Countering Reptile-Themed Opening Statements: Defense Strategies for Refocusing Juror Attention

Mr. Corkery has over 20 years of litigation experience. His practice primarily focuses on transportation law, medical malpractice, and construction litigation and he has significant trial experience in Illinois and Missouri State Courts and Illinois Federal Courts. Mr. Corkery attended the International Defense Counsel Trial College at Stanford University and the National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel Trial College. He has received the rating of AV Preeminent® from Martindale-Hubbell which is the highest peer rating standard. 

Mr. Samms is a highly skilled trial attorney who has successfully handled more than 200 major jury trials throughout his career. With a primary focus on the health care industry, he represents doctors, nurses, health care practitioners, hospitals, and facilities of all types when facing catastrophic outcomes and medical malpractice lawsuits. Mr. Samms is also experienced in complex civil litigation matters encompassing all areas of professional liability, sexual assault, property litigation and intellectual property. Representing clients in the federal and state courts, he has successfully argued before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and he has handled scores of bench trials, arbitrations and mediations. Mr. Samms serves as a Judge Pro Tem for the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and is a trained mediator.

Mr. Seaman is a commercial litigator and trial lawyer with more than 35 years of experience. Scott is widely regarded as one of the leading attorneys in the United States representing insurers and reinsurers in property and casualty matters. He is known for employing his deep knowledge of the law and insurance industry, strategic thinking, and honed trial and appellate advocacy to produce creative solutions and outstanding results for clients. Clients regularly turn to Scott and his team for counsel and representation in challenging and high-stakes insurance and business matters. Mr. Seaman has a long track record of successfully representing companies before trial courts, appellate courts, and arbitration panels across the country in a variety of cases and matters involving general liability coverage (primary, umbrella, and excess), professional liability coverage, directors and officers liability insurance, first-party property coverage, bad faith and extra-contractual matters, fee disputes, and facultative and treaty reinsurance contracts. He also advises and represents companies on cyber, privacy, data breach, IoT, nanotechnology, gig economy, viruses and pandemics, representations and warranties, transactional insurance, social unrest, ESG, climate change, and other emerging issues, as well as a wide-range of case-specific and portfolio issues. He also has handled a variety of challenging international, professional liability, health/life science, director and officer liability, tort and product liability, and business and commercial cases. 

He was named to the inaugural list of Midwest Trailblazers by The American Lawyer magazine for his "high-profile, complex insurance coverage cases nationwide, which resulted in precedent setting rulings that have altered insurance law."  He is co-author of Allocation of Losses in Complex Insurance Coverage Claims (11th Ed. 2023)  He is ranked Band I by Chambers USA.