2024 Annual Meeting Featured Speakers

Tyler Alexander, Director of Trust & Reliability, leads CoCounsel's Trust & Reliability Department. Members of his team are responsible for ensuring the reliability of the CoCounsel platform through product testing. In facmt, during the development of CoCounsel, Tyler, and members of his team, spent nearly 4,000 hours training and fine-tuning CoCounsel’s output based on over 30,000 legal questions. Prior to joining Thomson Reuters, Tyler worked in-house at a large health insurance company where he helped build out the Legal Department’s knowledge management program. He is a graduate of Lewis & Clark Law School and is licensed to practice law in California and Oregon.

Michelle M. Arbitrio is a Partner at the national law firm of Wood, Smith, Henning & Berman LLP (WSHB). Michelle serves as Managing Partner of WSHB's White Plains Office and sits on the firm's National Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. Michelle is also PLDF's Chief Diversity Officer, and a member PLDF's Board of Directors. Michelle specializes in the defense of employment and professional liability matters.

Kathleen Buck is the Vice President of Claims at Minnesota Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company (MLM). She manages a team of experienced claim attorneys who specialize in handling complex lawyers professional liability lawsuits. Over the course of her career, Kathleen worked for multiple international commercial carriers holding various senior positions as a claim consultant, claim attorney, coverage counsel, and state affairs analyst. During her earlier tenure at MLM, she served in the roles of claim attorney, regional sales director, and supervising claim attorney. Kathleen is a frequent lecturer on topics of legal ethics, avoidance of legal malpractice, and enhancing civility in the profession. She received her J.D. with distinction from the University of Iowa College of Law, and her B.A. magna cum laude from Clarke College. She is PLDF Immediate Past President, as well as an active member of the International Association of Defense Counsel and the American Bar Association.

Anthony Burrows is Vice President and Claims Counsel at Sompo where he manages the SompoPro Commercial E&O claims team overseeing claims involving insurance agents/brokers, property managers and other miscellaneous classes of professionals. Anthony has over 17 years’ experience handling claims and has worked as Claims Counsel for four other leading insurance carriers after a period of private practice in Buffalo, New York. He received his BA from the University of Vermont and his JD from Albany Law School and is a frequent speaker at industry events.

Andrew P. Carroll of Clark Hill PLC in Philadelphia is a litigator with a diverse and complementary practice who represents professionals, mortgage lenders and servicers, and construction clients in both civil and disciplinary proceedings. Andrew focuses his professional liability practice on representing attorneys and law firms in a variety of civil and disciplinary proceedings, including claims of legal malpractice, abuse of process, breach of fiduciary duty, violations of debt collection laws, wrongful use of civil proceedings, and actions brought by state disciplinary boards. Andrew also represents attorneys in litigation relating to partnership dissolutions, third-party litigation funding, and fee splitting disputes.

Lenore R. Chouinard has nearly 25 years of experience working in the law and insurance industries focusing on civil litigation. In 2015, Lenore pivoted her career from practicing law to insurance claims. Lenore joined HSB in 2019 and currently serves as a Director of Liability Claims managing a team of claims adjusters focusing on EPL and Cyber Liability. She also has a passion for working in the DEI space and serves on the DEI Council for Munich Re US P&C. Lenore completed her B.A. at Bay Path University in Longmeadow, MA; her J.D. at UConn Law in Hartford, CT; and is currently pursuing her LLM in Insurance Law at UConn Law in Hartford, CT; she also completed her CPCU in 2023. Lenore has resided in Alpharetta, GA since 2017 with her son (born in 2015). Lenore enjoys running, traveling, singing, learning, and volunteering in her community.

Allan Cobb of Cobb Law, PLLC represents clients from New York to California, and from small claims court to the U.S. Supreme Court, focusing on federal and state professional liability defense, business litigation, technology/copyright law, fee disputes, constitutional law, and appellate practice. Before becoming a civil lawyer, he served as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Jefferson County, Kentucky, where he prosecuted computer crimes, public integrity crimes, white-collar crimes, and authored Kentucky’s current computer crime statutes (i.e., KRS 434.845 through 434.855). Allan has been on faculty at both Boston University and the University of Louisville and published numerous articles in the areas of law and technology.

