• Insurance and Casualty Defense

Insurance and Casualty Defense

Our insurance and corporate clients have included the following:

 INSURANCE CLIENTS

Alfa Insurance Companies
American Inter Fidelity Exchange
Atlantic Casualty Insurance Company
The Atlantic Mutual Companies
Auto-Owners Insurance Company
Berkley Mid-Atlantic Group
Berkshire Hathaway Guard Insurance Group, Inc.
Bituminous Insurance Companies
Blair & Company
Broadspire Claims Services
Casualty Reciprocal Exchange
Church Mutual Insurance Co.
Clarendon National Ins. Co.
Colonial Ins. Co. of California
Cotton States Insurance Company
Dairyland Insurance Co.
Dodson Group
Equity Mutual Insurance Co.
Florists’ Mutual Insurance Co.
Georgia Farm Bureau Mutual Ins. Co.
Great American Insurance Co.
Guaranty National Companies
Gulf Atlantic Insurance Services, Inc.
Home Insurance Companies
Interstate Insurance Group
Kemper Insurance Companies
Lumbermen’s Mutual Group
Markel American Ins. Co.
Merastar Insurance Co.
Midlands Claims Admin., Inc.
New York Central Mutual Fire Ins. Co.
North American Insurance Co.
North American Claim Mgmt. Co.
Oak Casualty Insurance Company
Orion Specialty Group, Inc.
Parkway Insurance Company
Peninsula Insurance Company
Penn-American Insurance Co.
Pennsylvania Millers Mutual Ins. Co.
Pennsylvania National Insurance Group
Professional Advocate Insurance Company
Reliance Insurance Company
Sedgwick Claims Mgmt. Services
Sentry Claims Service
Sentry Insurance Group
St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company
Tennessee Farmers Insurance Co.
Transamerica Insurance
The Travelers Companies, Inc.
Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London
Underwriting Mgmt. Inc.
Union Insurance Company
Zurich-American Insurance Group

OTHER CLIENTS

7-Eleven, Inc.
Boddie-Noell Enterprises, Inc./Hardee’ s
Cargill, Inc.
Columbia Gas of Virginia
G-6 Hospitality, LLC
Gwaltney Foods
Laboratory Corporation of America
MasTec Advanced Technologies
McDonald’s Corporation
Motel 6
Smithfield Packing Co., Inc.
The Limited, Inc.
Thomas J. Lipton Co.
Tyson Foods Incorporated
Wendy’s International, Inc.

I am an innovative attorney, and have handled all kinds of cases on a number of different fee arrangements. I understand the heritage, traditions and needs of each of our clients.

Fee Arrangements

We Understand Key Business Imperatives

While our firm historically has handled legal matters on an hourly basis (at an hourly fee which is below the usual market rate), we understand our clients’ needs are changing.
Our firm welcomes the opportunity to agree to alternative fee arrangements (“AFAs”).
We recognize the need to promote the client’s interest in obtaining efficient and effective legal representation.
We are well-suited to do this because of our specialized litigation experience and lean operations. Unlike large, multi-location law firms, we have no overhead “fat” to attempt to pass on to the client by excessive fees or costs.

Definition of a Win

Our firm understands we must determine with our clients what actually is the ”best” outcome for them in a particular matter.

Aligning the Needs in the Tri-Partite Relationship

Our firm understands the ability to focus on results “”ill serve the best interests of all parties, by a<ihieving a prompt resolution for the insured and by controlling costs for the third-party insurer.

WhyAFAs Work

Our firm understands that Rules of the American Bar Association, including Model Rule 1:5 (which provides in part that: “A lawyer shall not make an arrangement for, charge, or collect an unreasonable fee or an unreasonable amount for expenses”) are the best champions of AFAs) since the client and the attorney agree on outcome-based risk that is shared by both parties.

We believe it is key for legal counsel to drive a quick resolution, and that
predictability is key to success. Our firm’s goal is to provide current and potential
clients with a well-reasoned, experience-based, value pricing model that is in their best interests. Our furn embraces the importance of predictable costs, based on our vast
experience.

Out firm believes the key to making AFAs work for both our firm and our clients is experience. Under an AFA, our firm is awarded for our efficient and effective resolution of a matter. That requires our firm as legal counsel to possess the ability to hone in on only those issues that are most likely to achieve resolution, which ability is the result of our legal experience and the confidence in our legal judgment that experience fosters.

We welcome the opportunity to respond to a request for proposal (“RFP”) for legal services. We understand that for a client to choose our firm is part of the business problem you are trying to solve. We respect that this requires you to have focus and ‘ manage by objectives.

We also appreciate that the essence of Management by Objectives (“MBO”) is participative goal setting, choosing courses of action and decision-making. We believe that an important part of the MBO is the measurement and comparison of the players’ actual performai1ce with the standard set. Ow’ firm also believes that, ideally, when the players themselves have been involved with the goal setting and choosing the course of action to be followed by them) they are more likely to fulfill their responsibilities.

