, first party property insurance, business interruption insurance, general liability insurance, directors and officers liability insurance, errors and omissions or professional liability insurance, and loss control, among other things:
• Insurance for Losses Caused By the Novel Coronavirus
• Insurance for Losses Caused By the Covid-19 Pandemic
• Insurance for Covid-19 Losses
• Tenant Liability Insurance Webinar
• Subprime and Punishment: Insurance Issues and the Credit Crisis, Law Journal Newsletter Audio-Conference
• Insurance Coverage for Shopping Centers, International Council of Shopping Centers Breakfast Roundtable at the University Shopping Centers Conference
• First Party Insurance, National Business Institute’s Real Estate For the Estate Planning Professional Seminar
• Key Issues Affecting D&O and E&O Liability Insurance, AKO Policyholder Advisor Conference Maximizing Your Insurance Recovery Seminar
• Insurance 101, Lorman Education Services’ Seminar on AIA Contracts In Pennsylvania
• Insurance Coverage Issues, National Business Institute’s Real Estate Law: Advanced Issues and Answers
• Insurance Coverage For Real Estate-Related Businesses, National Business Institute’s Real Estate Law: Advanced Issues and Answers
• Legal and Insurance Considerations Regarding Construction In America, World Trade Center Montreal’s Construction Industry Mission
• Insurance Primer for Construction Professionals, Lorman Education Services’ Seminar on Understanding the Construction Bidding Process in Pennsylvania
• Legal and Insurance Considerations, Lorman Education Services’ Seminar on Understanding the Construction Bidding Process in Pennsylvania
• First-Party Property And Business Interruption Insurance, National Business Institute’s Seminar on Insurance Coverage Law In Pennsylvania
• Third-Party Insurance: CGL, D&O, and E&O Coverage, National Business Institute’s Seminar on Insurance Coverage Law In Pennsylvania
• Extra Contractual Liability, National Business Institute’s Seminar on Insurance Coverage Law In Pennsylvania
• Ethical Considerations in Insurance, National Business Institute’s Seminar on Insurance Coverage Law In Pennsylvania
• Issues in Pennsylvania Bad Faith Law, AKO Insurance Coverage for Financial Institutions Seminar
• Direct Physical Loss or Damage And Collapse, AKO and AKLA Presents: Properly Handling Property Losses: Strategies for Maximizing Your Recovery
• Current Issues in D&O and E&O Liability Insurance, Turnaround Management Association Breakfast Seminar
• The Sword And The Shield: Current Issues In The Litigation Of Loss Control, ISO’s Engineering & Safety Loss Control Executive Forum
• Responding To Reservations of Rights Letters And Professional Liability Insurance Issues, AKO Annual Policyholders Advisors Conference
• Current Issues in Directors and Officers Liability Insurance, AKO Insurance Coverage for Financial Institutions Seminar
His professional career includes practicing as a lawyer in one law firm for nearly 13 years representing policyholders in disputes with their insurance companies. He was known as a creative problem solver for policyholders finding ways to coverage that were not necessarily apparent at first blush. He worked tirelessly to find the case law to support the position being advanced and/or found the needle in the haystack of discovery.
After leaving private practice in 2007, he moved in house and has been in various in-house legal role since mid-2007. He has been an in house lawyer for a fortune 500 telecommunications company, a city, and currently is the General Counsel of a large nonprofit entity in the financial services industry. In these roles, he has served, in addition to lawyer, as risk manager and procurer of insurance, internal claims handler of insured litigation and manager of a large outside third party administrator (TPA) to help manage the claims under commercial GL, Auto, and Workers Comp policies. This has given him an unique and different perspective on appropriate claims handling in the industry.
