To all of our
ADTA Friends and Family – Below is the piece I wrote for the Winter
issue of “Declarations,” the semi-annual magazine of the International
Association of Claims Professionals. The Presidents of the ADTA, IADC, FDCC and
DRI are invited to write a piece for each issue. It is one of the ways that we
make our association visible to members of the insurance industry that many
ADTA members and law firms serve.
I hope all of
you and yours are well as summer proceeds.
Pretty soon, many of us will be seeing cooler temperatures and different
colored leaves on the trees.
Best,
~David
___________________________
As I waited in the third floor lobby of the
John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse in Boston recently for a Mediation
to begin, I wondered what must be going through the minds of the lawyers
representing James "Whitey" Bulger in a nearby courtroom. In that case, as many of you may know,
federal prosecutors allege that Bulger murdered 19 people as the leader of a
protection racket that targeted drug kingpins and the heads of illegal gambling
operations. By the time you are reading
this, perhaps you will have read about a verdict. If convicted, Bulger could face the death
penalty. For Bulger, it is a very risky situation indeed.
As I thought about the issues, legal
arguments and strategies in my case - in which money damages are at stake - I
could not help but wonder how the lawyers who represent Bulger and other
criminal defendants must feel, knowing that their clients' money and personal
liberty are at risk.
"Risk." It is at the heart of what every IACP member
professional deals with every day. And,
ultimately, "risk" is what insurance defense trial lawyers deal with
every day, as well. It is never entirely
clear what a judge or jury will do, how they will perceive the facts or
witnesses' credibility, and ultimately what value they might (or might not)
place upon a particular outcome.
And so, insurance professionals and defense
lawyers seek the same goal: To minimize
risks by understanding the underlying facts and the law that applies to them in
a myriad of different situations with a seemingly infinite number of
variables. IACP professionals and
insurance defense lawyers share the need for good information and timely, competent
advice.
Where does that come from?
We can benefit from the "book
knowledge" gained by attending school, and by studying at the
"College of Hard Knocks" - the experience of handling our work on a
day-to-day basis. But the question remains: What else can we do to prepare ourselves to
make good decisions on the risks our insureds and clients face every day?
I would submit that groups like the
International Association of Claims Professionals, as well as the group I
currently lead - the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys (ADTA) - are
critical components in the ongoing process of education and experience for
insurance claims professionals and the attorneys who represent them and their
insureds. The superb quality of
educational programming that IACP provides its members is evident - we at the
ADTA have a similar focus on high quality "continuing legal
education" at our annual meetings.
At the Greenbrier this past April 2013, for example, ADTA's
"CLE" programming focused on law firm management, on how lawyers can
better manage and utilize human and technology resources to provide quality
legal services efficiently at a reasonable cost. It was a terrific program and was very well
received by our members.
But the IACP and ADTA are more than
educational programming. Much more.
When I became ADTA president at our
Greenbrier meeting, I spoke about three things that ADTA has offered since its
inception 72 years ago that I believe reflect the core values of our
organization: (1) A warm welcome; (2) a promise of fellowship; and (3) a
tradition of excellence. What those
things add up to is a unique opportunity to gain education and experience by
building strong, personal relationships with other similarly situated
professionals in jurisdictions throughout the United States, Puerto Rico,
Canada and the United Kingdom.
ADTA is delighted to participate in IACP's
Annual Meetings. My wife Karen and I greatly enjoyed our experience last year at
the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, and we look forward to being with you
again at future meetings. It was evident
last year in Orlando that IACP's members share the same passion for
"getting it right" that ADTA members strive for in the work our
member defense trial attorneys do every day, in and out of the courtroom.
What was also evident is that the IACP is
much more than educational programming.
IACP's members share the ADTA's core values of fellowship and excellence
through strong personal relationships developed over the years with other members. And those relationships reinforce our
education and experience, and make us better at what we do every day. And that helps us to make better decisions
about how to manage the "risks" that we all face every day.
ADTA thanks the IACP for the opportunity to
be involved! We hope to foster a strong
relationship between our organizations in the future.
If you have any questions about how ADTA
member attorneys can assist you or your firm on a wide variety of insurance
issues, I would love to hear from you.
Or visit www.adtalaw.com.
The Tradition of Excellence Continues!
