Blank Rome partner Seth D. Lamden will serve as a panelist at the American College of Coverage Counsel’s (“ACCC”) 12th Annual Insurance Law Symposium, being held in Atlanta, Georgia, on Friday, November 6, 2026, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with a networking reception to follow.
Seth’s session, “When Does the Insurer’s Duty to Defend Include a Duty to Litigate Offensively?” will take place from 10:25 to 11:35 a.m.
About the Session
Standard liability insurance policies provide that the insurer has the duty to defend the insured against lawsuits seeking covered damages, but they do not expressly obligate the insurer to prosecute the insured’s affirmative claims. Nevertheless, insureds assert that where the insurer is providing a defense, the insurer must prosecute in that action the insured’s counterclaims, crossclaims, and third-party claims seeking contribution and indemnity, as well as the insured’s other affirmative claims that are “inextricably intertwined” with the claims against the insured or that are “strategically necessary” to the insured’s defense. This panel will discuss courts’ answers to this question.
Panelists:
- Samuel J. Arena, Jr., Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP/Villanova University School of Law
- Seth D. Lamden, Blank Rome LLP
- Karen M. Dixon, Skarzynski, Marick & Black, LLP
- Diana Shafter Gliedman, Anderson Kill
About the ACCC
The American College of Coverage Counsel, established in 2012, is an association of U.S., Canadian, and Bermudan lawyers who represent the interests of insurers and policyholders. The ACCC’s mission is to advance the creative, ethical, and efficient adjudication of insurance coverage and extracontractual disputes; to enhance the civility and quality of the practice of insurance law; to provide peer-reviewed scholarship; and to improve of the relationship between and among the members of the profession.
To learn more, please visit the event webpage.