Brooke Cohen, is a Senior Claims Specialist for AXA XL’s Miscellaneous Professional, Title, and Public Entity claims group. In this role, Brooke works closely with Insureds in responding to and defending various types of professional and public entity based claims. Prior to AXA XL, Brooke worked as a staff attorney for a Superior Court Judge and later joined an Atlanta based civil litigation law firm. Additionally, Brooke has served as a campaign consultant focused on compliance with state fundraising ethical guidelines.

Kristen J. Coleman of Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney in Philadelphia primarily focuses her practice on complex professional liability cases involving various licensed industries. She has extensive experience defending lawyers, accountants, long term care facilities, hospitals, healthcare systems, physicians and nurses in liability actions. She is a member of her firm’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and Women’s Initiative Group entitled “Forward Together.”

Christopher J. Conrad is a shareholder in the Camp Hill, PA office of Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin, PC, and he is a member of the firm’s Professional Liability Department. As part of his practice, Mr. Conrad defends school districts, intermediate units, charter schools and other academic institutions in employment and civil rights litigation and in all phases of special education litigation, from administrative due process hearings to federal court appeals. Mr. Conrad is a 1998 graduate of The Pennsylvania State University and a 2001 graduate of The Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law. He is admitted to practice law in federal and state courts in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland.

Erik P. Crep is a Shareholder in the Miami office of Wicker Smith. He joined the firm in 2004. Erik’s primary areas of practice are the defense of trucking and auto negligence, premises liability and personal injury, and professional liability matters. He has significant experience with cases involving claims of catastrophic injury involving death, brain damage, permanent disability and disfigurement. Erik is a graduate of Columbia University, where he was a three-year starter on the basketball team; he went on to earn his Juris Doctor cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law in 2004. Erik is an active member of the Florida Bar, the Miami-Dade County Bar Association, Professional Liability Defense Federation, Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, and DRI.

Jason Crew is a Claims Supervisor for COPIC Insurance Company and brings twenty years of insurance industry experience. He started with American Family Insurance in 2003 handing liability claims . In 2012, Jason was promoted to a manager of a PIP/Med Pay team and was asked to help open the Western Medical Department for American Family Insurance. In 2014, Jason left property and casualty insurance to work at the University of Colorado Hospital in their risk management department. There he handled claims for the physicians at UCH and at Children’s Hospital. He also performed risk management duties for the Emergency Department for UCH. He has been working for COPIC for 6 years handling complex medical liability claims. He was one of the first consultants for COPIC to handle Candor in Colorado since 2019 and Utah since 2021. Jason was promoted to Claims Supervisor in October 2023 and has a team of 5 consultants that focus on taking care of their insureds in the Western territory. Jason earned his B.S.S in Marketing from Portland State University and has the designations of Associate of Insurance Claims, Senior Claims Law Associate and the Society of Human Resource Management.

Robert J. Draper of Relevant Data Technologies is a seasoned expert in the field of electronic discovery, boasting a distinguished career that spans over 25 years. As the Owner and President of Relevant Data Technologies, Rob has demonstrated a profound commitment to advancing the practice of E-Discovery through innovative solutions and expert leadership. His expertise encompasses all facets of electronic data management including data identification, preservation, collection, processing, analytics, and hosting.

Donald Patrick Eckler is a partner at Freeman, Mathis, & Gary, LLP, handling a wide variety of civil disputes in state and federal courts across Illinois and Indiana. His practice has evolved from primarily representing insurers in coverage disputes to managing complex litigation in which he represents a wide range of professionals, businesses and tort defendants. In addition to representing doctors and lawyers, Mr. Eckler represents architects, engineers, appraisers, accountants, mortgage brokers, insurance brokers, surveyors and many other professionals in malpractice claims.

