Total Credits: 5 CLE, 2 Ethics, 4 Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Litigation Specialization
Attending the Insurance Law Institute is the best way to ensure you are completely up to date on the latest cases, legislation and other developments in insurance law. The program provides practical instruction on important topics and opportunities to discuss cutting-edge legal strategy with leading practitioners and judges alike. Includes a full year of ethics credit if you attend both days.
Topics include:
• Claims made
• Reported Policies
• Mediation
• Federal Practice
• First and Third Party Bad Faith
• And more
Seminar Co-Chairs:
Steven Plitt, The Cavanagh Law Firm
Jordan Plitt, The Cavanagh Law Firm
Faculty:
Honorable Stephen M. McNamee, United States District Court
Honorable Joshua Rogers, Maricopa County Superior Court
Lynn Allen, Tyson & Mendes LLP
Parker Bunch, The Cavanagh Law Firm
Thomas Burke, Udall Law Firm LLP
Elizabeth Fleming, Udall Law Firm LLP
Kerry Griggs, The Cavanagh Law Firm
Robert Justman, Meagher & Geer PLLP
E.J. Kotalik, Jr., Peshkin & Kotalik
Dorothy Paine, Dorothy Q Paine, PLLC
Anne Schrock, Blue Cross Blue Shield
Wendi Sorensen, Burch & Cracchiolo
Christopher Stickland, Stickland ADR
See full agenda in the Handouts tab.
| Full Seminar Agenda (119.1 KB) | 2 Pages | Download |
| Day 1 - Insurance Institute Materials (3.2 MB) | 91 Pages | Available after Purchase |
is a Senior Member at The Cavanagh Law Firm and focuses his practice on insurance coverage and litigation. He has provided insurance coverage analysis and advice to many commercial insurance companies for complex and high-exposure coverage issues across the nation. Previously he was with the firms of Kunz Plitt Hyland & Demlong and Meagher & Geer. Prior to 2010, Jordan was an extern for the Honorable James A. Teilborg of the U.S. District Court, for the District of Arizona. Jordan speaks and writes frequently on insurance law topics and has been recognized by Southwest Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in the field of insurance coverage continuously since 2012. He is one of three associate authors for COUCH ON INSURANCE 3d., a nationally recognized authoritative treatise on insurance law. He is also co-author of Practical Tools for Handling Insurance Cases which aims to filter complex insurance coverage issues into an easily readable and digestible format for attorneys across the country. He received his B.S. summa cum laude in Finance from Arizona State University, W.P. Carey School of Business, in 2007 and his J.D. cum laude from Arizona State University, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, in 2010.
is a senior member of The Cavanagh Law Firm in Phoenix where he maintains a national insurance coverage and extra-contractual defense practice. He has an LL.M. in Insurance from the University of Connecticut. He is the current successor author to COUCH ON INSURANCE 3D and has written other treatises on insurance law. He has published in excess of 350 law reviews and other professional publications on insurance law, in addition to several national insurance law treatises. He has been cited by the Supreme Courts of 34 states, the Intermediate Appellate Courts in 23 states, 12 of the Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal, 60 Federal District Courts, and the Federal Court of Claims. He has been cited in 95 scholarly articles. He has been continuously listed as a top 50 lawyer in Arizona (2007-2020) by Southwest Super Lawyers®. Only a few lawyers have been continuously on the list since its inception. He is recognized as a "Business Leader" (insurance) by Arizona Business Magazine and has been listed by Arizona Business Magazine as one of the top 100 lawyers in Arizona. Mr. Plitt has been listed in Best Lawyers® since 2007 (10+ years) (insurance) and was named the Insurance Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers® in 2012 and 2017 for Phoenix. He is also listed in Best Lawyers for the topic "Litigation - Insurance," and was the Lawyer of the Year in this category in 2020. He is a Fellow in the American College of Coverage and Extra-contractual Counsel. He is a Member of the American Law Institute where he was a consultative member on the development of the Restatement of Liability Insurance. He is a nationally recognized expert witness in insurance claim handling and bad faith cases and has been retained as an expert in hundreds of cases venued in 33 states. He is a former adjunct Professor of Law at ASU College of Law teaching insurance law. He is currently an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Arizona where he teaches insurance law.
Rob Justman has been doing national insurance coverage work for 15 years, and regional coverage work before that. 100% of Rob’s practice is devoted to insurance coverage and insurance bad faith claims. Rob has litigated declaratory judgment actions in states from Connecticut to California. He specializes in the Rocky Mountain States, including Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada. Rob regularly litigates insurance coverage actions and/or advises clients in each of these states. Advising on the strategic options available for insurance carriers is a large part of the practice – as is executing on the plan of action, whether through negotiation and deal making or litigation. Rob does do policyholder-side work for insureds and claimants. Rob is a partner with the law firm of Meagher & Geer PLLP. Before that, he was at the Lewis Brisbois law firm (2005-2008), and at a plaintiffs’ personal injury law firm in Utah (2003-2005). Rob has been recognized for his specialization in insurance coverage by Southwest Super Lawyers and Rising Stars over 9 years, where he is currently a Super Lawyer in the Insurance Coverage practice area, and as a Top Lawyer in Phoenix Magazine in its inaugural edition in 2022 for Insurance Law.
