QUICK LINKS
Filing Information
CLE Materials
Return to the 2025 Professional Liability Roundtable Attendee Page
2025 PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY ROUNDTABLE FILING INFORMATION
Approximately 6.0 hours of CLE credit in 60-minute states and 7.2 hours of CLE credit in 50-minute states has been requested for accreditation from all mandatory continuing legal education jurisdictions where we had registrants as of April 23. Opening Remarks, Closing Remarks, and Networking Breaks are not available for CLE credit.
How to Obtain CLE Credit:
*You must sign-in on the attendance sheet onsite at the meeting.*
Shortly after the program, you will receive an email from CEU Institute with a link to enter your state bar information and the programs you attended. Once complete, you will receive a Certificate of Attendance with this information and instructions on the reporting requirements for the state(s) where you are licensed. The online form does include a place to enter information regarding teaching credits, etc.
IMPORTANT
The link/portal will stay open for 2 WEEKS. You MUST complete the online form by May 29th to have your credits reported.
For any follow-up questions on CLE credits, please email the CEU Institute at [email protected].
|
Thursday, May 15, 2025
8:45 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. (60 General CLE Minutes)
Coming Up Short: Settlement Challenges for the Underinsured
10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. (60 General CLE Minutes)
No, Your Professional Liability Policy Probably Doesn't Cover That Cyber Incident
11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. (60 Substance Abuse/Mental Health OR General CLE Minutes)
The Impact of Lawyer Wellness on Ethical Practice
12:50 p.m. - 1:50 p.m. (60 General CLE Minutes)
Professional Liability Track: Insurance and the Catastrophe: Examining the Increasing E&O Risks Presented
12:50 p.m. - 1:50 p.m. (60 General CLE Minutes)
Medical Liability Track: Defending Sexual Claims: All Perspectives and Some You Haven't Thought Of
2:05 p.m. - 3:05 p.m. (60 General CLE Minutes)
Professional Liability Track: Aging Infrastructure
2:05 p.m. - 3:05 p.m. (60 General CLE Minutes)
Medical Liability Track: Hidden Gems: Digital Evidence for Defending MedMal Claims
3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. (60 General CLE Minutes)
Personalizing the Impersonal: Thoughts on Confronting Negative Perceptions
2025 PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY ROUNDTABLE CLE MATERIALS
Below you will find the CLE schedule with materials for the 2025 Professional Liability Roundtable.
Under each CLE program description, CLE materials are listed. Please click each hyperlink to access that specific CLE material. If you have any issues accessing these materials, please contact Melisa Maisel Vanis, Director of Meetings and Professional Development, at [email protected] or Ashley Hatfield, Director of Communications, at [email protected].
THURSDAY, MAY 15
INSURANCE TRACK
8:15 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.
REGISTRATION
8:30 a.m. - 8:45 a.m.
Welcome and Introductions
Donna Lamontagne, IADC President, Lamontagne, Spaulding & Hayes, LLP, Cranston, RI USA
John T. Harding, Insurance Program Chair, McAngus Goudelock & Courie, Boston, MA USA
8:45 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. (60 General CLE Minutes)
Coming Up Short: Settlement Challenges for the Underinsured
Too often, insurers are confronted with a large, complex loss, sometimes involving multiple claimants, and the insured is woefully underinsured. What’s an insurer to do? And what’s an insured to do?
Whether the cause of being underinsured is a miscalculation of an insured’s needs, an unexpected severe exposure, disagreements regarding which policies or lines of coverage must respond to a loss, or just a confluence of unfortunate circumstances, the challenges facing the insurer, the insured, defense counsel, the insured’s broker, plaintiffs’ counsel, the Court, and the neutral can be overwhelming disagreements regarding which policies or lines of coverage must respond to a loss.
This panel will discuss well-honed strategies and offer insights for how to resolve these puzzling and vexing situations. With their perspectives, you will develop new, creative ideas for how to overcome these settlement obstacles.
