The National Association of Subrogation Professionals hosted a seminar in November of 2012 with presentations by Managing Principal Craig Simon and Senior Paralegal Sue Muncey from Berger Kahn. Simon and Muncey spoke on the effectiveness of using high technology in subrogation cases and their presentation was covered in the NASP Daily News.
Whether it’s Windows 8 or the iPad Mini, technology has a way of pushing users forward in an endless march towards improvement. However, reexamining current technology opportunities often can reveal new and different ways to implement it in your subrogation efforts.
That’s the focus of today’s session entitled, “Use of Technology in Subrogation Cases: Keys to Success or High Tech Waste of Time?”
“We’ve been working with a lot of carriers to try and get the same technology and tools used in large, national subrogation cases to work in small cases, as well as just with client/attorney communication in managing subrogation,” says Sue Muncey, senior paralegal with Berger Kahn. “Because we do it so much and we know it really well and I think we have a good grasp on how it can help people do business better both in litigation and in subrogation.”
CAPTION: Craig Simon, Managing Principal of Berger Kahn, speaks on the use of high technology in subrogation during his seminar at the NASP Cirque du Subro
Muncey will be presenting with her co-presenter Craig Simon, who is an attorney with Berger Kahn.
“Craig acts as a liaison counsel, and I operate as the case manager for a lot of the very large subrogation cases across the country,” says Muncey. “In a large way, we use technology to streamline and coordinate. It helps avoid duplication and waste, and it creates a tremendously efficient way to include all parties, including the defense, plaintiffs, experts, and clients. Cases move along in a very streamlined fashion because the technology is in place to allow everyone to do what they need to do without an army of filed clerks and copy machines trying to track things by hand.”
Muncey says many of the technologies her and Simon will discuss this morning should be familiar to most, but she expects many will be surprised at how they can be used.
“There are antiquated ways of delivering claims files, and there are current, secure ways to do it that are very fast and easy,” says Muncey. “For instance, in large and small cases, you can deliver and maintain documents in an electronic repository, which is a central location where even documents on the smallest case can be maintained securely. The documents are fully searchable and able to be sorted by anyone who has access to it from the comfort of their own computers. It’s a simple concept, yet it’s one that a lot of people think only applies to really big cases.”
CAPTION: Sue Muncey, Senior Paralegal at Berger Kahn, presents with Managing Principal Craig Simon at NASP Cirque Du Subro
Muncey also plans to include a look at technology that can five subrogation professionals the upper hand in negotiations and litigation.
“We will show some cool technology that can give you an edge in terms of presenting your case or framing your demand in a way that makes an impact,” she says. “For instance, we will show how to use photos and images in actual documents, both in court and in demands. Rather than just attaching them or producing a file, we will demonstrate how images can be integrated into a demand. It’s a very simple, easy technology to use, and it creates a tremendous impact.”
By the end of the presentation, Muncey hopes attendees will take away a number of new ideas.
“We’ll be showing some pretty handy tools that attendee’s probably haven’t thought of using in the way that we propose to use them,” she says. “I think that they will learn new ways of using existing technology that will save money and time.”