Insurance litigation procedures and challenges are as diverse as they are extensive. Do you have the all the knowledge you need to effectively navigate the system? This engaging overview will walk you through the litigation process step-by-step and simplify some of the more confusing issues of coverage and settlement strategy. Order today!

1. Insurance Coverage Contract Language 101
2. Case Evaluation and Pre-Litigation Steps
3. Initial Pleadings/Motions - Filing the Suit
4. Discovery of the Insurance Case - Quantifying Damages/Loss
5. Settlement Strategies
6. Taking Your Insurance Claim to Trial and Further
7. Ethical Considerations

Continuing Education Credits:   

* denotes specialty credits

1. INSURANCE COVERAGE CONTRACT LANGUAGE 101
   9:00 - 9:40, Christopher M. Gaughan
   1. Common Terms, Coverage Limits and Exclusions
   2. Spotting Red Flags – Clauses to Look out For
   3. Insurer's Duty to Defend Standard
   4. Insurer's Duty to Indemnify
   5. Triggers of Coverage
   6. Insured's Rights and Protections – Standard Policy Provisions
   7. Insurance Coverage Case Law Update
2. CASE EVALUATION AND PRE-LITIGATION STEPS
   9:40 - 10:20, James S. Manning
   1. Case Intake and Informal Investigation Tactics
   2. Finding Sources and Limits of Coverage
   3. Negotiating the Claim With the Claimant/Insurance Company
   4. Tendering a Claim for Defense
   5. Insurance Company Claim Investigation
   6. Denial of Coverage and its Potential Consequences for Both Sides
3. INITIAL PLEADINGS/MOTIONS – FILING THE SUIT
   10:35 - 11:20, James S. Manning
   1. Venue, Jurisdiction, Choice of Law
   2. Notice of Suit to the Insurance Company
   3. What to Include With Your Initial Filing
   4. Filing a Dispositive Motion (Summary Judgment or Dismissal)
   5. Action for Declaratory Relief
4. DISCOVERY OF THE INSURANCE CASE – QUANTIFYING DAMAGES/LOSS
   11:20 - 12:15, Michael J. Mohlman and Rachel E. Smith
   1. Statutory Standards
   2. Obtaining Records – What, Where and How
   3. Preservation and Spoliation of Evidence
   4. Witnesses – Lay and Expert
   5. Insurer's Right to the Documents of the Case in Which its Insured is the Defendant
   6. Using Experts to Calculate Past and Future Losses
   7. Punitive Damages
   8. Proving the Presence or Absence of Bad Faith
5. SETTLEMENT STRATEGIES
   1:15 - 2:15, Written by Joel R. Mosher. Presented by Douglas S. Beck
   1. Mandatory Mediation/Arbitration and Weighing the Pros and Cons of Optional Arbitration/Mediation
   2. When Only Certain Clauses Require Arbitration
   3. Settlement vs. Mediation Tactics
   4. Effective Motion Strategies
   5. Arguing “Ambiguity in Policy”
   6. Settlement Conference Tactics
   7. Settlement Documents
   8. Subrogation of Recoveries to Medical and Third Party Liens
6. TAKING YOUR INSURANCE CLAIM TO TRIAL AND FURTHER
   2:30 - 3:30, Michael J. Mohlman and Brett Coonrod
   1. Jury Selection
   2. Effective Opening Statements
   3. Testimony – Whom to Choose for Your Side and How to Handle the Cross-Examination
   4. Introducing Evidence and Expert Reports
   5. Objections – Substance, Timing, Phrasing
   6. Closings
   7. Appeals
7. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
   3:30 - 4:30, Christopher M. Gaughan
   1. Conflicts of Interest
      1. Representing Adverse Interests
      2. Loyalty to a Client vs. Conflicts of Interest That Arise After Engagement Agreement's Signed
      3. Consultation and Consent
      4. Ethical Traps in Representing the Insured at the Insurer's Expense
      5. Conflicts of Interest With Former Clients – Defining “Substantially Related” Matters
      6. Principles of Imputed Disqualification
      7. Conflicts Arising From Witness Contacts
      8. Resolving Conflicts of Interest
   2. Confidentiality
   3. Ethical Traps When Lawyers Change Firms
   4. When a Lawyer May Testify (The Dangers of Combining the Roles of Advocate and Witness)
   5. Communicating With Unrepresented Interested Parties
   6. Attorneys' Fees