Moderator: Jonathan Schwartz, Freeman Mathis & Gary LLP, Chicago, IL USA
Speakers: Mark J. Bunim, Case Closure, LLC., New York, NY USA; Rachel Kim, VP, Sompo International, New York, NY USA; Kevin Penhallegon, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP, Baltimore, MD USA
Materials:
9:45 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
NETWORKING BREAK
10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. (60 General CLE Minutes)
No, Your Professional Liability Policy Probably Doesn’t Cover That Cyber Incident
Did your firm suffer a data breach? A ransomware attack? How about a loss due to a fraudulent funds transfer? Your professional liability policy probably won’t cover your first party expenses—the incident response, regulatory fines and penalties—or your third-party expenses related to claims made by your clients or employees whose information may have been compromised. A cyber insurance policy, whether stand alone or as an endorsement to another type of policy is what you need. This session will break down what’s covered, what’s not and why you need the protection and services that a cyber policy offers.
Moderator: Monique Ferraro, Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance, Hartford, CT USA
Speakers: Benjamin Buchanan, Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance, Hartford, CT USA; Judy Selby, Selby Strategies, New York, NY USA
Materials:
11:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
LUNCH BREAK
11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. (60 Substance Abuse/Mental Health OR General CLE Minutes)
The Impact of Lawyer Wellness on Ethical Practice
This CLE explores how lawyer wellness issues—such as stress, burnout, and substance abuse— can lead to malpractice claims. In this interactive discussion, attendees will learn to recognize risk factors, implement wellness strategies, and fulfill ethical obligations while protecting their practices. Additionally, participants will gain practical tools to maintain competence, uphold professional standards, and reduce liability exposure.
Speaker: Joyvan Malbon-Griffin, Minnesota Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company, Minneapolis, MN USA
Materials:
12:15 p.m. - 12:45 p.m.
REGISTRATION
PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY TRACK
12:45 p.m. - 12:50 p.m.
Welcome
Scott H. Sirich, Professional Liability Program Chair, Plunkett Cooney, Bloomfield Hills, MI USA
12:50 p.m. - 1:50 p.m. (60 General CLE Minutes)
Insurance and the Catastrophe: Examining the Increasing E&O Risks Presented
The number of natural and man-made catastrophes seem to be ever-increasing, and the losses flowing from these disasters seem to grow every year. Every large fire, hurricane, tornado, or other catastrophe seems to bring more extensive and costly damage to homes, businesses, and public infrastructure. Literally entire towns have been wiped out. And with these catastrophic losses comes the knowledge that many insureds don’t have sufficient coverage, are missing coverage for certain structures, don’t have sufficient limits, or don’t have any coverage for personal and business issues.
What are the evolving risks presented to carriers, agents, and brokers by these events? What concerns should the industry have regarding the future? What types of professional liability claims can be expected to arise following these catastrophes? What can be done to defend against the inevitable tide of claims, and what does the future hold?
This panel will discuss the increasing risk presented to insurance agents and brokers from climate change, and the risk of both natural and man-made disasters, in the context of the evolving standard of care for insurance brokers/agents, and the public outcry for someone to be held accountable.
Speakers: Peter J. Biging, Goldberg Segalla LLP, New York, NY USA; Anthony Burrows, Sompo International, New York, NY USA; Alexandra Russello, Marsh McLennan Agency, New York, NY USA; Tim Sullivan, Recreation Risk Retention Group, Noblesville, IN USA
Materials:
1:50 p.m. - 2:05 p.m.
NETWORKING BREAK
2:05 p.m. - 3:05 p.m. (60 General CLE Minutes)
Aging Infrastructure
The collapse of the Surfside, Florida Champlain Towers South (“CTS”) Condominium Tower in June of 2021 killed 98 people and stunned the engineering community over the apparent lack of advance warning at what until then had been a prestigious and fully-occupied oceanside address. In the investigations that followed, evidence revealed that warning signs did appear in the months and weeks prior to the collapse and raised questions over the standard of care for design professionals providing engineering services for aging buildings and infrastructure. In this presentation, Benjamin Cornelius, partner at LERA Consulting Structural Engineers and lead investigator for a defendant in the CTS litigation, will discuss the condition assessment of aging structures, identification of unsafe conditions, and the duty to warn clients and the public when unsafe conditions are discovered. Scott Sirich will provide legal perspective. The presenters will discuss evidence from investigations of recent collapses to illustrate these topics.
