Sheila J. Carpenter
Partner

Washington, D.C.

Email: sjc@jordenusa.com
Phone: 202.965.8165
Fax: 202.965.8104

Sheila J. Carpenter specializes in complex litigation involving the insurance industry. She has tried disputes involving insurance and reinsurance, agency, corporate governance, contracts, torts, consumer protection, employment, partnerships, tax, and estates. She specializes in management of complex cases and is experienced in working with local and co-counsel, and technology. Her subspecialties include alternative dispute resolution, especially arbitration, and she serves on AAA's Large, Complex Case and Commercial Panels. She has heard disputes involving breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, malpractice, partnership dissolution, product liability, negligence, real estate, insurance coverage, and misrepresentation. She is a member of the Firm's Reinsurance and Property & Casualty industry group, and is also outside general counsel for non-profit organizations, handling varied issues, e.g., employment disputes, contracts, governance/fiduciary duty, exempt status/taxation, and regulatory issues. She is soccer and basketball Mom to Diana, age 16, and married to William J. McCarthy, who teaches Ancient Greek, film and computers at Catholic University. In her free time she likes to play with her dogs and parrot.

Representative Matters

• Pruco Securities Corp. v. Montgomery, 264 F. Supp. 2d 862 (D. N.D. 2003) (agent restrictive covenant issue)
• Joe v. Minnesota Life Ins. Co., 337 F. Supp. 2d 821 (S.D.Miss. 2004) (summary judgment granted in agency vicarious liability case)
• Aid Assoc. for Lutherans v. United States Postal Serv., 321 F.3d 1166 (D.C. Cir. 2003) (USPS regulations held invalid)
• Parkhill v. Minnesota Mutual Life Ins. Co., 188 F.R.D.332, 1999 WL 614013 (D. Minn. 1999) (class certification denied in market conduct case) & 2000 WL 33582649 (2000) (summary judgment), aff'd, 286 F.3d 1051 (8th Cir. 2002)
• Pyramid Securities, Ltd. v. IB Resolution, Inc., 924 F.2d 1114 (D.C. Cir.), cert. denied, 112 S. Ct. 85 (1991) (RICO case)
• Omaha Indem. Co. v. Royal Am. Managers, 755 F. Supp. 1451 (W.D. Mo. 1991) (agency case among many litigation and arbitration cases stemming from a major reinsurance fraud)

Speeches and Publications

• Program Chair, 2006 Defense Research Institute Life, Health, Disability & ERISA Claims Seminar, Washington, DC
• Speaker: "Class Action Arbitrations and Health and Disability Insurance Class Actions," August 2004 ABA Annual Meeting
• Co-Author: For the Defense, "Market Conduct Class Action Litigation," February 2003
• Speaker: "Current Issues Affecting Life, Health & Disability Class Actions," 2003 Defense Research Institute Life, Health & Disability Committee's Seminar, Chicago, IL
• Co-Author: The Brief, Summer 2000, "Discovery of Electronic Documents," reprinted in GP Solo, Summer 2001, The Best Articles Published by the ABA
• Co-Author: For the Defense, Aug. 2000, "Protecting Trade Secrets: Exploitation by Former Employees"