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. Litigating The Insurance Claim
6. Bad Faith Litigation
7. Ethical Considerations

1. INSURANCE COVERAGE CONTRACT LANGUAGE 101
   9:00 - 10:15, R. Michael Ethridge
   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
   10:30 - 11:30, R. Michael Ethridge
   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
   11:30 - 12:15, R. Michael Ethridge
   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. LITIGATING THE INSURANCE CLAIM
   1:15 - 2:15, R. Michael Ethridge
   1. Filing a Dispositive Motion
   2. Successful Strategies in Insurance Coverage Cases
   3. How to Strategically Handle Bifurcation During Trial
   4. Contribution Protection
   5. Containing a Punitive Damage Judgment
   6. Declaratory Action
   7. Alternative Dispute Resolution and Other Settlement Options
5. BAD FAITH LITIGATION
   2:30 - 3:30, Constance A. Anastopoulo
   1. Examining Bad Faith - Common Law vs. Statutory Bad Faith
   2. Bifurcation Issues
   3. Establishing Insurer Bad Faith
   4. Discovery Issues
   5. Defending Bad Faith Suits
6. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
   3:30 - 4:30, Constance A. Anastopoulo
   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' Fee

CONSTANCE A. ANASTOPOULO is an assistant professor of law at the Charleston School of Law. Ms. Anastopoulo was formerly a partner at Anastopoulo & Clore, LLC for 15 years, where she was head of the firm's appellate division and worked with the litigation department. She was the lead counsel in Gaskins v. Southern Farm Bureau, which was chosen as one of the ten most important decisions in South Carolina in 2003 by S.C. Lawyer's Weekly. Additionally, Ms. Anastopoulo was a member of the Plaintiff's Class Committee for In Re: Oxycotin in South Carolina. She earned her B.A. degree from the University of Virginia and her J.D. degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law. Ms. Anastopoulo speaks and publishes in the area of insurance law. Her recent publications include " Bad Faith in South Carolina Insurance Contracts: From Tyger River Pine Co. v. Maryland Cas. Co. to Mitchell v. Fortis Ins. Co.," published in the July 2010 issue of the South Carolina Lawyer Magazine and "Bad Faith in North Carolina Insurance Contracts: A Growing Part of Insurance Practice," published in the June 2010 issue of the North Carolina Bar Journal. She also was a presenter at the prestigious UNC School of Law, Festival of Legal Learning, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in February 2010 on insurance issues and bad faith specifically.

R. MICHAEL ETHRIDGE is a partner in the Charleston office of Carlock, Copeland & Stair, LLP. In his 22 years of practice, he has served as lead counsel in numerous jury trials in both state and federal courts. A member of both the Georgia and South Carolina bars, Mr. Ethridge has considerable experience in handling a wide variety of cases. He is experienced in commercial and construction litigation, insurance coverage and bad faith claims, alternative dispute resolution and product liability litigation. He has litigated cases for clients throughout Georgia and South Carolina. His wide range of experience provides him with a valuable perspective and enables him to employ imaginative strategies in resolving cases and conducting litigation on behalf of his clients. Mr. Ethridge is admitted to practice before all state and federal courts in both Georgia and South Carolina. He is a member of the South Carolina Bar, the Charleston County and American bar associations, the State Bar of Georgia and the Defense Research Institute. He earned his B.A. degree, with honors and distinction, from Mississippi College and his J.D. degree from the University of Georgia School of Law.

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