With a team of over 50 insurance lawyers and decades of collective experience, Field Law is one of the major insurance firms in Alberta and the Northwest Territories for many of North America’s leading insurers. In addition to our core practice dedicated to defending insurance claims, Field Law has extensive experience preparing coverage opinions and pursuing subrogated claims on behalf of multinational and local insurers.
In the insurance industry, circumstances can – and often do – change in the blink of an eye. We have a passion for the insurance industry that drives us to help clients mobilize and respond to these frequent changes quickly and effectively. Some of our lawyers have previously worked in-house for insurers. This experience translates into an understanding of industry trends and operations, billing protocols and reporting practices which supports our ability to provide collaborative and timely solutions when our clients are most vulnerable.
The longer a file is open, the more likely it is that the opportunity to seize the ideal, cost-efficient outcome will slip away. We will help you design a creative resolution strategy to minimize cycle time and manage costs, resulting in a better client experience, both for you and your insureds. We have the versatility to assemble the right team of lawyers for sophisticated, high-exposure cases and those that are less so. Regardless of a case’s complexity or potential exposure, our goal remains the same – explore the most efficient, cost-containment solution available, but when necessary, fight relentlessly to achieve the best result at trial.
Being a Field Law client includes many benefits and opportunities. We constantly evaluate and advance our technology infrastructure to ensure our clients take advantage of the most cost-efficient approaches to file management. We also provide regular publications, email updates and educational seminars that allow you to stay current on trends in insurance law and dispute resolution, plus casual, off-the-clock discussions and firm community events to help us get to know you and your business better.
The team at Field Law acts for property and casualty insurers, life insurance companies, international insurance groups, reinsurers and major insurance agencies and brokers. We manage complex insurance matters, including:
- Construction, Bonds + Surety
- Industrial Losses
- Host Liquor Liability
- Motor Vehicle
- Commercial General Liability
- Occupiers Liability
- Cyber Liability
- Personal Injury
- Defamation
- Products Liability
- Directors + Officers
- Professional Liability
- Disability + Life Insurance
- Errors + Omissions
- Fidelity Coverage
- Reinsurance
- Fire Loss
- School Liability
- Government
- Title Insurance
- Homeowner + Tenant Liability
- Autonomous Vehicles
- Property Loss
- Sports + Events
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Home Visits
Given the geographic scope of our business it is not unusual for Field lawyers to travel for several hours to meet with insureds. To prepare for a liability trial we travelled to the insured’s home located 130 km from Calgary to brief him for trial as he was an elderly man. We also travelled 150 km to Red Deer, Alberta to brief the insured’s nephew. The nephew agreed to testify at the trial even though the relationship between the nephew and the insured was strained. The Court relied on the evidence of the insured and his nephew and dismissed the Plaintiff’s claim in its entirety. During the trial, we were also in constant contact with the insured’s daughter and made suitable arrangements for the insured to attend the trial in Calgary.
Making Life Easier for the Client
In a subrogated recovery claim arising from the collapse of a house during a major renovation project, the insured was a very busy doctor with a pretty hot temper. By the time the litigation concluded, his family had relocated to Australia. When contacted to explain that the insurers had finally resolved the matter, but that he and his wife needed to execute standard releases in favour of the parties we had sued as part of the settlement he was incensed by the time it would take for him and his wife to attend before a Notary Public to swear the documents. Seeing his response and frustration, we contacted the other counsel and convinced them that given the passage of time there really was no need for a release. Opposing counsel agreed and we advised our insured that no release would be needed. He was extremely thankful that he did not have to have further involvement or spend any further time dealing with the litigation or the conclusion of the same.
Explaining the Process
Litigation is adversarial, so the experience can be confusing and stressful to an insured. A strategy we employ to improve this experience is early and clear communication. Rather than having an assistant or more junior lawyer meet with our insured to execute an Affidavit of Records, the lead lawyer will meet with the insured directly. We let them know who we are, what our role is and make it clear that our job is to defend them. We explain the steps in the litigation, the Plaintiff’s claim, the purpose of a Statement of Claim, discussing questioning if relevant and any other concerns they may have. In that way, the insured has a personal relationship with counsel that generally makes them much more cooperative and understanding of their obligations in the litigation, the role of counsel and the role of their insurer.