B. Gerard Cordelli, Esq.
Gerard Cordelli is the founder of The Coverage Law Firm, PLLC®.  Prior to that he was with the Washington, DC, (Resident) and Los Angeles offices of the national law firm of Robins, Kaplan, Miller, & Ciresi, LLP, where his practice was concentrated in the areas of complex commercial insurance coverage matters and business litigation.

Mr. Cordelli’s insurance coverage experience dates back over two decades to his position with the Los Angeles office of the national law firm Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman, and Dicker. There he represented, among others: Shand, Morahan & Co., in its capacity as MGA for various carriers in the area of professional liability coverage; and, several dozen reinsurers in litigation instituted by the California Insurance Commissioner in connection with the $2.1 billion liquidation of the Mission Insurance Group. His current practice focuses on all aspects of commercial insurance coverage matters, including counseling, monitoring, representation in Insurance Department matters, and litigation at the trial and appellate levels.  Mr. Cordelli has tried cases and prosecuted appeals in California, the District of Columbia, and in the federal court system in general civil, insurance coverage, and business litigation matters. He has also litigated in Virginia and Maryland State and Federal courts and before the Virginia Supreme Court. His published insurance coverage decisions include Evanston Insurance Co. vs. International Manufacturing Co., 641 F. Supp. 733 (USDC, D. Wy. 1986); and Hitt Contracting Inc. vs. Industrial Risk Insurers, 258 Va. 40, 516 S.E.2nd 216 (Va. 1999).  Publications include:Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi Web Site:California Public Policy Against Enforcing Non-Compete Agreement Trumps Employment Contract “Choice of Law” Provision, June, 1998; Society for Human Resource Management Hi-Tech Net HR TechKnow Newsletter: Intellectual Property, Trade Secrets and Non-Competes: Protecting Your Key Assets in the New Economy. Vol. 3, No. 3 (Third Quarter, 2000); American Bar Association Tort & Insurance Practice Section Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee Newsletter: Advertising Injury Coverage for Patent Infringement Claims: Is it Back After Everett? Winter, 2001; Defense Research Institute (DRI) Covered Events Newsletter: Advertising Injury Coverage Decision by Maryland’s High Court in Walk v. Hartford Casualty Ins. Co. (Vol. 1: Issue 27- July 2004); Defense Research Institute (DRI) Covered Events Newsletter: ASPLUNDH Tree Expert Company v. Pacific Employers Insurance Company (Vol. 1: Issue 38 - May 2005); Defense Research Institute (DRI) Covered Events Newsletter: National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA., et al. v. David A. Bramble, Inc.; National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA., et al. v. Wadsworth Golf Construction Company of the Midwest (Vol. 1: Issue 41 - August 2005); DRI Insurance Law Committee TRIA Subcommittee Compendium: Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSE) and the Post-TRIA Regime (2005).  He is a member of the American Bar Association - Tort and Insurance Practice Section (Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee, Excess, Surplus Lines & Reinsurance Committee, and International Insurance Committee); Intellectual Property Law Section; and, General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section. In addition, he is a member of the Defense Research Institute - Insurance Coverage Committee, and the Subcommittee on the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA).  He is also a member of the State Bar of California, the District of Columbia Bar Association (Litigation Section), and the State Bar of Virginia.  Mr. Cordelli is admitted to practice in the following jurisdictions: California (1983); USDC CD Cal. (1984); 9^th Cir. (1986); District of Columbia (1992); Court of International Trade (1992); Fed. Cir. (1992); Maryland (1993); Virginia (1993); USDC ED Va. (1997); 4^th Cir. (1997); 11^th Cir. (1999); USDC D Md. (2000); Supreme Court of the United States (2001); USDC D D.C. (2005); USDC ND Fla. (2005) and Pennsylvania (2009).  He received his B.B.A., with distinction, from George Washington University, with a major in Finance and a minor in Accounting (1979), and his J.D. from UCLA School of Law (1983).  Mr. Cordelli is the inventor/developer of the Liability Insurance Coverage Referral System and Method known as the “Automatic Coverage Referral System,” patent pending No. 10/661,508.

Thomas E. Brinley, Esq.
Mr. Brinley’s practice has focused on insurance coverage and litigation matters for more than fifteen years.  He is a 1990 graduate of Santa Clara University School of Law, and received his Bachelor's degree from the University of California at Davis in 1987. After admission to the California Bar, Mr. Brinley practiced with the Oakland, California law firm of Crosby, Heafey, Roach, & May, before joining The Coverage Law Firm’s California office.

Mr. Brinley has extensive experience with all phases of litigation, from discovery through trial and appeal, and with  the principal coverage issues that arise under standard liability and first-party property policies, as well as many specialty coverages. Mr. Brinley is also licensed as a real estate broker by the California Department of Real Estate.  (Of Counsel to The Coverage Law Firm, PLLC, Partner in The Coverage Law Firm, LLP)

Karen L. Cohen, Esq.

