HarrisMartin’s Hurricane Litigation Conference: Navigating the Most Expensive Hurricane Season in U.S. History - A Claims Handling Boot Camp Speaker Profiles

Since 1983, Chip Merlin has served as a plaintiff’s attorney with a focus on commercial & residential property insurance claim disputes and bad faith insurance litigation. Chip is a noted national authority on insurance bad faith, lecturing to national trade groups and publishing a number of papers and articles on the subject for organizations such as The American Association for Justice, The Florida Justice Association, The Windstorm Insurance Network, and Trial Magazine.

As founder and president of Merlin Law Group, Chip has dedicated his practice to the representation and advocacy of insurance policyholders in disputes with insurance companies nationwide.

Chip served as Chair for the Bad Faith Insurance Litigation Group and Secretary for the Fire and Property Insurance Litigation Group for the American Association for Justice (formerly known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America). He was also Vice-Chair for the Subcommittee on Property Insurance Law for the American Bar Association.

Scott Love is a trial lawyer and partner at Clark, Love & Hutson, G.P. in Houston, Texas. Over the course of his career, Scott has gained a national reputation for his bellwether trial verdicts in pharmaceutical and medical device cases. Currently, Scott is one of only a handful of lawyers in the United States to obtain multiple multi-million dollar verdicts in pharmaceutical and medical device cases, recently obtaining an $18.5 million verdict as lead counsel against Boston Scientific Corporation and back-to-back multi-million dollar verdicts as lead counsel in the first Topamax birth defect trials in the country.

In addition to his active trial practice, Scott has been appointed to several leadership roles in consumer class actions and mass tort cases, including, insurance, oil and gas, and various pharmaceutical cases. Scott served as co-lead counsel in the national Trasylol litigation which was transferred to the Southern District of Florida. As co-lead counsel of the Trasylol Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, Scott was responsible for coordinating the overall litigation strategy, which successfully resulted in the settlement of all of cases pending across the country.

Scott currently serves as national counsel on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for the Transvaginal Mesh Federal Multi-District Litigation pending in West Virginia by the Honorable Judge Joseph R. Goodwin, including:

• In Re: American Medical Systems, Inc., Pelvic Repair Systems Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2325;
• In Re: C.R. Bard, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2187;
• In Re: Ethicon, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2327; and
• In Re: Boston Scientific Corp. Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2326.

Scott and his firm also have extensive experience handling first party insurance claims as a result of natural disasters. In 2008, Clark, Love & Hutson’s practice focused on the aftermath of Hurricane Ike and those affected. The firm represented and ultimately resolved over 20,000 claims on behalf of clients affected by the hurricane.

From small disputes to complex multi-million dollar litigation, Rene Sigman is known for her tenacity, dedication, and unbeatable work ethic in handling every case she touches. She holds her clients’ best interest at heart and her passion for bringing justice to her clients has earned her many accolades and awards within her field and among her peers.

Her drive to be the best and do the best for her clients comes in part from her unconventional upbringing. Born and raised in Texas, Rene was one of two daughters raised by her single mom, who was an immigrant and came to America to live the American dream. Through hard work, her mother became a US citizen and built and maintained her own business for 45 years. At a young age, Rene was taught the importance of education, discipline, and hard work—It was the example that surrounded her.

Adam M. Moskowitz is the Founding and Managing Partner at The Moskowitz Law Firm. Adam has devoted his professional life to legal excellence in the service of his clients and advocating for consumer rights and protection.

A highly respected national authority on class action litigation, Adam has served as lead and co-lead counsel in many of the largest class action cases in recent history.

With decades of experience as a trial lawyer and an exemplary track record of success, Adam continues to provide clients with unmatched legal representation and guidance.