Lisa J. Black is an insurance and litigation defense attorney with over 20 years' experience, she handles litigation defense of property and casualty matters in both Federal and New York State courts, including trials and appeals. Areas of focus include construction and property damage-related litigation, premises and professional liability, retail, insurance coverage litigation and general personal injury and negligence. In addition, Lisa is a certified mediator. She previously served as an Assistant Corporation Counsel in the Special Federal Litigation Division of the New York City Law Department. In that capacity, she defended the NYPD, FDNY and NYC Department of Corrections against Federal Civil Rights claims. Lisa is active in several professional organizations, as well as with her alma mater. Leadership roles have included serving as Secretary of the USLAW Network National Construction Practice Group for 2016-2017 and Chair of the USLAW Network Women's Connection Practice Group for 2015-2016.

Brandi Christine Blair is committed to providing exceptional legal counsel. She educates her clients on the issues relating to their case, Arizona law specific to the client's industry, applications of the law, and best practices for avoiding and minimizing future liability. Brandi defends clients against claims involving dram shop liability, premises liability, wrongful death and personal injury, professional liability, and Section 1983 defense. She represents clients in industries including retail and hospitality, medical and healthcare, legal, accounting, and governmental and quasi-governmental entities.

Rinaldo J. Cartaya III is a partner in the Orlando Office of Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, P.A. Mr. Cartaya focuses his practice on construction defect litigation and general civil defense. Prior to joining QPWB, he was an associate in Orlando office of a regional insurance defense and general commercial litigation law firm where he focused his practice in the areas of construction defect, premises liability, negligent security, and commercial automobile liability. Mr. Cartaya is licensed to practice law in Florida and is a member of The Florida Bar. He is admitted in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida and the Supreme Court of the United States. Mr. Cartaya serves as a committee member of the Orange County Bar Association, Cuban Americana Bar Association, and The University Club of Orlando. Mr. Cartaya serves as a committee member of the Orange County Bar Construction Law Committee.

Margaret M.(Margie) Donnell joined Hiscox in 2016 after spending over 18 years as an insurance defense litigation attorney in Illinois representing design and construction professionals. Margie now monitors claims on behalf of Hiscox insureds, including architects, engineers, construction managers, contractors, project managers, property managers, developers, and general contractors. Margie speaks at conferences throughout the year and works closely with Underwriters and Brokers.

Ami C. Dwyer serves as S-E-A's General Counsel. Prior to S-E-A, Ms. Dwyer worked in private practice for 22 years. Her focus was on all aspects of litigation relating to the construction industry, including construction defect and injury, product liability, professional liability and commercial disputes. During her time in private practice, she was active in leadership in legal and industry organizations, and taught classes on risk management, Building Information Modeling (BIM), contract language and negotiation, OSHA, trial strategy and other related topics.

Diana M. Gerstberger is a Senior Claims specialist at Axis Insurance located in Alpharetta, GA where she currently handles a variety of complex litigated claims including New York Labor Law, Products Liability, and Premise Liability and Construction Defect matters. Ms. Gerstberger has over 17 years' experience in the insurance industry as a claims adjuster and insurance defense counsel. She is the current Chair for the DRI Construction Law Section. Ms. Gerstberger is licensed to practice in California.

William H. (Bill) Haydt Expertise includes claims preparation and analysis; CPM scheduling; delay analysis; contract management; contract dispute resolution; and specification interpretation; and training. He provided analysis of multi-million-dollar claims on various project types. Has presented multiple claims and scheduling related seminars nationally. He provides CPM schedule and time extension review services for large construction programs; and CPM schedule development and time impact analysis preparation services for contractors and subcontractor.

Eileen Jenkins is a Divisional Assistant Vice President for Great American Insurance Group, where she is Divisional Counsel to the Excess and Surplus Lines Division. She works with the Claims Department on coverage issues and litigation, maintains reporting to Corporate Claims and manages the division's reinsurance program. She works with the Underwriting Department on drafting policy language, providing research and writing opinions on legal issues. Her background includes positions with regional and global carriers, a third party administrator and a general practice law firm. She has held the position of Claim Adjuster, Supervisor, Practice Manager and Vice President in claim departments, and has functioned as Coverage Counsel and Corporate Counsel in carrier legal departments Her technical experience includes all lines of property and casualty insurance coverage.