Moderator: Scott H. Sirich, Plunkett Cooney, Bloomfield Hills, MI USA
Speaker: Benjamin Cornelius, P.E., C.E., S.E., P.Eng., LERA Consulting Structural Engineers, New York, NY USA
Materials:
MEDICAL LIABILITY TRACK
12:45 p.m. - 12:50 p.m.
Welcome
Paula A. Koczan, Medical Liability Program Chair, Weber Gallagher Simpson Stapleton Fires & Newby, LLP., Pittsburgh, PA USA
12:50 p.m. - 1:50 p.m. (60 General CLE Minutes)
Defending Sexual Claims: All Perspectives and Some You Haven’t Thought Of
In the wake of the “MeToo” movement, sexual abuse claims against healthcare providers are on the rise, with more victims coming forward with claims of sexual assault during medical examinations. We saw the advent of this years ago with the conviction of Larry Nassar, the U.S. Gymnastics team physician, and Michigan State University student physician. This session will analyze the challenges of defending these claims and provide input from a panel of experts as to best practices that will include discussion of insurance coverage and claims handling, attacking the pleadings and evidence, navigating through the discovery process, working alongside criminal and Cumis counsel, and finally, handling the aftermath often involving Medical Board investigation and licensure discipline.
Speakers: Niki Colombino, Ph.D., Center for Clinical and Forensic Psychology of New Jersey, Morristown, NJ USA; Candace M. Deer, ProAssurance, Birmingham, AL USA; John P. Morgenstern, O’Hagan Meyer, Philadelphia, PA USA
Materials:
1:50 p.m. - 2:05 p.m.
NETWORKING BREAK
2:05 p.m. - 3:05 p.m. (60 General CLE Minutes)
Hidden Gems: Digital Evidence for Defending MedMal Claims
This panel will unearth the variety of non-traditional sources of evidence available in a medical malpractice case. From data mining, wearable electronics, and medical devices — go beyond the audit trail and discover new sources to help you defend your clients.
Speakers: Lauren R. Eichaker, Ph.D., CAISS, S-E-A, Ltd., Columbus, OH USA; Jack L. Nevins, CCE, EnCE, PI, S-E-A, Ltd., Liberty, MO USA
Materials:
CONCLUDING AFTERNOON SCHEDULE
3:05 p.m. - 3:20 p.m.
NETWORKING BREAK
3:20 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Comments From IADC President
Donna Lamontagne, IADC President, Lamontagne, Spaulding & Hayes, LLP, Cranston, RI USA
3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. (60 General CLE Minutes)
Personalizing the Impersonal: Thoughts on Confronting Negative Perceptions
The challenges posed by negative public perception are felt at all levels of the insurance industry, from the executive seeking to temper collective cynicism about their company to the trial lawyer working to overcome prejudice against their client. A veteran of political and corporate reputational campaigns at the highest levels, Mark Putnam of Putnam Partners, brings his decades of experience to this “fireside chat” about these ongoing dilemmas and strategies for managing them. After nearly a decade representing insurance companies in coverage litigation for mass tort and environmental claims, Mackie LeFevre-Snee is currently the leader of the team that handles those types of claims for RiverStone International Insurance, Inc. Discussion will be followed by a Q&A session.
Speakers: Mackie LeFevre-Snee, RiverStone International Insurance, Inc, Chicago, IL USA; Mark Putnam, Putnam Partners, Washington, DC USA
Materials:
4:30 p.m. - 4:40 p.m.
Closing Remarks
Scott H. Sirich, PLR Program Chair, Plunkett Cooney, Bloomfield Hills, MI USA
Paula A. Koczan, MLR Program Chair, Weber Gallagher Simpson Stapleton Fires & Newby, LLP., Pittsburgh, PA USA
John T. Harding, Insurance Program Chair, McAngus Goudelock & Courie, Boston, MA USA
4:40 p.m. - 5:40 p.m.
COCKTAIL RECEPTION