principals
John Conlon, Principal & CEO
Insurance Coverage for Environmental Claims & Bad Faith
John Conlon's professional experience includes being Claims Counsel & Director of the Environmental Claims Department for Great American Insurance Companies, Cincinnati, OH, and Assistant Vice President and head of the Environmental Claims Department at American States Insurance Company, Indianapolis, IN. While at both companies John was responsible for coverage decisions on several thousand environmental claims and suits and as well as other types of asbestos and toxic tort claims throughout the U.S.
Prior to his work in the insurance industry, John was an attorney both in private practice and in-house for energy resource companies. As an attorney, he either represented or supervised the representation of companies in environmental compliance matters with state and federal regulatory agencies and on other matters involving compliance with environmental laws and regulations.
John also served a term as an appointee by the Governor to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s (IDEM) Underground Storage Tank (UST) Cleanup Financial Assurance Board (FAB). And John formally served as the interim Deputy Director for the Indiana Office of Energy Policy where he had specific responsibility for environmental matters related to energy policy.
John was the primary co-founder and the first Chair of the Midwest Environmental Claims Association (MECA)(now known as The National Forum for Environmental & Toxic Tort Issues) and he served as a member of the Board of Directors and Treasurer of the Insurance Environmental Litigation Association (now known as the Complex Insurance Litigation Association). Formerly a member of the Environmental & Emerging Claim Managers Association, John is currently a member of the CLM Environmental & Toxic Tort Committee.
Reasonableness of Legal Fees
John is regarded as one of the nation’s leading experts in auditing legal bills. He has reviewed thousands of legal bills in all types of cases and legal matters throughout the U.S. and internationally for corporations as well as for individuals. In addition, John has been called on to train other attorneys and in-house staffs at companies on how to analyze and review legal bills.
Unlike other fee bill experts who lack a recognized background in the field of legal ethics, John is the only attorney legal bill auditor in the U.S. who has served as a state bar Legal Ethics Committee Chairman. Regarded an authority in the field, John has qualified in court as an expert on legal ethics. John also has served as a member of his state’s legal ethics hotline and has counseled lawyers on legal ethics issues including legal billing issues.
John also has provided expert opinions and testimony involving disputed legal bills and legal ethics in federal and state court cases as well as at arbitration and mediations. John also provides counsel to attorneys as well as individuals on how to prepare cases involving disputed legal fees and costs.
John can be reached by email at jconlon@legalpointsllc.com .
Don Douglass, Principal
Litigation Management
Don Douglass is a litigation attorney with over 30 years of legal experience in the property and casualty insurance industry as an established insurance defense trial attorney and managing attorney. He has been licensed to practice law in Indiana and Michigan.
Don is well experienced with insurance defense litigation and litigation management. He has worked as a defense litigator for both panel counsel and staff counsel for several major insurance carriers. Most notably, Don was a managing attorney for two Safeco Insurance staff counsel offices in Indiana providing litigation support for this personal and commercial lines carrier.
Don has a strong insurance claims and litigation management background. Recognized for his management abilities and knowledge of claims functions, Don also served as acting Claims Manager for American States Insurance Company’s branch claims office in Southfield, Michigan.
Don also has experience as a private practitioner concentrating in the area of personal injury claims and litigation, insurance disputes, coverage issues and other insurance related matters. Don has also provided legal services as Corporate Counsel for a health insurance carrier providing international travel health insurance which has broadened the scope of his insurance and litigation experience.
Reasonableness of Legal Fees
Don has audited legal bills and provided his analysis on the reasonableness of legal fees in hundreds of cases throughout the U.S. These cases have ranged from simple to complex litigation involving a wide range of subject matter.
As an experienced litigator and litigation manager, Don well knows what effort should be involved in performing all manner of legal tasks. And just as importantly, Don understands the most efficient, economic and ethical ways to assign tasks and then bill for the performance of the legal service. Thus by using his extensive litigation and litigation management background, Don is able to provide a knowledgeable, fair and accurate analysis of the reasonableness of legal fees.
Don can be reached by email at ddouglass@legalpointsllc.com