Insurance Law Institute 2022

Mr. Nikolai Makarenko Jr. Related Seminars and Products

Groth Makarenko Kaiser & Eidex LLC

Nik was raised primarily in Germany, due to his father’s service in the United States Air Force. He completed his undergraduate studies in history at Birmingham Southern College in 1986, while on a tennis scholarship. Nik earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Georgia’s College of Law in 1989.

Nik began his legal career in Georgia in 1989 as a staff attorney to the Honorable Judge Jack M. McLaughlin of the State Court of DeKalb County, Georgia. From there, Nik practiced at a well-respected civil defense firm in the Atlanta area for a few years before taking a position as in-house counsel for one of the largest insurance companies in the country. Nik left that firm to join Cooper & Makarenko, a successful civil defense firm protecting the interests of clients, big and small.

Nik left Cooper & Makarenko in June 2007 to form Groth & Makarenko, LLC with Paul L. Groth. Nik’s experience trying hundreds of jury trials has earned him the reputation of being a seasoned and successful litigator who will utilize his knowledge of the law to obtain the best results possible for his clients, whether in the courtroom or via alternative dispute resolution.

Nik’s practice focuses on insurance coverage and defense at both the trial and appellate levels. He is admitted to practice before all state courts in Georgia, as well as the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Nik is a member of the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association, and has lectured for both the Insurance Law Institute, sponsored by the Tort and Insurance Practice Section of the State Bar of Georgia, and for various insurance companies to train claims adjusters on how best to handle issues that arise in the claims process so they may better protect the interests of their insureds should litigation arise.  Nik and his wife Debi live in Suwanee, Georgia

Hon. Kenneth Bryant Hodges III Related Seminars and Products

Georgia Court of Appeals

Kenneth (Ken) Bryant Hodges, III was elected to the Court of Appeals by the citizens of Georgia in 2018, winning every county in the state with wide bipartisan support in a contested election for a rare open seat on the Court. Judge Hodges took office on Jan. 1, 2019. With deep experience in diverse practice areas, Judge Hodges has served as a prosecutor, defended criminal cases, and been on both sides of a dispute in civil matters. He has been a court appointed receiver and a mediator. Judge Hodges is applying this experience on the bench to uphold the rule of law and ensure justice for all.

Judge Hodges was born and raised in Albany, GA. He graduated from Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VA, and earned his B.A. from Emory University in Political Science and Sociology with a minor in English in 1988. While at the University of Georgia Law School, he participated in a clinical program with a public defender and was sworn in under the Third Year Student Practice Act to try cases. He earned his J.D. from UGA Law in 1991 and set out to become a litigator. After working with a litigation firm in Atlanta, he returned to Albany as an Assistant District Attorney.

Judge Hodges was elected District Attorney of the Dougherty Judicial Circuit in 1996 at the age of 30. Within the first two years, he cleared out a backlog of eight death penalty cases and took them to trial. He formed trial teams which effectively ended unnecessary delays in moving cases forward, and focused on laws and programs to better protect children in the county. This included a child prosecution unit, a child advocacy center, a truancy program to target unauthorized school absences, and he also established a sexual assault unit. In his second term, he was named District Attorney of the Year for the State of Georgia. During his 12 years as District Attorney, Ken was committed to managing an efficient office, which operated under budget every year. He was elected President of the DA’s Association and also served as Chairman of the Prosecuting Attorney’s Council; he was appointed by Governor Roy Barnes as Chairman of the Legal Loan Forgiveness Task Force and as a member of the Certainty in Sentencing Commission.

In 2008, he returned to private practice, working in transactional law and then litigation. In 2015, Ken started his own law firm, Ken Hodges Law, based in Albany and Atlanta with a focus on commercial litigation. Judge Hodges was elected President of the State Bar of Georgia (2018-2019), the first judge to lead the organization in its history. He currently serves on the State Bar’s Office of General Counsel Oversight Committee, is Chairman of the Advisory Board for Truist-Albany, and is Vice-Chairman of the Albany-Dougherty Airport Commission. Ken also serves on the Board of Advisors of University of Georgia’s State Botanical Garden and the Board of Directors of the Southwest Georgia Legal Self-Help Center, a non-profit that works to improve access to justice for low-income people in the region. Ken is a member of the Atlanta Rotary Club, the Emory Board of Visitors, and is a member and past-President of the Dougherty County Bar Association.

