2:15 p.m.

Registration

2:30 - 3:30 p.m.

The Ethical Negotiator: Pitfalls, traps and tips from within your Mediation

• Moderated by: Seth Lamden, Blank Rome LLP
•  Presented by: Hon. Anna Demacopoulos (Ret.), JAMS, Jeff Kichaven, Jeff Kichaven Commercial Mediation, and Steve Schulwolf, Schulwolf Mediation
  

This panel will discuss ethical issues for lawyers and neutrals in mediation. Specifically, the panel will discuss the significance of the recent ABA Formal Opinion 518 and why attorneys are allowed to posture and engage in puffery during settlement discussions, while the attorney-mediator has an ethical duty to play it straight. Formal Opinion 518 is significant and the panel will discuss its impact, including whether mediators can ethically make mediator’s proposals. The panel will also discuss ethical issues confronting attorney advocates and handling scenarios involving potential ethical issues.

Whether you are an attorney-advocate or a neutral, this panel will provide a lively discussion of important ethical considerations. 

3:30 - 4:30 p.m.

Considerations of Proper Handling of Claims in Excess of Limits

• Presented by: Sarah M. Abrams, Baleen Specialty, a division of Bowhead Specialty, Amy Frantz, Freeman, Mathis & Gary, LLP, and Daniel Johnston, General Star Management Company and Genesis Insurance Company
  

As settlements and judgment rise, the exposure to claims in excess of limits place insurers and their counsel in the difficult position of properly compensating claimants while protecting their insureds and themselves. The recent decision in Baldwin v. Standard Fire from the Indiana Supreme Court provides one alternative handling, but there are myriad across the country that may require consideration especially when polices are issued in one state and the loss occurs in another and with increasing frequency claimants’ counsel are in a third. This program will discuss considerations on handling such situation that navigate this evolving minefield.

4:30 - 5:30 p.m.

Happy Hour

Sarah Abrams is Head of Claims at Baleen Specialty, a division of Bowhead Specialty. Baleen underwrites wholesale and surplus lines insurance policies, leveraging proprietary digital underwriting and a technology-forward claims platform that Sarah helped design and implement.

Previously, Sarah served as Head of Professional Liability Claims at Bowhead Specialty, where she built the framework, guidelines, and team structure for handling D&O, E&O, and Cyber claims. She began her career as a litigator, representing insurers, reinsurers, and TPAs in defense and coverage matters following her graduation from Chicago-Kent College of Law. Sarah later joined Markel, where she advanced to Director of Management Liability, overseeing people managers across public company, private company, and financial institution teams.

Sarah holds a liberal arts degree in Psychology from Duke University. She is an active thought leader in the industry, having keynoted and spoken on numerous panels. Her writing has appeared in various publications, including Law360, CLM Magazine, and the PLUS Blog. Sarah is also a regular contributor to The D&O Diary.

Hon. Anna H. Demacopoulos (Ret.) returns to JAMS after serving as First Assistant State’s Attorney in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. She brings more than four decades of public service to her mediation practice, including 15 years on the Circuit Court of Cook County, where she served in the Chancery Division. During her judicial tenure, she presided over some of Illinois’ most complex civil matters and earned a reputation for fairness, strategic insight and practical solutions that helped parties resolve high-stakes disputes.

At JAMS, Judge Demacopoulos focuses on a broad range of commercial conflicts, including class actions, complex business litigation, construction, employment and labor matters, professional liability, banking and financial issues, insurance coverage, trusts, shareholder derivative actions and multiparty disputes. Her deep understanding of litigation dynamics, combined with a pragmatic and balanced approach, enables her to guide parties toward resolution in highly contentious and technically sophisticated cases. She is known for her preparation and ability to build trust with counsel and clients, making her a highly effective neutral.

