Wisconsin

Laurie McLeRoy is a Shareholder in the Litigation and Risk Management Practice Group. She focuses her civil litigation practice in the areas of insurance litigation (including bad faith), medical malpractice, nursing home, municipal, transportation, premises, and products liability. In products liability defense matters, Laurie has particular expertise in asbestos litigation. In addition to her trial experience in Wisconsin, where she has successfully argued in front of the Wisconsin Supreme Court on medical malpractice, election law and insurance coverage issues, she is a member of a national asbestos trial team where she helps a Fortune 100 international retail company maintain its goal to ward off lawsuits by continued success in defense of claims in trial outside the State of Wisconsin. She is also a skilled appellate advocate handling all aspects of appeals from successful Petitions for Review, to briefs and oral arguments before the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Laurie has been involved in a wide range of issues on behalf of clients including products liability, professional liability, property damage, discrimination, breaches of contract, insurance coverage, environmental clean-up, commercial disputes and election disputes. She has handled claims arising out of home, auto, CGL, professional liability, and municipal insurance policies including not only third party claims, but first party property damage (vandalism, flooding, and fire) and UM/UIM claims. Laurie’s style is to concentrate on understanding the goals of the client in order to formulate a strategy for accomplishing the client’s objectives. She has experience coordinating joint defense agreements among multiple defendants to enable and procure winning strategies while conserving costs for the multiple defendants involved in the cases.

She is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin (Litigation and Appellate Sections), Milwaukee Bar Association and Defense Research Institute. She is AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®.

Bell, Moore & Richter, S.C. is one of Madison, Wisconsin’s oldest and best-known law firms, having been established in 1851. Patricia Epstein has been representing health care professionals and hospitals since 1989. She started her practice in 1989 in New York City and moved to Madison in 1996. She is a Superlawyer nominated by her peers, and was awarded a Woman in the Law recognition by the Wisconsin Law Journal in 2012. Patricia is also on the Litigation Board for the State Bar of Wisconsin. She has been  a shareholder at Bell, Moore & Richter, S.C. since 2005 and is the firm’s Hiring Partner.

Sean Gaynor is a litigation attorney who specializes in the representation of healthcare providers and other professionals in matters related to malpractice, general negligence, licensing boards, policy, and business issues. The variety of medical, dental and other professional related matters he has handled provide him the knowledge and experience to acutely assess each case, conduct efficient discovery and take cases to trial. Voted a Wisconsin Super Lawyer and Rising Star by his peers annually since 2008, Sean is consistently called upon to handle complex, difficult cases. Using his experience in medical malpractice, Sean has also built a robust practice representing other professionals including lawyers, IT professionals, architects, and accountants.

Healthcare and professional liability is complex, both legally and factually, and carries significant financial and personal exposure. Sean appreciates each of these aspects and strives to provide his clients a principled, well-planned, strongly executed defense. Sean prides himself on collaboration and ensures that his clients have an active say in how their respective matter is handled. A strong work ethic, professionalism, and quality work product are trademarks of Sean’s practice and culminate in his desire to achieve the results his clients seek.

In addition to his legal practice, Sean is active in numerous healthcare organizations and is a member of the Board of Directors of WSHRM (Wisconsin Society of Healthcare Risk Management). He has been invited to lecture both in Wisconsin and nationally before hospitals, physicians, medical/dental associations, insurance companies and lawyers regarding health care, dental and professional liability. He has co-authored articles on informed consent, changes to Wisconsin’s peer review and quality assurance statutes and the physician-patient relationship.