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Across the country states have staked out a variety of rules on when claims against insurance producers accrue. Illinois is on one end of the spectrum since Krop v. American Family, and the law continues to develop in Illinois and across the country on this important issue. This program will discuss the rules and rationales adopted and the nuances involved.

Featured Speakers

	Donald Patrick Eckler is a Partner in Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP’s Chicago office. He is a highly experienced litigator who focuses his practice on defending lawyers, accountants, insurance brokers, and other professionals in a variety of civil disputes in state and federal courts across Illinois and Indiana. His practice ranges from representing insurers in coverage disputes to defending professionals, businesses, and tort defendants in complex litigation. Mr. Eckler’s commercial litigation experience involves complex contract disputes and class-action lawsuits. His coverage practice for insurers and the insured involves commercial general liability and personal lines policies, issues involving the duty to defend and indemnify, bad faith, and the application of exclusions. His tort defense work spans the representations of product manufacturers and distributors, trucking and transportation clients, and premises owners. Drawing on his experience as a college basketball coach, Mr. Eckler has also represented a coach before the NCAA Committee on infractions. Mr. Eckler is active in the organized defense bar both at the state and national level. He is a committee chair, columnist, and board member with both the Illinois Defense Counsel and the Professional Liability Defense Federation. He also serves as the immediate past president of the PLDF. He publishes extensively in professional journals on a wide range of topics, including legal ethics, attorney-client privilege, and Illinois and federal civil procedure. He also provides thought leadership on substantive areas of law ranging from products liability and toxic torts to premises liability and claims against accountants.
	Barbara Serafini is Senior Vice President of Gallagher Bassett, managing cases in the Executive and Professional Liability Specialty Practice Group. She currently oversees a wide variety of Errors & Omissions (E&O) programs including Lawyers, Title Insurance, Escrow Agents, Insurance Agents & Brokers for various carriers. Her duties include reviewing coverage analysis issues; communicating with policyholders regarding coverage issues; negotiating settlements directly with claimants and their counsel; managing defense counsel for policyholders; and managing litigation and resolution strategy. Barbara also trains and assists with management of new employees in the non-medical professional liability group. Prior to joining GB Specialty, Barbara worked as a Managing General Agent (MGA) for multiple insurance companies, managing a complex caseload of various types of high-profile professional liability claims reported in connection with policies issued to lawyers, title agents, insurance agents and brokers.
	Bradley J. Smith is a partner at Keefe, Campbell, Biery & Associates, LLC where he manages the firm’s civil litigation and trial practice. He handles a variety of defense cases including, employment law, general liability, products liability, and other similar tort areas of the law. He also routinely advises his clients on general liability and employment law issues.

Continuing Legal Education Credit

This course has been approved for 1 CLE Credit Hour by the Illinois MCLE Board. While PLDF is not able to offer CLE Credit in other states, we will happily provide an attendance verification to any attorney interested in self-reporting credit for this program.

Registration

Registration for this event is complimentary. The event will be held in person at the offices of Johnson & Bell, Ltd., 33 W. Monroe Street, Ste 2700, Chicago and live via Zoom.