Pain and Suffering Damages for Plaintiff’s Lawyers: Techniques for accurately quantifying injuries and support claims, and counters to defense tactics. (Includes 1 hr of Ethics)

Joshua Offenhartz | Koeller Nebeker Carlson Haluck

Joshua Offenhartz is a partner with Koeller Nebeker Carlson Haluck, a dynamic law firm with presence throughout the country, employing more than 90 attorneys and 200 employees across nine locations throughout the West, Southwest, and Southeast. KNCH successfully represents its clients in all types of legal matters and disputes, including multi-party, complex litigation matters involving construction defects, construction site accidents, entertainment and hospitality claims, automobile and trucking accidents, environmental claims, business law, employment law, insurance coverage and bad faith, as well as most other types of general civil litigation.

Offenhartz is a litigator and business lawyer who is a trusted advisor to companies on legal issues affecting their operations. Josh represents clients in the agriculture, construction, e-commerce, finance, medical, real estate, and culinary industries. He also serves as outside counsel for several small, medium, and growing businesses that need day-to-day legal advice for their growing companies. Josh takes pride in solving problems and loves working with entrepreneurs and business owners. He is detail-oriented and believes in providing his clients with a very thorough investigation and evaluation of their case to ensure an accurate assessment of risks and the best possible outcome. These skills combined with Josh’s privatesector experience make him an ideal attorney for businesses seeking a solutions-based attorney who can navigate the intersection of business and law.

Josh believes in giving back to the community. He is a member of a local school board’s Financial Advisory Board and a board member of the Jewish National Fund. He supports the Phoenix Art Museum as a member of the Men’s Art Council and helps others by volunteering with Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Arizona, the Saint Mary’s Food Bank, and the Wounded Warrior Project.

Outside of work Josh enjoys spending time with family. He is also a passionate sports fan, amateur cinephile, and he teaches a class for teens that promotes leadership, civic engagement, and philanthropy.

Tracy L. Kepler | CNA

Tracy L. Kepler is the Risk Control Consulting Director for CNA’s Lawyers Insurance Program. In this role, she designs and develops content and distribution of risk control initiatives relevant to the practice of law. She collaborates with the underwriting and claims teams to develop and execute strategies for the profitable growth of the program. Tracy lectures frequently at CNA-sponsored events and at state and local bar associations and national seminars hosted by industry-leading organizations. She also writes articles focusing on law firm risk control and professional responsibility issues.

Prior to joining CNA, Tracy served as the Director of the American Bar Association’s Center for Professional Responsibility (CPR), providing national leadership in developing and interpreting standards and scholarly resources in legal and judicial ethics, professional regulation, professionalism, client protection, professional liability and attorney well-being. Ms. Kepler has nearly 20 years of experience in attorney regulation as she served as an Associate Solicitor in the Office of General Counsel for the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), where she concentrated her practice in the investigation, prosecution and appeal of patent/trademark practitioner disciplinary matters before the Agency, U.S. District Courts and Federal Circuit, provided policy advice on ethics and discipline related matters to senior management, and drafted and revised Agency regulations. She also served as Senior Litigation Counsel for the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), where she investigated and prosecuted cases of attorney misconduct.

Ms. Kepler has served in various volunteer capacities, including as President, on the Board of the National Organization of Bar Counsel (NOBC), a non-profit organization of legal professionals whose members enforce ethics rules that regulate the professional conduct of lawyers who practice law in the United States and abroad. Ms. Kepler is currently an Adjunct Professor at American University’s Washington College of Law, Georgetown University Law Center and Loyola School of Law (Chicago) teaching Legal Ethics. Committed to the promotion and encouragement of professional responsibility and attorney wellbeing throughout her career, Ms. Kepler has served on the ABA’s Commission on Lawyers Assistance Programs, is a Board member of the Institute for WellBeing in Law (formerly the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being) and is an author of its Well-Being Report. She is also a Board Member of the Mindfulness in Law Society and the Vice Chair of the ABA IPL Section’s Attorney Well Being Committee. She is a graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and received her law degree from New England School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts.

Session I – Elevating Pain and Suffering Claims: Expert techniques for effective advocacy and client Engagement | 1:00pm – 2:00pm

• Utilizing different experts to support pain and suffering claims
• Simplifying and explaining complex legal terms
• Addressing and overcoming the curse of knowledge
• Strategies for humanizing clients to enhance their narratives
• Techniques for quantifying injuries and strengthening claims

Break | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

Session II – Ethical Advocacy: Upholding our ethical obligations in pain and suffering claims | 2:10pm – 3:10pm

• Ethical witness preparation
• Confidential communications
• Settlement negotiations