Defending Uncooperative or Missing Insureds: Avoiding Ethical Pitfalls and Protecting the Client's Interests
Offering 30 Minutes of Ethics Credit
Recording of a 90-minute CLE video webinar with Q&A
This CLE webinar will offer guidance to insurance defense counsel in two increasingly common situations: when the insured is uncooperative but the case must be defended and when the insured may be missing and unlocatable. The panel will discuss how and why these situations arise, the tell-tale signs that something could be amiss, ethical pitfalls, strategies appropriate for each phase of the matter, and practical tips for protecting the attorney placed in a tenuous position.
Outline
- Uncooperative insureds
- Defending the case without the insured
- Discovery strategies
- Additional insureds and the right to settle
- Trial strategies
- Missing insureds
- Relevant Model Rules of Professional Responsibility
- Withdrawal and its consequences
- Practical systems to protect the attorney, the missing insured, and the insurance company
Benefits
The panel will discuss these and other important issues:
- What is non-cooperation and why would a defendant refuse to assist counsel?
- What special concerns and complexities arise when a named insured disappears leaving an additional insured to defend the claim?
- What system should insurance defense counsel have in place for these types of situations?
Faculty
Amy E. Frantz
Partner
Freeman Mathis & Gary
Ms. Frantz is a Partner at Freeman Mathis & Gary's Chicago office and is Vice-Chair of the... | Read More
Ms. Frantz is a Partner at Freeman Mathis & Gary's Chicago office and is Vice-Chair of the firm's Midwest Coverage practice team. She practices in the areas of insurance coverage and civil litigation. Ms. Frantz advises and represents insurers in a variety of third-party and first-party insurance coverage matters arising under commercial general liability policies, professional liability, auto, property, and umbrella policies. She 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 pursuing declaratory judgment actions. Ms. Frantz 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. She handles all phases of litigation and has tried multiple cases to verdict. Ms. Frantz has also represented clients in appeals and currently serves as the Insurance Law Committee Chair for the Illinois Defense Counsel.
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Majorie Nicol
Partner
Shackelford, McKinley & Norton
Ms. Nicol is a respected insurance coverage litigator, representing first and third-party insurers across a wide range... | Read More
Ms. Nicol is a respected insurance coverage litigator, representing first and third-party insurers across a wide range of commercial and personal lines. She provides sage advice from the claim adjustment phase through ensuing litigation in both state and federal trial and appellate courts. Ms. Nicol's chief talent lies in making complex matters simple to understand and persuading her audience to favor her client’s position. In addition to decades of success in the trial courts on behalf of her clients, she has successfully argued insurance cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Ms. Nicol's is currently serving her third elected term on the State Bar of Texas Insurance Council, the governing body of the Insurance Law Section. She has chaired the Council’s Outreach Committee with the goal of growing the Section as a one-stop resource for Texas insurance lawyers. Ms. Nicol's is also serving her second term as Co-Chair of the Advertising and Intellectual Property Sub-Committee of the American Bar Association’s Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee. She has served as a moderator and speaker at CLE conferences on insurance and has contributed content to ABA publications as well as the Texas Insurance Journal.
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