Pamela Slater Gilman was recently quoted in the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly article, “Absent misrepresentation, high-low agreement stands.”
The article provides summary and analysis of a recent Massachusetts Superior Court decision in a medical malpractice case where Plaintiffs were seeking to extricate themselves from a high-low agreement, claiming that the professional liability insurance policy language was ambiguous and the defendants misrepresented the extent of coverage.
In the article, Pam notes that “[H]igh-lows help ensure the finality of the dispute. The plaintiff will avoid the risk of having the verdict overturned, and both sides will avert the time, and ‘financial and emotional’ toll of an appeal.”
The judge in this case ruled that the agreement could not be invalidated, finding that the policy language was unambiguous and defendants did not misrepresent coverage. The 10-page opinion, Xu, et al. v. Donovan, et al., can be found here.
Pam has won over seventy jury trials in Massachusetts. In her distinguished career, she routinely represents clients in complex medical malpractice, personal injury, premises liability and products liability matters. She has been named by Fortune Magazine a Woman Leader in the Law in 2014 and 2015. In addition, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly named Pam a Top Woman of Law 2011, an honor given to only 36 Massachusetts attorneys in 2011. Pam has also been recognized as a Massachusetts Super Lawyer since 2011, and has maintained an AV Preeminent rating from the Martindale-Hubbell National Law Directory, the highest rating available for legal ability and ethical standards, for over fifteen years. She has served three tenures as one of the firm’s managing partners, including her first in 1995. At that time, Pam was one of the first women to ascend to managing partner of a Massachusetts law firm. In addition to her busy trial practice, Pam maintains a consulting practice assisting other lawyers in preparing witnesses to present most effectively at depositions and trial.
Barton Gilman is one of New England’s leading civil litigation law firms with offices in Boston and Providence. Its experienced trial attorneys appear regularly in the federal and state courts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. Providence Business Newshas named the firm a 2016 Rhode Island Best Places to Work, marking the eighth time it has received the recognition in the past decade.
