Governmental Liability
About the Committee
The Governmental Liability Committee is comprised of professionals who devote a substantial amount of their time working with governments and their employees. Our membership includes attorneys in private practice and in the public sector, as well as insurance industry representatives involved in underwriting and in adjusting public entity claims.
The focus of the committee is litigation under 42 U.S.C. §1983, which over the years has become a labyrinth of procedural and substantive rules. Complicating matters further is the fact that the constitutional rights at the root of all §1983 litigation are themselves fluid concepts that are continually being revisited by the circuit courts as well as the Supreme Court. Given the vagaries of §1983 claims and defenses, and the creativity of our adversaries in court, we aim to stay on the “cutting edge” of the evolving standards in this challenging area of the law.
The Committee’s annual Civil Rights and Governmental Tort Liability seminars provide opportunities for professionals engaged in the defense of governmental entities to hear from leading litigators, professors, and other industry experts who share valuable insights and strategies in defending government. The success of this Committee and its annual seminar is based in large part on the quality and well-known reputations of many of its speakers who come from a variety of backgrounds, including the top professors and professionals in the field.
The Governmental Liability Committee is also regularly featured in the Committee Section in For The Defense. The Committee also provides the latest information to its members and clients through a semi-annual newsletter, Governmental Liability. We are developing a “Circuit Liaison” program as well to monitor developing case law in the circuits to be included in the semi-annual newsletter, along with substantive articles of interest to our members.
Through our membership and marketing efforts, we continue to increase the number of volunteers to fill important leadership positions. We strongly encourage anyone who is interested in getting involved to sign up for available positions, including publications, website, expert database and circuit liaisons.
Our success is realized through the invaluable support and unyielding efforts of our members. With assistance, we will continue to grow as the pre-eminent resource for tort liability exposures of governmental entities and their employees.