Law Related Specialties Expert Witnesses: 23

George Zeitler, MSc, has over 30 years of experience in the Marine Industry in various regulatory, management, and consulting roles. He is an Accredited Marine Surveyor (Y&SC) by the Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors and a Member of the International Institute of Marine Surveying.

Background Experience - Mr. Zeitler served 18 years as a USCG Marine Inspector / Casualty Investigator, and 7 years as a Class Society principal surveyor (DNV).  He then spent 1 year as VP of Operations for a niche cruise line. Mr. Zeitler went on to serve 5 years as a technical consultant for various segments of the marine industry, including 2 years as third party environmental auditor for criminal pollution cases. He has been an Accredited Yacht and Small Craft Surveyor for over 15 years. 

In 2002, Mr. Zeitler formed Zeitler Marine Services (ZMS), using his experience and knowledge to offer condition and valuation (pre-purchase and insurance) and damage survey services to the yachting and recreational boating communities in south Florida. He is currently the Director of the Chapman School of Seamanship Yacht and Small Craft survey course.

Litigation Support - Mr. Zeitler uses his vast experience verifying Compliance with Applicable Maritime Laws / Regulations through on site surveys and audits of client's vessels. His years of operational and regulatory enforcement help provide clients with a unique perspective that is key in identifying vulnerabilities onboard vessels as well as gaps in policies and procedures. He functions as a Court Appointed Monitor in situations where vessel operators are negotiating a plea agreement for a DOJ-approved Environmental Compliance Programs.

Areas of Expertise:

• Vessel Design and Construction
• Vessel Compliance with International and US Laws and Regulations
• Compliance with Federal and Voluntary (ABYC) Standards for Yachts and Small Craft
• Casualty Investigation
• Vessel Operations
• Cruise Ship Management, Operation, and Safety
• Environmental Compliance and Auditing

Nikki Mehrpoo Jacobson has over 22 years of legal experience as an Attorney at Law, Professor of Law, Expert Witness, and Legal Consultant. She specializes in all aspects of Immigration and Worker's Compensation (employment, independent contractor) issues.

Ms. Jacobson is the first and only California attorney certified as a Dual Specialist In Immigration & Workers’ Compensation By The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. She has been a dedicated advocate for California injured workers and immigrants from all over the world.  She has focused her practice of law exclusively on workers’ compensation and immigration law.

Ms. Jacobson began her legal career in 1997 after earning her law degree from Pepperdine University School of Law and her admission to The State Bar of California.  She is a highly respected and involved member of the legal community.  As a committed Los Angeles lawyer, Ms. Jacobson continues to be a strong advocate and ally.  As a refugee, she understands the issues and hardships her clients face everyday.

She has been recognized for legal knowledge and experience by Los Angeles Magazine, Super Lawyers, Avvo.com and Martindale Hubbell.

Areas of Expertise:

1099 Audits and Compliance Affidavit of Support / Spousal Support Asylum Business Immigration CA Workers' Compensation Appeals Board Citizenship Deportation Dissolution of Marriage Immigration Issues Employment Visas Family Immigration Green Card

I-9 / Audits / Compliance Immigration Applications Immigration and Criminal Matters Immigration Malpractice Immigration Spousal Support Immigration Status Immigration Waivers Independent Contractor Audits / Compliance Industrial Injuries Investment Visas  Lawful Permanent Resident

LGBTQ Immigration Marriage & Family Immigration Naturalization Removal Undocumented Workers / Employees Visas Workers' Compensation Law Workers’ Compensation Bad Faith Workers’ Compensation Claims Investigation Workers’ Compensation Fee Disputes Workplace Violence

View The Jacobson Law Firm's Consulting Profile.

Walter P. Signorelli, Esq., has over 30 years of experience in the field of Police Policy and Procedure and Police Liability.

Background - During his tenure in the NYPD, Mr. Signorelli held the ranks of Police Officer, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Deputy Inspector, and Inspector, and served in numerous capacities. In these positions, he conducted or supervised 1,000s of undercover and overt investigations, applications for warrants, the execution of warrants, and arrests. He has also been responsible for the supervision of undercover training, and oversaw activities at the High-Intensity-Drug-Trafficking-Area (HIDTA) training center.

