Associated Electric & Gas Insurance Services Limited ("AEGIS") has sponsored the development of AEGIS Employment Practices Litigation Service (AEPLS) to better serve members involved in, or potentially threatened by, employment-related litigation.
The service recommends specialized counsel to help local or in-house counsel identify and address complex technical and legal issues, and to assist with proactive management, education or preventative programs designed to reduce employment-related exposures. This assistance may take the form of consultation with, or the retention of, AEPLS-recommended counsel to assist or to defend the member in litigation.
AEGIS Employment Practices Litigation Service
The service is primarily designed to provide confidential legal advice or other assistance to any member (and/or its counsel) involved in potential or actual employment-related matters.
AEPLS provides the following services:
Free initial consultation with recommended AEPLS counsel, with an opportunity for the member to utilize counsel in an advisory capacity or to retain counsel to defend the member in the litigation.
Access to litigation and expert witness databases, including experts in labor economics, statistics, employment/personnel relations, occupational/compensation analysis, jury analysis, industrial psychology and related disciplines.
The AEGIS Employment Practices Litigation Service (AEPLS) Symposium provides attendees with up-to-date information about employment practices law. Designed for claims, risk and human resources managers, as well as their in-house and outside defense counsel, the event offers an opportunity for speakers and participants to share strategies and solutions for reducing employment-related exposures.
Several symposia have already taken place and more are contemplated for the near future.
AEGIS Employment Practices Self Assessment Guide
On-site employment practices training, including mini-seminars, as requested by a member. AEPLS assistance can be customized to meet the particular needs of each member.
This guide has two parts. The first contains a series of questions concerning your organization's employment profile, policies and practices. The second leads the reviewer through the questionnaire step-by-step to explain the importance of the issues reflected in each question, and suggests approaches to minimize exposures. AEGIS Claims and Loss Control personnel are available to assist in establishing a self-assessment program.
How the AEPLS Free Initial Consultation Works
To take advantage of the free AEPLS consultation, members should follow these steps:
Contact one of the following AEGIS professionals. The purpose of this contact is to evaluate the propriety of AEPLS involvement and to select an AEPLS attorney to provide a free initial consultation.
Helen A. LynchSenior Litigation Counsel
AEGIS Insurance Services, Inc.
1 Meadowlands Plaza
East Rutherford, NJ 07073
201.508.2600 Main Number
Edward Hom
Senior Litigation Counsel
AEGIS Insurance Services, Inc.
1 Meadowlands Plaza
East Rutherford, NJ 07073
201.508.2600 Main Number
Woody Hong
Senior Litigation Counsel
AEGIS Insurance Services, Inc.
1 Meadowlands Plaza
East Rutherford, NJ 07073
201.508.2600 Main Number
After this initial contact, a telephone consultation will be scheduled with the member and, if so desired, member's counsel. THIS CONSULTATION IS FREE TO THE MEMBER, WHETHER OR NOT AN AEPLS COUNSEL IS ULTIMATELY RETAINED. The purpose of this initial consultation is to discuss the status, direction and strategy of the case, and to reach a determination of how, if at all, AEPLS counsel may be effectively utilized to reduce ultimate loss exposure.
If the member decides to utilize the service, the member and AEPLS counsel will enter into an attorney-client relationship. The member will maintain complete control over all involved attorneys, including AEPLS counsel and all expert witnesses, and is free to terminate the AEPLS relationship at any time.
Payment of AEPLS Defense Costs
As noted previously, the initial consultation with AEPLS counsel is free to members. However, if a member decides to utilize the service, that member will be responsible for paying subsequent costs and expenses of AEPLS counsel.
It is important to note that AEPLS costs, when covered, are applied against a member’s Self-Insured Retention (SIR), and all such amounts in excess of the retention are eligible for reimbursement by AEGIS. It has been our experience that the association of specialized counsel results in a strengthened defense, and increases the likelihood of an advantageous result, whether by settlement, mediation, pre-trial motion practice, jury verdict or appeal.
AEPLS-Recommended Law Firms
Each law firm that is a member of the AEPLS team has a practice group specializing in labor and employment litigation. All of the firms have multi-state offices, and several have international practices and/or affiliates. The various AEPLS law firms are known to most AEGIS members and represent many in connection with employment and non-employment related matters.
Baker & Hostetler
Baker & Hostetler, founded in 1916, is a national firm with offices in nine cities throughout the United States. The firm, with approximately 500 attorneys, has practice groups in all substantive areas of litigation and business law, including labor and employment law.
Contact John B. Lewis of the Cleveland office
216.621.0200 PHONE
www.bakerlaw.com
Dorsey & Whitney
Headquartered in Minneapolis, Dorsey & Whitney is one of the 50 largest firms in the United States, with more than 600 lawyers and 600 support staff. To better meet the needs of its clients, the firm maintains offices in 10 cities throughout the United States, as well as several international offices. Dorsey & Whitney represents a diverse client base, and has practice groups in all substantive areas of litigation and business law, including labor and employment law.
Contact Robert R. Reinhart of the Minneapolis office
612.340.2600 PHONE
www.dorsey.com
Fisher & Phillips LLP
Fisher & Phillips, a national law firm founded in 1943, was one of the first law firms to center its practice on representing employers in labor and employment matters. Now one of the largest in the field, the firm has maintained its commitment to helping employers find innovative legal and practical solutions to their business needs by offering management preventive advice and litigation defense. Fisher & Phillips tries to keep legal costs to a minimum by identifying your business objective, designing a solution to fit that objective, and then implementing that solution in the most efficient manner possible.
Contact Kathleen M. Caminiti of the Murray Hill, New Jersey office
908.516.1050 PHONE
www.laborlawyers.com
Hanson Bridgett
Hanson Bridgett is a full service firm headquartered in San Francisco with a legal staff of over 150. This firm has practice groups in all substantive areas of general business and corporate law as well as litigation, including labor and employment.
Contact Raymond F. Lynch of the San Francisco office
415.777.3200 PHONE
www.hansonbridgett.com
Jackson Lewis
Jackson Lewis LLP devotes its practice to representing management in employment, labor, benefits and immigration law and related litigation. With 46 offices and over 643 attorneys nationwide, Jackson Lewis maintains a national perspective with sensitivity to the nuances of regional business environments. Representing all types and sizes of employers, our firm defends discrimination, wrongful discharge, harassment, overtime and other wage claims, affirmative action audits and all other employment-related claims, including class and collective action suits, using successful and cost-effective strategies developed through more than 50 years of practice.
Contact Garen E. Dodge of the Washington D.C. Region office
703.483.8300 PHONE
www.jacksonlewis.com
Lemle & Kelleher, LLP
Lemle & Kelleher is one of the oldest major law firms in Louisiana, tracing its origins to the late 19th century when New Orleans was experiencing a boom as the shipping and commercial center of the South. Building on that genesis, the firm has diversified and expanded its capabilities for more than 100 years to meet the growing needs of its clients regionally and nationally. Today, Lemle & Kelleher offers responsive, insightful, innovative, and experienced legal representation covering a broad range of practice areas including labor and employment law.
Contact Fred Preis of the New Orleans office
504.586.1241 PHONE
www.lemle.com
Littler, Mendelson
Littler, Mendelson, headquartered in San Francisco, is the largest law firm in the United States engaged exclusively in the practice of labor and employment law. The firm has more than 750 attorneys in 49 offices nationwide, all of whom represent and advise management in the major sub-specialties of employment and labor law.
Contact Russell J. McEwan of the Newark, NJ office
973.848.4700 PHONE
www.littler.com