serves as a mediator and arbitrator, providing effective alternative dispute resolutions to attorneys and their clients. She draws upon her broad experience as a trial lawyer on both the plaintiff and defense side of the courtroom, with nearly four decades of practice focused on significant injury cases. She is a member of the prestigious National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals. Wendi serves as Chair of the State Bar of Arizona's Board of Legal Specialization, the committee responsible for setting standards and vetting potential certified specialists in Arizona. She has repeatedly been honored as one of the Top 25 Women Attorneys in Arizona by Southwest Super Lawyers and has been recognized on numerous occasions by Best Lawyers in America and America's Finest Lawyers.
The Honorable Stephen M. McNamee was appointed to the United States District Court for the District of Arizona in 1990 by President George H. W. Bush. He presided as Chief District Judge for the District of Arizona from August 1999 through April 2006. Judge McNamee currently serves as a Senior United States District Judge, and he serves as needed as a judge by designation on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Prior to being appointed to the federal bench by President George H.W. Bush, he served as the United States Attorney for the District of Arizona, from 1985 to 1990, after serving as an Assistant United States Attorney from 1971 to 1985. Judge McNamee received his Bachelor of Arts and Sciences Degree from the University of Cincinnati and his Master of Arts and Juris Doctor Degrees from the University of Arizona. During his judicial tenure he has received numerous awards for his service, including the State Bar’s Outstanding Jurist Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. In 2019, he was awarded the Judicial Civic Education Award, presented by the American Lawyers Alliance (an American Bar Association-related organization).
JOHN W. ROGERS — Staff Attorney with the Staff Attorneys’ Office of the Arizona Supreme Court. From 1982 to 2013, he practiced at Brown & Bain P.A. and (after a 2004 merger) Perkins Coie LLP, where he specialized in complex litigation, product liability, antitrust, and general commercial litigation. Mr. Rogers received a B.A. with Honors and Distinction from Stanford University in 1976, a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1980, and a J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1980. Before entering private practice, he served two years as a law clerk to the Honorable Thomas Tang of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Mr. Rogers has been a member of the State Bar Civil Practice and Procedure Committee since 1997, and served as chair of that committee from September 2007 through June 2011. He also served as a member of the State Bar Committee on the Rules of Professional Conduct from 2000 to 2016. Also, from 2006 to August 2014, he served as chair of the Civil Practice Subcommittee of the Local Rules Committee for District of Arizona.
Kerry M. Griggs is a Senior Member in the Phoenix office of The Cavanagh Law Firm, P.A., and previously served as Chairman of the firm’s Board of Directors. He currently serves as the firm’s general counsel and risk manager. Kerry’s practice focuses on commercial litigation and first-party insurance disputes. Kerry regularly advises insurance companies on first-party coverage matters and coordinates coverage and special investigations, including examinations under oath and arson investigations. He has served as an appraiser in a number of first-party insurance losses. He is a regular guest lecturer for the International Association of Arson Investigators, addressing the appropriate investigation and litigation of civil arson cases, including the avoidance of excess exposure.
LYNN M. ALLEN is the Southwest Regional Managing Partner for Tyson & Mendes. Ms. Allen is an experienced trial lawyer who represents her clients in a wide variety of complex cases, including insurance coverage disputes, insurance bad faith, defense of personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits, products liability, premises liability, intellectual property, employment law, and appeals. Ms. Allen has extensive appellate experience in both the Arizona state and federal courts. She has been lead counsel in many successful jury trials, arbitrations, summary judgment motions, and appeals. She is a frequent lecturer on insurance bad faith and coverage issues in Arizona. Ms. Allen successfully defended an insurance company in a jury trial involving a $1.7 million claim of first party breach of contract and insurance bad faith arising from storm damage to plaintiff’s home. She also obtained summary judgment for her clients in a variety of high profile cases, including a wrongful death lawsuit against a condominium association arising from carbon monoxide poisoning; a claim for bad faith alleging breach of the duty to defend and indemnify against a $1.2 million construction defect claim; a bad faith claim arising from the denial of coverage and alleged breach of duty to defend an insured against a multi-million dollar wrongful death claim, with the court finding no coverage under the illegal consumption of alcohol exclusion; a bad faith claim arising from the denial of coverage for a multi-million dollar excess verdict in a wrongful death claim, with the court finding no coverage based on the physical abuse exclusion; and a bad faith claim arising from a residential theft, with the court finding the insured failed to cooperate and awarded attorneys’ fees to the insurer.
Ms. Allen earned her J.D. cum laude from the Arizona State University College of Law in 1989, where she served as a note and comment editor on the Law Review. She is licensed to practice law in Arizona and is a member of the Maricopa County Bar Association and Arizona Association of Defense Counsel. Ms. Allen is rated AV-Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell and has been honored as a Southwest Super Lawyer for Insurance Coverage for 2011-2016.