Regarding vehicle-related issues, Mr. Signorelli conducted or supervised numerous investigations of vehicle accidents, police emergency vehicles accidents, police vehicle pursuits, and was a member of various Accident Review Boards. His experience also includes responding to hostage situations, barricaded suspect situations, emotionally disturbed persons, and any police-related shootings.

Mr. Signorelli is currently a practicing attorney, an adjunct professor of law and police science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and an author. He has published three books: The Crisis of Police Liability Lawsuits, 2006; The Constable Has Blundered, 2010 (Carolina Academic Press); Criminal Law, Procedure, and Evidence, 2011 (Taylor&Francis, CRC Press).

Litigation Support - Walter Signorelli has been retained as a consultant by both plaintiffs and defense in a number of police liability cases, and has testified as a police procedures expert in both State and Federal courts. He has been prociding expert witness services for over 17 years.

Mr. Signorelli has been retained as an expert approximately 150 times and testified before an arbitrator approximately 25 times. His areas of expertise include:

Deadly Force / Excessive Force Drug Enforcement

Law Enforcement Police Procedures

As a highly professional & credible Expert, Consultant, & Speaker, Jean Seawright has provided trusted advice & HR Consultation to thousands of organizations nationwide. As president of Seawright & Associates, a Human Resource Management-Consulting Firm, Ms. Seawright is widely respected for her knowledge of state & federal employment regulations including, but not limited to FLSA, ADA, FMLA, Title VII, & others.

Since 1987, she has focused on engagements involving hiring, coaching, & terminating employees; regulatory compliance; charges of discrimination; performance management systems; internal investigations (including harassment); employee handbook development; compensation plan design; HR audits; hiring systems; job descriptions; & others. Ms. Seawright is a frequent speaker at state & national trade associations & is the author of numerous articles & publications in the field of human resources, including the popular book, The Employment Genie®, an exclusive hiring, coaching, & termination system for businesses. 

Areas of Expertise:

• Negligent Hiring and Retention
• Discrimination and EEO Compliance
• HR Policies and Programs
• FLSA and Wage and Hour Compliance
• Harassment
• Expert Witness Services for Employment Law Matters
• ADA
• FMLA
• Hiring Procedures
• Title VII
• Employee Handbooks

Ms. Seawright is available for case analysis, case theory evaluation, expert witness reports, depositions, analysis of other expert testimony, and trial testimony.

Research & Planning Consultants, LP (RPC) has been assisting clients with expert services for over 45 years, including consulting and expert witness testimony for personal injury, healthcare litigation, commercial litigation and Certificate of Need matters. RPC also offers a wide selection of health data. They have served clients across the U.S, from Alaska to Florida and from New England to California. 

A Complete Team of Damages Experts for Personal Injury Litigation

Research & Planning Consultants, LP provides the following services: 

• PERSONAL INJURY - RPC provides comprehensive damages analysis in personal injury litigation. Their expert team has life care planners, vocational evaluators, board-certified physicians, economists and neuropsychologists. 

Areas of Expertise include: Life Care Plans, Loss of Earning Capacity or Support, Present Value of Damages, Medical Bill Analysis, Chargemaster Analysis, Neuropsychological Testing & Traumatic Brain Injury, Vocational Evaluations, IMEs, Section 18.001, Prestanding ED Chargemaster Analysis

• COMMERCIAL LITIGATION- RPC has provided expert analysis on commercial litigation concerning many industries: chemicals, refining, forestry, waste management, pipelines, water resources, oil and gas EDP, fisheries, agriculture, electrical generating plants, transmission lines, telecommunications, and real estate development. Our special expertise in the healthcare industry has proven valuable to business litigators unfamiliar with this complex industry.

