Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee

Mission

Our Committee is one of the largest and most active in the Section of Litigation because of the dedication of our 2,400 members, our ability to assimilate diverse and younger lawyers, and our high-quality substantive benefits. Subcommittee chairs author articles and website materials, coordinate with our membership and programming drives, and work to expand member benefits. Our active ICLC Subcommittees include ADR, Additional Insureds, Advertising/Intellectual Property, Asbestos, Bad Faith, Bankruptcy & Insolvency, Business Interruption, CGL, Computer & Technology, Construction, Directors & Officers, Diversity, Emerging Issues, Employment, Environmental, Ethics & Professionalism, Excess & Umbrella, Health, Life & Disability, In-House Counsel, International/London, Long Range Planning, Membership, Practice & Business Development, Products Liability, Professional Liability, Programming, Property Insurance, Reinsurance, Social Media, Website, Women in Insurance, and Young Lawyers.

Do you want to network with the established up and comers of business tort litigation? Want to stay ahead of key developments? Want to be a key contributor in this community? Then join us. Please contact ICLC chairs Mary Calkins or Ronald L. Kammer if you are interested in a subcommittee chair appointment, joining a Subcommittee, or becoming more involved.

Announcements

Note from the Editor of Coverage: Coverage and Its New Format

I can’t believe how quickly the year is passing. With the Annual ICLC CLE in Tucson for 2012 in the rear-view mirror, and the Litigation Section Annual Conference having just run from April 18-20 in Washington, DC, it has been a busy year. The changeover to an all-electronic form for Coverage is now complete, and the publishing of Coverage has transitioned from Lexis-Nexus to the ABA.

While the year may be passing very quickly, please take this opportunity to think about a few things. First, now is the best time to consider writing an article for Coverage. Our distribution in an electronic format is how much bigger than it was in printed form, so your articles will reach the largest possible audience in the history of Coverage. Second, with the transition in publisher, I would like to know if you’ve experienced any interruptions in your electronic receipt of Coverage. We have worked diligently with the ABA to make sure that the electronic distribution is accurate. However, if you or an ICLC member you know has not received Coverage, or has any delivery issues, please let us know, so we can get the distribution issue fixed. Finally, if there are any changes or improvements you’d like made to the publication, please let us know. Coverage is, after all, your insurance-coverage journal, and one of the main benefits of ICLC membership.

We will continue to work hard to make sure that the journal keeps up with the needs of the ICLC’s members, and continues to be the flagship of the committee. Please note that I used the word “journal,” rather than “newsletter,” as I believe that Coverage is much more than a committee newsletter, and is, in fact, a first-class academic journal. Thank you for your contributions and support, which continue to make Coverage what it is today—one of the best legal periodicals available from the ABA.

Erik A. Christiansen

Editor in Chief–Coverage

Join the ICLC at the Section's Annual Conference

Please join the Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee (ICLC) and register for the Section of Litigation’s Annual CLE Conference in Washington, D.C., April 18–20. Our committee will host a box lunch networking event on Thursday, April 19. We are happy to announce that four programs at the conference will have ICLC members speaking! We would love to have a good turnout from our committee at the conference.

ICLC Dinner at Historic Old Ebbitt Grill
Even if you cannot attend the conference, we would like to gather our committee members from the D.C., Virginia, and Maryland area to connect with our members who are traveling to D.C. to attend the conference.

Please join us for dinner Wednesday evening, April 18, 7:30 p.m., at the Old Ebbitt Grill, 675 15th Street NW. Let’s show our ICLC members a warm welcome from our nation’s capital. And don’t worry, we plan to keep the tab under $100 per person!

Please email me your RSVP and be sure to let me know of any dietary concerns/preferences.

We hope to see you in D.C.!

Ruth S. Kochenderfer

Note from the Editor of Coverage: Welcome New Team Members

I would like to welcome to the Coverage team two new members. First, we have a new managing editor, as Amy J. Woodworth has replaced Celeste Elliott. Ms. Woodworth represents insurers, and she will help maintain the balance that traditionally has existed on Coverage’s editorial board, as well as within the leadership of the Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee (ICLC). I look forward to working with Ms. Woodworth in 2012.

We also welcome Scott Lewis from the ABA to the team. As Coverage has transitioned to an electronic publication, the technological requirements of electronic distribution require the special expertise and knowledge of the ABA’s excellent staff. We look forward to working with Mr. Lewis, and look forward to his assistance in bringing Coverage into the digital age.

Finally, we once again encourage anyone who attended the ICLC’s Annual Meeting in Tucson, AZ, on March 1-3, 2012, to take the opportunity to convert your presentation into an article for Coverage. Some of the best articles that Coverage has published have come out of the Tucson meeting.

Erik A. Christiansen

Editor in Chief–Coverage

About Our Subcommittees

The ICLC has 32 subcommittees focusing on diverse areas of substantive insurance coverage law and procedural aspects of insurance coverage litigation. All of our subcommittees are co-chaired by lawyers who typically represent policyholders, paired with lawyers who typically represent insurance companies, an arrangement that provides balance, promotes collegiality, and assures lively dialogue. The subcommittees publish articles in our journal-quality magazine, Coverage; propose, organize, and present programs at the committee's Annual CLE Meeting in Tucson and other Section of Litigation and ABA meetings; and author case notes, articles, and a variety of other materials for our webpage. Our subcommittees also work closely with our Chairs, Vice Chairs and the Long Range Planning Committee on a variety of initiatives focusing on diversity, young lawyers (lawyers under 35 or who have been practicing in the substantive area of insurance law for five years or less), women's issues, membership, programming, social media, and business development. Our subcommittees meet each year at our Annual CLE Meeting in Tucson, at which subcommittee leaders present information regarding subcommittee and ICLC activities, and encourage increased member activity and committee involvement.

