Focus Group and Mock Jury Exercises:

Building the Litigation Team with

Experiential Therapy

John Siegart...........................................................Pg. 2

10cents

Interview with Paul A. Amirata.......................Pg. 3

MAGNA-FY Quarterly March 30 , 2010 Issue #1 Vol .1

A 90-Day Plan for Litigation Success

Frank B. McLaughlin,..........................................Pg.4

Why Your Firm Needs a

Client Ambassador

Cole Silver..............................................................Pg. 6

Magna Legal Services’ 6th Educational Conference, entitled "Streamlining Relationships with Outside Counsel"

This year, it is being held at The W New York hotel in NYC on May 5th and 6th. A Speakers’ Cocktail Reception and Dinner will be held on May 5th, and the conference commences on May 6th, followed by a Networking Cocktail Reception.

Argonaut Specialty AXA Insurance Company Chartis CNA Farmers Insurance Georgia-Pacific

Great American Insurance Group QBE Specialty Insurance Resolute Management Inc. TD BANK TYCO

Hartz Mountain Industries Inc Starwood Hotels and Restorts Worldwide

To register please contact Victoria Sebring at 866-624-6221 or vsebring@magnals.com.

trial. But an often overlooked benefit of the jury consultant experience is the positive development, and alignment, of the litigation team. This team is primarily composed of in-house counsel, the client, outside counsel and the jury consultants. A successful jury focus group or mock jury outcome can be measured not only in the jury reactions to the presentations, but in the relative success of the litigation team taking shape as a functional entity, with an agreed upon purpose and focus, and with each member’s understanding and role aligned with that objective.

One of the more traditional means used to obtain this alignment in the early stages of a case is the formation of a liti-gation plan and budget. For some law firms and their clients who deal with similar law suits and have established an effi-cient, if not repetitive, pattern for handling a case, this may be all that is necessary. But for any case that presents a high level of complexity, or a need for creative thinking and flexibility, the litigation plan and budget simply don’t work for team forma-tion. This is because any such plan is being formulated in the abstract and is, simply put, just talk.

Experiential therapy is premised on the notion that combining elements of action with talk is potentially more ben-eficial than simply talking through a problem. The same is true of developing litigation strategy and team alignment. It is only when various real time tasks require action that members of the team begin to challenge each other and come to some true con-sensus – most notably in preparation for trial, but to a limited extent this also occurs when the client is being deposed, there is substantive motion practice taking place or during settlement negotiations. There is no need to wait until these events take place to then attempt to build the litigation team. In fact, there is a danger of finding out too late that the team is dysfunctional beyond repair – that there is no consensus, no recognition of roles, or that there is a complete distrust between members.

Continued pg. 10

Focus Group and Mock Jury Exercises: Building the Litigation Team with Experiential TherapyBy John SiegartVice PresidentDeputy General CounselRiverStone Resources, LLC

Richard paced nervously behind the one-way mirror as the focus group discussed our case. He was an expe-rienced trial lawyer, and he had participated in a few

focus groups before, but he was anxious just the same. And he quickly became frustrated as the jurors surmised, guessed and cajoled each other into a theory of the case far from what Richard had presented. To add insult to injury, two of the jurors quipped about how they didn’t trust him – he was “too slick” and “obviously hiding something” from them. “And what’s up with that tie?” One of the jurors joked. Richard looked devas-tated. “But this is my lucky tie,” he murmured.

At the end of the day, the two panels split in their de-cisions – one favoring our side of the case; the other voting against us. Richard sighed deeply and lowered his head as we debriefed on the day’s events. “I can’t believe I lost,” he said. We all looked at each other, neither of us around that table con-vinced that we had, in fact, “lost,” or that Richard was to blame.

“A split between the two panels. That’s what you want from this exercise.” Our jury consultant offered. “True,” I added. “So what could we have done differently?”

“Well,” said Richard. “I guess I should find another lucky tie.”