Areas of Expertise: Breach of Contract / Commercial Economic Damages, Construction Disputes, Litigation over Non-Competitive Agreements, Environmental Torts and Toxic Torts, Commercial Disparagement, Wrongful Termination

• HEALTHCARE LITIGATION - RPC offers economic, statistical, data and clinical analysis in a wide range of healthcare litigation. They have experience with payment disputes, qui tam litigation, physician-hospital disputes, practice valuations and construction litigation. 

Areas of Expertise: Qui Tam Healthcare Litigation, Medical Staff Disputes, Professional Liability, Payment Disputes, Health Facility Construction Disputes, Freestanding ED Chargemester Analysis

• CERTIFICATE OF NEED - RPC provides Certificate of Need (CON) planning services nationwide. We have over 35 years of experience developing regulatory strategy, preparing applications and testifying in public and administrative hearings.

Areas of Expertise: Satellite Hospitals, New Hospitals, Relocation and Transfer of Beds, Observation Beds, Geriatric Psychiatric Units, Children’s Hospitals, Comprehensive Inpatient Rehabilitation Units, Neonatal Intensive Care Units, Open Heart Surgery Services, Long Term Acute Care Units, Projects that exceed CON Capital Threshold Limits, Projects for Specifically Listed Services, Programs Requiring CON, Hospices, Senior Living Facilities

Ronald T. Luke, JD, PhD, is a principal consultant and President of RPC, LP. Ron joined RPC in 1976 and became its president and principal owner in 1979. He has consulted on projects for health care providers, managed care plans and public agencies in more than 25 states. He also serves as an expert witness in trials, administrative proceedings and legislative hearings.

Active in the Health Policy Arena, Dr. Luke has been accepted as an expert in Economics, Socioeconomic Impact Analysis, and Policy Analysis by state and federal courts, and state administrative agencies. The types of cases in which he has provided expert testimony include personal injury, contractual disputes, health care payment disputes, construction defects, utility construction permitting, and certificate of need. He has testified on health care matters including market structure, billing fraud and abuse, reasonableness of charges, medical staff credentialing, workers’ compensation fee guidelines, utilization review, physician contracts, and managed care contracts.

Kacy L. Turner, MS, CRC, CVE, CLCP, is a Certified Life Care Planner and Vocational Consultant with RPC. She has over 20 years of experience in Rehabilitation. Ms. Turner has experience writing life care plans for both plaintiff and defense clients. She has experience as a rehabilitation consultant in three states and has been qualified as a testifying expert in state and federal court.  

Ms. Turner has worked on cases in several states as well as the country of Trinidad. To determine the pre-injury and post-injury employability in personal injury cases, she provides vocational testing, transferable skills analysis, job requirements analysis, rehabilitation plans, and definition of reasonable accommodations under the American with Disabilities Act. She is a member of the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals, the Texas Association of Rehabilitation Professionals and Providers of Services, and Vocational Evaluation and Career Assessment Professionals.

Brian Piper, PhD,  is an Economist with RPC specializing in Quantitative Analysis and Modelling. He works on a variety of cases including personal injury and certificate of need. He is experienced in data extraction, management, simulation, and analysis using STATA, SQL, ARC GIS and a variety of other programs. Dr. Piper has taught graduate classes in statistics and econometrics in both MBA and Ph.D. programs.

Dr. Piper is an experienced expert, providing testimony, reports, and affidavits on the issues of economic damages in personal injury litigation, healthcare litigation, False Claims Act litigation, and other commercial litigation. He has testified on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants. 

Dr. Piper specializes in the economics of healthcare. He has been retained by healthcare providers and insurers in payment disputes. He has analyzed the reasonableness of charges and expected payment for past and future medical services for providers, insurers, plaintiffs, and defendants. Besides work in litigation, Dr. Piper has provided analysis of Certificate of Need applications and the economic impacts of proposed legislation.

Michael F. Richards is a Banking Expert Witness and Consultant with more than 34 years of experience. His experience as a Founder, President, and Director of two De-Novo banks and the head of a work-out department for a regional bank give clients and attorneys a crucial behind-the-scene understanding of all aspects of banking. 

