News & Announcements

During the 2024 Santa Fe Annual Meeting Amanda Cialkowski was presented The Strubinger Award.  She was selected from a field of twenty-three nominees. The field is then narrowed down to five finalists from which the winner is selected. Quite an accomplishment!  Congratulations Amanda!

The other four finalists were:

•      Dyan Ebert
•      Chelsey Golightly
•      James "Jamie" B. Hood
•      Dan Kohane

At the 2009 Annual Meeting in Scottsdale Arizona, the Marketing Committee of ADTA introduced a new client referral network initiative, "We Prefer to Refer." As part of this program, the Marketing Committee created an award that will be given annually to the ADTA member who has best exemplified our commitment to refer business to other ADTA members. The first "We Prefer to Refer" Award was presented to Bobby Hood of Charleston, S.C. at the 2010 Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts.

The participation of the members in the nominating process is vital and ensures that all of those who deserve recognition will have the opportunity to be duly considered for this prestigious award.

The field of 2024 Nominees are listed below.  The number in parenthesis details how many nominations they received.

You can submit referral reporting forms year-round! Did someone recently refer a case to you? Fill out a “referral reporting form” (previously a “nomination”) today!

The ADTA encourages self-nominations for the Strubinger Award! If you refer a case to another ADTA member, fill out a referral reporting form for yourself ASAP.

You might be wondering: what does it take for a referral to be considered as a “nomination” for the Strubinger Award?

• • What if someone referred a case to me and it settled before I could bill any time to the file?
  • What if someone referred their client to another attorney at my office because I don’t handle that type of litigation?
  • What if I referred a case to an ADTA member and they were conflicted out?

Yep, you guessed it, those should ALL be submitted via referral reporting forms as Strubinger Award nominations!

Happy referring!!

NATALIE M. LEON
Forbes Chochla LLP.
439 University Avenue, Suite 2300
Toronto, ON M5G1Y8
[email protected]

Several ADTA members did the ADTA Proud at Last Week’s DRI annual meeting in San Antonio. 

ADTA member Jill Cranston Rice, Dinsmore & Shohl, LLP, Morgantown, WV has been elected to the Second Vice President Position.

ADTA Past President Evelyn Davis, Hawkins Parnell & Young, LLP, Atlanta, GA and the Presidents of the FDCC and IADC were awarded the John R. Kouris President’s award by DRI’s outgoing DRI President Lana Olson for fostering increased cooperation and collaboration between all four Defense sisters this past year. 

ADTA member Amy L. Miletich, Miletich PC, Denver, CO was awarded the Louis B. Potter Lifetime Professional Service Award for her professional service for DRI and its Foundation for over 30 years! 

ADTA member Rachel Tallon Reynolds, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, Seattle, WA was recognized as serving as the Northwest Regional Director.

Finally, ADTA members Tom Hurney, Jackson Kelly PLLC, Charleston, WV and Susan Gunter, Dutton Brock, LLP, Toronto, Canada received the  G. Duffield Smith Outstanding Publication Award along with Marta-Ann Schnabel.  (Recognizing the authors of the previous year’s outstanding feature article in For The Defense or In-House Defense Quarterly) “Non-Lawyer Investment in the Legal Economy”

What great achievements! Congratulations to everyone! 

2025 Annual Meeting
April 23 - 27, 2025
Lexington Griffin Gate Marriott Resort and Spa
Lexington, Kentucky

2026 Annual Meeting
April 21-25, 2026
Marriott Resort Los Seunos
Costa Rica