Koutrakos speaks at title insurance claims and underwriting seminar
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA – Demetri “Jim” K. Koutrakos, a member of Callison Tighe whose practice includes title insurance claims litigation, recently spoke at Chicago Title Insurance Company’s 29th Annual Title Insurance Claims and Underwriting Seminar.
Koutrakos presented four times as the seminar was conducted in Greenville, Columbia, Charleston and Myrtle Beach during two weeks in November. The goal is to make sure attorneys and their staffs are current on the latest technological, ethical and legal issues that affect the title insurance industry. Attorneys attending were eligible to obtain continuing legal education credits.
Koutrakos teamed with Randy Shoemaker-Crump, National Agency Counsel and Senior Vice President of Fidelity National Financial, to update the attendees on claims litigation. Koutrakos approached the topic from a South Carolina perspective, while Shoemaker-Crump discussed national issues.
Chicago Title and its parent company combine to create the largest title insurer in the world.
An experienced litigator who has represented clients in lawsuits involving hundreds of millions of dollars, Koutrakos is part of the seven-member title insurance litigation team at Callison Tighe. He, with attorneys Michael W. Tighe and Louis Lang, lead a team that represents underwriters both large and small in a range of matters. The firm also has been involved in major actions and highly complicated cases, such as a title dispute Koutrakos helped resolve that dated back to the construction of Lake Murray in the late 1920s.
Callison Tighe has been involved in almost every major reported decision involving title insurance in South Carolina. The firm’s attorneys assist title insurance companies and their insureds with many types of title insurance claims, from routine claims to major claims. They also defend underwriters in direct actions and assist underwriters in dealing with agent defalcations.
Koutrakos’ practice also includes general litigation, appeals and commercial collections. A graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law, he’s a member of the Palmetto Land Title Association, where he served as a director, the American Land Title Association, and the Title Insurance Litigation Committee of the American Bar Association’s Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section.