Mr. Richards' experience in heading a work-out department provides a wealth of knowledge in litigation testimony from the perspective of a bank officer. He has extensive experience in Lending, Lender Liability, Banking Operations, Regulatory Oversight, Policies, Procedures, and Standards of Care in the Banking Practice. Mr. Richards' represents both Plaintiffs and Defendants. Over the past 7 years he has been retained in over 95 cases in 33 different states. 

Areas of Expertise:

• De Novo Start-ups / Fundraising
• Banking Practices, Policies, and Procedures
• Standards of Care
• Bank Officers’ / Directors’ Conduct, Actions, Negligence
• Banking Operations
• Credit Analysis
• Loan Review
• Loan Documentation
• Bank Regulations / Law
• Commercial and Real Estate Lending Practices
• Consumer Lending Practices
• Forensic Commercial Loans
• Lender Liability
• Loan Participation and Documentation
• Troubled Debt Restructuring Practices, Workouts, Forbearance
• Collection Practices
• Loan Commitment Issues
• Loan Guarantee Issues
• Bank Credit Administration and Credit Policy Issues, Customs and Practices
• Real Estate Appraisal
• Bank Fraud
• Bankruptcy, Fairness of Interest Rates "Cramdown"

David Wolowitz, JD is an Education Law Attorney with 40 years of extensive experience advising schools and youth serving organizatons on the current and past standard of care for protection of minors from harm by peers, educators, and trusted adults.

Law Practice: Mr. Wolowitz has advised schools nationwide and internationally on all aspects of risk prevention and crisis response, with a focus on child safeguarding by promoting healthy relationships through the management and oversight of a healthy school culture. He is a pioneer in applying behavioral risk management concepts, including training on healthy teacher – student boundaries and the establishment of standards of conduct. He also has advised many youth serving organizations, such as churches, camps, and other organizations that work with children and vulnerable populations.

Expert Witness: Mr. Wolowitz has been qualified as an expert witness for plaintiffs and defendants on the adequacy of policies, procedures, investigations, remediation, and training relating to the protection of minors in schools and youth serving organizations. He has also provided expert opinions on the adequacy of employment practices, including hiring, training, and supervision. These cases have involved claims against teachers, administrators, coaches, mental health professionals, and religious advisors.

Litigation Support: Mr. Wolowitz has significant civil and criminal trial experience in federal and state trial and appellate courts in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. He was an invited guest instructor of the Trial Advocacy Workshop at Harvard Law School for 29 years.

 

Areas of Expertise  

Schools Safety Standard of Care School Administration / Governance Educator / Peer Misconduct Hazing Harassment Bullying Sexual Assault

Molestation Grooming Athletics / Sports Misconduct Title IX School Supervision School Trips Camps

 

View David Wolowitz's Consulting Profile.

Mary C. Meinhard RN-BC, BS, JD, CLCP, MSC-C is a Nurse Attorney/ Legal Nurse Consultant, Certified Life Care Planner, Board-Certified Nurse Case Manager, and Medicare Set-Aside Consultant-Certified. She has offices in California and Nevada, and provides Medical/Legal Consulting services nationwide. She has over 35 years of experience working with catastrophically injured patients/clients as a Registered Nurse, in addition to 20+ years of experience as a California Attorney, and is retained by both Plaintiff and Defense as a consultant in Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice and Workers' Compensation cases.

Representative diagnoses include, but are not limited to:

Traumatic Brain Injury Acquired Brain Injury Spinal Cord Injuries / Paralysis Severe Burns Amputations Orthopedic Injuries Complications of Pregnancy, Premature Births and Birth Injuries Complications of Diabetes Chronic Pain / Illness

Organ Transplants Chronic Renal Failure End Stage Renal Disease AIDS Non-Healing Wounds Malignancies Toxic Exposure Mental Illness Addiction

Services Include:

• Legal Nurse Consulting
• Medical Record Review / Summary
• Case Merit Evaluation/Standards of Care
• Life Care Planning
• Mini / Preliminary Life Plans
• Medicare Set-Aside Allocations
• Expert Fact and Opinion Testimony
• Attendance at Independent Medical Exams
• Litigation Support - Formulation of Discovery Plans, Preparation of Deposition/Cross Examination Questions, Conducting Medical Expert/Opposing Life Care Planner Depositions

Ms. Meinhard also holds certification from the Pepperdine University School of Law Straus Institute for Alternative Dispute Resolution and is available as a Mediator for personal injury cases of all types - especially when competing Life Care Plans are at issue.

