NLdH has a national presence to address the litigation needs of its insurance clients across the country. We recognize the challenges insurers face to maintain consistency in handling claims and defending litigation on a nationwide scale. NLdH not only represents clients in federal and state courts throughout the United States on a case-by-case basis, but also services clients as national coordinating counsel.
As national coordinating counsel, NLdH offers an effective method for insurers to achieve consistency on a variety of legal and business practice issues by retaining one law firm to handle, or to coordinate the defense of, an insurer’s litigation needs throughout the country.
In today’s litigious environment, insurers face similar litigation matters and legal issues in each state they write insurance. These matters require constant vigilance to ensure they are handled with consistency and accuracy from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The firm litigates the cases itself, hires and supervises local counsel, or litigates the case as co-counsel with local counsel. The advantages of creating and synchronizing a centralized handling and defense of similar claims through a national coordinating counsel are clear. It allows the insurer to maintain consistent positions on important issues, to streamline the defense of cases to avoid duplication of work, and to leverage knowledge from cases in other jurisdictions.
With one firm at the helm, carriers are able to maintain consistent business practices and react quickly to legal challenges to those practices before they become unmanageable.
The benefits of the NLdH National Coordinating Counsel model:
- Coordination and management of litigation, including the management of discovery, the preparation of company witnesses for deposition and trial, coordination of consulting or testifying experts, and ultimate preparation of the case for trial.
- Expertise in states' statutes, regulations, and industry practices that govern the claims/cases at issue.
- Consistent reporting methodology to keep senior management apprised of the scope and magnitude of pending matters. With such reporting, the insurer is better able to model case reserves and institutional exposures.
- Costs and fees are contained as the insurer is able to rely less on local counsel.
- National coordinating counsel’s institutional knowledge results in more favorable resolution of pre-litigation claims.
- Selection of local counsel whose experiences justify being part of the overall defense team.
