Hinshaw Adds Large Team of Insurance Law Professionals to its Fort Lauderdale Office

Six Attorneys, One Paralegal, and Two Law Clerks Led By Rory Eric Jurman Join Hinshaw

The U.S. law firm of Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP is pleased to announce the addition of a team of legal professionals to its Fort Lauderdale, FL office. The team will be led by partner Rory Eric Jurman, who joined the firm earlier this week.

Insurance litigator Viviana Loshak joins as a partner, while Kelly Canfield, Kristine DeSoiza, Jill Mendelsohn, and Barbara Schabert join as associates. Also on the team are paralegal Gunnel "Rika" Daun and law clerks Kaitlyn M. Maschinot and Livia Vieira. The team will focus their practice on bad faith litigation and counseling, insurance coverage, professional liability, and high exposure/complex litigation.

"I'm delighted to welcome Rory and his team to Hinshaw and to our Insurance practice," said Ronald L. Kammer, the Florida-based Co-Chair of the firm's National Insurance Services Practice Group. "I've known Rory for a number of years, and we're excited to introduce a person of his talent and accomplishment to our clients."

Jurman provides strategic and cost-effective counsel to clients, which include Fortune 500 companies, insurers and self-insureds. A former counsel to a leading multinational insurer, he provides coverage advice regarding virtually all types of general, excess and professional liability insurance policies, including employment liability, D&O liability, and professional malpractice. In addition to his insurance work, he also handles a broad range of complex litigation matters, including medical defense, commercial litigation, and products liability.

A frequent national lecturer on risk management, professional malpractice, insurance law, and bad faith, Jurman is a member of the Council on Litigation Management (CLM), DRI, and the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC), a by-invitation-only organization comprised of leaders in the insurance and corporate defense bar. In 2018, he was honored by Daily Business Review as one of their Most Effective Lawyers in insurance.

Hinshaw is one of the nation's leading firms representing domestic and foreign insurers and reinsurers. Ranked by Chambers USA as a leading insurance law service provider, and nationally ranked for Insurance in the 2019 U.S. News - Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" Directory, the firm recently announced a strategic alliance with the UK law firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP (RPC), creating a cross-border legal platform for insurers.

"My clients will benefit greatly from the synergies made possible by this move," said Rory Jurman. "My decision to join Hinshaw was in their best interests as well as my own. I'm looking forward to growing my practice, and I'm excited to build on Hinshaw's proud legacy of client service and take advantage of its national footprint and regional presence throughout Florida."

Jurman is currently ranked as a leading lawyer for insurance in Florida by Chambers USA. He is admitted to practice in Florida, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Jurman is a graduate of Albany Law School of Union University (J.D.) and Cornell University (B.S.), and a Certified Litigation Management Professional (CLMP).

Barbara Schabert, one of the associates joining Hinshaw states she "is thrilled to join Hinshaw's elite insurance practice group and to be a part of this distinguished law firm. I am excited to continue working with Rory Jurman as Rory is a great mentor and outstanding attorney."

This team will bolster the firm's capabilities in Florida and beyond. According to Scott M. Seaman, the Chicago-Based Co-Chair of the firm's National Insurance Services Practice Group, "we are continually focused on delivering top legal services and bespoke solutions to our insurer and reinsurer clients. We are thrilled to have lawyers the caliber of Rory and his team. They will add significantly to our already deep bench and will thrive—and their clients will be well-served—under our national footprint and our platform built to serve insurers and their policyholders."

In addition to Jurman, the group joining Hinshaw are:

Viviana Loshak – Partner

Viviana Loshak focuses her practice on insurance litigation, including commercial, professional liability, automobile, healthcare, directors and officers, errors and omissions, homeowner, and property policies. She handles coverage disputes, from providing coverage evaluations and opinions, to handling and prosecuting declaratory judgment and rescission actions. In addition, she also practices bad faith litigation, and defends and counsels carriers with respect to first-party and third-party bad faith claims. She graduated cum laude from St. Thomas University School of Law (J.D.) and magna cum laude from Florida International University (B.B.A.). Loshak is admitted to practice in Florida and the U.S. District Court for the Middle, Northern, and Southern Districts of Florida.

Kelly Canfield – Associate

Kelly Canfield advises those in the insurance industry in commercial litigation, construction defect claims, and insurance coverage disputes. She graduated from St. Thomas University School of Law (J.D.) and the University of Miami (B.A). Canfield is admitted to practice in Florida, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle, Northern, and Southern Districts of Florida, and the U.S. District Court for the Middle, Northern, and Southern Districts of Florida.

Kristine DeSoiza – Associate

Kristine DeSoiza defends clients in insurance coverage disputes, construction defect claims, professional liability claims, commercial general liability, and commercial litigation. She also represents insurers in bad faith litigation and counsels insurers with respect to first-party and third-party bad faith claims. DeSoiza attended Shepard Broad College of Law – Nova Southeastern University (J.D., cum laude) and the University of Florida (B.S.). She is admitted to practice in Florida.

Jill Mendelsohn – Associate

Jill Mendelsohn represents clients in insurance coverage disputes, construction defect claims, commercial general liability, and commercial litigation. She graduated from the University of Florida Levin College of Law (J.D.), the University of Florida (M.B.A.), and Cornell University (B.S.). Mendelsohn is admitted to practice in Florida.

Barbara Schabert – Associate

Barbara Schabert advises clients on all aspects of insurance-related matters including: premises liability, professional liability, auto-negligence, construction defect claims, bad faith, and insurance coverage disputes. Schabert attended New York Law School (J.D. and LL.M.) and the University of South Florida (B.S.). She is admitted to practice in Florida, New York, and the U.S. District Court for the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida.

Gunnel "Rika" Daun – Paralegal

Rika Daun has more than a decade of experience supporting attorneys as a paralegal. Her background includes assisting with civil and federal litigation, intellectual property, maritime, medical and professional malpractice as well as personal injury litigation. Daun attended City College, Fort Lauderdale (B.S.)

Kaitlyn M. Maschinot – Law Clerk

Kaitlyn Maschinot has partnered with attorneys on a wide-range of litigation matters. As a law clerk, she has assisted with the management and final preparation of pleadings and worked on correspondence and legal documents. Maschinot is currently attending St. Thomas University School of Law (J.D. Candidate, 2021). She completed her undergraduate degree at Rollins College (B.S.).

Livia Vieira – Law Clerk

With a background that includes working as a corporate paralegal, Livia Vieira has assisted with preparing a variety of legal documents, which includes closings and reviewing and analyzing due diligences. She is attending Shepard Broad College of Law – Nova Southeastern University (J.D. Candidate, 2020). Vieira speaks Portuguese and Spanish and graduated from The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.