View Consulting Profile.

Mary Wickens, JD, CFE, CHC has over 35 years experience in the Healthcare Insurance, Managed Care, and Compliance Industry. Her experience includes advising and counseling health care providers, insurers, government contractors, and others in compliance, ethics, fraud and abuse, Medicare, Medicaid and Federal Employees Plan, managed care, and other matters. 

Background Experience - Ms. Wickens is a former compliance officer for a major health insurer and former legal and compliance specialist for a CMS Medicare Program Safeguard Contractor. Also a former operations director for government programs (Medicare Part C, Medi-gap, and FEHBP) for a major HMO, she is experienced with government audits and investigations, commercial audits, as well as self-reporting and internal investigations. 

Ms. Wickens has decades of experience as in house counsel to HMOs and health insurers. She has drafted, developed, negotiated, and implemented numerous healthcare provider-payor contracts, and developed and implemented codes of conduct, ethics programs, compliance programs and numerous corrective action plans. 

Litigation Support - Mary Wickens provides litigation support, including skilled expert services, reports and testimony in federal False Claims Act cases, arbitrations, and provider-payer disputes. She is an experienced testifying expert, responsive to the needs of counsel, with excellent report writing skills. Ms. Wickens' services are available to counsel representing both plaintiff and defendant. Areas of Expertise:

Medicare False Claims Act (FCA) Health Insurance HMO Medicare Advantage Provider / Payor Disputes Claims Audits and Appeals Federal Employees Health Benefits Plans (FEHBP)

Medicare Part D Government Audits DME Home Health Care Hospice Managed Care Contracting Anti-Kickback Compliance Self-disclosures

View Mary Wickens' Consulting Profile.

Hanny Lightfoot-Klein is an acknowledged expert on the topic of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Forced Marriage and Honor Killing of women in Africa. She now devotes a considerable part of her time to making the knowledge and insights she has accumulated over the past 25 years of service as an Expert Witness in Immigration Court (in the United States and Europe.)

Ms. Lightfoot-Klein provides written affidavits, telephonic testimony and/or court appearance for asylum seekers threatened with removal back to their own countries, where they and/or their daughters may be subjected to:

Genital Mutilation (FGM)

Honor Killing

Forced Marriage

Rape and other forms of Physical Abuse

Ms. Lightfoot-Klein has published her research findings in four books an has won an award for "Outstanding Ethnographic Scholarship in Sexology" for her book entitled "Prisoners of Ritual". She was also a finalist for the "June Roth Memorial Book Award for Excellence in Writing on Health and Medicine", presented by the American Society of Journalists and Authors for A Woman's Odyssey into Africa.

Ms. Lightfoot-Klein received her Masters of Arts degree in Social Psychology from the American University in Washington, D.C. in 1959 and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. in 1950.

Between 1979 and 1984, she spent a total of 32 months of self-motivated, concentrated field research in Sudan, Kenya, and Egypt, studying female genital mutilation (FGM). The geographic area of her most intensive research was northern and central Sudan, where the practices are particularly severe and ubiquitous. A considerable portion of this time was also devoted to researching the practices in Kenya.

Attorney, Lawrence H. Jacobson, has been practicing in the area of Real Estate Transaction Law and Litigation for more than 50 years. Over the past 30 years, he has been sought out as an expert witness in real estate and legal malpractice disputes and lawsuits in litigation cases throughout the country. 

His firm, The Law Offices of Lawrence H. Jacobson, A Professional Corporation, is recognized as one of the nation's premier offices providing expert testimony in litigation involving all Real Estate Matters and Legal Malpractice. 