Ms.  Cohen’s practice focuses on insurance coverage counseling and litigation.  Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Cohen practiced with WilmerHale, beginning in 1996 in the antitrust practice group, where she represented clients in the newspaper, broadcast,  financial, and oil and gas industries in merger investigations by the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission.  From 2000-2001, she served as Vice President and General Counsel

of an electronic discovery project management firm in Arlington, Virginia, after which she returned to WilmerHale’s litigation department.  As a member of the firm’s litigation group, Ms. Cohen’s practice focused on electronic discovery law and electronic discovery project management, where she managed and directed attorneys in the collection, review and production of large volumes of electronic evidence in complex litigation and civil and criminal government investigations. 

Ms. Cohen received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center in 1994, after which  she clerked for the Hon. Leonie M. Brinkema in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria, Virginia.  She received her Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Virginia in 1987.  Ms. Cohen is currently pursuing a Masters in Real Estate Development with an emphasis in Sustainability and the Environment at George Mason University’s Center for Real Estate Entrepreneurship.  As a former architect and a lawyer, Ms. Cohen’s background and experience brings a unique blend of expertise to advising clients in connection with construction risk allocation and liability issues and with respect to issues affecting insurers, owners, contractors and architects in the emerging  area of risk allocation and coverage issues in “green” development agreements and “green” building contracts.

Ms. Cohen is a member of the Virginia State Bar and the Bar of the District of Columbia.  Ms. Cohen is admitted to practice in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit; the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, all Virginia state courts, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and the District of Columbia Superior Court.

Ms. Cohen is the founder and Executive Director of Mama2Mama, Inc., a non-profit organization providing donated maternity clothing and access to a network of pregnancy and motherhood support and educational services to women with limited economic resources.  Ms. Cohen was a recipient of the WilmerHale Pro Bono and Public Service Award in 2005 for her pro bono efforts in 2004.  Ms. Cohen is Of Counsel to The Coverage Law Firm, PLLC.

Christopher LaFon, Esq.

Mr. LaFon’s career has centered on insurance coverage counseling and litigation. Before working at the firm and after receiving his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2000, he worked on insurance coverage matters at the law firms of McCarter & English (New Jersey) and Dickstein Shapiro (Washington, DC and New York City).

His practice has included large-scale environmental and asbestos-related coveragematters, as well as smaller, more nuanced engagements involving insurance coverage issues surrounding damaged telecommunications equipment, malpractice claims and employee theft. His experience includes working on trials, international arbitrations, and other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. Mr. LaFon’s background representing both policyholders and insurance carriers allows him to identify and anticipate coverage issues and create economic and efficient solutions.

Mr. LaFon received a B.A. in Economics and Philosophy from The College of William & Mary. He co-authored Inferring Dishonesty: The Fifth Amendment and Fidelity Coverage, Insurance Coverage Law Bulletin, April 2004 at 1. Mr. LaFon has been active in pro bono work as well, including a well-publicized action in Maryland involving a suit against a school district and police department regarding strip searches conducted in the local high school. Mr. LaFon is a member of the Virginia State Bar, the New Jersey State Bar and the Bar of the District of Columbia. Mr. LaFon is admitted to practice in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit; the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, all Virginia state courts, all New Jersey state courts, and the District of Columbia Superior Court.

Cheryl Kluwe, Esq.

Ms. Kluwe’s practice area is focused on insurance coverage counseling and litigation.  Joining the firm as an associate in October of 2010, Ms. Kluwe has brought with her more than six years of insurance industry experience.  She has served as an agency representative, underwriter, licensed all-lines agent, and in-house claims adjuster. Her broad spectrum of experience with insurance contracts, claim investigations, and claim litigation allow her to identify coverage issues and tailor cost-effective solutions.

Ms. Kluwe received a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Central Florida, where she earned membership in Psi Chi.  She interned at the First Amendment Foundation and the Office of the Attorney General, State of Florida, Economic Crimes Bureau while completing her studies at the Florida State University College of Law.  During this time Ms. Kluwe authored Free To Follow The Rules?: A Glimpse At The Role Of Iraqi Media, Past, Present, And Future, 18 FLA. ST. 2. TRANSNAT'L L. & POL'Y [Vol. 18:1 Fall, 2008].

Upon her graduation from law school in 2009, Ms. Kluwe accepted a position with Bridges Across Borders Southeast Asia, relocating to work in both Chiang Mai, Thailand and Vientiane, Lao PDR. As the Laos Clinical Legal Education Coordinator, Ms. Kluwe supported programs that enabled law students to educate communities in the human rights and land laws of their country.  She continues to contribute to works and publications relating to the public interest.  Ms. Kluwe is a member of the Florida Bar. Ms. Kluwe is admitted to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the United States District Court for the Central District of Florida, and all Florida state courts.