Jim Wideikis has been selected as a presenter at the Hurricane Recovery Conference in March 28th, at the Englewood Chamber at 601 S. Indiana Ave, Englewood, Florida. Jim will be speaking on three topics: how insurance companies set reserves for losses and the benefits of engaging an attorney early, business interruption insurance and why more companies should utilize it, and the recently enacted Senate Bill 2A, including how it will impact the Florida community with respect to Ian claims and subsequent claims. More information and registration can be found below:
Dan Costello Named to CLM Advisory Board
Dan Costello to Speak at 2019 LMI Symposium
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Costello Legal Announces Industry Executive Matt Pierotti as Senior Counsel
Dan Costello Announced as Speaker for 2017 CLM Conference
Illinois Passes New Snow Removal Bill- What Does It Mean For You?
Illinois has just passed the Snow Removal Service Liability Limitation Act (Public Act 099-0889), which applies immediately to any contracts entered into on or after August 25, 2016. This bill affects certain clauses in contracts between snow and ice removal providers and any party they contract with (usually property owners/managers) for snow and ice removal. Any clauses that contain indemnification, duty to defend and hold harmless language are now void, unenforceable and against public policy. This is similar to legislation in the construction industry where there is an anti-indemnification statute based on public policy. The idea being that those in power, property managers/owners should not be able to shift their risk to snow removal contractors. The snow and ice removal company cannot be required to indemnify, hold harmless or defend the property manager/owner and vice versa. Instead, liability is to be apportioned based on each party's proportionate negligence.
This means that the parties can no longer go after each other for indemnification and defense costs when the party initiating the action for indemnification or defense costs was negligent themselves, and that negligence led to some type of injury. Some likely effects of this act will be:
1) Impacting insurance rates for snow removal companies and property owners (overall, good for snow removal companies, bad for the property owners/managers who used to include these kinds of provisions)
2) Alleviating insurance carriers' concerns about contract language
3) Increasing the value of professional snow and ice management services as property owners will want a good service since they cannot pass on their liability onto the removal service anymore.
The importance of the act should be significant to snow removal contractors. With this change, contractors will be on the hook for only for their negligence, and not that of those who hired them. It will also vastly impact the insurer of these contractors. It will help to take frivolous lawsuits to trial which would otherwise settle due to the costs of litigation both on behalf of its named insured, but also on behalf of additional insureds. For those on the property management or ownership side, the risks associated with slip and fall cases has increased, and a key tool in risk transfer has been eliminated. We expect that the early cases will test the validity of the statute, and breach of contract claims.
Link to the Snow Removal Service Liability Limitation Act: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=099-0889
What does “Moneyball” mean to Lawyers and Clients?
After just returning from the CLM Annual Conference, where the industry's best and brightest gather, two things that some argue should never be mentioned in the same sentence were once again spoken; "Moneyball", and Lawyers. The idea of “Moneyball” for lawyers is again fresh and topical, and industry leaders are applying a brand of “saber metrics” to counsel. As many know, Moneyball was a highly successful book by Michael Lewis analyzing the use of metrics in baseball. We have talked about this for years, its application to use on Litigation Management and counsel, and what it means to our clients and the industry. The reality is not whether or not to use metrics (that is already well settled; the answer is yes) but rather, what do with them. The real question for our clients is “what is a win?” for them and “what value does counsel bring over replacement counsel?” Here is how I believe our clients and industry leaders will use metrics to differentiate in the future:
1. Outcome— Defining and achieving your goals
2. Risk— Harm avoided
3. Process— How was this achieved and how long did it take.
4. Predictability— How certain are we of cost to achieve outcome
Outcome.
Many attorneys in the litigation arena define the goal as winning at trial or paying nothing to the other-side. However, these goals are generally illusory. First on the civil litigation side 97% of cases are resolved without a trial. Thus, there is little to any benefit measuring success on what is essentially of 3% of your cases. Second paying nothing to the other side means nothing to a client, if you regularly pay your attorney more than it would cost to resolve the case outright. This is especially true if you are doing this over a large volume of say 6,000 cases a year. We suggest that “total case outcome” is measured in dollars, and in sense both in terms of actual indemnity and attorneys fees, as well as counsel's subjective value (sense) and then measuring the deviation from that predicted plan number at the outset of litigation, and again at the conclusion. This number should be within 10% absent some significant new developments in litigation which substantial change.
Risk.