DOUGLAS S. BECK is a partner with the Kansas City law firm Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P., where he practices in the areas of tort litigation, reinsurance and insurance coverage litigation and commercial litigation. Mr. Beck's insurance practice involves primary insurance, umbrella and excess insurance, and reinsurance. He offers expertise in all aspects of coverage and coverage litigation, including providing coverage opinions, reservation of rights and denial letters, and litigating declaratory judgment actions and breach of contract and bad faith claims. His experience includes general liability, professional liability, directors and officers, errors and omissions, and property policies, as well as specialty policies such as food borne illness policies. Mr. Beck is also knowledgeable concerning facultative and treaty reinsurance agreements. Mr. Beck has authored "Misrepresentation: Negligent and Intentional," which is published in Missouri Bar CLE Handbook and he was awarded the Volunteer Attorney Project Award. He was named a Rising Star, by Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers for 2010. He is a member of the American Bar Association, The Missouri Bar and the Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers. Mr. Beck earned his B.S. degree from Duke University, his M.S. degree, in physics, from the University of Oregon and his J.D. degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law.

BRETT C. COONROD is an attorney with Smith Coonrod Mohlman, LLC. He has extensive litigation experience and currently represents individuals and businesses as both plaintiffs and defendants in all aspects of civil litigation, including personal injury. He previously practiced insurance defense work for many years, and has experience in toxic tort, real estate, franchise and general business litigation. Mr. Coonrod has successfully tried numerous cases in both state and federal courts. He is active in the Northeast Johnson County community, serving as General Counsel of the Northeast Johnson County Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Coonrod is a member of The Missouri Bar, Kansas Bar Association, American Bar Association and the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association. He is currently admitted to practice law in Kansas and Missouri. Mr. Coonrod earned his undergraduate degree from the University of North Texas and his J.D. degree from the University of Kansas School of Law.

CHRISTOPHER M. GAUGHAN is a founding member of Gaughan & Cundiff LLC, where his main areas of practice are insurance coverage litigation, personal injury litigation and property damage litigation. Mr. Gaughan has extensive experience litigating insurance coverage disputes in the areas of automobile coverage, homeowner's coverage, liability and commercial liability coverage, and excess coverage. He has also previously presented for National Business Institute on multiple occasions, including addressing insurance coverage litigation. Mr. Gaughan earned his B.S. degree from Rockhurst University and his J.D. degree from the University of Missouri. He is a member of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, The Missouri Bar and the Kansas Bar Association.

JAMES S. MANNING is owner of The Law Offices of James Manning, PC, where he maintains a trial practice in Harrisonville, Cass County, Missouri; focused exclusively on plaintiff's personal injury and insurance coverage litigation. Mr. Manning started his firm after spending several years working as an insurance defense attorney. He handles a high volume of matters involving motor vehicle accidents, dog bites, dangerous premises, dangerous products and general negligence. Mr. Manning has represented plaintiff's in litigation involving bad faith, the stacking of uninsured and underinsured policy coverages, and the nature and extent of property damage coverage. He has litigated cases in the state and federal courts of Missouri, including the United States Court of Appeals.

MICHAEL J. MOHLMAN is an attorney with Smith Coonrod Mohlman, LLC, where he focuses his practice on the areas of plaintiff's personal injury, auto accidents/truck wrecks, nursing home negligence and medical malpractice litigation. Mr. Mohlman has litigated in Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Illinois, Texas, California, Massachusetts and Wisconsin. He is the former chair of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association's Nursing Home Negligence Committee and former president of Missouri Watch, a consumer rights organization dedicated to protecting the rights of individuals from wealthy special-interest lobbies. Mr. Mohlman is a member of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, The Missouri Bar, the Kansas Bar Association, the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys and the American Association for Justice. He wrote the Missouri Bar Civil Procedure Deskbook chapters on interrogatories and depositions, requests for production of documents, and requests for admission. Mr. Mohlman earned his B.A. degree from Harvard University and his J.D. degree from the University of Kansas Law School, where he wrote for the University of Kansas Law Review and was invited to join the Order of the Coif.

RACHEL E. SMITH is an attorney with Smith Coonrod Mohlman, LLC. Her main area of practice is representing plaintiffs in personal injury litigation. Ms. Smith also works with small business clients, handling contracts, disputes and other litigation issues. In 2005, Ms. Smith and Brett Coonrod formed The Law Office of Smith Coonrod, LLC., in order to better assist those in need of her services. She is an executive member of the board of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Kansas City and is a Big Sister. Ms. Smith also serves as general counsel for the organization. She co-founded and volunteers for the Entrepreneurship Center, assisting local business owners and start-ups. Ms. Smith is a member of the Kansas Bar Association, American Bar Association, and The Missouri Bar. She also is a member of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, the Bar Leadership Academy, the American Trial Lawyers Association and the Earl O'Connor Inn of Court. Ms. Smith earned her undergraduate degree, with honors, and her M.B.A. degree from Kansas State University. She earned her J.D. degree from the University of Kansas School of Law.

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