The mock jury/focus group experience touches all of the individuals involved both professionally and personally. In the case of Richard, our perception of his trial skills did not di-minish from this exercise. Rather, his ability to adapt and learn from the feedback demonstrated to us his true value to the liti-gation team. Nor did we believe he was too slick for being our advocate at trial. Rather, our consultant suggested a few ways Richard could soften his delivery and garner more trust from the jury. But Richard’s abilities were not the only ones on the line – both our jury consultant’s and our own skills were tested throughout the day. Each of us contributed to small victories, and each to some of the losses. In the end, it wasn’t any one in-dividual who won or lost the case – it was the team. After hours of heated debate, we left with a game plan, and each member of the team understood how they fit into that plan.

There is a great deal of literature discussing the po-tential benefits of using jury consultants to prepare a case for

Magna-FY Quarterly

Peter Hecht, Editor-In-Chief

Chad Graf, Designer - Julius Reeves, Designer

2

Magna-FY Quarterly

Peter Hecht, Editor-In-Chief

Chad Graf, Designer - Julius Reeves, Designer

10¢ents:AXA Insurance Company head of claims, Paul A. Amirata files some motions for us on when to avoid attorneys, the Harvard of Long Island, and how much a photocopy should cost.

By Peter Hecht

Q. Sounds like working in the insurance industry is actu-ally a good opener? A. When I speak at industry seminars, I routinely ask the audi-ence how many people aspired to go into the insurance industry and rarely, if ever, do I see a hand in the air.

Q. Is your hand in the air?A. Not exactly. I’m from New Jersey, went to college at Wash-ington College in Maryland, and got a degree in business. Then I received my JD from Hofstra Law School - the Harvard of Long Island. I was working at a mid-sized firm in New Jersey in the early 1990s doing commercial litigation and had a for-mer colleague switch careers and went to AIG adjusting envi-ronmental claims, such as pollution and asbestos. He gave me three reasons to go to work with him: my salary would be just as good, if not better; I would have weekends off; and best of all, I would get to direct the attorneys. I said, you’ll have my resume in the morning.

Q. On a bit of a sidebar, what goes through your mind when you see all the AIG headlines these days?A. If AIG can be financially vulnerable, then any company is potentially at risk.

Q. What do you like to see from your outside counsel?A. More frequent litigation budgets. I don’t want a cradle to grave budget up front because it’s unrealistic. We want quarter-ly or biannual budgets depending on the case activity. You don’t know at the onset how many experts you’re going to need, the number of depositions you will take, or all the motions to be filed. We also want frequent status updates; it ensures that the case is being worked. Even if there’s not a lot of activity, we want to know that.

Q. Outside counsel has done some billing that is unaccept-able to you?A. Yes, entries such as unauthorized computer research, secre-tarial overtime and office meals. Whatever it takes to keep their operation running - office overhead - should not be billed to us. Another pet peeve of mine is when we see firms charging more than 10 cents a copy for inter-office photocopying. Ten cents is

reasonable. Why should a firm charge 25 cents and make their photocopying a profit center? While the difference of one copy is clearly not significant, when you add up all the copies over a year, it is substantial and becomes death by 1,000 cuts.

Q. Your overall philosophy on counsel expectations is pretty straightforward?A. I think so; we look for attorneys who can deliver a quality product at a reasonable cost - and comply with our claims han-dling guidelines.

Q. Do you think the billable hour will ever fade away?A. No, because litigation will always be unpredictable. Having said that, I am a proponent of flat-fee billing in more cookie-cutter claims up through mediation. An example is in construc-tion defect claims where you insure contractors and artisans and can better predict average cost. After mediation, however, all bets are off since litigation costs become much less predict-able.

Q. But you think flat-fee can help reduce cycle times?

A. The theory is you can control costs, and have an incentive to settle more quickly.

Q. You say adjustors can also play a role in reducing cycle times?A. Yes, but you need to give claim handlers reasonable case-loads, so they can be more proactive; otherwise they will be reactive and just tread water. Scheduling settlement days can also be useful - you don’t always need mediation to facilitate resolution.

Q. What is the most frustrating thing about mediation? A. Lack of authority. For example, let’s say you have a latent claim involving four carriers for an insured and three are in agreement on case value but the fourth is being recalcitrant because he or she does not have enough authority to settle or refuses to settle. This can really be an impediment to settlement and increase costs.