Jennifer Faas, Vice President, Professional and Financial Liability Claims at Aspen Insurance Group is a senior insurance professional experienced in leading and developing teams of claims handlers, managing litigation, and direct handling of complex Professional and Management Liability claims. Ms. Faas serves as an advisor to business partners providing analysis of claims trends and actionable intelligence. Ms. Faas is Past Co-Chair of CNA's Women Impacting Leadership (WIL) Employee Resource Group. Ms. Faas areas of experience include Lawyers and Miscellaneous Professional Liability (MPL), Private Company D&O, Fiduciary Liability, Fidelity, and Commercial Crime.

Anne Schmidt Frankel is a Member in the Philadelphia office of Burns White, concentrating her practice on defending individual providers, healthcare institutions, care facilities and non-profits against professional and general liability claims. She also represents these clients in premises liability, corporate liability, and employment matters. Ms. Frankel has successfully defended catastrophic injury, wrongful death, and survival actions on behalf of these clients in depositions, contentious discovery hearings and at mediation and trial. She has experience handling complex discovery matters for organizations with a national presence in both state and federal courts. Ms. Frankel provides legal guidance and advocacy for a diverse array of human services organizations, health care facilities, and care centers.

When professionals are faced with claims and lawsuits alleging professional negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and more, Dana Gittleman of Marshall Dennehey, P.C. provides a vigorous response and defense. As a member of the Professional Liability Department, she routinely defends claims and lawsuits brought against insurance agents and brokers, attorneys, real estate professionals, financial entities, large product manufacturers, lenders, directors and officers and other professionals.

Nicholle R. Harrison, Esq., Senior Claims Technical Specialist at QBE, is responsible for handling claims arising out of QBE’s Financial Lines business, including lawyer’s professional liability and miscellaneous professional liability. Prior to joining QBE, Nicholle handled a wide variety of errors and omissions (E&O) claims including lawyers’, insurance agents’, architect and engineer’s and miscellaneous professional liability claims at Allied World Insurance Company. She was also previously employed in NGM Insurance Company’s Staff Counsel Office doing insurance defense litigation. Nicholle earned a B.A. from Trinity College of Vermont and earned a J.D. from Western New England University School of Law. She is a member of the Massachusetts and Connecticut State Bar.

Erin Higgins serves as Conn Kavanaugh’s Managing Partner, overseeing all operations and managing the growth of the Firm’s practice areas and professionals. She is a civil trial lawyer. During her 30 years of practice, Erin has focused on representing lawyers, insurance agents and brokers, and other types of professionals in defending against errors and omissions claims. Having served a four-year term on the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers, she also represents lawyers in disciplinary matters and advises lawyers on ethics issues. Erin understands that for a professional, reputation is everything, and she will work towards a resolution that best protects that interest. Erin is a cum laude graduate of Georgetown University, and she received her J.D. cum laude from Boston College Law School. She has been honored for her work by top legal organizations since 2003 and has taken leadership roles in numerous bar and professional organizations.

Robin Hodson, an AVP for Lancer Claims Services, a Division of Brown & Brown Program Insurance Services, Inc, manages a team of experienced adjusters and attorneys in relation to miscellaneous professional liability claims. Prior to working at Lancer Claim Services, Ms. Hodson was a Claim Manager at Premier Claims Management wherein she managed several teams of employees which handled General Liability inclusive of bodily injury, property damage and personal and advertising injury claims, Architect & Engineer Errors & Omissions, Insurance Agents Errors & Omissions, Products Liability, claims related to the CLRA, Construction Defects and an Artisan Contractors Program. Her experience also includes Directors & Officers claims, Commercial Property, Homeowners, Commercial Auto and Personal Auto. In addition to claims management and claims handling positions, she spent several years in administrative positions for Mercury Insurance Company where her experience included Assistant Director of Legal Operations and Corporate Claims Litigation where she handled bad faith litigation. Ms. Hodson has a Bachelors degree in Business Administration and Management and a Masters in Risk Management and Insurance. She has obtained several insurance designations including CPCU, CIC, AINS, AIC and AIS. She currently teaches for the Insurance Education Association and the CPCU Society and stays active in insurance organizations.

