PAUL W. BURKE
Trial and appellate litigation of First Party Property and Subrogation matters; Professional Liability; Reinsurance matters; Transportation/Cargo matters; and Insurance Coverage matters.
Paul Burke is a Partner and member of the Board of Directors of DREW ECKL & FARNHAM in Atlanta, GA. Paul joined Drew Eckl & Farnham in 1983 in the Property Section, at that time focusing his attention on first party coverage matters, arson, fraud and subrogation. Since that time, his practice has expanded to include Professional Liability (focusing on legal malpractice and agents & brokers) reinsurance litigation and arbitration as well as transportation/cargo litigation (focusing primarily on the inland marine policy). Paul attended college at the University of the South (Sewanee) in Tennessee and attended Stetson University Law School. He graduated from Stetson with honors. While at Stetson, he served as editor of the Law Review and was published in the Stetson Law Review as well. He also was a member of Stetson’s National Moot Court Team and placed first in Stetson’s school wide moot court competition. Paul is a member of the American Bar Association, Alabama Bar Association, Florida Bar Association, Georgia Bar Association, Atlanta Bar Association, Defense Research Institute, Transportation Lawyers Association, ABA Property Committee, AIDA, Georgia Fire Investigators Association, International Association of Arson Investigators, Southern Loss Association, Metro Arson Association and the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association. Paul is a frequent speaker for the ABA, PLRB and DRI, and also tours and speaks nationally on property insurance matters. Paul has received his CPCU and ARe designations.
Education
Stetson University Law School, J.D. (cum laude), 1983; University of the South, B.A., 1980.
Professional Experience
1983 to present: Drew Eckl & Farnham, LLP, Partner
Admissions
Georgia State Bar
Alabama State Bar
Florida State Bar
Georgia, Alabama and Florida State Courts
United States District Court for the Southern, Middle
and Northern Districts of Georgia and Alabama
5th and 11th Circuit Court of Appeals
U.S. Supreme Court
Memberships
State Bar of Georgia
State Bar of Florida
State Bar of Alabama
American Bar Association (Vice Chair Property Insurance law Committee)
Defense Research Institute
Atlanta Claims Association
Southern Loss Association
Metro Arson Association
International Association of Arson Investigators
Georgia Fire Investigators Association
Transportation Lawyers Association
National Institute of Restoration
AIDA/ARIAS
CPCU (National Claims Committee)
ARe (Associate in Reinsurance)
Georgia Defense Lawyers Association
Alabama Defense Lawyers Association
Recent Papers and Presentations
“Protecting the Insurer’s Work Product: Is there a Bad Faith Exception?,” Insurance Counsel Journal (1986).
“Opinion Work Product: The Growing Bad Faith Exception,” The Brief, Spring, 1988.
“Property Insurance Subrogation from A to Z: Theories of Liability,” (ABA publication, 1991).
“Managing Information - - Computer Litigation Support,” (ABA publication, 1991).
“Recent Developments in Property Insurance Law,” TIPS Law Journal (Winter 1995)
Regional Editor, Annotation to Homeowners Policy
Regional Editor, Rail and Motor Carrier Newsletter
Regional Editor, Excess & Reinsurance Committee
Editor, “The Property Line” - - Newsletter for the Property/Casualty Industry
Editor-in-Chief, 1996 Supplement to the Annotations to the Homeowners Policy
“Bad Faith and Subrogation - - The Files that Won’t Close,” (National Institute of
Restoration Publication, 1997).
“The Suspicious Loss” (National Institute of Restoration Publication, 1998)
“Application Misrepresentation” – Paper and Presentation at the Chicago PLRB
(1998) and the New Orleans PLRB (1999)
“Nuts and Bolts of Cargo Claims” – Paper and Presentation at Georgia International Convention Center
“Damages for Delays in Delivery” – Presentation at Georgia International Convention Center
“Inland Marine Coverages” – Paper and Presentation at the Atlanta PLRB (2001)
“Subrogation” – Presentation at the Southern Loss Annual Seminar (August 2000)
“Update on Georgia Bad Faith” – Presentation at the Southern Loss Annual Seminar
(August 2001)
“Strategies for the Small Subrogation Claim” – Presentation at the Annaheim PLRB (2002).
“Measuring and Paying the Covered Claim: Mortgagee and Loss Payee issues”
Presentation at Spring ABA Meeting in New Orleans (2003).
“Update on Georgia Property Insurance Law” – Georgia Bar Presentation in St. Simons (2003).
Regional Editor, ABA Bad Faith Annotation (3rd Edition).
“Ethics for the Insurance Professional” – I-Day Presentation, Georgia World Congress Center (2003).
“Update on Bad Faith and Punitive Damages” – Presentation For Atlanta Chapter of CPCU (2004).
“Daubert Implications for the SIU” – Presentation for the Atlanta Chapter of IASIU (2004).
“Experts and Ethics” – Co-Chair Two day seminar for the Property Insurance Law Committee of the ABA, San Antonio (2005).
“Good Faith Claim Handling” – Presentation at the 2005 PLRB, San Antonio (2005).
“Employee Dishonesty Coverage” – In House Seminars for Zurich East Coast Claim Offices (2005).
“Five Random Thoughts on Subrogation”—Article for CPCU Claims Quarterly (Spring 2005).
“Five Random Thoughts on Subrogation” – Presentation at Southern Loss Association
Atlanta (June 2005).
“ Defending the Developer/Contractor Under Insurance Coverage” – Paper and Presentation for Construction Defects Conference, Atlanta (July 2005).
Ethics Presentation for CPCU “I-Day” – Atlanta (November 2005).
“Good Faith Claims Handling” – Presentation at the 2006 PLRB, Nashville (2006).
Author, Nationwide Survey of Law on Juror Misconduct, 2006 CPCU National Convention, Nashville (2006).