| ABOUT THE ARMADILLO CLUB |
The Armadillo Club
- Purpose:
The Armadillo Club is comprised of over 500 attorneys who practice
primarily in the insurance COVERAGE field (not insurance defense.
There is a huge difference...) The purpose of the club is to foster
camaraderie among these attorneys primarily through social and
networking events. Simply put: we are friends-- many for almost 20
years. We have been known to do good things from time to time.
There are no dues, no rules, and no officers. We get together for
lunch or happy hour on a periodic basis (whenever we feel like it),
and when someone needs something (like a job for instance) we get
busy and fire up the machine. We also help support each other
causes and charities when we can. But there's no pressure to do
anything, because, after all, we work hard enough already and have
other "obligations." So if you want to join, don't plan to get on a
committee because there isn't any work to be done, no speeches to
be given nor any papers to write! (If you want to organize a fun
event, on the other hand, just let me know.)
History:
We started out as three friends who got together for lunch: Karen Golden,
former Risk Manager of Pepsi Cola General Bottlers, now Senior Vice
President - Risk Management, RR Donnelley & Sons Company; Ellyn Dorf
Hoffman, former partner at Querry & Harrow (now a mom) and me. Then we
invited a few others to join us (specifically Mary Sliwinski formerly a partner at
Montgomery Williams & John, was the 4th official member with Susan Luther,
formerly a partner at Tressler, coming in shortly thereafter- they are both with
me now at Colliau Elenius) and they invited a few others to join us too. The
Chicago Lawyer and the Daily Herald ran articles on our group, after which
others asked to join us. AND we continue to grow. It is great to have a
professional community whose members are also friends.
- Currrent Membership:
We now have about 500 attorneys on our service lists and more that actually view
this website. Most are in Chicago, but also in New York, Philadelphia, Boston,
Buffalo, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, San Diego, Seattle,
Indianapolis, and Dallas. We also now cover most of California and have a West
Coast Branch.
Most of our members concentrate (or in the past concentrated) on litigating
insurance coverage under third-party liability policies. Again, most members deal
with commercial general liability policies and several have come through the
ranks litigating the mass environmental insurance coverage cases. We also,
however, have some members who analyze, interpret and litigate coverage under
homeowners, auto, first party property, D&O, E&O, health and other types of
insurance policies.
While the majority of our members represent insurance companies, we do have
members who also represent policyholders.
Although the club was originally comprised of women, we have evolved and now
have almost as many male insurance coverage attorneys on our service list and
who participate in our events. Now, the club is open to all insurance coverage
attorneys. The Armadillos have many friends and allies in the insurance
industry and we know that many non-attorneys, and defense attorneys read this
page too. If any of you have notices you would like posted, please feel free to
send me an e-mail.
- Membership Requirements:
If you are interested in being a member there are just a few pre-requisites:
- You must be an attorney whose practice is PRIMARILY insurance coverage in
some capacity (not just a dabbler or someone who has handled an occasional
coverage matter... or someone who would like to "get into coverage.") If you do
not meet this requirement, PLEASE don't ask to be admitted. I hate saying no,
but I do. I will check your firm bio and if "coverage" is just one of many things
you do, I'm probably not going to let you in... Of course, everyone wants to be a
coverage attorney, but not everyone is. If you are looking for a job and a friend
is trying to help and suggests you join (even though you aren't really a coverage
attorney), just ask him or her to forward the e-mails with job openings to you
when they get them.
- Both men and women are welcome to join. I just keep separate service lists so
that if I have a topic that I don't think will interest the men, I don't bother them
with it...
- You have to be fun, not worry about things that don't matter and not take
yourself too seriously (or at least be working toward those goals),
- We don't engage in harmful or destructive gossip. It is a group that promotes
camaraderie and friendship. If you have tendencies to be that way, don't apply
(or change and then apply....);
- You should want to be involved in some way at least occasionally if and when we
have luncheons or other activities. In other words, I don't just want to add names
to the service list and never know who you are. If that is all you want, just feel
free to continue viewing the website and take advantage of any useful
information on it.
How to apply:
Just send me an e-mail at Linda.Weaver@cna.com and give me your name,
phone, firm, address and type of coverage you handle. IF you meet all of the
above requirements, you may consider your application approved. I am glad to
post whatever is appropriate that you would like me to post on these pages, but
like all good attorneys, I reserve the right to be the sole and final arbiter of what
is appropriate.... Hey, you're not paying anything for this, so don't complain. : )
- Benefits:
The point is: sometimes we all need a little help from our friends. We may be
one of the only legal groups in the country whose members considers themselves
to be more than just peers or colleagues. We see ourselves as a community, even
a family. Even if we never need help, its great to have good friends!