In her free time, Ms. Allen enjoys spending time with her teenage son and cheering him on during his football games. She also enjoys traveling, especially cruising.
Is the Director of Legal Services and Privacy Officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ). Prior to joining BCBSAZ in 2016, Anne served as vice president and general counsel at Delta Dental of Arizona, and as an associate at Snell & Wilmer, focusing her practice on commercial litigation health care services, health care transactions, compliance and regulatory matters. She also spent 15 years working at the National Security Agency, where she received numerous awards and recognition for outstanding performance and exceptional contributions to the intelligence community. Anne is a member of the Supreme Court's Attorney Ethics Advisory Committee and the State Bar's Committee on the Rules of Professional Conduct. She received her BA from the University of Pennsylvania and graduated magna cum laude from the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.
E.J. Kotalik, Jr. is the President of Peshkin & Kotalik, P.C. in Phoenix. His practice focuses on insurance coverage and bad faith litigation. He is listed as a Southwest Superlawyer ®, as one of The Best Lawyers in America ® in the field of insurance law and as a Phoenix Magazine Top Lawyer. Martindale-Hubbell also has awarded Mr. Kotalik an AV® rating. He is the author of “What Every Liability Insurer Should Know About Asserting a Coverage Defense in Arizona,” Arizona Attorney 14-17, March, 1993 along with other publications. In addition to his work for the State Bar of Arizona, he also has conducted seminars on insurance topics for the National Business Institute, the Arizona Association of Defense Counsel, the CPCU Society and several major insurance carriers. Mr. Kotalik earned his Juris Doctor degree in 1984 from the Hastings College of Law, University of California, where he was an editor of the Hastings Law Journal. As an undergraduate, Mr. Kotalik received a degree in economics from Claremont McKenna College. He also was selected as a law clerk to the Honorable Joseph T. Sneed, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In addition, Mr. Kotalik has served as a Judge Pro Tempore on the Arizona Court of Appeals.
Parker is a Member at The Cavanagh Law Firm, P.A. in Phoenix. His practice focuses on the analysis of complex first and third-party coverage issues across various lines of insurance. His practice also involves the litigation of insurance coverage and bad faith actions in state and federal court. Parker graduated cum laude from the University of Arizona College of Law in 2017.
Elizabeth L. Fleming is a trial and appellate lawyer practicing in a variety of civil defense related areas. Ms. Fleming has represented companies and individuals in suits featuring insurance bad faith and coverage issues, construction defects, wrongful death, products liability, auto collisions, commercial auto, dog bites and contract issues. She also has substantial experience in appellate work both having handled appeals as a law clerk at the Court of Appeals and successfully appealing issues involving coverage, contractual matters, and evidentiary and legal issues stemming from trials up to an including published opinions from the Arizona Supreme Court. The majority of Ms. Fleming’s practice is devoted to litigation involving insurance companies, their insureds, advising and guiding insurance companies on claims handling practice and navigating difficult coverage issues. She has carried cases through the pre-litigation, litigation and appellate stages.
Dorothy Paine grew up in Scottsdale. She studied at the University of California, San Diego, in Mexico and Sweden before completing her undergraduate and law degrees at Arizona State University. Spent thirty years practicing civil litigation, primarily as staff counsel for an insurance company. She was a certified specialist in Injury and Wrongful Death Litigation for twenty years until retiring from active trail practice. She was on Civil Study Committee in Maricopa County Superior Court and served on the ADR subcommittee that created the Short Trial program. She also served on the Supreme Court Advisory Committees on Mandatory Arbitration and ADR. She continues to serve as a Judge Pro Tem for many years conducting settlement conferences. She is a Senior Lawyer with the Center for International Legal Studies through which she taught trial skills in Central Europe. She is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates as an Advocate, meaning she tried more than fifty civil cases to a jury, and served as the President of the Phoenix Chapter. She retired from an active trial practice in 2017 and now works as a mediator/arbitrator in addition to serving on a Foster Care Review Board.
Admitted to Michigan Bar in 2000 and Arizona Bar in 2001, Mr. Stickland has over twenty years’ experience in civil litigation, including as a lead trial attorney, supervisor of outside counsel, and counseling and instructing claims departments at many of the largest insurance companies. During his legal career, Mr. Stickland has held positions with the staff counsel offices of State Farm, Zurich Insurance, and Farmers Insurance. Later, his employment with American Family Insurance included management of outside counsel, supervising first and third party matters in AZ, CA, CO, NV, OR, WA, including, with the help of outside counsel, to decide wether to settle or proceed to trial. During this time, Mr. Stickland also operated a veterinary hospital with his wife and grew it into a business of 5 veterinarians and over 30 employees. Currently, Mr. Stickland provides mediation and arbitration services, specializing in personal injury, property damage, bad faith, and contractual disputes. In December 2022, Mr. Stickland was inducted into the Arizona Chapter of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals. He is also serving as a Judge Pro Tem for Maricopa County and has been since 2018.
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