Q. Are you a believer in principal to principal negotiations?A. Absolutely. There are times when counsel on both sides are too focused on the litigation and forget the business aspect of the dispute. Also, principal to principal negotiations can offer a fresh approach to trying to resolve issues.

Q. Has the economic downturn affected the volume of new claims?A. Not significantly. Although the scuttlebutt is that in bad eco-nomic times people litigate more because there is less money available to settle and in a good economy, corporations are too busy making money doing transactional work and want to avoid allocating resources litigating.

Continued pg. 10

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als, insurance information, etc…

We also need to understand the motivations of our cli-ents. I manage cases for a wide array of foreign and domestic insureds. Many of my clients have significant deductibles or self insured retentions and the financial impact to the bottom line of an insured can also influence litigation decisions. Con-sider the litigation motivations of the following insureds – a candy maker, a helicopter manufacturer, a motorcycle manu-facturer, a holiday resort and a heavy equipment manufacturer.

The candy manufacturer is faced with a high volume of relatively low value claims. Storage problems can lead to infestation claims causing hysterical nausea or even actual nau-sea if the claimant ingested the infested product. These claims are but a step beyond customer service but can usually be re-solved for the amount of any outside expense incurred by the claimant. Usually when such claims are placed in suit it is due to a frustration with the customer service process and these cas-es can usually be resolved economically prior to or shortly after retention of counsel.

There are relatively few helicopter crashes, but they generally have catastrophic results from a BI and PD perspec-tive. Aviation claims rarely settle early in the process due to the complexities of accident causation, historically high awards and the involvement of the FAA. On the other hand in the case of motorcycles, plaintiffs are generally aware of juror apathy towards cyclists. When combined with jurors’ presumption of operator error such cases tend to resolve earlier in the process for modest amounts.

Resort managers tend to be very sensitive to claims involving their public image. An allegation, for example, that an employee assaulted a guest on the insured premises is likely potentially detrimental to business. Unless there is significant doubt about the incident, there will be a significant impetus on both parties to resolve the claim at an early mediation after an exchange of medical records and incident reports.

Conversely, industrial equipment manufacturers are quite sanguine about the occasional arm amputated above the elbow, crush injury or fatality. These machines are often in place for years, maintained by other entities, possibly misused by ill-trained workers and are often subject to substantial modi-fication by the employer or co-employees to increase produc-tion. If you don’t have a public image you can’t very well be hurt by negative commentary. Knowing your client’s appetite for risk is central to understanding the direction your litigation management should take.

Whether your company is being sued for $2,500 or $25 million, you need to determine whether you have actual liabil-ity and whether the case has merit. You also need to consider how to manage the litigation and control its costs and its impact on your insured’s business. Successful litigation management lies in your ability to take control of the case. Having selected appropriate counsel to defend the lawsuit, one of the most ef-ficient ways to control litigation is to conduct an “early case Evaluation” within the first 90 days. THE BENEFITS OF EARLY CASE EVALUATION

A 90-Day Plan for Litigation SuccessBy Frank B. McLaughlin, JD CPCU ARM

Senior Vice President & Chief Claims OfficerAssicurazioni Generali – US Branch

I n this, the inaugural edition of the Magna FY Quarterly, I have been asked to share with you what I, as a casualty claims manager, expect from outside counsel during the

first 90 days of litigation.

Let me speak very simply in this regard. There are only two principal things a claims manager wants to know 90 days into litigation: What is the claim worth and in what direction are we headed as a defense team.

1. What is the claim worth?a. Reasonable settlement value todayb. Reasonable verdict range at conclusionc. Likely exposure of the insuredd. Anticipated chance of prevailing on motion or at trial

2. In what direction are we headed?a. Have we explored early settlement with plaintiffb. What testamentary or physical evidence do we need establish our defense to the claimc. What is our projected litigation budget

A proper claims investigation is a collaborative effort. Too often the defense is the last to know of an accident or inci-dent. I need counsel and the adjustor on site as soon as practical to conduct a proper investigation, conduct interviews with wit-nesses and determine the potential range of scenarios that gave to the incident. My preference is to involve the insured early on and have a knowledgeable employee of the insured participate in the investigation. Good companies are rightfully prideful of their product and you will be surprised how giving an insured will be of their time in investigating serious losses.

