Defense Digest, Vol. 25, No. 4, December 2019

On the Pulse…The Insurance Coverage/Bad Faith Litigation Practice Group Is Now the Insurance Services Practice Group

Through the years, our firm’s Insurance Coverage/Bad Faith Litigation Practice Group has evolved into a full-service insurance litigation solution for national and global insurance carriers. Dynamic industry changes have prompted law firms to innovate. The services that we provided to insurance carriers 10-15 years ago have transitioned far beyond coverage and bad faith litigation counsel. To better reflect our comprehensive approach to helping insurance companies resolve their litigation, we have renamed the practice group the Insurance Services Practice Group.

From Florida to New York, we use creative strategies to effectively control exposure, avoid litigation and transfer risk, while protecting our clients’ brands and industry position. Our legal services include counsel and defense of issues arising from commercial, personal, and specialty property and casualty policies, professional liability policies, health/life policies and workers’ compensation policies.

The Insurance Services Practice Group is led by me, as the northeast head, and Michael Packer, shareholder in our Fort Lauderdale office, who oversees the southeast. While our group’s 30+ attorneys provide continuity in legal services across the board, Michael and the southeast team have a keen understanding of the unique coverage issues inherent to Florida. Supported by a network of outstanding associates, paralegals and support staff, we are adept at helping clients navigate all aspects of the most complex coverage disputes, and first-party property and automobile litigation.

We successfully represent and defend insurance companies in first-party and bad faith litigation in federal, state and local courts. We are experienced in issues regarding institutional discovery, corporate designee/apex/employee depositions and the tactics utilized by plaintiffs to leverage settlements. By providing strategic advice both before and during litigation, we assist clients in analyzing available coverage and minimizing future risk. When it is in a client’s best interest to proceed to trial, our experienced trial attorneys rigorously defend the most complex insurance coverage and bad faith cases.

Our services include:

  • Coverage consultation
  • Coordinating counsel services
  • CAT operation coverage strategies
  • First-party property coverage/litigation services
  • First-party automobile coverage/litigation services
  • SIU/fraud coverage/investigation/litigation services
  • Indemnification risk transfer strategies
  • Bad faith strategic evaluation
  • Bad faith litigation
  • Policy language review
  • Administrative/insurance department representation and strategies
  • Claims practices consultation and services
  • Institutional discovery consultation and services
  • Development of guidelines and best claims practices strategies
  • Training and educational development from commercial, personal and specialty property and casualty policies, professional liability policies, health/life policies and workers’ compensation policies.

Our Insurance Services Practice Group serves clients from our 20 offices located throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Florida and Ohio, and in the neighboring jurisdictions of Maryland, Connecticut, West Virginia and Kentucky. We welcome the opportunity to meet you and to discuss solutions to your litigation challenges.

*Jim works in our Philadelphia, Pennsylvania office. He can be reached at 215.575.2635 or jhcole@mdwcg.com. Michael works in our Fort Lauderdale, Florida office. He can be reached at 954.847.4921 or mapacker@mdwcg.com.

 

 

Defense Digest, Vol. 25, No. 4, December 2019 is prepared by Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin to provide information on recent legal developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING pursuant to New York RPC 7.1. © 2019 Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin. All Rights Reserved. This article may not be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm. For reprints, contact tamontemuro@mdwcg.com.