DRI Faculty List
2021 Complex Coverage Forum
Westin Great Southern | Columbus, Ohio | November 11, 2021
Michael F. Aylward Morrison Mahoney LLP
Michael F. Aylward is a senior partner in the Boston office of Morrison Mahoney, LLP, where he chairs the firm's Complex Claims Resolution Group. For the past four decades, Mike has represented property and casualty insurers in insurance coverage and bad faith disputes around the United States. He is the past chair of DRI's Law Institute and has served earlier terms on DRI's Board of Directors and as chair of the DRI Insurance Law Committee. He is a member of the American Law Institute and was appointed by the ALI in 2014 to serve as one of the few appointed Advisers on the ALI Restatement of Law, Liability Insurance. Mike is also a founding member of the American College of Coverage Counsel and is the ACCC's Immediate Past President. |
Natalie Blind State Auto Insurance Companies
Natalie Blind is a manger of the Personal Lines Large Loss team for State Auto Insurance Company. She has 20 years of experience in litigation and insurance, with an emphasis on large exposure, complex claims in multiple jurisdictions. Natalie is a licensed attorney in Ohio. Prior to joining State Auto Insurance Company, Natalie was in claims management with carriers specializing in medical malpractice, commercial, and excess & surplus lines of business. |
Steve Carr, JD, CPCU Grange Mutual Insurance Co
Steve Carr, JD, CPCU serves as the legal counsel for the claims division of Grange Insurance and leads the commercial coverage function as well as advising the company on a broad range of litigation and legal issues. Steve is admitted to practice in Ohio (1999) and New York (2006) as well as in various federal jurisdictions. |
Max J. Cohen Lowe Stein Hoffman Allweiss & Hauver LLP
Max J. Cohen is a partner at Lowe, Stein, Hoffman, Allweiss & Hauver LLP in New Orleans. He has extensive experience in state and federal courts defending insurers in coverage disputes; businesses and individuals in personal injury, premises liability, and property damage cases; and insurance agents and brokers, whose conduct has been questioned. Cohen is very involved in DRI. He was a speaker at ICCI in 2014 and 2017, Program Vice Chair of ICCI in 2015, and Program Chair of ICCI in 2016. |
Sarah J. Delaney Goldberg Segalla LLP
Sarah J. Delaney is a partner in Goldberg Segalla LLP's Global Insurance Services Practice. Her coverage experience is diverse, including life, health, and disability; bad faith; rescission; and fraud. Sarah is an active member of DRI's Life, Health, and Disability Committee, and is currently the vice-chair for the 2019 LHD seminar, as well as a frequent publication contributor. She is one of the editors of the DRI treatise, The Law of Life Insurance: Key Issues in Each State and the forthcoming "Insurance Policy Rescission," a joint project between DRI's Insurance Law and Life, Health and Disability Committees. Sarah served as the Program Chair for the 2021 Life, Health, Disability, and ERISA Virtual Seminar. |
Robert W. DiUbaldo Carlton Fields PA
Robert W. DiUbaldo is a shareholder in the New York office of Carlton Fields and a member of its Financial Services and Insurance Litigation Department. His practice focuses on insurance and reinsurance arbitration, litigation, regulatory matters and complex claims analysis on behalf of insurers, reinsurers, brokers, MGAs and other entities engaged in the insurance space. Mr. DiUbaldo has litigated, arbitrated or counseled clients on matters involving a broad range of issues in the property & casualty and life & health sectors, as well as many specialty lines, such as financial and surety products. A significant part of his practice involves representing primary and excess insurers in coverage matters and disputes involving many different lines of business (both first and third party), including commercial general liability, D&O, E&O, professional liability, property, business interruption, cyber, life and health, workers' compensation, pollution, aviation, marine and energy. |
Laura A. Foggan Crowell & Moring LLP
Laura A. Foggan chairs Crowell & Moring's Insurance/Reinsurance Group. She is a nationally-recognized insurer counsel for precedential, high-dollar and complex insurance disputes. Ms. Foggan has participated in 200+ appeals in federal and state courts nationwide. She counsels insurers on strategic opportunities, litigation trends, and emerging risks, such as privacy, cyber, autonomous vehicles, drones, internet-of-things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and utilization of blockchain. Ms. Foggan's experience includes CGL, D&O, professional liability, product liability, property, and cyber liability, reservations of rights, policy conditions/exclusions, rescission, and bad faith. She is "Band 1" Chambers-ranked and included in the Best Lawyers in America directory, among many other honors. |
Daniel W. Gerber Gerber Ciano Kelly Brady LLP
Daniel W. Gerber is a founding partner of Gerber Ciano Kelly Brady LLP. Mr. Gerber chairs the firm's Insurance Solutions Practice Group. He maintains an international practice in complex insurance coverage and reinsurance matters. He has served as an expert witness in insurance disputes all over the United States. In addition, he advises insurance and reinsurance companies on regulatory risks and compliance. Among his many leadership roles, Gerber is a former member of the DRI Board of Directors and is a current member of the DRI Law Institute. Gerber is a former Chair of the Life, Health, Disability, and ERISA Committee. |
