The past few days I have been fortunate to be in Chicago for the American Association for Justice Annual Convention. Merlin attorneys, Craig Kubiak, Kelly Kubiak, and David Pettinato were also in attendance at this gathering of leading plaintiff attorneys. Kelly is the co-chair of the Bad Faith Litigation group and Dave is the chair of the Insurance Law Section. They are to be commended for rising to national leadership positions in our field.
During this convention, the Insurance Law Section received remarks from Alex Sink. As you know, I worked for Ms. Sink during her time as Florida’s Chief Financial Officer and as the Democratic nominee for Governor in 2010. Nothing in my professional career has made me more proud than the work we did on behalf of insurance consumers. Likewise, I have never been associated with a more genuine, committed, and knowledgeable politician than Alex. During her remarks, Ms. Sink recounted her time in Tallahassee as an insurance regulator. The need to balance the interests of consumers and industry was a theme in her remarks and a point that I agree with 100%. A healthy insurance market is good for the industry and for consumers, but a “healthy market” at the expense of consumer protections should not be tolerated.
Ms. Sink’s remarks reminded me why we (plaintiff attorneys and advocates) fight as hard as we do. Consumers deserve someone who believes in and understands their cause. Alex’s departure from the cabinet in 2011 has left a void of people who believe. I hope we can fill that void before its too late. . . .