David L. Jones is a partner in the law firm of Wright Lindsey Jennings in Little Rock, Arkansas. His practice focus is construction defect and related contract litigation, including representation of owners, contractors, design professionals, sureties, and suppliers. He is a contributing author to several construction law publications. He also presents on construction topics and is an active member of the Defense Research Institute's (DRI) Construction Committee, currently serving as Vice Chair. He previously served as board chair of a not-for-profit residential builder and as a board member for ACE (Architecture, Construction, and Engineering) Mentor Program of Indiana.

Alicia R. Kennon is a Partner in Wood, Smith, Henning, & Berman's Northern California office. Alicia specializes in the defense of complex, and often times high profile, claims arising from alleged construction defects and unsafe construction site conditions. Alicia is listed as a Rising Star by SuperLawyers Magazine and is a Certified Litigation Management Professional through the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance.

Ashley Kramer Comfort Systems USA is a national heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) company, with $1.79 billion in revenue and 37 subsidiaries. Ashley joined Comfort in July 2013 and serves as Senior Counsel, Litigation and Employment. As of January 2017, she also serves as the Assistant Vice President of Safety and Risk Management. Prior to joining Comfort, Ashley worked for a boutique litigation firm in Houston, Texas. Her practice focused primarily on construction defect, employment, and personal injury litigation.

Joshua Brook (Josh) Levy A member of Husch Blackwell's Real Estate, Development & Construction Team, Josh has represented clients for more than 25 years in construction disputes and claims. He focuses his practice on the complete array of construction services and litigation, as well as employment law. He provides contractors, designers, owners and developers tremendous experience and knowledge in all areas of construction from his time in private practice and as general counsel. He handles construction disputes in state and federal courts, arbitrations and OSHA hearings. A dedicated advocate, Josh has represented clients in more than 50 American Arbitration Association hearings, state and federal court and jury trials, and has served as an Arbitrator on the AAA Construction Industry Panel of Neutrals.

Denise M. Montgomery is a Senior Associate at Sweeney & Sheehan, PC and focuses her practice in the area of construction defect, representing prime contractors and sub-contractors in complex construction defect claims throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. She also has extensive expertise in the areas of employment law, professional liability, and general liability. Ms. Montgomery is experienced in all aspects of litigation, including discovery, mediation contractual and non-binding arbitration, and trial.

I'Ashea Myles-Dihigo is an associate located in the Nashville office of Leitner, Williams, Dooley & Napolitan, PLLC. She focuses her practice on litigation and dispute resolution specifically in the areas of construction law, real estate law, commercial litigation, and employment law. As a construction law attorney, I'Ashea regularly handles matters related to the building and development of both commercial and residential property. Her experience includes representing owners, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers in federal and state courts. She also counsels contractors and developers at the beginning of projects to avoid the need for litigation.

Evan B. Rudnicki is a litigator who focuses in the areas of premises liability, construction law, general liability and contract disputes. He has more than a decade of litigation experience, and over the course of his career, he has skillfully defended property owners, contractors and subcontractors with respect to cases involving bodily injury, property damage, construction and premises liabilityrelated claims. Additionally, he has provided knowledgeable counsel and representation to insurance brokers, agents and other professionals in connection with error and omissions claims.

Ilka V. Torres is responsible for managing the claims and risk management department of the firm's restaurant and hospitality portfolios. Ilka has over 15 years of claims, operations, risk and audit management experience having worked for seven insurance carriers in various mid to high level management positions throughout her career. Ilka understands all facets of handling General Liability, Property, and Worker's Compensation Claims from first notice of loss through trial. Ilka has extensive experience in the management of claims requiring a high degree of technical expertise including litigated matters, complex coverage issues and multi-party negotiations.

Lisa Torron-Bautista is a Partner at Schouest, Bamdas, Soshea & Ben Maier P.L.L.C. with 25 years' of insurance defense expertise. Previously, she was a member of the Senior Leadership Team with AIG Staff Counsel as a National Practice Lead. Prior to joining AIG, she was with an insurance defense firm for 18 years; the last 10 years as Managing Partner. She is a frequent speaker at industry events and certified through the Florida Bar as a speaker for continuing education credits. She is also a Circuit Court Certified Mediator and licensed to practice law in Florida and the District of Columbia.

Glenn M. Zakaib is a partner with BLG's Toronto office as National Co-chair of the Class Actions Group, providing strategic direction and coordination of the group across Canada. He has an extensive background in precedent-setting class actions matters, bringing astute insights forward to defend public and private sector clients against all manner of claims. Mr. Zakaib's expertise extends across industry sectors. He has a strong track record of successfully defending class action proceedings and product liability claims related to medical, consumer, industrial, pharmaceutical, automotive, aviation, and electrical products, as well as life insurance, misrepresentation, and Competition Act claims.