And while there will always be an element of “us vs. them” as fundamental to the process, defense counsel should contact plaintiffs counsel early on to establish a cooperative relation-ship where practical. If plaintiff has a viable action and a cog-nizable theory of the case there is often no good reason to wait until discovery is in full gear to evaluate that theory. Plaintiff’s counsel is generally quite open in disgorging medical specials and may even provide an IME if there is a reasonable expecta-tion of settlement. In turn, defendants should not be loath to give to plaintiff information that would ordinarily be certain to be discovered down the road – accident reports, product manu-

4

Early case Evaluation provides you with several distinct benefits:

• An Evaluation provides an independent view of the underlying claim.

• It provides a preliminary analysis of the legal merits of the case and possible defenses.

• An Evaluation provides an estimated litigation budged to defend the case through the close of discovery (ex-clusive of trial).

• The process provides an estimate of the anticipated time required by the insured’s senior management, employees, and other parties to respond to discovery and otherwise assist in the litigation.

• An Evaluation within the first 90 days allows the claims manager to make an informed decision regard-ing the case and to decide whether to seek an early mediation or proceed to trial.

GETTING COUNSEL UP TO SPEED

Facts drive lawsuits. A neutral evaluation of these facts, both positive and negative, is imperative to understanding your cli-ent’s position in a case. Fortunately, by the time a dispute reach-es the point of a lawsuit, the principals generally have spent considerable time analyzing the issues, reviewing the facts, discussing various points, and often trying to settle the dispute. At GCS, we work with our client to provide our lawyers with copies of all contracts, correspondence, e-mail, and documents pertaining to the dispute. Allow the attorney to read and analyze this information and to interview other individuals associated with the case. We then conference our cases with our attorneys and our insured within 30 days of the commencement of litiga-tion and explore the factual background of the litigation.

KNOW WHERE YOU STAND

After identifying the critical fact issues, have your lawyer conduct a preliminary legal analysis of the applicable con-tracts, claims, and likely legal defenses. In my business, it is most often a product that has alleged to have failed and no one knows the product better than the manufacturer. If the product did not function as it should have, we need to know early on whether that failure was the result of mechanical failure, opera-tor error, maintenance or third party involvement and we need the involvement of the insured’s technical staff to assist our evaluation.

KNOW COSTS IN ADVANCE

Once you have assessed your legal position, counsel should provide litigation budget. Specifically, request a budget that includes the cost of discovery, substantive motions, and to pre-pare the case up to, but not including, trial. Make certain that your lawyer also provides you with an estimate of the addi-tional costs associated with this type of case. These costs can include travel expenses, court reporters, copying charges, da-tabase costs, and potential expert fees. If discovery costs are likely to be massive, consider in advance particular method-ologies to achieve cost savings such as those described by my

colleagues here today.

UNDERSTAND NON-FINANCIAL COSTS

In conjunction with the litigation budget, discuss with coun-sel the time required of company officers and staff to properly defend the case. Specifically, ask how much employee or con-tractor time will be needed to answer discovery and when will the discovery occur. Identify individuals needed for depositions and ask for an estimate of the time required for the preparation and deposition including travel and ancillary costs. Finally, recognize the need to designate a point person for the litigation and realize that a large percentage of his time will be focused on the case at certain points. All too frequently, in-sured’s senior management does not fully appreciate this aspect of a lawsuit and fails to take these hidden costs into account when evaluating prospective litigation. If a case is going to take 20% of an insured’s Chief Operation Officer’s time over the next two years, that may be worth considering early on in settlement valuation.

DECISION TIME

Based upon your 90 Day case Evaluation, both counsel and claims professional should understand the critical facts in-volved, the legal issues to be determined, an estimate of the defense costs, and the necessary insured corporate time needed to properly defend the case. With this information, you can then decide whether you want to mediate the case, explore other set-tlement options, or proceed with discovery towards trial. You will never have all of the information available to the plaintiff, but you will know your own case and its potential strengths and weaknesses. The time to learn the merits of your case is early on when the facts and witnesses memories are freshest and not two, three, four or more years down the line after long and ex-pensive discovery. Know what your claim is worth 90 days out and you’ll know a lot more about the road to resolution when you can still do the most to positively influence the outcome of the claim.

