Kennedys welcomes partner Sam Stalker and special counsel Amber Coisman to its Chicago office

Chicago, IL (May 8 2023) - Kennedys has announced that Sam Stalker has joined its Chicago office as a partner and Amber Coisman has joined the office as special counsel.

Christopher Carroll, senior US partner at Kennedys, says, “Sam and Amber bring extensive litigation experience and knowledge about professional, D&O, commercial and product liability matters to Kennedys’ insurance and reinsurance clients.  We are excited to welcome them to our growing Chicago team.”

Sam Stalker

Sam represents insurance carriers in matters involving professional, commercial general, product liability, D&O, and environmental liability, as well as insurance coverage and first-party property disputes. He also counsels insurers on claims handling and coverage issues and has significant experience litigating declaratory judgment actions, as well as matters alleging breach of contract, rescission, and bad faith.  He previously was a member at Cozen O’Conor.

Sam is admitted to practice in Illinois; the US District Court, Northern and Southern Districts of Illinois; the US District Court, Northern and Southern District of Indiana; the US District Court, Colorado; the US District Court, Northern District of North Dakota; the US District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin, and the US Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit. 

A frequent presenter to claims professionals and attorneys on a range of insurance coverage topics, including bad faith, time-limited policy limit demands, food contamination, and coverage exposures under evolving sexual abuse legislation, he earned a JD from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and a BA from University of Michigan.

“Kennedys has an impeccable reputation within the global insurance industry for its breadth of experience and exceptional client service. I am very excited to be a part of this esteemed group of attorneys leading the growth here in the United States,” noted Sam.

Amber Coisman

Amber also joins Kennedys from Cozen O’Conor and focuses her practice on insurance coverage counseling and litigation. She serves as coverage and litigation counsel in disputes involving professional liability coverage, including directors and officers, errors and omissions, employment practices, and commercial general liability. Amber’s litigation experience includes work in state and federal courts throughout the US at both trial and appellate levels, as well as mediation and arbitration. In addition, she advises clients on pre-litigation coverage analysis and strategy.

Selected among “Rising Stars” by Illinois Super Lawyers (2014 – 2016), she is admitted to practice in Illinois; Wisconsin; the US District Court, Central, Northern and Southern Districts of Illinois; US District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, and US District Court, Western District of Wisconsin. Amber earned a JD from Boston University School of Law and a BA, with distinction, from University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Meg Catalano, Kennedys’ US managing partner, said: “When we relocated our Chicago offices to 30 South Wacker Drive several months ago, it was with an eye toward accommodating our rapid growth in the region and nationally. Kennedys has quickly earned a reputation for attracting the best of the best in insurance industry representation and litigation.  It’s a very exciting time here.”