YOU GET THE POINT

With Your House Counsel^®, you’ll have
One Point of Contact for your local, regional and national needs.

Your House Counsel^® is more than an excellent source to find experienced, proven insurance and corporate liability defense firms.

That’s because you’ll also have One Point of Contact who is ideal for your specific needs — no matter if that individual is one of our five Your House Counsel^® Regional Leaders, one of our eight National Leaders, or one of our 32 Practice Group Chairs.

So instead of dealing with a complex corporate structure and the inevitable, frustrating issues that it brings, with Your House Counsel®, you’ll have the same, single point of contact from beginning to end.

And, on a day-to-day basis, you’ll have a relationship partner at each firm working to ensure the success of your program.
Plus, there are important additional reasons to turn to Your House Counsel^® Member Firms:

► We conduct extensive due diligence coupled with a very stringent vetting process, to assure you that our Member Firms are highly qualified.

► We offer uniform preferred rates and portfolio fee arrangements, so no matter which Member Firm you work with, you’ll get our best rates.

► You’ll be represented by a neighbor, not a stranger — this local representation means our Members know the nuances of their jurisdictions.

► We’re right where you need us — we’re adding qualified Members in jurisdictions nationwide.

So for a far more effective and efficient way to find and work with the right insurance and corporate liability defense firm or firms, your solution is Your House Counsel^®.

Point well made.

A Message from the President of Your House Counsel®

Welcome to the home of Your House Counsel^®, The National Consortium of Highly Regarded Insurance and Corporate Liability Defense Law Firms. While each of our firms is independent, we all share a common philosophy of client centered, results driven, cost effective defense.

As the industry has changed, the make-up of those who are hired to defend the claims and lawsuits has changed. From close friends and acquaintances, to panels, to regional and national firms. Your House Counsel® is the next step in the progression towards a national solution, joining the service and cost-effectiveness of small to mid-size firms with the reach of a national organization.

Regional and national firms may be convenient for an initial referral, but their politics, structures and hierarchies make them costly and inefficient. Each Your House Counsel^® Member Firm is independent and has a Relationship Partner dedicated to your relationship and your work.

One of the things that makes working with Your House Counsel^® and its Member Firms is the type of people we have in our organization. You’ll know right away what type of people they are. Think of the defense firm with which you have the longest and closest relationship. We have an organization full of those people. And chances are you are already using at least one Your House Counsel^® firm. View our Member Directory here.

As jurisdictional needs have expanded, valuable resources are stretched in an effort to maintain control over the defense. Building and maintaining a panel and communicating with that panel is a job in itself. Your House Counsel^® does that for you. We know our member firms. We work with you to make sure your initiatives are rolled out throughout our Member Firms. We arrange meetings, whether on site, at an industry event or virtually.

We look forward to speaking with you to tell more about how Your House Counsel^® can be your national solution. Please contact us or look for us at the next industry event.

Howard S. Shafer, Esq.
President, Your House Counsel^®

A Message from the Your House Counsel® Group Chair.

On behalf of the many outstanding Member Firms of Your House Counsel^®, welcome!

Your House Counsel^® Member Firms have a long-standing tradition of and reputation for excellence in Insurance and Corporate Liability Defense. As the Your House Counsel^® Group Chair, I have the pleasure of working with attorneys who concentrate their practices in a number of spheres, from Admiralty and Maritime Law to Workers’ Compensation. Despite our varied practices, I’m proud to say that we take every opportunity to exchange ideas and tactics and call upon each other’s specific experiences and skill sets in order to benefit our clients. In addition, our individual practice group chairs serve not only as a point of contact for clients, but also for Members seeking advice in specific practice areas.

The bar is set high for our Member Firms and attorneys. Collectively we have successfully managed, resolved, and defended thousands of claims—from minor incidents to catastrophic accidents. Yet while all of our Member Firms excel, we constantly strive to be more—more responsive, more accountable, more committed—as we work to provide our clients with premier legal services on a local and regional basis across the United States.

I am proud to serve as the Your House Counsel^® Group Chair and proud of my association with such an outstanding group of firms and lawyers. Our membership truly lives up to the Your House Counsel® motto because each and every Member Firm is “The One To Turn To” for Insurance and Corporate Liability Defense claims in their respective jurisdictions across the U.S.

I welcome your questions and the opportunity to tell you more about Your House Counsel^® and how we can provide you with a national solution for quality legal representation.

Joseph F. Nicholas, Jr.
Mazanec, Raskin & Ryder Co., L.P.A.
Ohio
Group Chair, Your House Counsel^®

IN THE NEWS

Eileen E. Buholtz of Connors, Corcoran & Buholtz, PLLC Wins Slip and Fall Case
Eileen Buholtz won a defense verdict in favor of ALDI Grocery Stores on July 20, 2018 in Livingston County, NY. The plaintiff had her back to an end cap display as she was sidestepping to her left to fit between the end cap behind her and another customer’s cart in front of her. She stumbled, lost her balance, and fell. Her actions were videotaped by the store surveillance cameras. Plaintiff testified that the heel of her foot struck the bottom shelf of the end cap, causing her to lose her balance. The jury returned a defense verdict.