Amy Frantz is a Partner at Freeman Mathis & Gary's Chicago office. She practices in the areas of insurance coverage and civil litigation. Amy advises and represents insurers in a variety of third-party and first-party insurance coverage matters arising under commercial general liability, professional liability, auto, property, and umbrella policies. Amy assists clients throughout the life of their claims, including evaluating coverage and risk transfer issues, preparing coverage analyses, drafting reservation of rights and coverage position letters, and litigating declaratory judgment actions. She also defends clients in a variety of civil litigation matters including construction accidents and defects, premises liability, and transportation negligence, in state and federal jurisdictions throughout Illinois.

Daniel P. Johnston is Vice President, Senior Claims Attorney at General Star Management Company and Genesis Insurance Company (members of the Gen Re family of insurance companies). In Dan’s current role, he manages, on a national basis, insurance coverage and bad faith claims and lawsuits brought against GenStar and Genesis as well as provides guidance to senior corporate management, claims and underwriting personnel. Previously, Dan was a very experienced litigator and Partner at a national law firm where he represented national insurance companies in complex coverage litigation and resolution of a variety of third-party insurance coverage claims involving primary, umbrella and high excess policies.

Jeff Kichaven is one of the country’s leading mediators. He’s “Ranked in Chambers – Band 1” on the USA Nationwide list, and Lexology (f/k/a Who’s Who Legal) has honored him as a Global Elite Thought Leader in the field. He has been a full-time mediator for 30 years. Jeff is an Honors Graduate of Harvard Law School, a Phi Beta Kappa Graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and an Elected Member of the American Law Institute. He speaks and writes regularly for major law schools, bar associations, and nationwide publications. His views on mediation have been cited in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Seth Lamden is a partner with Blank Rome LLP’s insurance recovery practice group, and he practices out of the firm’s Chicago office. For more than 20 years, Seth has focused his practice exclusively on helping policyholders understand and enforce their rights to insurance coverage. He is a past member of the IDC’s Board of Directors and two-time chair of the IDC’s Insurance Law Committee. He is a fellow of the American College of Coverage Counsel. He also maintains an AV Preeminent® rating with Martindale-Hubbell® and is listed in the area of insurance coverage law in Best Lawyers in America, Illinois Super Lawyers, and the Leading Lawyers Network.

Steve Schulwolf, President of Schulwolf Mediation, PLLC, Austin, TX, is a full-time ADR professional. He is a Credentialed Advanced Mediator by the Texas Mediation Credentialing Association and a panel member for the American Arbitration Association. In 2004, Steve was a founding partner of the Chicago-based litigation firm Michaels, Schulwolf & Salerno (f/k/a Michaels & May). Steve has over 30 years of experience in litigating high-dollar, complex commercial disputes throughout the United States including insurance coverage for environmental and mass torts, bad-faith, first-party and construction defects. Steve has practiced in numerous jurisdictions, is admitted to practice in Illinois and Texas and has successfully argued insurance coverage appeals in Illinois and Indiana.

Steve is a member of the Council for the Insurance Section of the State Bar of Texas, is a former Board member of the Austin Mediation Association, the former Chair of the ADR Section of the Austin Bar Association, the Chair of the TIPS Dispute Resolution Section of the American Bar Association, a Director of the Insurance Section of the Austin Bar Association and a member of the Chicago Bar Association. Steve has had articles published by the Journal of Texas Insurance Law, ABA TortSource, The Brief (ABA TIPS), ABA TIPS Dispute Resolution Committee Newsletter, ABA Dispute Resolution Magazine, The Construction Law Journal and the Loyola Journal of International Law. He is a frequent speaker and has made presentations for the American Bar Association, the Insurance Section of the Texas Bar Association, the American Academy of ADR Attorneys, the Chicago Bar Association, the Construction Section of the Texas Bar Association, CLM, FETTI, the Austin Bar Association, New Bulgarian University, the Central Texas Dispute Resolution Center and the Austin Mediators Association.
Steve was the Chair and coordinator of the ADR Summit for ABA-TIPS in Chicago last September which brought together the viewpoints of various stakeholders in ADR. The Dispute Resolution Committee received the award for overall excellence in part due to his leadership and efforts with the Summit.

Claims Professionals & Corporate or Association Counsel

Complimentary

Complimentary

Private Practice Attorneys, Public Sector Attorneys, Educators, and Students