Pre-Litigation Program

Dealing with personnel issues and identifying areas of risk has become increasingly difficult due to the complexity of laws, union contracts, and court rulings. It can be challenging, expensive, and time consuming for school districts to stay up-to-date on all areas of personnel management and risk avoidance, which takes away from the mission of the district. The Pre-Litigation Program is designed to provide technical assistance to districts in the management of personnel issues and risk avoidance. Our goal is to be involved at the onset of the problem to provide education and guidance on navigating risk and minimizing liability. We have a very unique team of experienced professionals, consultants, and investigators, who are ready to assist you with issues that could result in liability covered under the insurance policy.

Consulting services

The USIP Pre-Litigation Program provides assistance at the onset of and throughout any issues related to our members’ operations that could potentially result in liability under their insurance coverage. These include, but are not limited to:

Professional risk analysis of personnel manuals, policies and procedures, and evaluation of processes and forms.

Assistance in conducting internal investigations.

Providing policy and procedure recommendations to address personnel concerns, including performance evaluations, probation, discipline, or termination of employees.

Consultants may seek guidance from an independent attorney while assisting our organizations.

Taking the right steps

We provide a wide variety of pre-litigation approaches, each of which is designed to help manage risks. The following are general steps of the pre-litigation process:

Utilize alternative risk management services where needed, which include Educational Services and Risk Control.

Meet with a Pre-Litigation Program consultant to review the situation at the onset of an issue.

Review policies and supporting documents relative to the matter.

Review a detailed outline of the school district’s actions to date.

Review procedures and legal requirements.

The Pre-Litigation team will work jointly with the member’s legal counsel or assigned USIP counsel to develop a plan of action to resolve the issue.

The USIP Pre-Litigation Program provides risk management information and services to the program’s membership upon request. Clear Risk Solutions does not provide legal advice. When seeking legal advice, all members are reminded to consult with their attorney or legal assistance from an independent attorney assigned by USIP. Assignment of an USIP approved attorney is discretionary and must be approved by the USIP consultant assigned to the matter.

Amanda Conger

(800) 407 2027 aconger@chooseclear.com