Mr. Jacobson has been engaged in the practice of law in Los Angeles since 1968. Formerly Vice President of Legal Affairs for the California Association of Realtors, Mr. Jacobson has served as a judge pro tem for the Los Angeles and Beverly Hills Municipal Court Systems and as an adjunct professor of law focusing on real estate secured transactions and administrative law. He is Past President of the Beverly Hills Bar Association. He has written and lectured extensively on business and real estate related matters. He has served on the faculty of the Graduate Realtors Institute of the California Association of Realtors and a lecturer author for the California Continuing Education of the California Bar.

Litigation Support - Mr. Jacobson offers an impressive record of success as an expert witness in real estate, business, and finance. Included among the numerous cases in which he has testified as an expert witness are disputes over the interpretation of real estate documents, real estate and mortgage brokers’ standard of care and legal malpractice related to real estate transactions and business law including issues involved in corporate finance, merger and acquisition and ethics.

Areas of Expertise:

Real Estate Agency Obligations Real Estate Broker Fiduciary Duty Mortgage Broker Fiduciary Duty Commercial & Residential Real Estate Leasing Issues Real Estate Malpractice Mortgage Fraud

Mortgage Lending Real Estate Ethics Real Estate Standard of Care Real Estate Standard of Practice Real Estate Transactions Legal Malpractice Legal Fee Disputes

View Lawrence Jacobson's Consulting Profile.

Brian H. Cole is a Certified Specialist in Franchise and Distribution Law (California State Bar of Legal Specialization), with over 30 years of experience, including as in-house attorney for one of the world's largest franchisors (Pizza Hut).

Mr. Cole's experience spans a wide variety of transactional and regulatory matters, including drafting and registering franchise agreements and related documents, buying and selling both individual franchised locations and franchise chains, leasing sites for businesses, corporate organization, and other contractual matters.  Mr. Cole also has experience advising clients with a variety of operational issues, especially with respect to restaurant businesses, including employment matters, health code, and liquor licenses.

Mr. Cole has spoken and written on a variety of franchise-related topics, including speaking at two of the premiere franchise events each year--the ABA Forum on Franchising and the International Franchise Association’s Annual Legal Symposium and Annual Convention. Mr. Cole has also spoken at the State Bar Conventions in California and Hawaii on franchise-related topics.

Litigation Support - Mr. Cole is experienced testifying both in court and in arbitration. His services include:

• Consult on applicability of state and federal franchise laws to the facts of a client’s situation
• Advise on franchise law issues, including applicability of franchise laws, compliance with franchise laws, existence of legal malpractice relating to franchise laws, propriety of terminations or non-renewals of franchises, and similar issues.
• Testify as an expert witness on franchise-related matters (available for matters throughout the United States)   

Areas of Expertise:

Federal/State Franchise Laws Restaurant Operational Issues

Restaurant Employment Matters Health Code

View Brian H. Cole's Consulting Profile.

Mitchell L. Lathrop, has over 50 years of experience in the practice of law, and specialized knowledge in Insurance, Reinsurance, and Lawyers' Professional Responsibility. For the past 30 years, Mr. Lathrop has served as a Mediator, Arbitrator and Expert Witness in his fields of expertise. A seasoned trial lawyer, he brings his many years of practice to alternative dispute resolution. Mr. Lathrop is admitted to practice in California, New York and the District of Columbia, as well as before the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second, Fifth, Ninth, Tenth, District of Columbia and Federal Circuits. Mr. Lathrop is a former Presiding Referee of the California State Bar Court. He serves on the National Panel of the American Arbitration Association and is a Distinguished Neutral of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR), as well as a member of the London Court of International Arbitration. He is the author of "Insurance Coverage for Environmental Claims," published by Lexis-Nexis Matthew Bender. He has qualified as an expert in insurance and legal malpractice in both state and federal courts. Areas of Expertise:

• Insurance bad faith and standard of care and conduct
• Reinsurance Law - Property and Casualty insurance
• Treaty and Facultative Reinsurance
• Environmental Insurance
• Complex insurance coverage Issues
• Lawyers' Professional Responsibility

Janice A. Ramsay founded the law firm of Ramsay and Johnson, ALC in 1984. She merged her practice and that firm with Berger Kahn LLC in 1999. Since the late fall of 2007, she has primarily worked independently as an expert witness and consultant to other attorneys.