The second component of value is risk or harm avoided. The key concept from the book "Moneyball" is about VORP, or value over replacement player. Many attorneys assert that there is an inherent risk in not using their firm and that their attorneys bring you value. However, they never define that value properly, or rather base their value solely on trial experience. We show our clients the value of our services which makes the risk of using us versus a 100 other attorneys easy to show. Specifically, we quantify in tailored metrics the cycle time, total case outcome, and total fees as just a few key indicators of value and provide this information back to our clients regularly. We actually then compare this side by side with their existing counsel or industry averages from our proprietary database to show in black and white our value in dollars and "sense" versus our competitors.
Process.
This is often overlooked and is a key component of measuring value. In every situation, timeliness, complexity and cost are important considerations. As most legal commentators have stated, “most legal matters are repetitive in some way.” Thus, handling each case according to a defined process and improving on each new matter is paramount to success. This is one of the reasons why cycle time is so important to our clients. Essentially, it is one indicator of how important efficiency is in the process and how we are doing on it.
Predictability.
With most of our insurance clients, their business is run by predictions. Underwriters and actuaries make a living by determining what they can charge, and what they will profit based on risk. The same holds true with litigation. If we can state with certainty the cost of defending a matter to our clients, and agree to the value of legal fees, we have removed uncertainty.Finally, although the industry has recognized that talking metrics is good, clients and counsel need to move talk to implementation and true measurement. The next steps will be implementing VORF (Value Over Replacement Firm) and using this to measure the "batting averages" of firms to determine the industries best players. After all, with baseball or with legal, we only want to reward the best players for the best results. Daniel P. Costello & Associates, LLC specializes in construction litigation, complex litigation, and litigation management.
Dan Costello to speak at CLM's 2015 LMI Conference
The Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) will be hosting the "2015 Litigation Management Institute and Coverage Perspectives" conference from October 22-25, 2015 at Columbia Law School in New York City. Dan Costello will be speaking in the "Coverage Perspectives" course which explores the "tri-party" relationship between the insurer, the insured, and defense counsel and highlights some of the nuances of how insurance coverage can influence the handling of defense litigation.More information can be found at these links: 2015 LMI Conference"Coverage Perspectives" Course
CLM Annoucement: "Mr. Daniel Costello to Speak at the 2015 CLM Litigation Management Institute" Mr. Daniel Costello, Managing Partner, Daniel P. Costello & Associates, LLC will be speaking on the following, “2015 Litigation Management Institute and Coverage Perspectives.” This conference will be hosted at Columbia Law School in New York City from October 22-25. Dan Costello, managing partner of Daniel P. Costello & Associates, LLC, has years of experience concentrating in construction litigation, complex litigation, litigation management, professional liability, and insurance coverage matters. He actively works with insurance companies to improve their litigation management and claims handling protocols. He has also acted as an Instructor at the Litigation Management Institute (LMI) hosted at Columbia Law School in New York. In 2014 he was recognized as a finalist for CLM Outside Counsel of the Year award.In addition to his substantial legal experience where he has handled over 100 major jury trials, arbitrations, and mediations, he also has substantial corporate business experience. In his time working for a Fortune 500 insurance company he became the youngest AVP of Claims Litigation in the history of the 90 year old company rising to the position in only five and half years. During that time he also focused his attention on litigating the most complex and catastrophic loss cases across the country.His bar admissions include the United States Supreme Court, the United States 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Trial and General Bar, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana Trial and General Bar, the Illinois Supreme Court, Pro Hac Vice to the Supreme Court of North Dakota 2005, Pro Hac Vice to the Supreme Court of Louisiana 2005, and other states.In addition to the CLM, Mr. Costello has also lectured all over the country to insurance companies, businesses, and Fortune 500 companies. He has presented on litigation management, ethical considerations, and construction contracts. He has been recognized as an innovator and leader in integrating law and technology. He has worked with state and federal courts, in the non-profit sector, advising on utilizing the web to promote the spread of information and the rule of law. He is also active in his community contributing legal services and acting as an Executive Council member for the Cara Program. He is also on National Alumni Board for Lewis University.
About the CLM
The Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) promotes and furthers the highest standards of claims and litigation management and brings together the thought leaders in both industries. CLM’s Members and Fellows include risk and litigation managers, insurance and claims professionals, corporate counsel, outside counsel and third party vendors. The CLM sponsors educational programs, provides resources and fosters communication among all in the industry. To learn more about the CLM, please visit www.theclm.org.
Contact:
Susan Wisbey-Smith, Communications Manager, Claims and Litigation Management Alliance. 847-317-9103, susan.wisbey-smith@theclm.org
Dan Costello to Speak at 2015 CLM Annual Conference
CLM PRESS RELEASE: Mr. Daniel Costello to speak at the 2015 CLM Annual Conference.
Mr. Daniel Costello, Managing Partner, Daniel P. Costello & Associates, LLC is speaking on the topic “LITIGATION MANAGEMENT - The New Normal- The Future of Best Practices For Counsel and Claims.” The annual conference will be held in Palm Desert, California, March 25-27, The CLM Annual Conference is the premier annual event for professionals in the claims and litigation management industries.
