Insuring the Crops, Opportunity on the Vine

Insurance coverage can be the difference between a natural disaster causing the closing of a business or merely a temporary shutdown. In October 2017, wildfires blazed across eight counties in Northern California causing billions of dollars in insured losses. 19,000 residential, commercial, and auto claims were filed by the end of October, with payouts of over $3.3 billion according to the California Department of Insurance. The wildfires are expected to collectively amount to the costliest wildfire loss in U.S. history.

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10 Steps to Navigate the Labyrinth of E-Discovery for Small to Mid-Size Firms

1. The practice of exchanging discovery in federal litigation has ballooned to its own cottage industry within the practice of law. Many law firms tout expertise in the practice “Electronic Discovery Law.” Heady conferences convene to discuss the intricacies of how parties are to find their way through the labyrinths of software and security systems that protect the information of their adversaries. To many lawyers, the language of this area is akin to Hellenic Greek (active data, archival data, legacy data, Zublake steps, etc.). Many might be tempted to shrug off the detail and resort to the tried and true methods of faxing or hand delivering reams of unsorted papers as a discovery response. There is a path forward, though, for every lawyer, regardless of the robustness of your IT department, if you even have that kind of resource at your disposal. Read More

Recent Victories For PK Law Flood Team

The PK Law Flood Team handles litigation for a variety of carriers in several jurisdictions including federal and state courts in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, New Hampshire, Tennessee, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Texas, Minnesota, Louisiana and Oregon. In this article, we highlight several recent victories.

Love Me Tender: Maryland’s Requirement that Insurers Pay Pretender Defense Costs

By: Patricia McHugh Lambert, Esquire

PK Law Hosts BCBA Pro Bono Reception

PK Law had the pleasure of, once again, hosting the Baltimore County Bar Association’s Pro Bono Reception to acknowledge and celebrate the pro bono contribution of attorneys to the citizens of Baltimore County. Congratulations to this year’s BCBA Pro Bono Award winner Marty Voelkel-Hanssen.   Read More

Coming in the next issue:

The December PK Law Insurance Insights will focus on trends in cyber security including the recently issued NAIC model cyber security regulations.

About PK Law’s Insurance Group

PK Law’s Insurance Group is comprised of a deep bench of attorneys with an extensive range and level of experience in the insurance industry. Lead by Members Patricia McHugh Lambert and Joan Cerniglia-Lowensen, the Group is supported by Members, Steve Allen, Barry Bach, Robert Campbell and James Benjamin and Associates Kambon Williams, Talley H-S Kovacs, Aidan Smith, Kayleigh Toth-Keilty, Anna Sholl, Jennifer Harris and Jennifer Ciarrocchi. All members of the Group receive mentoring and are trained to apply the techniques and analysis that the Group’s senior attorneys use including project management, identification of the stages and how to accurately evaluate a case.

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