Jason R. Jobe, Partner with Thompson Coe in Dallas focuses primarily on defending and counseling clients in professional liability, commercial, and consumer-related litigation. He has represented a wide range of individuals and companies, including insurance agents/brokers, third-party administrators, debt collectors, accountants, lawyers, architects and engineers, real estate agents, property inspectors, homeowners’ associations, property management companies, and web design/developers. Jason has significant experience defending claims under the Texas Insurance Code, Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Texas Debt Collection Act, Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Texas Credit Reporting Act, and Texas Securities Act. His practice also focuses on representing and counseling clients on data privacy and cyber liability issues, as well as assisting clients with industry regulation compliance and litigation avoidance.

Julie Jorgensen of Evans & Dixon is a trial attorney with over 25 years of experience. Her experience is diverse, with an emphasis in professional liability. She has defended attorneys, architects, engineers, property managers and accountants.

Jessica Kansky, Ph.D. of Immersion Legal provides a variety of services to our clients, including focus group and mock trial facilitation, statistical analysis and juror profile development, and jury selection assistance. She leverages her expertise in psychology to evaluate how jurors’ perceptions and experiences inform their verdict decisions and how interpersonal dynamics shape jury deliberations. Jessica has worked on cases involving civil rights claims, environmental contamination and toxic tort, medical device and consumer product liability, construction disputes, transportation personal injury and wrongful death, premises liability, financial fraud, and breach of contract.

Ryan Kelly is a Claims Team Lead for Berkley Select in Chicago. In her role, Ryan leads a team of Legal and Accountant Professional Liability and Management Liability specialists. Ryan also continues to handle claims with a focus on Legal Professional Liability claims. Prior to joining Berkley Select in 2017, Ryan spent nearly a decade as an insurance defense litigator in Chicago, Illinois. She spent most of her career at Lipe Lyons Murphy Nahrstady & Pontikis, LLP where she made partner before transitioning over to work for an insurance company. While working in private practice, Ryan defended a wide variety of matters including legal and medical malpractice cases, construction litigation and premises liability cases. Ryan’s practice focused primarily on litigation and included numerous trials. Ryan obtained her undergraduate degree from Indiana University and her juris doctorate from DePaul University College of Law.

Andy Kenney, Esq., Assistant Vice President, Professional Liability Claims at Allied World analyzes and resolves a broad range of primary and excess Architect & Engineer and Contractors Professional Liability claims involving complex design and construction projects throughout the world. Additionally, Andy handles a variety of other professional errors and omissions claims involving surveyors, construction managers, property managers, lawyers, insurance agents and brokers, and other miscellaneous professionals. Prior to joining Allied World, Andy was an associate attorney at a Boston-area law firm where he represented individuals and corporations in matters involving premises and auto liability claims, contract disputes and general litigation. After relocating to Connecticut, Andy joined a medium-sized regional law firm where he successfully litigated premises, construction, auto and professional liability claims throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut. Andy earned his B.A. from Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire and his J.D. from Suffolk University Law School in Boston, Massachusetts. He is a member of the Massachusetts and Connecticut bars.

Svetlana Kots of Sompo is a graduate of Moscow University School of Law and Duke Law, and completed the International Law program at Geneva University School of Law. She practiced in the field of international finance (primarily banking investigations) for over five years, and has worked in Financial Lines since 2017. Svetlana’s files have sounded in legal malpractice and accounting liability, miscellaneous professional liability and public entity claims.

Heather Levinsky is currently a Senior Claims Consultant for Berkley Select handling professional liability claims. Prior to joining Berkley Select in 2023, Heather worked as a trial attorney in Chicago, Illinois, with a concentration in handling complex, high exposure cases. Heather has experience in a wide variety of claims involving medical malpractice, legal malpractice, employment law, products liability, construction, trucking litigation, and personal injury cases.

