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. Insurance Company Representative Depositions
3. Case Evaluation and Pre-Litigation Steps
4. Initial Pleadings/Motions - Filing the Suit
5. Discovery of the Insurance Case - Quantifying Damages/Loss
6. Settlement Strategies
7. Taking Your Insurance Claim to Trial and Further
8. Ethical Considerations

Continuing Education Credits:   

* denotes specialty credits

1. INSURANCE COVERAGE CONTRACT LANGUAGE 101
   9:00 - 9:45, Alan K. Goldstein
   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. INSURANCE COMPANY REPRESENTATIVE DEPOSITIONS
   9:45 - 10:10, Alan K. Goldstein
3. CASE EVALUATION AND PRE-LITIGATION STEPS
   10:25 - 11:10, M. Adina Johnson
   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
4. INITIAL PLEADINGS/MOTIONS – FILING THE SUIT
   11:10 - 12:00, Matthew J. Devoti
   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
5. DISCOVERY OF THE INSURANCE CASE – QUANTIFYING DAMAGES/LOSS
   1:00 - 1:40, Matthew J. Devoti
   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
6. SETTLEMENT STRATEGIES
   1:40 - 2:20, M. Adina Johnson
   1. Mandatory Mediation/Arbitration and Weighing the Pros and Cons of Optional Arbitration/Mediation
   2. Settlement vs. Mediation Tactics
   3. Effective Motion Strategies
   4. Arguing “Actual Controversy”
   5. Arguing “Ambiguity in Policy”
   6. Settlement Conference Tactics
   7. Subrogation of Recoveries to Medical and Third Party Liens
7. TAKING YOUR INSURANCE CLAIM TO TRIAL AND FURTHER
   2:35 - 3:30, James C. Owen and Timothy J. Ahrenhoersterbaeumer
   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
8. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
   3:30 - 4:30, James C. Owen and Timothy J. Ahrenhoersterbaeumer
   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

TIMOTHY J. AHRENHOERSTERBAEUMER is an attorney in the law firm of McCarthy, Leonard & Kaemmerer, L.C., where he represents clients in all aspects of civil litigation with an emphasis on matters pertaining to insurance defense and insurance coverage. He has defended many personal injury actions and cases involving allegations of consumer fraud and violations of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act. Mr. Ahrenhoersterbaeumer has successfully tried cases in both the St. Louis City and St. Louis County Courts. He earned his B.A. degree from the University of Missouri and his J.D. degree from the St. Louis University School of Law.

MATTHEW J. DEVOTI is a partner in the law firm of Casey & Devoti, P.C., where he practices in the areas of personal injury, medical malpractice, workers' compensation and insurance coverage. He earned his B.A. degree from Westminster College and his J.D. degree from St. Louis University. Mr. Devoti is a member of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, the American Association for Justice, the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys and The Lawyers Association of St. Louis.

ALAN K. GOLDSTEIN is a member of the law firm of Goldstein and Price, L.C., which is based in St. Louis and practices throughout the U.S. He has represented insurance companies in coverage litigation and advised underwriters and claims representatives regarding a broad variety of issues for approximately 20 years. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America and has been recognized as a super lawyer by Law & Politics. He is a former law clerk for the Honorable Thelton E. Henderson, U.S. District Court, N.D. Cal. Mr. Goldstein earned his B.A. degree, with highest distinction, from Northwestern University and his J.D. degree from Stanford University, where he was Order of the Coif. He is a member of the State Bar of California, The Missouri Bar and the Illinois State Bar Association. Mr. Goldstein has been admitted to numerous federal trial and appellate courts throughout the country.

M. ADINA JOHNSON heads up the Wuestling & James, LLC motion and appellate practice in both Missouri and Illinois state and federal court. Ms. Johnson is also a member of the firm's legal malpractice defense, insurance coverage, and extra-contractual liability teams. She spent ten years teaching junior high and high school students before attending St. Louis University School of Law where she graduated magna cum laude and was admitted to the Order of the Woolsack (top 10% of her graduating class). Thereafter, she served a clerkship with the staff attorneys' office for the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, Missouri for two years. At Wuestling & James, LLC, Ms. Johnson has written many successful motions for summary judgment and winning appellate briefs. In the case of Swope v. National American Insurance Company, U.S. District Court of Missouri, Eastern District, she drafted a successful summary judgment motion that analyzed choice of law and coverage issues, including the pollution exclusion of a general liability policy. Ms. Johnson is admitted to the state and federal courts of both Missouri and Illinois. She is also a member of The Missouri Bar, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, and the Women Lawyer's Association. When not drafting motions, she serves on the Board of Trustees for the Village of MacKenzie to which she was elected two years ago. She is a volunteer attorney with Legal Advocates for Abused Women, and served as a volunteer attorney monitoring polling sites during the 2004 national election. She previously volunteered with the St. Louis City Mentoring Project. Along with other members of Wuestling & James, LLC, she enjoys participating in community activities such as Read Across America and Special Olympics.

JAMES C. OWEN is a partner at the law office of McCarthy, Leonard, Kaemmerer, Owen, McGovern & Striler, L.C. He has been practicing law since 1981 and currently practices in insurance insolvency, reinsurance and commercial litigation. Mr. Owen earned his B.A. degree, with honors, and his J.D. degree from the University of Missouri at Columbia. He is a member of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, St. Louis County Bar Association, The Missouri Bar, the Missouri Trial Lawyers Association and The Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He also is admitted to practice for the New York State Bar Association.

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