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Why Your Firm Needs a Client Ambassador By Cole Silver

Chief CounselThe CIT Group/Equipment Financing, Inc.

In the competitive and commoditized world of legal servic-es, we’re told we must have an effective marketing cam-paign to get new clients. And when most of us think about

marketing, we envision glossy brochures, glorifying the firm’s pedigree, power lunches, or shaking hands at useless and an-noying networking events, mixing sweaty palms with pigs in a blanket, all in one massive business card swap. We often forget about the acres of diamonds already at our feet. What about you? Are you properly differentiating your practice in the marketplace? Are you tying in a targeted value proposition coupled with an irresistible offer? Are you leveraging all of your existing assets by maximizing the value of your networks, utilizing strategic partners and relation-ships? Most importantly, are you properly serving your exist-ing clients?

Did you know that:

• The costs of attracting a new client are 5 to 12 times greater than the cost of keeping an existing client.

• The return on investment is up to 10 times higher for investments in client retention than for the acquisition of a new client.

• Converting new clients takes more time, effort and

• Existing clients have greater usage levels and can be

• Existing clients are less-price sensitive.

• Existing clients exponentially increases profits.

• Existing clients are the best referral source for new

• More than 80% of new business comes from existing clients; and

• Having a single individual accountable for firm-wide client service boosts per attorney profits by up to 41.2%!

Equally as important, were you aware that dissatisfied clients tell an average of 10-20 people and up to 93% of dis-satisfied clients will not return to you and won’t tell you why! The statistics also indicate that many corporate clients are dissatisfied with their law firms; only 24% would recommend their primary law firms. This client dissatisfaction is not due to a lack of legal expertise; it’s primarily due to poor client service or perceived indifference. Failing to treat your existing clients like the treasure they are will not only prevent you from utilizing your best

resource, but ignoring them will start a spiraling effect of lost revenues and severe damage to your reputation. By the time you figure out what happened, the damage may be irrevers-ible. IF YOU DON’T TAKE CARE OF THE CLIENT… SOMEONE ELSE WILL!

With the number of lawyers exponentially increas-ing, and many clients making their selection of firms based on price, the only true differentiator is client service. Your experience, firm capabilities, and responsiveness are minimum requirements today and no longer make you stand out in the market. And just plain vanilla client satisfaction is not enough either. Today, you need to “engage” the client in a deeper and more personal way. You have to know their “needs and wants” and be able to address them in an individual and memorable manner. It’s only through this “total client experi-ence” that you beat the competition and win their business before they look elsewhere. Clients desperately want to work with someone they know and trust, who knows their industry, their market, their company, their situation, their people, their concerns and their desires. They want you to listen to them, know more about them, understand them, and work with them as a trusted partner. By engaging the client through emotional differentia-tors like trust, confidence, commitment and likability, you’ll demonstrate that you truly care about them and that they are the most important client in the world. If you can discover and align to these issues, the client will view you as a trusted partner and not just another lawyer; never thinking of leaving you because deep down inside they know they’re not going to get this “experience” anywhere else. As lawyers, we’re trained to give advice because that’s what we do. But the fact is that nobody ever became wealthy or highly successful by telling people what they need. How-ever, a whole lot of people have been richly rewarded giving people exactly what they want. It doesn’t matter what you think…only what your client thinks. And it doesn’t matter what you want…only what they want! And what is it they want? They want what we all want…empathy, compassion, comfort, understanding, respect, their problem solved and, mostly, to feel appreciated and important. As someone once commented, “People don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care.” So, how do you go about giving people what they want? You start out by listening, serving, educating and pro-viding a memorable experience. Find their pain and what they truly desire by anticipating their needs and surpassing their expectations. The result is that when they need a lawyer…you’re at the top of their list because you were there for them. You solved their problems without making any demands. You cared and acted in a way that made them feel appreciated. They will then seek you out because people have an innate de-sire to reciprocate when they are given something or treated in a certain way. Your one time client becomes a client for life, a constant source of referrals and new business opportunities.