Christopher F. Lyon is a partner at the law firm of Goldberg Segalla, LLP concentrating his practice in the litigation of complex commercial and professional liability matters. Chris represents accounting firms and individual accountants, as well as lawyers, architects, engineers, and agents and brokers in various professional liability cases and provides counsel and representation to businesses, including directors and officers, with actual or anticipated legal issues. Chris has been named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers for the last four years and was also named a Best Lawyer in 2024.

Joy Malbon-Griffin is a Regional Director and Claims Attorney with Minnesota Lawyers Mutual. Primarily, she works to support MLM’s strategic objectives by managing and directing the territories in Virginia and Washington, DC. As a Regional Director, she is a professional dedicated to the lawyers’ liability marketplace whereby she takes time to understand each firm’s individual insurance needs. She also answers questions about MLM’s A (Excellent) Financial Strength Rated insurance company (by AM Best) and assists with understanding policies and applications. As a Claims Attorney, Joy manages litigation involving legal malpractice and provides advice to attorneys facing malpractice suits and ethical complaints. She frequently presents CLEs throughout the Commonwealth and beyond on topics related to ethics, firm management, legal malpractice, and attorney well-being.

Matthew S. Marrone is vice chair of Goldberg Segalla, LLP’s Management and Professional Liability practice group. He has defended hundreds of lawyers, insurance agents and brokers, and other professionals in malpractice and related litigation, and often represents these same professionals in ethics investigations and disciplinary proceedings. Matt has extensive complex jury trial experience, some involving exposures in excess of $25 million. He is licensed and actively practices throughout all state and federal courts of both Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Michelle Meloche is an Attorney in Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice, LLC’s Healthcare Litigation Practice Group, bringing a diverse background in healthcare management, policy and regulations, and risk management, in addition to her practical experience in litigation from pre-suit eDiscovery through trial. Michelle has worked in large non-profit healthcare organizations, in Alaska’s Department of Law - Human Services Section, and most recently in private practice healthcare litigation defense since 2021. Michelle’s innovative approach to each case and legal issue she counsels for stems from her education and experience in health law, public health, and health management and policy.

Paul D. Motz is a shareholder in the Chicago office of Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney where he focuses his practice on complex commercial and tort litigation disputes, regularly winning large-scale matters involving product liability, catastrophic personal injury, medical malpractice, pharmaceutical negligence, professional negligence, transportation and construction defect. His wide depth of experience includes multi-district litigation (MDL) cases, labor & employment matters, insurance coverage & bad faith claims, patent disputes, breach of contract and other financial matters. Prior to joining Segal McCambridge, Paul was managing partner at a Midwest litigation defense firm where he successfully tried many high-exposure cases for clients across the country. He also served as an associate at a firm where he practiced civil litigation defense. Paul earned his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law. He holds a B.A. in political science and communication from DePaul University.

Matthew P. O'Malley is a graduate of Rutgers Law School – Newark, where he served as Editor in-Chief of the Rutgers Law Review and was awarded the Alumni Senior Prize at graduation for greatest achievement during law school and greatest promise as a future member of the legal profession. He clerked for Justice Gary S. Stein of the New Jersey Supreme Court, and thereafter joined Tompkins, McGuire, Wachenfeld & Barry, LLP, where he has remained ever since. Matt has practiced in professional malpractice defense, and insurance coverage, for more than 25 years.