Judge Hodges has published articles in various legal and main stream media outlets, he has been a legal commentator on local and national television and radio programs, and has lectured at every law school in Georgia. He is a frequent presenter at legal education courses for practicing attorneys, and teaches classes for law enforcement personnel across the state. He has been named a Legal Elite, a Super Lawyer, and has earned the highest possible rankings with AVVO and Martindale-Hubbell, the preeminent attorney rating organization. He is a past Trustee and graduate of Leadership Georgia, a graduate of Leadership Albany, past Secretary and board member of The Urban League of Greater Atlanta, past President of the Artesian City Sertoma Club, former member of the Albany Rotary Club, past Chairman of the Easter Seals of Southwest Georgia, past Chairman of the Southwest Georgia Chiefs and Sheriffs Association, past board member of the Albany Chamber of Commerce and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, and has served on the boards of the American Heart Association and the Albany Civil Rights Institute. Ken was named a “40 under 40” by Georgia Trend.

As an attorney, he was admitted to practice with the United States Supreme Court, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Northern and Middle Federal District Courts of Georgia, the Georgia Supreme Court, and the Georgia Court of Appeals. He is a Master with the Bleckly Inn of Court and the W. Louis Sands American Inn of Court, and is a Fellow with the Lawyer’s Foundation of Georgia. Judge Hodges has been widely recognized for his legal and civic accomplishments during his more than 27 years as a practicing attorney, including as the recipient of the State Bar’s Commitment to Equality Award, the Justice Benham Award for Community Service, and The Eagle Award from the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council for his work on behalf of crime victims.

Ken and his wife, Melissa, married in 2004 and have two children, Margaret and Jack, and a field spaniel, Buzzy. They are parishioners at St. Teresa’s Catholic Church in Albany and remain active in their community. The family cherishes time together and enjoy being active, whether it’s time spent in the beautiful southwest Georgia outdoors or exploring the state, visiting friends and family. An avid pilot, Judge Hodges is commerical, instrument, and multi-engine rated and enjoys being up in the air, like his father and grandfather, a Naval aviator, before him.

Mr. Mark Howard Tilkin Related Seminars and Products

State Farm Insurance Companies

Mark Tilkin has been an attorney for State Farm for 28 years. He oversees all legislative and regulatory activity for State Farm for Georgia, South Carolina, and Mississippi. In that role, he is responsible for all governmental relations and serves as the point person with Insurance regulators in those States. Mark also counsels numerous departments within State Farm, including actuary, underwriting, agency, and claims. 

Before his current role, Mark was counsel in State Farm's corporate litigation department, where he was involved in bad faith and class action lawsuits. Mark started his State Farm career as an insurance defense attorney in State Farm’s Claim Litigation Counsel office in Baltimore, Maryland. Before State Farm, Mark was an associate in the Maryland law firm of Niles, Barton & Wilmer, where he represented numerous insurance companies defending insurance fraud claims. 

Mark started his legal career in the Baltimore County State's Attorney's Office, where he was a prosecutor in the investigations division handling narcotics, white collar crime, wiretaps, and contract murders. He also headed the arson unit in the State's Attorney's Office.

Mark is on the Board of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and is active in many committees, including the law and judiciary committee and the government affairs counsel. He is the immediate past vice chair of Georgians for Lawsuit Reform, past President of the South Carolina Insurance Association, past President of the Georgia Insurance Information Service, and current Treasurer of the Insurance Coalition of Mississippi. Mark was also a Maryland State Bar Ethics Committee member and currently serves on State Farm's Corporate Law ethics committee.

Mark graduated from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and the University of Baltimore School of law. He is licensed to practice law in Maryland, Illinois (house counsel), and Georgia.

Mark Tilkin has been an attorney for State Farm for 28 years. He oversees all legislative and regulatory activity for State Farm for Georgia, South Carolina, and Mississippi. In that role, he is responsible for all governmental relations and serves as the point person with Insurance regulators in those States. Mark also counsels numerous departments within State Farm, including actuary, underwriting, agency, and claims. 

Before his current role, Mark was counsel in State Farm's corporate litigation department, where he was involved in bad faith and class action lawsuits. Mark started his State Farm career as an insurance defense attorney in State Farm’s Claim Litigation Counsel office in Baltimore, Maryland. Before State Farm, Mark was an associate in the Maryland law firm of Niles, Barton & Wilmer, where he represented numerous insurance companies defending insurance fraud claims. 