APPOINT A CLIENT AMBASSADOR

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easily crossed sold.

expense than is required for current clients.

clients.

A client centric organization eludes most firms because lawyers are extremely busy and are for the most part highly focused on the legal work product. They inherently believe that if you win the case or close the transaction suc-cessfully, that you have succeeded and the client will stay with the firm. But this is no longer the case. If you fail to continu-ously engage the client, you’re out of sight and out of mind, allowing your competitors an opening to beat you out for the client’s future business and referrals. The only way to consistently provide a high level of client experience, and drive it deep into the fabric of the firm, is to have one person totally devoted to ensuring the client is heard and attended to in a memorable way. Someone who understands the client, who is an empathic listener, and who comprehends the unique dynamics of the attorney-client rela-tionship. That’s why you should have a Client Ambassador. Several firms like Reed Smith, Orrick Herrington and Stani-slaw Ashbaugh have already jumped on this idea, knowing full well that marketing officers or managing partners cannot fill this role.

Continued pg. 10

• Champion firm successes and its value proposition to clients and the marketplace.

• Provide metrics to ensure increased profits, usage and realization rates.

• Help market the firm with client seminars and

• Transaction or litigation analysis and commentary.

• Address billing disputes.

• Help implement an employee reward system for

• Tracking and monitoring client satisfaction and

THE EVIDENCE IS COMPELLING

Research conducted by world renowned BTI Consult-ing Group revealed that having a single individual accountable for firm-wide client service boosts per attorney profits by up to 41.2%. BTI performed a comprehensive analysis of how over 160 distinct, yet interrelated, marketing activities impact firm revenue, profitability and growth. This research, based on more than 140 interviews with Chief Marketing Officers, Managing Partners, Directors of Business Development and other marketing executives, definitively identified the mar-keting practices that deliver the best returns. The practice of having one individual accountable for firm-wide client service stands out as the single most powerful driver behind higher profits per attorney.

If you want to discover new business opportunities; uncover problems and concerns before clients leave or damage your reputation; convey that your firm truly values the client relationship; discover client reactions to new marketing and business ideas; discover why clients choose your firm in the first place; increase service and usage levels; reduce your mar-keting costs; and increase per attorney profits over 40%, then you absolutely must appoint your own Client Ambassador.

CONCLUSION

Are you convinced yet about where you should spend most of your time and marketing dollars and why a Client Ambassador will pay off handsomely for your firm? Maintain-ing loyal clients will do more to increase your bottom line than any marketing, PR or advertising campaign. Client fo-cused retention and loyalty strategies should be the overriding goal and objective of all your business development efforts because it’s a lot less costly than traditional marketing tactics, is ethical, simple, and represents a highly effective economical and leverage strategy. The “client only marketing strategy” is a powerful one and represents the lynchpin of most successful law firms. And having a dedicated Client Ambassador is an easy way to implement this dynamic strategy.

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Admiralty / MaritimeAgricultural / Food

BiomechanicsConstruction

Dram Shop / Liquor LiabilityEducation / SupervisionElectrical Engineering

EnvironmentalFire / ExplosionHuman Factors

Materials ScienceMedical DeviceMotor Vehicle

Occupational Health & Safety

Premises SafetyProduct Liability

Sports & RecreationToxicology

Workplace Safety

Testifying Experts in:

Need to Know What Happened?

promotions

outstanding client service.

service.

Continued from page 2.

Given the enormous benefits of improved focus, purpose and alignment within the litigation team, focus group or mock jury exercises should always be considered at the early stages of litigation planning. These exer-cises can take a variety of forms, from live presentations to on-line studies. They can vary widely in costs as well. The economics of a case will guide your decision on what form of exercise is justified, but don’t over look the potential costs and harm to a case that can result from finding out too late that old tie isn’t so lucky after all.

Continued from page 3.

Q. You’ve got some fine print. A. The opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of the AXA Insurance Company.

Continued from page 7.

And what would this Client Ambassador do? Here are some ideas:

• Ensure the client experience is memorable and exceeds their expectations. This includes everything from the office appearance, how calls are handled, billing is-sues, employee interaction, etc.

