In this session, Max Louik and Jorge Rojas of Reed Smith’s Insurance Recovery Group tackle privilege from both sides of the ball.
First, we take the field on defense: How do policyholders protect privilege in the uniquely complex landscape of coverage disputes? We'll examine the tripartite relationship between insured, insurer, and defense counsel under duty-to-defend policies; the evolving law on broker communications, common interest doctrine, and joint defense agreements; and – new this year – the privilege risks posed by generative AI, including the closely watched United States v. Heppner ruling and what it means for clients using AI tools to organize litigation strategy, record meetings, or communicate with counsel.
Then, we go on offense: How can policyholder counsel pierce insurer privilege claims to discover what actually drove the coverage determination? We’ll discuss strategies for exposing attorneys embedded in claims-handling activities, leveraging at-issue waiver and advice-of-counsel reliance, and obtaining discovery of loss reserves and reinsurance information.
Whether you are trying to keep your communications off the insurer’s exhibit list or put their communications on yours, this session provides a practical, precedent-driven roadmap for the privilege issues that define modern coverage litigation.
If you would like to attend in person at Reed Smith's Pittsburgh office, please complete the in-person registration form.
CLE Information: This course is presumptively approved for 1.0 Ethics CLE credit in California, Connecticut, Illinois (pending), New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia. Applications for CLE credit will be filed in Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, and Virginia.