Insuring Autonomous Transportation Options Presentation at the RIMS 2018 Annual Conference
Timothy D. Crawley of Anderson Crawley & Burke (Ridgeland, MS) and Kellie L. Howard-Goudy of Collins Einhorn Farrell (Southfield, MI) presented a Your House Counsel^® presentation on autonomous vehicle insurance issues at the 2018 Annual Conference of the Risk Management Society in San Antonio, TX, of particular interest in the wake of such recent traffic fatalities involving Tesla and Uber vehicles in California and Arizona respectively.

Assumption of Risk Presentation at NY State Women’s Bar Association 2018 Annual convention
Eileen E. Buholtz of Connors, Corcoran & Buholtz (Rochester, NY) presented “Fore! And Play Ball! Assumption of the Risk” at the 2018 Annual Convention of the NY Women’s Bar Association in Cooperstown, NY, home of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.

Advanced Drone Law Presentation at PA Bar Assoc. 2018 Annual Meeting
Yanai Z. Siegel of Shafer Glazer (New York, NY) presented “Drones, Commuter Planes and Helicopters – Drone Law Update, Midair Collisions and Other Advanced Drone Law Topics” at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the Pennsylvania Bar Association in Hershey, PA.

YHC Assumption of Risk CE Session on May 23 at Wrigley Field, Chicago
Your House Counsel® hosted a session on “Assumption of Risk” at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL on

May 23, 2018. The presentation was based on our 2018 Opening Day Special Edition Assumption of the Risk – The “Baseball Rule” of our Your House Counsel® Insurance and Corporate Liability Defense Reporter, which may be found here.

Jim Haddow elected Fellow of the American Bar Foundation
James B. Haddow of Petruccelli, Martin & Haddow (Portland, ME) has been elected as a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, an honorary society of attorneys, judges and legal scholars who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in the profession and service to society.

Kellie Howard-Goudy receives 2017 Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s Women in the Law Award
Collins Einhorn Farrell (Southfield, MI) is pleased to announce that our partner Kellie L. Howard-Goudy has been named a 2017 Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s Women in the Law Award recipient. The selection criteria included commitment to excellence in the practice of law, inspiring and accomplished leadership in the profession, mentoring and significant contributions of time and effort to volunteer and pro bono activities. Howard-Goudy is one of 30 distinguished lawyers who were chosen to receive this prestigious award.

Anderson Crawley & Burke Founding Member Jim Anderson in “SnowVenture 2018” Fundraiser for Multiple Sclerosis Association of America
James M. Anderson of Anderson Crawley & Burke (Ridgeland, MS), who also serves on the Board of Directors of the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America, took part in an all-day fundraising event in Yellowstone National Park, riding snow-mobiles through mountain trails starting in West Yellowstone then into Idaho, to help raise over $50,000 for the MSAA.

Touchstone Bernays Attorneys named to Texas Super Lawyers^®
Congratulations to Ronald W. Johnson, Mark E. Smith, R. Wayne Gordon, William C. “Rocky” Feemster, James D. Bertsch, Barton L. Ridley, Michael D. Tanner, Dawn Woelfel Hansen, and Andrew T. Fifield, all of whom have been named as 2017 Texas Super Lawyers^®. Super Lawyers® are selected through a rigorous, multiphase rating process, which includes independent research and peer evaluations. These outstanding attorneys have attained success in their field, uphold all ethical standards, and are recognized by their peers for their achievements. Only 5% of the attorneys in Texas are named as Super Lawyers^®.

Shafer and Glazer named to New York Super Lawyers^®
Howard S. Shafer and David A. Glazer of Shafer Glazer have been selected to the 2017 New York Super Lawyers® list. No more than five percent of the lawyers in New York are selected by Super Lawyers^®.

McIntosh Sawran obtains major defense verdict in $3.4M medical malpractice case
James C. Sawran and Kathleen O. King of McIntosh, Sawran & Cartaya (Fort Lauderdale, FL), achieved a huge defense verdict in a medical malpractice claim against their clients, a surgeon and his employer. An 85-year old man claimed that the surgeon negligently perforated Plaintiff’s bowel during hernia repair surgery, with ensuing complications necessitating a second hernia surgery. The initial claim was for over $3.6 million.

The defense that the initial hernia was a result of a surgery four years earlier in Columbia, Central America, and that after plaintiff waited four years for any follow up before going to defendant surgeon (who likely saved plaintiff’s life in remedial procedures), resulted in a jury verdict in favor of defendants.

YOU GET THE POINT

With Your House Counsel®, you’ll have One Point of Contact for your local, regional and national needs.

So for a far more effective and efficient way to find and work with the right insurance and corporate liability defense firm or firms, your solution is Your House Counsel®. Point well made.

With Your House Counsel^®, you’ll have
One Point of Contact for your local, regional and national needs.

So for a far more effective and efficient way to find and work with the right insurance and corporate liability defense firm or firms, your solution is Your House Counsel^®.

Point well made.