• Meet or speak with clients for regular feedback.

• Train employees on how to deal with difficult client

• Work with the marketing department and firm leaders

• Help prioritize marketing initiatives by soliciting client reaction and opinions.

• Meet with firm leaders providing ideas to drive

• Ensure attorneys and clients “match-up” advancing attorney-client chemistry.

• Stimulate change and improvements before the client leaves the firm.

• Benchmark competitors regarding service delivery

• Reactivate old clients.

• Ensure proper follow up on client concerns.

• Help clients succeed in non-legal areas through

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Magna’s New Conference and Jury Research Center

Dimensions18 ft x 29 ft18ft x 17 ft18 ft x 18 ft18 ft x 29 ft18 ft x47 ft

17 ft x 27.5 ft

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education and referrals.

improvments

practice group and firm profitability.

situations ensuring that everyone in the firm is on the same page.

to increase cross-selling, referrals, and new business opportunities.

9

Magna Legal Services provides end-to-end legal support

services to our clients throughout the nation.

Strategic Litigation Consulting

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NATIONWIDE SERVICES

Toll Free 1-866-624-6221

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www.MagnaLS.com Be greater than.

  

Guest speakers will include:Mac Myers, Esq.,

Vice President/Asbestos Issues of Resolute Management Inc.

Mike Walsh, Esq.,Vice President

Litigation of SunGard Data Systems

Marcus Banks, Esq.,Vice President/Litigation of

Wyndham Worldwide

Christopher LucciClaims Manager, Argonaut Specialty

Paul A. Amirata, Esq.,Vice President, Claims,

AXA Insurance CompanyJohn H. Lion, Jr. CPCU, ARM,Vice President, Claims Marketing, Chartis

Melissa Halstead Baugher, Esq., Senior Counsel, Georgia-Pacific

Alex JivanVice President, Commercial Claims

Farmers Insurance

Dan Lambert, Esq., Senior Litigation Claim Counsel,

Claim Legal Exposure Management (CLEM), CNA

Joe Aronds, Esq., Assistant Vice President & Assistant General Counsel,

Hartz Mountain Industries, Inc.

Ryan E. GillespieSenior Claims Specialist,

Great American Insurance GroupMatthew S. Morrison, JD, MBA,

Claims Legal Manager, QBE Regional Insurance/QBE the Americas

David Marshall, Esq., Vice President & Associate General Counsel,

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide

Christopher J. Tucci, Esq., Counsel, TD BANK

Hannah Lim , Esq., Senior Litigation Counsel, Tyco

Kevin von HofAssistant Vice President, Claims, QBE Specialty Insurance

This years conference is being held at The W New York Hotel in NYC on May 5th and 6th. A Speakers’ Cocktail Reception and Dinner will be held on May 5th, and the conference commences on May 6th, followed by a Networking Cocktail Reception with legendary NY JET, Marty Lyons. 

Sponsored by The Marty Lyons Foundation

Thursday, May 6 th , 2010, 9:30am - 4:30pm at The W Hotel NYC

AN INVITATION TO MAGNA’S CONFERENCE

Learn best practices from corporate counsel and insurance executives. Topics include:

Preparing for and Negotiating Settlement, Mock Trials/Focus Groups (Strengths and Weaknesses of Each), Preparing for Trial/What’s our Story, and many more.

Streamlining Relationships with Outside Counsel

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Fax to 215.207.9461 or mail to Magna Legal Services Conference, Seven Penn Cente r, 1635 Market Street, Philadelphia,  PA 19103For event and accommod ation assistance please contact  Vikki Sebring at 866.624.6221 or email vsebring@magnal s.comRSVP accepted any time prior to the event, subject to availability. Due to limited space, early booking is recommended. Total amount will be refunded on any booking that is not

accepted. Magna reserves the right to receive full payment prior to the event. All speakers are correct at the time of printing, but are subject to change without notice. Cancellations over 40 days prior to the event will not incur a cancellation fee. 40 to 30 days prior to the event, a 15% cancellation fee will be charged. Cancellations less than 30 days prior to

the event, a 70% cancellation fee will be charged.

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quested states.)

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