Mercedes Colwin, Founding Partner of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani’s New York City office, will serve as co-chair of the Employment Practices Liability Insurance ExecuSummit and moderate a featured panel at the conference’s 11th annual program on April 29–30, 2026, in Sarasota, Florida.
As part of her leadership role, Colwin will moderate “EPL Claims Trends.” Joining Colwin on the panel are Raymond Cashman, Director of Professional & Specialty Claims at Nationwide, Joanne Varias, President at ClaimsFirst Services, Tom Commons, Senior Claims Counsel – Management Liability at IAT Insurance Group, and Cathleen E. Curry, Senior Claims Consultant – Specialty Management Liability at The Hanover Insurance Company.
Colwin brings decades of trial and leadership experience to the discussion, drawing on a national litigation practice that includes employment law, commercial disputes, class actions, professional liability, and civil rights matters. Before entering private practice, she served for nine years as an Administrative Law Judge with the New York State Division of Human Rights, presiding over thousands of cases brought under federal and state discrimination laws. Her career spans courtroom advocacy, regulatory adjudication, and national media commentary on complex legal and workplace issues.
The Employment Practices Liability Insurance ExecuSummit brings together senior leaders at the forefront of EPL insurance to pool their knowledge on emerging issues, trends, and other strategic underwriting and claims insights. Colwin’s role as co-chair and moderator underscores her continued influence in shaping conversations at the highest levels of the insurance and corporate risk communities.
In addition, GRSM Partner Heather Griffin will moderate “Game Changer or Pandora’s Box? Enhanced Workplace Investigations Using AI.” Her panel features Doris Bobadilla, Director at Galloway Johnson Tompkins Burr & Smith, Anne Jarrell, Complex Claims Director & Senior Counsel for Bermuda & Europe Claims at Markel, and Brian D. Smith, Senior Vice President at Gallagher Bassett.
Griffin is a Partner at GRSM’s New York office, where she focuses her practice on employment law, primarily advising and defending employers. She handles a wide range of matters including discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, wage and hour violations, whistleblower claims, and breach of contract disputes. She maintains a parallel practice in complex commercial litigation, handling breach of contract claims, misappropriation of trade secrets, breaches of fiduciary duty, unfair competition, and other business torts. This dual focus on employment and commercial matters gives her a distinctive advantage when representing business clients. She understands not only the workforce dynamics that often underlie commercial disputes, but also the broader business context that shapes employment decisions.
Read more about the EPLI ExecuSummit.