Sean C. Pierce, of Wallace, Jordan, Ratliff & Brandt, LLC in Birmingham, practices law across Alabama and the Southeast. Sean is rated AV Preeminent® by Martindale-Hubbell and has 20 years of experience in handling management (labor and employment, D&O, corporate and commercial litigation), technology (cyber security and data privacy and protection), and professional liability (including E&O and malpractice) claims and cases, with an emphasis on complex litigation and class actions, RICO and whistleblower claims, and other bet-the-company litigation. His experience includes defending his clients in state and federal court, before municipal, state and federal administrative boards, and in arbitration. He serves as outside General Counsel for several clients and as both a mediator and an arbitrator. Sean received both his Bachelor of Science in Business and his Juris Doctorate from The University of Alabama. He received further education at the Duke University School of Law and the University of Oxford. He is admitted to practice before all state and federal courts in Alabama and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. He is an Alabama and Mid-South Super Lawyer®, a Best Lawyer in America® for Labor and Employment Litigation, and is the recipient of many other awards.

Christopher Piety, Esq. has worked in the professional liability industry for over 30 years and holds licenses as an attorney, insurance agent, and claims adjuster. Chris joined Aspen Insurance in 2011 as Vice President of Professional Liability Claims, and currently serves as Senior Vice President, Underwriting Counsel for Professional Liability where he underwrites Accounting and Law firms and coordinates professional liability risk management services for Aspen policyholders. Prior to joining Aspen, Chris served as a Claims Specialist and then Vice President of Claims for an Accountants professional liability mutual insurance company. An experienced professional liability defense attorney, Chris was a partner at a Los Angeles law firm where his law practice focused on defending professionals in malpractice claims and representing insurers in coverage matters. Chris is a frequent speaker on professional liability risk management issues.

Nick Polavin, Ph.D. is a senior jury consultant at IMS Legal Strategies. Dr. Polavin assists clients with a variety of jury research services, including focus group and mock trial facilitation, research design, statistical analysis for creating juror profiles, and developing themes and recommendations for trial. He regularly supports attorneys in court with voir dire strategies and jury selection, having worked on more than 80 in his career. He is based in Charlotte, NC and works across the United States on a variety of matters, including medical malpractice, product liability, mass torts, and trucking.

J. Michael Reese, JD/LL.M, is a Risk Control Consulting Director for CNA, the underwriter of the AICPA Professional Liability Insurance Program. He previously advised tax clients for over 12 years with both national and regional public accounting firms, serving Fund clients in the Private Equity/Venture Capital space. Mike has been involved with risk management for accounting firms since 2014, and has provided risk management and professional liability advice on the insurance carrier side to accounting firms since 2019. He has authored several risk management articles for both accountants and miscellaneous professionals. Prior to his career in public accounting, Mike served as a criminal prosecutor for the State of Indiana for three years.

Courtney Risk is a lawyer, yoga teacher (200-RYT), and owner of Dahlia Training & Consulting based in Lexington, Kentucky. Dahlia works with employers to develop tailored business policies and practices that directly impact employee well-being, including the appropriate implementation of AI technologies. Dahlia also offers trainings focused on personnel issues, employee retention, and liability risk mitigation.

Zina Saeed is a lawyer and U.S. Professional Liability specialist with an insurance career spanning 20 years. Zina began her insurance career as a Claims Manager for Hiscox, a Lloyd’s of London syndicate, before moving to Chicago in 2009. She joined W.R. Berkley to focus her practice on large CPA firms and law firms. She later transitioned to the underwriting side of the house when she returned to London in 2014 as Head of U.S. Professional Liability for the W.R. Berkley Syndicate at Lloyd’s of London. She later spent time on the Broking side with Tysers in London serving firms accessing the London, Swiss and Bermuda markets Zina is currently a Managing Principal of Lemme, a division of Epic and leads the Accounting Firm Practice, serving top 100 Accounting Firms.

Sandra Schneider, J.D. is a Claims Executive in the CAMICO claims department since 2020. She manages a team of claims specialists handling primarily APL claims, but also cyber and EPL matters. She joined CAMICO as a Claims Specialist in 2013. Before that, she practiced as a litigation attorney for a year. Prior to law school, she was a professional liability underwriter for five years. Schneider holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Business and French from Bradley University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law. She is admitted to practice law in Illinois and California. She works remotely from Tennessee.

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. 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.