If you are interested in joining a subcommittee, please contact:

Ruth Kochenderfer (Insurer side)
Maria Enriquez (Insurer side)
John Malloy (Insurer side)
Cary Hall (Policyholder side)
Robert Thavis (Policyholder side)
Donna Wilson (Policyholder side)

Task Forces

If you have an idea for a Task Force or other special project that may be of special interest to the Committee's members, contact your Subcommittee Chairs.

» Gulf Oil Task Force

The Insurance coverage Litigation Committee is an active participant in the Section of Litigation's Task Force. Like we did for the 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina disasters, the ICLC is in the process of providing insurance coverage-related materials to be part of a “Resource Center” provided by the Section of Litigation as a whole as a public service for all those affected by the Gulf Oil Spill. For those interested in assisting in those efforts, please contact Nancy Kornegay or Lou Chiafullo who are heading up our coverage-related participation.

» Task Force on Global Warming Liabilities & Insurance

Like the famous frog in the slowly heating pan of water, we all are beginning to feel the heat of global warming. With the assistance of our Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee’s website chairs and ABA web support, the Emerging Issues Subcommittee invites you to participate in a shared learning experience surrounding this fundamentally important issue.

» ICLC Young Lawyers Initiative

This Subcommittee presents an opportunity for young lawyers (35 or under, or of any age who have been practicing in the substantive area of insurance law for five years or less) to become involved in a dynamic and growing ABA subcommittee. Membership in the Young Lawyers Subcommittee will provide young insurance coverage attorneys with a forum in which they can network with other coverage attorneys across the country. Membership also provides a host of speaking, publishing, and other business development opportunities. If interested, please contact Shaun Crosner (policyholder side) or Jamie Carsey (insurer side).

Women's Initiative

Our new Women in Insurance Subcommittee is working to increase networking and business development opportunities for women. Please contact Lacrecia Cade to join the subcommittee’s business development network and assist in planning. In addition, we are sponsoring the first annual Fall Women in Insurance Network (WIN) Regional CLE Meeting in Washington D.C. Contact WIN Meeting Chairs Ruth Kochenderfer, Marla Kanemitsu, Angela Elbert, or Cara Tseng Duffield with ideas, program proposals, or comments. These two ideas are an outgrowth of the Women’s networking event each year at the ICLC’s Annual Meeting in Tucson, and provide additional avenues through which women can share ideas with other women coverage attorneys and insurance industry representatives from around the country.

Seeking Contributors to Our Webpage and Publications

The Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee is seeking contributors to its website and publications. We are looking for your help providing articles and reports on recent cases of interest that pertain to insurance coverage litigation issues. This is a great way to get involved, network with some of the best litigators in the country, and contribute to building a valuable resource for insurance coverage litigators. If you have cases of interest, articles, or other resources to add, please contact Erik A. Christiansen, Rina Carmel, or Jim Davis .

Message from the Chairs

Upcoming Initiatives
It was great seeing everyone who attended this year's CLE meeting in Tucson. Once again the conference was a huge success, with more than 320 attendees. This would not have happened without the hard work and dedication of our meeting chairs, John Mumford and Linda Klamm, and their vice chairs, Rahul Karnani and Suzan Charlton. Also, thanks to all of the speakers for presenting great programs, and to the incoming chair of the Section of Litigation, Bill Bay, for attending this year's conference. Next year's vice chairs are Anna Torres and Jim Cooper.

The process of submitting program ideas begins in a few short months. If you are interested in speaking at next year's meeting please look for additional information in Coverage as well as emails from ICLC. Program proposals for our 25th Anniversary meeting in 2013 are due by mid-June 2012

For those who did not attend the CLE meeting, two initiatives were announced. First was an idea developed by Bill Barker to educate minority lawyers about insurance litigation. We are already working on an agenda that will cover such topics as to how to interpret an insurance policy, typical coverages, how to initiate a claim, reservation-of-rights letters, consequences of a breach of the duty to defend, the tripartite relationship, and the obligation of an insurer to settle. The first program is tentatively planned for Chicago, and we will be looking for volunteers to host and help teach this program later this year.

The second initiative was the formation of Women in Insurance (WIIN). The goal of this new initiative, in addition to having a little fun, is to assist women who practice in the area of insurance coverage in practice and business development. Subject to the approval of the ABA, the first meeting of WIIN will be this fall in Washington, DC. Special thanks to Ruth Kochendorfer, Angela Elbert, Cara Tseng Duffield, and Marla Kanemitsu for helping to put the inaugural event together. Look for more about WIIN in the next few months.

A final new initiative, which was not discussed in Tucson, is to approach both the state and federal benches to present programs at state and federal judicial colleges. In Florida, we have already approached the chief judge of Miami-Dade County, who was receptive to the idea. At the judge's suggestion, we are already putting together an agenda, with the goal of presenting the first program in 2013. If you are interested in presenting a similar program in your state, please let me know.

The 2012 Tucson meeting was Mary's last meeting as cochhair of ICLC. For the past three years we have all benefited from her work and dedication on behalf of the ICLC. On behalf of all of us, and your very grateful cochair—huge thanks.

Ron Kammer and Mary Calkins
Chairs, Section of Litigation
Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee