Description
Insurers naturally go to great lengths to protect the attorney-client privilege and work product immunity for communications with outside coverage counsel. But with increasing frequency, policyholders are successfully arguing that those protections do not apply or have been waived.
One frequent argument is that coverage counsel was engaged in claims handling activities, not providing legal advice. Whether advising the insurer or policyholder, counsel need to understand and be able to recognize the difference between the two roles, and insurers will want to have policies and procedures in place to keep the two separate.
But practitioners need a strategy if the privileges are not recognized or lost. They first must understand the scope of the waiver, arguments to limit it, and whether any statutory tools might be available to reduce the damage. Even if material is not privileged, it may still be not discoverable or admissible on other grounds, such as relevance. If coverage counsel is noticed for deposition then care should be taken in preparing for questioning and trying to limit the scope of examination. Counsel must also be prepared to deal with what happens if the coverage analysis admits liability of the insured.
Listen as this experienced panel of insurance attorneys discusses best practices for protecting the privilege and then best strategies for dealing with its loss.
Presented By
Mr. Maza exclusively represents insurers in insurance coverage, bad faith, and commercial litigation matters. He handles high-exposure insurance disputes involving commercial general liability, errors and omissions, environmental, surety, reinsurance, and commercial property claims. Mr. Maza also counsels clients on claims handling and policy drafting. He frequently lectures on emerging insurance topics and leads seminars for clients on trends in the law, bad faith avoidance, and claims handling protocols.
Mr. Nawaday is a seasoned trial, investigations, and criminal defense lawyer. A former Southern District of New York federal prosecutor, he zealously defends clients facing federal and state criminal and civil enforcement actions. Mr. Nawaday draws on his experience of having led more than 100 investigations, involving corruption and financial fraud; campaign finance fraud; bank, tax, and healthcare fraud; and money laundering.
Mr. Shapiro brings a deep understanding of the law with a steadfast commitment to helping employers mitigate risk while at the time same fostering safe, diverse and inclusive workforces. He has a demonstrated track record of success over more than 25 years, both in-house and in private practice, counseling and defending employers on a wide range of labor, employment and safety matters, including with respect to Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the National Labor Relations Act, and the Occupational Safety & Health Act. As a seasoned litigator, Mr. Shapiro's unique systems-thinking approach delivers sound, risk-based guidance to employers for more informed choices in furthering their business objectives. Throughout his career, he has been involved in overseeing, conducting and defending serious investigations – both government enforcement investigations and internal workplace investigations. Mr. Shapiro has trained dozens of Human Resources professionals and other business leaders on best practices in conducting fair, impartial and defensible investigations.
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
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Date + Time
- event
Monday, July 29, 2024
- schedule
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- Protocols for preventing waiver
- Scope of waiver and strategies to limit the waiver
- Post-waiver strategies
The panel will discuss these and other key issues:
- What is the scope of the waiver in different situations?
- What are the short and long-term damage of waiver to the specific case and to the category of case?
- What is the effect of loss of privilege or work product status when there are multiple insurers involved in the defense?
- What happens if loss of the privilege/work product reveals facts that result in liability of the policyholder?