During her career, Ms. Ramsay has given advice on coverage questions, underwriting procedures, rescission rights, claims handling, and insurers legal and policy obligations. She is experienced with both commercial and personal lines policies. Ms. Ramsay is familiar with the business of insurance and the legal framework of that business and has performed the procedures that are unique to the claims process such as examinations under oath, and appraisals. She has drafted or revised insurance policies for several insurance companies and has handled coverage litigation.

Litigation Support - Ms. Ramsay has been retained in over 150 matters as an expert work during her law practice beginning as early as 1989. She has testified frequently in both deposition and trial on the standards and practices of the insurance industry. She has testified for insurers, insureds,brokers, and agents.

Types of Losses:

Fire Losses Organized Insurance Fraud Landslides Earthquakes Water Damage / Mold Defective Construction

Latent Defects Riots Acts of Civil Authority Business Interruption Suit Limitation Issues Mortgagee Rights

Speaking Engagements - Ms. Ramsay has frequently been a speaker and/or panelist for the Orange County Bar Association, PLRB Annual Conference, the Combined Claims Conference, and many more. She has also given in-house seminars for several insurers.

For 34 years, Steven Plitt has represented policyholders / insureds in litigation and trial as well as representing insurance companies in Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith matters. During his career, he has reviewed thousands of claim files from more than 100 insurance companies. He has regularly consulted with all levels of claim department management from claim adjusters, supervisors, branch claim managers, claim-legal personnel and executive level insurance company management.

Mr. Plitt has also consulted with underwriting departments and participated with insurance company product development units and claims-legal to draft insurance policy language. He has reviewed and analyzed a broad spectrum of testimony from claims adjusters, claims management, claims attorneys, underwriters and other insurance company management as well as other insurance experts. He has reviewed an extensive variety of claims manuals, claims guidelines and other claims directives and practices.

Mr. Plitt is a nationally recognized expert witness in insurance claim handling and bad faith cases and has been retained as an expert in hundreds of cases nationally. He has qualified in both state and Federal Courts as a claims handling and insurance expert. He is currently an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Arizona where he teaches insurance law.

Areas of Expertise:

Insurance Extra-contractual Bad Faith Claims / Breach of Contract Claims Claims Handling Practices Unfair Claims Practices Policy Interpretation Coverage Denials

Property & Casualty Insurance Personal & Commercial Lines Surplus Lines Excess & Umbrella Insurance Insurance Agent / Broker Errors & Omissions Miscellaneous Coverage

Mr. Plitt has an LL.M. in Insurance from the University of Connecticut. He is the current successor author to COUCH ON INSURANCE 3D where he and his team are rewriting and revising the entire treatise. He has written other books on insurance law. He has published in excess of 320 law reviews and other professional publications on insurance law in addition to his books. Mr. Plitt has been cited by the Supreme Courts in 32 states, the Intermediate Appellate Courts in 23 states, 10 of the Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal, 54 Federal District Courts, the Federal Court of Claims and Federal Bankruptcy Court. Mr. Plitt has been cited in the Code of Federal Regulations. Mr. Plitt has also been cited in 91 scholarly articles.

Steven Plitt has been continuously listed as a top 50 lawyer in Arizona (2007-2014) by SOUTHWEST SUPER LAWYERS®, has been listed in BEST LAWYERS® since 2007 (insurance), and was named the Insurance Lawyer of the Year by BEST LAWYERS® in 2012 for Phoenix. He is a Fellow in the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel and a Member of the American Law Institute where he is a consultive member on the development of the RESTATEMENT OF LIABILITY INSURANCE.