Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel elects 2008 – 2009 officers at annual meeting

October 8, 2008

The Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC), at its Annual Meeting at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel and Resort in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada, announced its 2008-2009 Executive Officers and Board of Directors. The new officers are:

President: Steven L. Barney of Plunkett Cooney (Petoskey, MI)

President Elect: Michael T. Lucey of Gordon & Rees LLP (San Francisco, California)

Secretary Treasurer: F. Thomas Cordell of Frailey, Chaffin, Cordell, Perryman, Sterkel McCalla & Brown LLP (Chickasha, OK)

Board Chair: Wayne B. Mason of Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold (Dallas, Texas)

Directors:

Stephen E. Goldman of Robinson & Cole, LLP (Hartford, CT)
Edward M. Kaplan of Sulloway & Hollis, PLLC (Concord, NH)
Michael I. Neil of Neil, Dymott, Frank, Harrison & Mc Fall APLC (San Diego, California)
Timothy A. Pratt of Boston Scientific (Boston, MA)
Sarah J. Timberlake of Abowitz, Timberlake & Dahnke, PC (Oklahoma City, OK)
Richard K. Traub of Traub Eglin Lieberman Straus, LLP (Edison, NJ)
Gale White of White and Williams, LLP (Philadelphia, PA)
Thomas A. Williams of Leitner, Williams, Dooley & Napolitan, PLLC (Chattanooga, TN)

Vice Presidents:

Kenneth J. Nota of Dryvit Systems Inc. (West Warwick, RI)
Helen Johnson Alford of Alford, Clausen & McDonald, LLC (Mobile, AL)
H. Mills Gallivan of Gallivan, White & Boyd, PA (Greenville, SC)
Steven E. Farrar of Smith, Moore & Leatherwood (Greenville, SC)
Stephen P. Pate of Fulbright & Jaworski, LLP (Houston, TX)
Robert W. Foster, Jr. of Nelson, Mullins, Riley & Scarborough, LLP (Columbia, SC)
Victoria H. Roberts of Century Surety Company (Phoenix, AZ)
Deborah Kuchler of Abbott, Simses & Kuchler (New Orleans , LA)
Greg Witke of Bradshaw, Fowler, Proctor & Fairgrave, P.C. (Des Moines, IA)

2007-2008 FDCC President, Wayne Mason, reflected upon the many accomplishments of the diverse membership of the Federation. “The Federation is comprised of talented attorneys and claim professionals who gather to share common ideas, missions, a course for justice, and fellowship. I am honored to have served as President and to have added new program initiatives such as the FDCC Leadership Institute, where tomorrow’s leaders are trained to become leaders in their firms, in their communities and in organizations such as the FDCC. While there are many ‘law firm management’ seminars and programs throughout the country, and some ‘leadership’ training in general, this is the first program directed specifically to law’s leaders of tomorrow.” The Institute began its inaugural year taking the best and brightest senior associates and junior partners from law firms and general counsel departments across the country for an intensive, interactive 2-1/2 day training session at Chicago’s Gleacher Center.

A list of additional FDCC Projects in 2008 include:

Leadership Institute: FDCC’s program to develop the lawyer leaders of the future, by providing senior associates and younger partners of law firms with the knowledge and skills to become leaders not only in the legal community, but also in their communities.

Amicus Program - FDCC files applications to be heard at the appellate level to assist the courts on issues that shape and define nationwide jurisprudence.

Associate Retention Project - FDCC published a white paper to assist law firms in their efforts to retain associates and law partners.

Diversity Initiative - FDCC has focused on diversity within its organization and has finalized a Diversity Master Plan. Proudly, the FDCC continues to seek out the best and the brightest women, minority, and multicultural attorneys to become members of the FDCC.

Insurance Industry Initiative - The Federation established a permanent committee to strengthen the relationship between defense counsel and the insurance industry, the traditional clients of many FDCC members.

Trial Masters Manual – The Federation’s Trial Masters team along with the Trial Tactics section has drafted a comprehensive Trial Manual for FDCC members. The Trial Masters program features advance techniques and the latest strategic approaches to try cases.

Trial By Jury – In an effort to preserve one of the underpinning foundations of our Nation, the FDCC has instituted a committee to study ways to assure that the right to trial by jury is preserved, available, affordable, and that the profession continues to develop attorneys with the skills to try cases.

Incoming President, Steve Barney, in his acceptance address, noted that the FDCC will continue in its role as a leader in the legal community, developing programs which assure that the highest standards of knowledge are maintained, and that the pursuit of justice is kept at the forefront of the profession and its members.

The FDCC Annual Meeting was chaired by Stephen Goldman of Robinson & Cole (Hartford, CT). The CLE program was presented by Steven E. Farrar of Smith, Moore & Leatherwood (Greenville, SC) and provided a wide range of speakers and topics including nationally known speaker Dr. Dale Henry discussing important life issues confronted by lawyers and their families; a presentation by New York Times best selling author, Andy Andrews, discussing the decisions to personal success; Finders and Keepers: How to Attract and Retain Top-level Associates; The Ever Shrinking World of Civility – What would Their Mother’s Say; Marketing Tips. In addition to the plenary CLE sessions, there were numerous substantive law sections covering such topics as "Mediation and Arbitration in the 21st Century"; "Motions for Sanctions"; “Discovery Abuses”; “The Law Firm as Employer-What you Need to Know”; "Helping Jurors Understand: Tips for Explaining the Unexplainable at the Eighth Grade Level"; “Emerging Trends in Hospitality Litigation”; "Punitive Damages in Transportation Cases"; "Overview of the Subprime Mortgage Crisis"; "Class Actions: Class Action Litigation Issues"; "The Paperless Law Office"; “Preparing For a New Generation of Toxic Tort Claims”; “Defending Against the Use of Litigation Conduct as Evidence of Bad Faith”; “Inundation, Insurance, and Interpretation: The Evolution of Katrina Litigation Continues.”

Founded in 1936, the FDCC is an international organization composed of the nation’s leaders in the legal community. FDCC members have been judged by their peers to have achieved the highest in professional distinction, and are committed to promoting “Knowledge, Justice and Fellowship.” The select 1400 members of the FDCC include the top attorneys in private practice who specialize in civil defense litigation, as well as general counsel, risk managers and insurance claims professionals from throughout the world. The FDCC is the premier organization for civil defense attorneys in the country. Membership is by invitation after an extensive peer review selection process.

For more information about the FDCC or its projects, please visit www.thefederation.org.

For more information on the FDCC election, please contact the FDCC Secretary-Treasurer, Tom Cordell at tcordell@fccpsm.com .

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