Feb15
Jessica Kokal and Robert Sullivan finished a three-week trial in February 2023 that involved a number of unique procedural and legal issues. The ultimate jury verdict against their client was just over 3% of the total damages requested, and less than the offer of judgment served several weeks prior to trial, resulting in entitlement to Rule 68 sanctions further reducing the judgment. …
Read MoreOct20
On October 20, 2022, Jessica Kokal and Jathan McLaughlin presented on recent trends in spoliation case law and how these trends impact claims handling. The presentation focused on how claims handlers who are the initial point of contact with policy holders can most effectively ensure that evidence preservation is ensured from the moment the claim is made through trial.…
Read MoreOct18
Alicyn Freeman, Jessica Kokal, and Jathan McLaughlin conducted a Deposition College for a Firm client on October 18 and 19, 2022. This two day event led approximately 60 claim handlers through the deposition process, including preparation strategies, techniques for delivering accurate and effective testimony, and best claims handling practices to make depositions as stress free as possible. Using actual cases as examples, Alicyn, Jessica, and Jathan engaged in mock depositions with clients and highlighted both effective strategies as well as areas for improvement.…
Read MoreOct5
On October 5, 2022 Jessica Kokal and Jathan McLaughlin presented on changes in spoliation law throughout the county. Jessica and Jathan presented to approximately 25 attorneys, focusing on recent developments in which have placed more significant requirements on counsel to ensure their clients are preserving and producing all relevant evidence during litigation. The presentation included a discussion of best practices for counsel to utilize to ensure a case in litigation does not get derailed by unnecessary discovery motion practice and discussed how to broach the sometimes prickly subject of discovery sanctions with their clients and the Court.…
Read MoreAug30
The firm is pleased to announce that Don Wilson was recently appointed to serve on the State Bar Ethics Advisory Group. The appointment is for a three year term, during which he will provide assistance to the State Bar and its members in the resolution of questions of professional ethics, including non-binding ethical guidance to and for the benefit of Arizona lawyers.…
Read MoreMar25
Michelle Donovan and Kate Corcoran secured a unanimous defense verdict in a birth trauma case in which Plaintiffs claimed the obstetrician failed to diagnose shoulder dystocia and caused a permanent brachial plexus palsy in the newborn.…
Read MoreFeb18
Jathan McLaughlin prevailed in a United States District Court lawsuit seeking over $20 million in damages against his attorney-client. After litigating the case for over two years, Mr. McLaughlin obtained summary judgment in favor of his client as well as a favorable Daubert ruling which eliminated roughly $13.7 million dollars in alleged economic damages.…
Read MoreFeb10
Tyler Abrahams prevailed on summary judgment on behalf of a business client in U.S. District Court. The lawsuit alleged that the the business client aided and abetted a breach of fiduciary duty of its employees when those employees terminated their prior company to join the business client. Tyler successfully argued the business client was unaware of the fiduciary duties owed by and among the employees to their former business, resulting in the client’s dismissal from the lawsuit.…
Read MoreOct15
On October 15, 2021, Jessica Kokal presented an hour-long course on Unconscious Bias at the State Bar of Arizona’s 2021 Annual Workers’ Compensation Program. The presentation helped introduce the idea of unconscious bias, the many ways in which it can present, and its application in the legal field and specific to workers’ compensation, including as implicated by the examination of witnesses and experts, communication to the trier of fact, and even in the earliest stages of claims handling when the facts germane to the litigation are developed. One attendee wrote in the evaluation form: My greatest praise and acclaim go …
Read MoreAug31
On August 28, 2021, the firm hosted a pro bono Name Change Clinic to assist members of the LGBTQ+ community in obtaining legal name changes that more accurately reflect their gender identity. Attorneys Leanne Hay and Kelley Jancaitis organized the event, which included training other attorneys on the law and procedure of a legal name change and meeting with clients to prepare the necessary paperwork and counsel them on the process. Thanks to our volunteers, the firm helped eleven clients begin the name change process.…
Read More