Charles A. Hafner Nicolaides Fink Thorpe Michaelides Sullivan LLP
Charles A. Hafner is one of the founding partners of Nicolaides Fink Thorpe Michaelides Sullivan LLP and, like the firm, limits his practice to insurance coverage counseling and litigation. For over 17 years, he has represented and advised foreign and domestic insurers on issues arising under a broad range of commercial insurance policies, including primary and excess general liability, commercial auto and trucking, financial lines, and professional liability. Charles is a member of the Illinois and New York state bars, and is regularly relied on by colleagues and clients for excellent restaurant recommendations in Chicago, New York City, and around the nation. |
Reinhard Krestel, CPA MDD Forensic Accountants
Reinhard Krestel, CPA concentrates on economic damage quantification and accounting investigations relating to lost profits business interruption, physical damages, construction defects & claims, products liability & recall, shareholder disputes and personal injury, wrongful death & wrongful termination matters. He has worked on assignments of all sizes around the world, in industries such as automotive, chemical production, steel manufacturing, healthcare, hotel, agribusiness, food processing, professional services and retail and wholesale. He is a senior partner at MDD Forensic Accountants and has over 20 years of experience. |
Steven E. Peiper Hurwitz & Fine PC
Steven E. Peiper is a member and vice president of Hurwitz & Fine, P.C. As co-chair of the insurance coverage practice group at the firm, he focuses his practice in insurance coverage analysis and coverage litigation of both first and third party claims. He routinely provides strategic advice on insurance related issues and risk management on a national basis and has successfully litigated cases throughout New York State, as well as in all Federal District Courts in New York. In addition to his coverage practice, Mr. Peiper also leads the firm's subrogation team and has successfully prosecuted and defended subrogation actions involving a myriad of losses ranging from large-scale industrial fire and water damage claims to personal fire losses. |
Elaine M. Pohl Plunkett Cooney PC
Elaine M. Pohl is a shareholder with Plunkett Cooney PC in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. She maintains a national practice counseling insurers in complex property and casualty insurance coverage disputes. Ms. Pohl is active in DRI's Insurance Law Committee, presently serving as an editor of DRI's Covered Events publication. She is also the chair of the Insurance and Indemnity Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan. |
Rebecca E. Strickland Swift Currie McGhee & Hiers LLP
Rebecca E. Strickland is a partner at Swift, Currie, McGhee & Hiers, LLP, defending insurance carriers, insured businesses and individuals in complex coverage disputes, automobile litigation, commercial litigation, premises liability and commercial transactions. A zealous advocate, she has defended insurers in coverage disputes from examination under oath through jury trial and tried multiple liability cases to verdict. Strickland has handled disputes valued over $1 million and matters involving claims ranging from $60,000 to over $2 million. |
Paul S. White Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP
Paul S. White is a partner is the Los Angeles office of Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP. Of note, Paul has experience in the analysis of whether insurance coverage is available for contagious or infectious diseases, including prior potential pandemics. Paul focuses his practice on complex insurance coverage and bad faith litigation. Paul's insurance coverage practice includes advising and representing insurers in bad faith litigation and insurance policy disputes, including first-party property policies, general liability coverage, errors & omissions insurance, directors & officers insurance, and media liability insurance. In addition, Paul has litigated and arbitrated disputes throughout the United States involving domestic and foreign insurance agents and brokers in all lines of coverage. Paul regularly addresses and publishes for groups such as DRI, CPCU Society, the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS), Property & Liability Resource Bureau/Liability Insurance Research Bureau (PLRB/LIRB), the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, and the National Business Institute. |
Ricardo A. Woods Burr & Forman LLP
Ricardo A. Woods is a trial lawyer and shareholder in Burr & Forman, LLP's Mobile office. He is a creative problem solver who provides his clients with innovative and cost effective solutions and strategies. Ricardo has first-chair jury trial experience, as well as extensive pre-trial litigation experience. He has successfully defended matters, which included allegations of wrongful death, paralysis, severe bodily injuries, and toxic torts. Ricardo currently serves as the Chair of DRI's Diversity and Inclusion Committee. |