ALFA International 2022 International Client Seminar

Sonia Valdes, Vice President-Claims, Medmarc Insurance Group, joins a panel of experts on presenting on Friday, March 4th. 

Humanizing the Wizard of Oz: Changing a Judge and Jury’s Perception of The Corporate Defendant by Revealing Its Inner Self That’s Behind the Curtain

Best phrased by the rock band The Who: “Well who are you? Who are you? Who, who, who who? I really wanna know, Who are you? Who, who, who, who…” Even the largest and best-known companies face this issue before a jury regardless of whether the opposition is an individual or another company. Often, all the jury (or judge) has seen or knows is product advertising and poor press (since the press often does not write about the good things you do). Are you equipped to be able to show them (and can you) who you are, and that you are made of people, often just like them? Except, you are a legal fiction. Dorothy, Cowardly Lion, Tin Man, Scarecrow and Glinda the Good Witch of the North will help you navigate the yellow brick road on such issues as transforming you into people the jury can relate to, mining your social media, advertising and community involvement and creating admissible information to use before a judge and jury about your people and culture. Your story as people, individually and collectively, can and needs to be told.

Lauren Hulbert, Senior Claims Examiner, Medmarc Insurance Group, joins a panel of experts on presenting on Saturday, March 5th. 

THE FINAL ACT: 

Closing Argument: Ethos and Ethics

As advocates and counselors, whether we are closing deals or making closing arguments, our job is to persuade clients, mediators, courts, and opposing attorneys and parties. One key to persuasion, according to Aristotle, is Ethos, which means demonstrating character and credibility, or “appealing to ethics.” But surprise, surprise, some stories are lies. Some lawyers can seem credible – and appeal to ethics – even though they (or their clients or experts) are making stuff up. Is that OK? Is it actually part of our job? And whether it is or not, what is the best way to respond? Please help our panel grapple with the enigma of Ethos and ethics in some real-world scenarios.