Personal Injury Litigation for Plaintiff’s Attorneys: Negotiation Tactics, client assessments, strategies, and relationships between adjusters and defense counsel

Peter Richard
Peter Richard
Garmey Law

Peter's current practice includes Civil Plaintiff's Litigation in Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, Motor Vehicle Accident, Product Liability, Financial Fraud Plaintiff's Litigation, and Pro Bono Criminal Litigation.

Dan Schiavetta
Dan Schiavetta
Russo & Gould LLP

Dan Schiavetta, of counsel to Russo & Gould LLP in New York City, has been a litigator for 30 years and is admitted in all New York and New Jersey state and federal courts and the Second and Third Circuit Courts of Appeals.

On-Demand: June 21, 2024
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4 hour CLE
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Program Summary

Session I - Personal Injury Litigation for Plaintiff's Attorneys: What insurance companies hope you don't know – Peter Richard

In this seminar, the three (3) key areas of a personal injury claim that Insurance Companies hope you do not know will be discussed. The three topics that will be covered include: Negotiation Tactics, Client Assessments, and Trial Tips & Strategy. Negotiation tactics encompass overage counsel, insured's rights to defense & indemnify, liability through facts and statutes, and effective negotiation tactics such as empathy, diminishing demands, finite numbers, understanding their approval and checks/balances process, and setting high reserves. Client assessments involve comprehensive summary of medical records (all, including priors), social media research, revocation of all prior authorizations before counsel was engaged, defendant/respondent research, and FOAA and Public Information such as police reports, bodycam, and 911 call transcripts. Trial tips and strategy includes an explanation on why litigation does not equal trial advocacy, and on how to be extremely proficient in trial advocacy. It also covers the revocation of demands upon filing suits, the proficiency in depositions, the client preparation, the trial strategies that every trial must have, and the passionate closing argument.

Key Topics:

• Negotiation Tactics
• Client Assessments
• Trial Tips & Strategy

Session II - The Delicate Relationship Between Adjusters and Defense Counsel – Dan Schiavetta

Adjusters of liability claims have different priorities (and ethical responsibilities) than the defense counsel they hire to defend personal injury claims. Counsel has one duty to the adjuster (and the carrier) and a different duty to the insured. Balancing the relationship, and knowing when one has to choose between priorities, is an important skill counsel must learn. This presentation contrasts how an adjuster looks at the defense of a case, and how counsel looks at it.

Key Topics:

• How reservation of rights letters and partial disclaimers affect what counsel does and how they report
• The pressures that adjusters are under to settle claims versus the desire of attorneys to provide the best defense possible
• What counsel must do if there is a danger of loss of coverage or even rescission of the policy
• Things that defense counsel prefer to avoid in settling a case that adjusters like to do
• Creative ways to gain cooperation of the insured without alienating the adjuster

Closed-captioning available

Speakers

Peter Richard_myLawCLEPeter Richard, Partner & Trial Attorney | Garmey Law

Peter Richard is a Partner & Trial Attorney with Garmey Law in Portland, Maine. Peter’s current practice includes Civil Plaintiff’s Litigation in Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, Motor Vehicle Accident, Product Liability, Financial Fraud Plaintiff’s Litigation, and Pro Bono Criminal Litigation. Peter has tried over fifty cases in his six years of practice including three homicide cases and many complex civil cases.

He is a SuperLawyer Rising Star and a National Trial Lawyers Association Top 100 Civil Plaintiff’s Trial Lawyer. Peter has obtained millions of dollars for his clients as a zealous advocate for what they deserve, and leverages his experience from trying cases to teach other attorney’s the tips and tools that have worked for him along the way. Peter is passionate about sharing real-life examples and experiences of how the tips and techniques used in previous trials or negotiations have worked so that others can benefit from that experience.

 

Dan-Schiavetta,-Jr._Russo-&-Gould-LLP_myLawCLEDan Schiavetta | Russo & Gould LLP

Dan Schiavetta, of counsel to Russo & Gould LLP in New York City, has been a litigator for 30 years and is admitted in all New York and New Jersey state and federal courts and the Second and Third Circuit Courts of Appeals. For 20 years he defended the Catholic Church in sexual abuse cases and other matters. He also has wide experience in insurance coverage litigation, nursing home defense, and appellate practice.

He is a 1992 graduate of the University of California, Davis School of Law where he was a law review editor and moot court judge. In his previous career as a social worker he was the director of a crisis center and 24-hour hotline. He is also the author of “The Supreme Court for Short Attention Spans: 2000 Tiny Case Summaries Too Short to Bore You”, available on Amazon.

Agenda

Session I – Personal Injury Litigation for Plaintiff’s Attorneys: What insurance companies hope you don’t know | 11:00am – 1:10pm

• Negotiation Tactics | 11:00am – 11:30am

o Overage counsel
o Insured’s rights to defense & indemnify
o Liability through facts and statutes
o Effective negotiation tactics

• Empathy
• Diminishing demands
• Finite numbers
• Understanding their approval and checks/balances process
• Setting high reserves

• Client Assessments | 11:30am – 12:00pm

o Comprehensive summary of medical records
o Social media research
o Revocation of all prior authorizations before counsel was engaged
o Defendant/Respondent research
o FOAA and Public Information

• Police reports
• Bodycam
• 911 call transcripts

Break | 12:00pm – 12:10pm

• Trial Tips & Strategy | 12:10pm – 1:10pm

o Litigation does not equal trial advocacy
o Being extremely proficient in trial advocacy
o Revocation of demands upon filing suit
o Proficiency in depositions
o Client preparation
o Trial strategies that every trial must have

• Theme
• 3 points
• short & direct cross examinations
• story-telling direct examinations that keep the jury’s attention

o Passionate closing argument

Break | 1:10pm – 1:20pm

Session II – The Delicate Relationship Between Adjusters and Defense | 1:20pm – 3:30pm

• How reservation of rights letters and partial disclaimers affect what counsel does and how they report | 1:20pm – 1:50pm

• The pressures that adjusters are under to settle claims versus the desire of attorneys to provide the best defense possible | 1:50pm – 2:20pm

Break | 2:20pm – 2:30pm

• What counsel must do if there is a danger of loss of coverage or even rescission of the policy | 2:30pm – 2:50pm

• Things that defense counsel prefer to avoid in settling a case that adjusters like to do | 2:50pm – 3:10pm

• Creative ways to gain cooperation of the insured without alienating the adjuster | 3:10pm – 3:30pm

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