Mark started his legal career in the Baltimore County State's Attorney's Office, where he was a prosecutor in the investigations division handling narcotics, white collar crime, wiretaps, and contract murders. He also headed the arson unit in the State's Attorney's Office.

Mark is on the Board of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and is active in many committees, including the law and judiciary committee and the government affairs counsel. He is the immediate past vice chair of Georgians for Lawsuit Reform, past President of the South Carolina Insurance Association, past President of the Georgia Insurance Information Service, and current Treasurer of the Insurance Coalition of Mississippi. Mark was also a Maryland State Bar Ethics Committee member and currently serves on State Farm's Corporate Law ethics committee.

Mark graduated from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and the University of Baltimore School of law. He is licensed to practice law in Maryland, Illinois (house counsel), and Georgia.

Mr. Brian C. McCarthy Related Seminars and Products

Waldon Adelman Castilla Hiestand & Prout

Mr. McCarthy joined Waldon Adelman Castilla McNamara & Prout in 2018 and practices in the areas of insurance defense, insurance coverage, motor vehicle liability, and civil/commercial litigation.  Mr. McCarthy earned a Bachelors in Arts in psychology from the University of Notre Dame.  He also earned a Master in Science in sports administration, a Master of Business Administration, and a Juris Doctor from Georgia State University.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. McCarthy was a solo practitioner for 14 years developing a general civil litigation practice representing both individuals and small businesses.  During this time, Mr. McCarthy gained a wealth of experience across a wide array of litigation matters.  From 2010 to 2014, Mr. McCarthy was named a Rising Star and for every year since 2016, Mr. McCarthy has been named a Super Lawyer by his peers in Atlanta Magazine.

Before embarking on building his own law practice, Mr. McCarthy pursued a career in sports administration and special event management.  During this time Mr. McCarthy enjoyed working with the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, Goodwill Games, Special Olympics, U.S.A. Team Handball, NBC 2000 Sydney, and the Atlanta Falcons.

Mr. McCarthy resides in Smyrna, GA, with his wife, Amy, and their four children.  In his spare time, Mr. McCarthy enjoys coaching his children’s basketball teams, traveling with Amy, cooking just about anything on his Big Green Egg, and cheering for all things Irish.

Mr. Duane Lewis Cochenour Related Seminars and Products

Hall Booth Smith PC

Duane Cochenour is a litigator specializing in the representation of medical professionals and is leader of the firm’s Insurance Coverage Practice Group. He has a unique perspective, with almost 20 years of experience as an insurance claim professional prior to becoming a lawyer. He knows exactly what it is like to be an adjuster, supervisor, regional claim manager and major case negotiator, because he has worked in each of those positions. He draws on this vast experience to defend clients in various types of serious bodily injury and property damage litigation. He also specializes in insurance coverage and bad faith litigation, regularly providing guidance on complex coverage matters to major insurance carriers. Mr. Cochenour is also a certified mediator and a member of both the Georgia and Florida bars.

Mr. Cochenour started as a claims representative with Liberty Mutual, but spent the bulk of his insurance career with St. Paul Insurance Company. He managed territories throughout the Southeast and, as a major case negotiator, handled catastrophic claims throughout the country. He has experience in many types of high-exposure claims, including medical and dental malpractice, construction defect, negligent security, automobile, defamation, long term care, excess liability and bad-faith/extra contractual claims. He was also designated as an internal resource on coverage matters at St. Paul, teaching liability coverage courses internally to adjusters and supervisors. This experience gives Mr. Cochenour a unique insight into how to meet the needs of his insurance clients.

Mr. Cochenour specializes in representing hospitals, physicians and other health care providers against claims of medical malpractice. However, he keeps a varied litigation practice, representing clients in complex construction defect cases, negligent security cases, motor vehicle accidents, and several other types of bodily injury and property damage litigation.

Drawing on almost three decades of experience interpreting insurance coverage, Mr. Cochenour leads the firm’s Insurance Coverage Practice Group. He regularly provides coverage opinions and other guidance to major insurers on complex coverage and bad faith cases. However, he is not just a coverage lawyer; he is a litigator. He also litigates declaratory judgment and bad faith actions in both state and federal court.

Mr. Cochenour excelled academically, graduating in the top 10 of his law school class at Georgia State University. He demonstrated his litigation skills early, leading a team that placed second nationally at the prestigious National Trial Advocacy Competition held annually at Michigan State University. He also received the Nai Karimimanesh Award as the top student in Advance of Evidence.