- If you are reading this and need a good coverage attorney, feel free to
contact me and I'll put you in touch with someone.
Thanks for reading. Hope you find something useful, enlightening or
entertaining here. Have a blessed day.
Faithfully yours,
Linda A. Weaver
Colliau Elenius et al.
Professional Disclaimer: Being a good attorney, I thought I should add an appropriate disclaimer, so here it is:
The fact that I post any particular document, notice or piece of information on this site, does not mean that I endorse such or have even read it (although
I probably have.) Neither does it mean that I agree (or disagree) with the contents (although to be sure I probably do one or the other, unless, of course,
1) I choose to be ambiguous or mysterious about my feelings on the topic and don't take a stand, or 2) I am incapable of analyzing the issue properly, am
too chicken to take a position one way or the other and the appropriate CYA language have not yet popped into my head, or 3) unless no one has paid
me enough to argue one way or the other.)
Neither is the posting of any particular person's bio, decision or article or notice an indication that I believe he or she actually knows what he or she is
talking about (although whether they do will probably become evident if you are a true coverage attorney. If you are not then this is a warning that you
should not even be attempting to understand what is written herein. Coverage is NOT for dabblers. You will get burned badly if you attempt to engage
most, if not all, of the coverage attorneys in this club on their turf (although as with everything in life, there are exceptions....). You will be much wiser to
hire one of them (not the exceptions) rather than do it yourself. Trust me on this. So use any of this stuff at your own risk and for your own enjoyment.
The fact that I post any particular document, notice or piece of information on this site, does not mean that I endorse such or have even read it (although
I probably have.) Neither does it mean that I agree (or disagree) with the contents (although to be sure I probably do one or the other, unless, of course,
1) I choose to be ambiguous or mysterious about my feelings on the topic and don't take a stand, or 2) I am incapable of analyzing the issue properly, am
too chicken to take a position one way or the other and the appropriate CYA language have not yet popped into my head, or 3) unless no one has paid
me enough to argue one way or the other.)
Neither is the posting of any particular person's bio, decision or article or notice an indication that I believe he or she actually knows what he or she is
talking about (although whether they do will probably become evident if you are a true coverage attorney. If you are not then this is a warning that you
should not even be attempting to understand what is written herein. Coverage is NOT for dabblers. You will get burned badly if you attempt to engage
most, if not all, of the coverage attorneys in this club on their turf (although as with everything in life, there are exceptions....). You will be much wiser to
hire one of them (not the exceptions) rather than do it yourself. Trust me on this. So use any of this stuff at your own risk and for your own enjoyment.
| I have largely stopped posting things here for privacy reasons. Most business is done via E-mail newsletter to the members. Members who wish to be listed in a Directory may join our Armadillo Club Group in LinkedIN. Do not request to join the LinkedIN Group if you are not already a member of the Club. |
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| We Remember Ted, Jerry, Audrey and all we have lost this year. |
| Updated 7/1/2010 Click Here for info on the Marty Jordan Family Benefit June 20 Chicago Tribune Feature Article Update |
We thank our friends below for their generous support of the Marty Jordan Family Benefit. We request all Armadillos, remember them should you need the type of services or goods they provide. |
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Another great guy you should know is
John Levitske at Duff & Phelps. Many of
you met him at the last Armadillo luncheon.
John is in the firm's Dispute Consulting and
Forensic Advisory practice. John is in the
firm's Dispute Consulting and Forensic
Advisory practice. If you have a need for
independent expertise with a commercial
litigation or dispute damages issue,
valuation issue, merger & acquisition
purchase price adjustment issue, or fraud,
forensic and investigative services, call
John. The firm has a much broader range
of services and offices across the country.
Be sure to check it out.
Website
Contact John at 312-697-4600
John Levitske at Duff & Phelps. Many of
you met him at the last Armadillo luncheon.
John is in the firm's Dispute Consulting and
Forensic Advisory practice. John is in the
firm's Dispute Consulting and Forensic
Advisory practice. If you have a need for
independent expertise with a commercial
litigation or dispute damages issue,
valuation issue, merger & acquisition
purchase price adjustment issue, or fraud,
forensic and investigative services, call
John. The firm has a much broader range
of services and offices across the country.
Be sure to check it out.
Website
Contact John at 312-697-4600
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