Education
| Year | Degree | Subject | Institution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year: 1992 | Degree: JD | Subject: Law | Institution: Loyola Marymount University Law School |
| Year: 1989 | Degree: BA | Subject: Economics | Institution: UC Berkeley |
Work History
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: 2011 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: General Counsel | Department: |
Responsibilities:- Oversight of all legal affairs of the organization, including, among other things, advising and counseling senior management on all legal issues, drafting reviewing, and advising on transactions (vendor, affiliation, insurance, and other agreements), drafting, reviewing, and advising on corporate governance matters, managing the relevant intellectual property portfolio, including filings and enforcement, and managing litigation- Risk management and insurance procurement for the organization - Management of governmental and regulatory advocacy on issues germane to the organization - Management of admissions and disciplinary processes for CIMA®, CIMC®, CPWA® and RMA(SM) certifications, which includes, among other things, ensuring promulgation of appropriate guidelines, procedures, and rules, conducting internal investigations, understanding regulatory, legal, and compliance issues confronted by financial services professionals, managing hearings and admissions conferences, and drafting written decisions - Maintenance of standards for the professional certifications, including ensuring continued ANSI accreditation for the CIMA certification - Managing the organization’s complaint process - Conducting and drafting internal audit reports - Managing one paralegal and two administrative support staff - Attained Accredited Investment Fiduciary or AIF® designation |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2011 to 2011 | Employer: City of Colorado Springs, Colorado | Title: Deputy City Attorney | Department: |
Responsibilities:- Managed Litigation Division of six lawyers and two paralegals, including, among other things, overseeing all aspects of their work; setting division and office goals; and designing processes to achieve annual budgets- Managed all phases of litigation as first chair, including formulating trial/case/appellate strategy; assessing for settlement; drafting pleadings, motions, discovery, and briefs; assisting with document production; attending as first chair mediations, trials, hearings, depositions, arbitrations, and appeals; negotiating deals and settlements; reviewing agreements and other business documents; advising and counseling client - Responsible for cases and advice in a wide variety of subject matters including personal injury and property damage; insurance; labor and employment; workers compensation; contracts; construction; civil rights; municipal law |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2007 to 2011 | Employer: DISH Network LLC | Title: Director and Senior Corporate Counsel | Department: |
Responsibilities:- Managed litigation either personally or through outside counsel (depending upon matter’s size, complexity and jurisdiction); oversaw, approved, and directed outside counsel on all phases of litigation; reviewed and approved budgets and invoices; approved reserves set by TPA; formulated trial/case strategy; assessed for settlement; assisted in and drafted pleadings and motions; assisted with document production; attended as both first and second chairs mediations, trials, hearings, depositions, and arbitrations; performed investigations and reported results to senior executives; oversaw subpoena responses; negotiated deals and settlements; reviewed agreements and other business documents; reviewed and drafted new business rules; and advised business leaders at two publicly traded entities- Responsible for all of Dish Network’s insured litigation and claims involving insurance, subrogation, and indemnity - Experience in wide variety of other cases, including antitrust and competitor matters; piracy; programming; telecommunications-regulatory submissions; insurance recovery and subrogation; marketing and internet; IT, vendor, retailer, and subcontractor disputes; employment; real estate; bankruptcy; workers’ compensation; contract and commercial; patent, trademark, and copyright; warranty; taxation; consumer protection, debt collection, and credit reporting; TCPA disputes; customer billing; regulatory and government affairs - Helped manage a litigation group of four lawyers, three paralegals, and two administrative assistants, including setting goals and designing processes to achieve annual budgets and goals |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1994 to 2007 | Employer: Anderson Kill & Olick, P.C. | Title: Partner | Department: |
Responsibilities:- Practice concentrated primarily in insurance recovery and bad faith litigation, including work under many kinds of P&C insurance policies, including general liability, first-party property, business interruption, builders risk, professional liability, D&O liability, EPLI, and workers compensation- Managed, as both first and second chairs, multi-party cases through all phases of litigation, including mediation, arbitration, trial, appeal, settlement, assessment, planning, strategy, research and writing, investigation and analysis, pleadings, written discovery, depositions, motion practice, oral arguments, negotiations, and presentation of evidence |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1992 to 1994 | Employer: US District Court (ED PA) | Title: Law Clerk | Department: |
Responsibilities:- Researched and drafted jury charges, memoranda, orders, and opinions involving a variety of criminal and civil issues.- Attended, prepared the Judge for, and assisted the Judge in conferences, hearings, arguments, sentencings, and trials. - Acquired skills in motion practice, case management, legal research and writing, and federal procedure. |
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Career Accomplishments
| Licenses / Certifications |
|---|
| Member in good standing of: The Bars of the Supreme Courts of California (1/8/93) Colorado (7/28/08) Pennsylvania (5/18/93) The United States Courts of Appeals for the Third (6/12/95) and Sixth (11/19/96) Circuits The United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (6/30/93) The District of Colorado (5/18/09) Attained AIF(R) designation July 1, 2015 |
| Publications and Patents Summary |
|---|
| Extensive list of publications. Treatise: 3 Periodicals: 40 Oral Presentations: 24 |
Fields of Expertise
bad faith, bad faith insurance, bad faith claim, auto insurance, builder's risk insurance, business insurance, casualty insurance, commercial insurance, construction insurance claim, directors and officers liability insurance, errors and omissions insurance, employment insurance, excess and surplus insurance, fire insurance, general liability insurance, insurance, insurance claim handling, accreditation ISO 17024, certification, surety bond, aircraft insurance, automotive insurance, condo insurance, insurance for Covid-19 losses, disability insurance, crop insurance, earthquake insurance, flood insurance, house insurance, insurable value, insurance agency, insurance agency evaluation, insurance agency management, insurance arbitration, insurance brokering, insurance claim, insurance audit, insurance claim audit, insurance claims adjusting, insurance compliance, insurance consulting, insurance contract, insurance coverage, insurance defense, insurance dispute, insurance error, insurance fraud, insurance industry, insurance investigation, insurance law, insurance licensing, insurance litigation, insurance operations, insurance property claims, insurance regulation, insurance sales practice, international insurance, key person insurance, liability insurance, life insurance, life insurance claim, loss of use insurance, marine insurance, monoline bond insurance, no-fault insurance, no-fault injury, P&C insurance, property insurance, real estate insurance, reinsurance, surplus lines insurance, terrorism insurance, self-insurance plan, insurance underwriting, title insurance, title insurance claim, travel insurance, total permanent disability insurance