Challenges Negotiating Injury Claims: From the plaintiff perspective

Nancy Morgan | Finkelstein & Partners LLP

Nancy Y. Morgan is a Partner and Director of Legal Operations at Finkelstein and Partners and Jacoby and Meyers. Nancy graduated from the Lois D. Brandeis School of Law at University of Louisville in 1986 and joined Finkelstein & Partners in early 1987. Her practice has involved all facets of litigation. In the first five years with the firm, Nancy took over 45 verdicts. She continues to negotiate or litigate various types of personal injury cases to trial, in New York and New Jersey. Her goal is to hold the negligent party accountable for all harm caused.

Between 1991 – 1996, Nancy accompanied her Active-Duty Army husband when he was transferred. out of state. During those five years, she worked at Colorado Interstate Gas Company (Coastal) in Colorado Springs, Colorado where she was a senior trial attorney. She then worked at Westinghouse in Pittsburgh, PA. where she developed the national litigation protocol for an asbestos product used in ship building. Nancy’s practice area expertise spans personal injury law, but she also has a specialized focus on negligent supervision, lack of security, and ski cases. She achieved multiple large, confidential, six and seven figure settlements. Nancy oversees the legal operations of the firm and is the founder of the Veterans’ Services Group. Additionally, she administers the firm’s mentoring and Continuing Legal Education (CLE) programs.

Her recognitions include: the designation of Super Lawyer every year since 2011, National Trial Lawyers Top 100, and a top (AV) rating by Martindale since 2012. In 2016 Nancy was presented with an award for Outstanding Service and Dedication to the Bar and Citizens of Orange County. In 2021 Nancy was awarded the Sanford Radar, Military and Veterans Section Community Service Award by the New Jersey State Bar.

As the Director for the Finkelstein and Partners Center for CLE, Nancy has coordinated several programs each year. Nancy has been teaching other lawyers for over fifteen years. The CLE program is offered to the legal community free of cost. The program presenters include attorneys from the firm, Judges and attorneys from a myriad of specialties. The CLE Center was established in 1999 and continues to offer approved mandatory CLE credits for attorneys licensed in NY, NJ and PA. The program helps practitioners maintain and enhance skills, techniques and procedures essential to the practice of law.

In 2008, Nancy started the Veterans’ Services Group at Finkelstein and Partners and Fine, Olin and Anderman. Nancy and her husband settled in New York when he was assigned to the Staff & Faculty at West Point. When he retired after 24 years of service, Nancy, a career Army spouse , witnessed firsthand how her husband had to fight for his Veterans’ disability benefits. His struggles inspired her to find a way to continue to serve others by assisting Veterans’ who were also struggling with the process of applying and being awarded the proper Veteran’s benefits they deserved. When the law changed to allow attorneys to assist Veterans at the Administrative level with this process, she traveled to Washington D.C., and attended every available training option. Driven by her passion and under her supervision, the Veterans’ Services Group (VSG) at Finkelstein and Partners has developed into a national practice. Her VSG team has helped hundreds of Veterans obtain the benefits they deserve. The team collaborated with the National Organization of Veterans Advocates (NOVA) to write the Amicus brief for the U.S. Supreme Court in the Henderson case. The VSG regularly volunteers to provide information and pro bono services for many events and clinics throughout the year and continues to work to assist Veterans and their families obtain the benefits they have earned. Nancy has taught for NYSBA, OCBA and NJSBA over 1000 attorneys, providing the Accreditation training necessary for those attorneys to assist Veterans.

Over the years, Nancy has been involved in many community activities. She was the school Board President for West Point Schools, President of the Orange County Bar Association, Chair of the Military and Veterans Section of NJSBA, Member of the Veterans Committee for the NYSBA, and Advisor for high School mock Trial teams. She was selected by the Second Department Appellate court for the Character and Fitness Committee. She was named a Special Master in a Mediation Pilot program initiated by the Appellate court and has successfully mediated settlements to assist the court with the Backlog. Nancy was also a volunteer as a Mediator for the NY state Divorce Mediation Pilot program.

Publications:

Aspatore Books: Navigating Legal Issues for Military Veterans, 2015 ed. Authored chapter on VA disability benefits. Co-authored article “Representing America’s Warriors” NYSBA Pro Bono Magazine. Representing Veterans article for NYSTLA magazine.

I. Insurance companies set a reserve-how to maximize their assessment to increase the reserve and how to get them to increase the offer despite the limitation of the reserve | 2:00pm – 2:15pm

II. Client issues-how to handle the unreasonable adjuster or client | 2:15pm – 2:30pm

III. Do you need a ‘settlement packet’ ? | 2:30pm – 2:45pm

IV. When should you include the court in negotiations? | 2:45pm – 3:00pm