Our firm understands and respects that when utilizing MBO, it is important to be SMART in the creation of these plans, with the SMART plans to remind us that we are working toward Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-sensitive objectives. Our firm is familiar with goal setting by MBO, and any RFP by you should add that into your consideration of our firm. We understand that goal setting should include Key Performance Indicators (“KPI”), which establish benchmarks to track performance, and our firm welcomes that opportunity and scrutiny.

Project Management

Our firm realizes it is key to do an excellent job on project management to segment as many tasks as possible. We embrace our responsibilities to identify early issues, and get ahead of these, rather than allow opposing counsel or court
deadlines/mediators to steer the litigation.

When we segment a case, we break it down the case into phases, tasks, and deadlines. Our work has general rules to it which filter a master schedule of timing, who performs the work, and automation of next steps.

Most Likely Scenarios

Our firm understands that AFAs strongly incentivize our firm to take a strong position on what we predict will be the most likely outcome for a particular case. We accordingly plan for this scenario rather than worst case scenarios.

Putting it All Together

We appreciate that there is no one sized solution, and that client and counsel need to agree upon what best serves everyone’s needs. The l<ey to any attorney-client relationship is communication. Understanding each client’s individual objectives is key.

Thank you for your consideration of our firm for legal work

I am a member of the leading defense attorney firms:  Defense Research Institute (trucking section) and Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys (automobile and transportation section).  I have been enrolled in and attended truck driving classes to give me further insight into truckling cases.

I have received specialized truck training.

I prepared for and successfully passed the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles examination on general knowledge of tractor-trailers and their operation, air brakes, and combination vehicles, and possess a Virginia CDL instruction permit.

Further, over the course of a five week period, I attended trucking classes at Tidewater Community College in Suffolk, Virginia, and successfully completed classes in Department of Transportation Safety Rules and Regulations, Preventive Maintenance for Truck Drivers and Survey of Trucking Industry, such training including my successful operation of tractor-trailers on streets and highways.

PUBLICATIONS

A good attorney must possess good communication and writing skills. I have demonstrated I have both.

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Judge Hoffman gave me authority to represent that the following legal court opinions represented substantially my work product:

Pan American World Airways, Inc. v. California Stevedore and Ballast Company, 559 F.2d 1173 (91h Cir. 1977)

United States of America v. Indian Boy X, 565 F.2d 585 (91h Cir. 1977)

The above opinions were delivered on the occasion of Judge Hoffman sitting as a designated judge with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

LEGAL ARTICLES

I have authored the following published articles in legal scholarly journals.

“Fracking and Zoning Law in Virginia,” Virginia Lawyer, Virginia State Bar, August 2014

“Corporate Defamation in Virginia in the Internet Age,” The Journal of Civil Litigation, Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys, Fall 2014

‘Fracking and Zoning Law in Virginia.” The Journal of Civil Litigation, Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys, Winter 2014-2015

”Drones and Privacy Issues in Virginia,” Virginia Lawyer, Virginia State Bar, February 2015

“Drones and Privacy Issues in Virginia,” The Transportation Lawyer, Transportation Lawyers Association, April 2015

“Understanding Uber,” The Transportation Lawyer, Transportation Lawyers Association, July 2015

‘·BiomechanicaJ Expert Limitation Alive and Well in Virginia,” Trucking Law Committee Forum, Biomechanics and Accident Specialized Litigation Group, Defense Research Institute, July 2015

“Understanding Uber,” The .Journal of Civil Litigation, Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys, Summer 2015

“Biomechanical Expert Limitation Alive and Well in Virginia.” has been accepted for publication in The Journal of Civil Litigatich, Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys, Winter 2015-2016

“Biomechanical Expert Limitation Alive and Well in Virginia,” has been accepted for publication in The Transportation Lawyer, Transportation Lawyers Association, December 2015

I have honed my communication skills by giving presentations.

Hampton Roads Traffic Club, Virginia Beach, Virginia. May 22, 2015, “Hot Issues in Trucking Liability”
Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys, Annual Meeting, Williamsburg, Virginia, October 15, 2015, presenter on transp011ati6’n network companies legal issues
Transportation Law Institute, Transportation Lawyers Association, Columbus, Ohio, October 29, 2015, presenter on transportation Jaw/transportation network companies legal issues
Invited presenter on transportation network companies legal issues at the Claims and Litigation Alliance Conference, Boston, Massachusetts, July 14-J 5, 2016
Invited presenter on transportation network companies legal issues at the Defense Research Institute Annual Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts, October 19-23, 2016

I continue to try to improve by furthering my education in all ways, including continuing legal education courses. I stay closely in touch with claims managers and representatives and adhere in all, respects to reporting, case handling, and billing requirements.

I have been involved in the defense of personal injury and property damage claims in state and federal courts throughout Virginia since 1977.  I have a proven ability to get good results, within the budget and framework of our industry clients.

I am a member of the Hampton Roads Claims Association and the Virginia State Claims Association.

In addition, to further improve my skill in handling all forms of transportation matters, I am a member of such industry-specific groups as the Hampton Roads Traffic Club, the Tidewater Motor Truck Association, and the Transportation Lawyers Association, an invitation only association limited to experienced transportation attorneys. I am also a member of the Virginia Beach Bar Association.