Alesia Sulock of Marshall Dennehey, P.C. focuses her practice on the defense of claims made and suits brought against attorneys, accountants, corporate directors and officers, and other professionals, as well as various commercial litigation matters. In connection with her practice, Alesia advises corporate clients on real estate and property matters. Alesia has significant experience in legal malpractice matters, including those arising from underlying commercial litigation, criminal matters, professional liability matters, medical malpractice matters, personal injury matters, transactional matters, and others. Alesia also represents attorneys in connection with Dragonetti suits, abuse of process claims, and disciplinary matters.

Bob Tighe graduated New York Law School and worked in private practice for several years specializing in personal injury defense. Upon leaving private practice, Bob worked for Zurich and Liberty International Underwriters (“LIUI”) for a number of years handling predominantly legal malpractice claims, but also real estate agent, title agent, and miscellaneous professional liability claims. During Bob’s final two years at LIUI he was asked to join the Medical Malpractice Programs team. For the past five years Bob has been part of the Coverys team handling Specialty Program medical malpractice claims. Bob is a Claim Manager and handles complex cases involving Urgent Care Centers, Chiropractors, Podiatrists, Dentists, and Massage Therapists. Bob also handles some of the most complex coverage cases in the group. In addition, Bob oversees a TPA handling Lawyers and Home Inspector claims. Bob has traveled around the country attending mediations and trials. In addition Bob has been a frequent speaker on industry panels including CLM and Crittenden discussing topics including the impact of COVID on claims handling, implicit bias, and hot button coverage topics.

Kathryn S. Whitlock of McAngus Goudelock & Courie, LLC has spent her entire career defending and counseling individuals and insurance companies accused of not doing their jobs right. Primarily in professional liability, bad faith and sexual misconduct matters, Kate represents those in the legal, insurance, healthcare, real estate, accounting and education fields, among others. Kate is highly-skilled in the courtroom and alternative dispute forums; she has tried over 100 cases to jury verdict, bench decision or final arbitrator award in state and federal courts and various other venues. Kate also handles her own cases through appeal and is often called on by others after they receive a disappointing first level dispute resolution outcome. Kate has been recognized in her practice by The Best Lawyers in America© and Georgia Super Lawyers and was named among America’s Top Lawyers by The American Law Society in 2018. Kate serves in leadership roles with several national organizations, including Defense Research Institute, Claims and Litigation Management Alliance and Georgia Defense Lawyers Association. In her pursuit to advance the legal field, she regularly lectures and publishes articles on emerging issues related to her litigation practice. Kate is also passionate about mentoring the next generation of trial attorneys.

Alexander Wilder, JD, CPCU, Director of Executive Liability at Markel. Prior to joining Markel in 2021, Mr. Wilder was in private practice in Chicago, IL. Mr. Wilder earned his JD from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law and his Bachelor's Degree from Indiana University-Bloomington. 

Laura Zaroski, JD, RPLU is Managing Director, Law Firms Practice at Arthur J. Gallagher. She is responsible for the placement of Lawyers Professional Liability, Management Liability Insurance, and Risk Management services for Gallagher law firm clients. Her primary focus is mid-size to large law firms. Laura has a deep understanding of the challenges faced by law firms due to her 16 years as a practicing attorney, her handling of law firm claims and years dealing with LPL coverage issues. Laura is happy to bring her knowledge and skill set to the broking process in order to assist firms with finding and tailoring the best coverage solutions available in the marketplace for each individual firm.

Megan Zurn is a Large Loss Claims Specialist in AXA XL’s Atlanta office. She handles high exposure professional liability claims for AXA XL insureds nationwide with a concentration on lawyers professional liability matters. Prior to joining AXA XL, Megan practiced law in an Atlanta boutique litigation firm where she represented policyholders in coverage disputes and litigated a variety of complex commercial matters in state and federal courts. Before transitioning to civil litigation, Megan began her legal career as an Assistant Public Defender in Athens, Georgia.