Dan Costello, managing partner of Daniel P. Costello & Associates, LLC, has years of experience concentrating in construction litigation, complex litigation, litigation management, professional liability, and insurance coverage matters. He actively works with insurance companies to improve their litigation management and claims handling protocols. He has also acted as an Instructor at the Litigation Management Institute (LMI) hosted at Columbia Law School in New York. In 2014 he was recognized as a finalist for CLM Outside Counsel of the Year award.In addition to his substantial legal experience where he has handled over 100 major jury trials, arbitrations, and mediations, he also has substantial corporate business experience. In his time working for a Fortune 500 insurance company he became the youngest AVP of Claims Litigation in the history of the 90 year old company rising to the position in only five and half years. During that time he also focused his attention on litigating the most complex and catastrophic loss cases across the country.
His bar admissions include the United States Supreme Court, the United States 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Trial and General Bar, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana Trial and General Bar, the Illinois Supreme Court, Pro Hac Vice to the Supreme Court of North Dakota 2005, Pro Hac Vice to the Supreme Court of Louisiana 2005, and other states.In addition to the CLM, Mr. Costello has also lectured all over the country to insurance companies, businesses, and Fortune 500 companies. He has presented on litigation management, ethical considerations, and construction contracts. He has been recognized as an innovator and leader in integrating law and technology. He has worked with state and federal courts, in the non-profit sector, advising on utilizing the web to promote the spread of information and the rule of law. He is also active in his community contributing legal services and acting as an Executive Council member for the Cara Program. He is also on National Alumni Board for Lewis University.
About the CLM:
The Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) promotes and furthers the highest standards of claims and litigation management and brings together the thought leaders in both industries. CLM’s Members and Fellows include risk and litigation managers, insurance and claims professionals, corporate counsel, outside counsel and third party vendors. The CLM sponsors educational programs, provides resources and fosters communication among all in the industry. To learn more about the CLM, please visit www.theclm.org.
Contact: Susan Wisbey-Smith, Communications Manager, Claims and Litigation Management Alliance. 847-317-9103. susan.wisbey-smith@theclm.org
Dan Costello to Speak at the 2014 CLM Litigation Management Institute
Daniel Costello, Managing Partner, Daniel P. Costello & Associates, LLC will be speaking on the topic, “Coverage Perspectives.” Hosted at Columbia Law School in New York City, the Litigation Management Institute (LMI) is the first certification program specifically designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the business of litigation management.Dan Costello, managing partner of Daniel P. Costello & Associates, LLC, has years of experience concentrating in construction litigation, complex litigation, litigation management, professional liability, and insurance coverage matters. He actively works with insurance companies to improve their litigation management and claims handling protocols. He has also acted as an Instructor at the Litigation Management Institute (LMI) hosted at Columbia Law School in New York. In 2014 he was recognized as a finalist for CLM Outside Counsel of the Year award.In addition to his substantial legal experience where he has handled over 100 major jury trials, arbitrations, and mediations, he also has substantial corporate business experience. In his time working for a Fortune 500 insurance company he became the youngest AVP of Claims Litigation in the history of the 90 year old company rising to the position in only five and half years. During that time he also focused his attention on litigating the most complex and catastrophic loss cases across the country.
His bar admissions include the United States Supreme Court, the United States 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Trial and General Bar, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana Trial and General Bar, the Illinois Supreme Court, Pro Hac Vice to the Supreme Court of North Dakota 2005, Pro Hac Vice to the Supreme Court of Louisiana 2005, and other states.In addition to the CLM, Mr. Costello has also lectured all over the country to insurance companies, businesses, and Fortune 500 companies. He has presented on litigation management, ethical considerations, and construction contracts. He has been recognized as an innovator and leader in integrating law and technology. He has worked with state and federal courts, in the non-profit sector, advising on utilizing the web to promote the spread of information and the rule of law. He is also active in his community contributing legal services and acting as an Executive Council member for the Cara Program. He is also on National Alumni Board for Lewis University.
About the CLM
The Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) promotes and furthers the highest standards of claims and litigation management and brings together the thought leaders in both industries. CLM’s Members and Fellows include risk and litigation managers, insurance and claims professionals, corporate counsel, outside counsel and third party vendors. The CLM sponsors educational programs, provides resources and fosters communication among all in the industry. To learn more about the CLM, please visit www.theclm.org.
Contact: Susan Wisbey-Smith, Communications Manager, Claims and Litigation Management Alliance. 847-317-9103. susan.wisbey-smith@theclm.org
