Louie Castoria, Featured Speaker, “Redefining Winning”, Professional Liability Defense Federation Webinar, 1-31-2-23

Louie Castoria, Partner in our San Francisco, CA office, is a featured speaker at the PLDF Webinar  “Redefining Winning” on January 31, 11:00 AM, Central Time. 

The Professional Liability Defense Federation will begin its six-part continuing education series on on-line, hour-long seminars with Redefining Winning, featuring three of PLDF’s experienced litigators, telling their less glorious tales and how they became better lawyers as a result.

Sometimes, a pyrrhic victory at litigation costs greater than the case’s settlement value is less of a “win” than an early settlement, if liability in the case is clear. In Redefining Winning our panel will explore the ethical boundaries of the zealous representation that the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct require, and how a loss can teach us more than a win.

Featured Speakers

Louis H. (Louie) Castoria of Kaufman Dolowich Voluck LLP has been named among the Top 100 Lawyers in California. He won a case the Supreme Court of the United States in a landmark constitutional law case that upholds civil rights under the First Amendment, Thomas More Law Center v. Bonta, 594 U.S. __, S.Ct. docket 19-251. In a case spanning seven years, Mr. Castoria fought for the privacy rights of donors who contribute to charitable organizations. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, struck down as facially unconstitutional California’s law requiring charities to disclose their major donors. The ruling protects all donors in all states.

A partner in Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck, LLP, Louie represents and defends professional and financial services clients, including accountants, lawyers, insurance and real estate agents and brokers, investment advisors, securities brokers, and other businesses in venues throughout California and in the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), as well as insurance companies as coverage, monitoring, regulatory counsel.

Louie is chairman emeritus of the Board of Directors of the Insurance Educational Association and is an adjunct professor of law at Golden Gate University, where he develops courses that teach the practical side of practicing law. He founded the Coastal Literary Arts Movement, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that encourages multi-lingual literary appreciation and expression in rural coastal communities. Louie writes a weekly humor column for his local newspaper, the Half Moon Bay Review, and has done so for 25 years.

Erin Higgins serves as Conn Kavanaugh Rosenthal Peisch & Ford, LLP’s Managing Partner, overseeing all operations and managing the growth of the Firm’s practice areas and professionals. She is a civil trial lawyer. During her 30 years of practice, Erin has focused on representing lawyers, insurance agents and brokers, and other types of professionals in defending against errors and omissions claims. Having served a four-year term on the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers, she also represents lawyers in disciplinary matters and advises lawyers on ethics issues. Erin understands that for a professional, reputation is everything, and she will work towards a resolution that best protects that interest. Erin is a cum laude graduate of Georgetown University, and she received her J.D. cum laude from Boston College Law School. She has been honored for her work by top legal organizations since 2003 and has taken leadership roles in numerous bar and professional organizations. 

Lisa C. Tulk is a shareholder in the Dallas, Texas office of Kessler Collins, where she has been defending claims against professionals for nearly 20 years. In addition to being active in the International Association of Defense Counsel and DRI’s professional liability committee, Lisa is a past President of the Professional Liability Defense Federation and a former member of its board of directors. Her practice primarily focuses on advising and defending clients in the construction, financial services, software and healthcare industries.

Allison L. Wood is Principal of Legal Ethics Consulting, P.C. in Chicago, Illinois. She is a lawyer for lawyers who has 20+ years of experience interpreting and working with the Professional Rules of Conduct that govern attorneys. She is unique in that she spent a decade in private practice before serving as both a Hearing Board Chair and later, las a Litigation Counsel with the disciplinary agency in Illinois, known as the ARDC. She established her firm in 2011, where she defends lawyers in all matters before the ARDC, handles Character & Fitness matters, and provides expert evaluations in legal malpractice matters. Ms. Wood has a passion for serving the legal profession and she spends a great deal of her time serving on boards and committees. She is a current member of the Illinois Supreme Court Standing Committee on Professional Responsibility and a Board member of the Association for Professional Responsibility Lawyers (APRL). She is a former member of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, the Illinois Bar Association Professional Conduct Committee, and the Board of Governors of the Chicago Bar Association.

Continuing Legal Education Credit

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