Susan N.K. Gummow

Partner

Susan N.K. Gummow is a partner in the Chicago, Illinois office of Clausen Miller P.C. where she handles business related matters, including bankruptcy, business litigation and insurance law. Susan received her Bachelor of Business Administration from Baylor University and her J.D. from Louisiana State University.

Susan also attended the Université de Provence Aix-Marseilles in Aix-en-Provence, France, where she studied international law and constitutional law under the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Following graduation from law school, Susan served as a Judicial Law Clark for the Honorable Henely A. Hunter in the United States Bankruptcy Court.

Susan has combined her bankruptcy experience with her knowledge of insurance coverage and litigation to develop a unique practice of representing insurance companies in bankruptcy related matters. Susan has significant experience in general commercial matters, including litigating financial institution and consumer fraud disputes, the defense of cases involving commercial and professional liability and contractor disputes involving the Illinois Mechanic's Lien Act.  She also has experience representing creditor and third party interests in bankruptcy proceedings, including the defense of preference actions.   Susan's real estate litigation experience includes foreclosure proceedings for both mortgage loans and mechanics liens.  Serving as corporate in-house counsel early in her career exposed Susan to various business legal issues as well providing her with experience negotiating and drafting commercial contracts.

Susan's experience with bankruptcy and insurance law matters includes litigating the standing of a trustee in a legal malpractice suit and application of in pari delecto defense; the impact of bankruptcy in insurance coverage matters related to environmental, asbestos and toxic torts; indemnification issues under Director and Office liability policies; various settlement and release issues; impact of bankruptcy on deductables and retentions; and rights of co-insureds and additional insureds. 

Susan is a frequent speaker before insurance and insolvency industry groups on bankruptcy related insurance issues.  Susan is often called upon by insurance companies to present in-house CLE seminars focusing on specific areas of interest such as Director & Officer Liability, mass tort / asbestos bankruptcies and legal malpractice.

Susan is the author of the Bankruptcy and Insurance Law Manual published by the American Bankruptcy Institute. The Manual encompasses the basics of insurance law for the bankruptcy practitioner and the basics of bankruptcy law for the insurance practitioner. A copy of Bankruptcy Law And Insurance Manual can be obtained through the ABI web site at www.abiworld.org

Representative Publications and Presentations

Insurance Issues in Bankruptcy: Policy Proceeds in Consumer Cases, 2007 Mississippi Bankruptcy Conference, December 6-7, 2007.

CNA, Bankruptcy and Insurance Law Seminar, Chicago, Illinois, July 12, 2007.

CNA Professional Liability Group, Bankruptcy and Insurance Law Seminar, New York, New York, February 16, 2007.

Bankruptcy Law And Insurance Manual, Second Edition, the Basics of Insurance Law For the Bankruptcy Professional and the Basics of Bankruptcy Law for the Insurance Professional, published by the American Bankruptcy Institute, 2007. (First Edition, 2004). 

Insurance Companies Need To Be Vigilant When An Insured Files Bankruptcy, Insurance Settlements and Negotiations: Leading Lawyers on Structuring Insurance Contracts, Negotiating Policy Disputes and Formulating Litigation Strategies, Aspatore Books, October 2006.

Bankruptcy and Insurance Law Seminar / Mass Tort and Asbestos Bankruptcies, New York, New York, September 15, 2006.   

AIG Corporate Director & Officer Liability Group, Bankruptcy & Insurance Law Seminar, New York, NY, February 10, 2006.

Director and Officer Liability Insurance: How Bankruptcy Transforms the Rights of the Various Parties, Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice, Thompson West Publications, January, 2006 (Vol. 14, No. 6.).

Director and Officer Insurance Issues in Bankruptcy, American Bankruptcy Institute, Southeast Conference, Kiawah Island, South Carolina, July 27-30, 2005.

The Impact of Bankruptcy on Insurance Companies, Current Issues Impacting Insurance Defense Practice in Illinois-National Business Institute Seminar, Oak Brook, Illinois, June 28, 2005.

Deductible vs. SIR: Who Gets Stuck Paying When Insureds Files for Bankruptcy, American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, Vol. XXIV, No. 3, April 2005.

What is the Difference Between an SIR and a Deductible and What is the Impact of Bankruptcy? The Federal Bar Association Newsletter, Chicago Chapter, Volume 2, 2005.

Whose Money Is It Anyway? The Battle Over D & O Insurance Proceeds. American Bankruptcy Institute, Winter Leadership Conference, Scottsdale, Arizona, December 3, 2004.

D & O Insurer Beware: Payment Defense Costs May Be Required Pending The Stay Of Claims For Rescission And Determination Of Exclusions. American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, November 2004, (Vol. 23, No. 9).

Bankruptcy And Insurance Law Seminar. Chicago, Illinois, November 5, 2004; New York, NY, November 12, 2004.

AIG Trial Lawyers, Hot Topics Seminar. Chicago, Illinois, October 19, 2004.

Illinois Foreclosure and Related Bankruptcy and Title Issues, National Business Institute Seminar. Chicago, Illinois, February 18, 2004.

Emerging Issues In Toxic Tort Coverage Litigation. New York, NY, October 29, 2003.

Credit Card Debt: The Creditors Burden Of Proving Nondischargeability Under 11 U.S.C. § 523 (a)(2)(A). Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice, West Publications, September/October 1999 (Vol. 8, No. 6).

Earnings Exception, Commercial Law Journal, Commercial Law League of America, Fall 1993 (Vol. 98, No. 3).

Education

  • J.D. Louisiana State University School of Law
  • B.B.A. Baylor University
  • Université de Provence Aix-Marseilles, Aix-en-Provence, France
  • Certificate of Training and Study in Mediation Strategies, Stratus Institue for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University School of Law

Bar Admissions

  • Illinois
  • Texas
  • Louisiana

Court Admissions

  • United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division

Organization Affiliations

  • American Bankruptcy Institute
  • The Lawyers Club of Chicago - Board of Directors (President 2008-2009; Vice President 2007-2008; Secretary/Treasurer 2006-2007)
  • Defense Research Institute
  • Illinois Bar Association
  • Louisiana Bar Association
  • Texas Bar Association
  • Federal Bar Association

 

View this attorney's Reported Decisions, Verdicts and Judgments.