Janice C. Buchman is a Partner with Butler in our Tampa office. She practices in First-Party Coverage matters and Bad Faith, with significant experience handling claims arising from hurricanes, floods, mold, pollution, builder’s risk, fraud, theft, fire and arson, collapses, earth movement, cargo losses, and business income losses. Janice also has extensive experience in the construction arena, including representing general contractors and subcontractors as well as suppliers of building components in construction defect litigations. She also handles Extra-Contractual and Appellate cases, and has experience representing insurance companies in adversary proceedings in bankruptcy.
Janice graduated from The Dickinson School of Law (now a part of Pennsylvania State University) with her Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1983. During law school, she was a member of the Law Review and the Trial Moot Court Board. In 1985, she received her Master of Laws in trade regulation from New York University School of Law. Prior to joining the firm in 2005, Janice served as in-house counsel with a large construction management company, and was in private practice specializing in general civil litigation. She also served as a mediator in court-ordered civil cases and insurance matters, and served as an arbitrator for the National Association of Securities Dealers and the American Arbitration Association.
Before moving to Florida, Janice practiced law in New York. Today, she is a member of the Florida Bar, the Hillsborough County Bar Association, and the Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers.
Publications
March 28, 2013 PUBLICATION Who Is Entitled to the Claims File?
The United States Supreme Court has recognized the attorney-client privilege as one of the oldest recognized privileges for confidential communications, the purpose of which is to encourage full and frank communication between attorneys and their clients and thereby promote broader public interests in the observance of law and the administration of justice.
January 31, 2013 PUBLICATION ‘Bad-Faith' Discovery: Claim Files, Training Materials, Personnel Files, And The Kitchen Sink
A recent discovery order in the federal court case of Signature Development, LLC v. Mid-Continental Casualty Company is illustrative of our liberal discovery. Note, this liability insurer has yet to be found liable or guilty of any wrongdoing. Signature alleges, however, that the corporate defendant insurer breached the contract of insurance, committed ‘‘bad-faith,'' breached its fiduciary duty to its insured, committed unfair trade practices, intentionally inflicted emotional distress and vexatiously refused to pay. Based upon these allegations alone, the court addressed the scope and burden of discovery.
August 23, 2012 PUBLICATION Scary Stuff: Insurance Claim Files And Exceptions To The Attorney-Client Privilege
Are all attorney-client communications contained in such claim files that were thought to be confidential now discoverable because the insurer lost the underlying first-party claim, litigation, or appeal
Media
Blog Posts
February 27, 2020 BLOG POST Black History Month Katherine Johnson and Charles Drew
In the last part of our miniseries highlighting several prominent African-American figures in history, we take a look at the lives of Katherine Johnson and Dr. Charles Drew.
February 21, 2020 BLOG POST Black History Month Serena Williams & Eliud Kipchoge
In celebration of Black History Month, we will be taking a look at some important African-American figures that have impacted American culture. This week, we will take a look at athletes Serena Williams and Eliud Kipchoge.
February 14, 2020 BLOG POST Black History Month Ella Baker & Mary Mcleod Bethune
In celebration of Black History Month, we will be taking a look at some important African-American figures that have impacted American culture. This week, we will take a look at social advocates Ella Baker and Mary Mcleod Bethune.
January 17, 2020 BLOG POST In Honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Watch our video celebrating the accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr...
Events
February 28, 2014 EVENT CLM's 2014 Insurance Bad Faith Committee Mini-Conference
Post-Suit Claims: The Cart Before the Horse and Something in Between
January 25, 2013 EVENT CLM 2013 Bad Faith/Coverage/Fraud Conference
Appraisal: Should I Stay or Should I Go? New Considerations in the Era of Bad Faith
News
March 08, 2019 NEWS International Women's Day - 2019
In celebration of International Women's Day, we've gathered several of our female attorneys to discuss various important female figures in US history.
March 08, 2018 NEWS International Women's Day
Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.
-Sheryl Sanberg
