Presenting and Proving Causation: Exploring Key Trial Aspects of a Building or Structure Collapse

Ron is a seasoned litigator and co-chair of the firm's Construction Law Group. He focuses his practice on construction litigation and the negotiation of construction contracts.

In more than 35 years of litigation in the state and federal courts, Ron has established a track record of success in prosecuting and defending construction defect claims involving contractors and developers. His experience includes claims involving structural components, product performance issues, water penetration and mold, and insurance coverage issues.

Ron has also developed a particular fluency in analyzing the risk issues and costs in major construction contracts. He is frequently called upon to serve as an outside consultant to review contracts during the negotiation phase.

In addition, Ron handles a wide range of complex commercial litigation and class actions, including medical monitoring and claims for property and personal injury loss.

Laura Whitten is a Director at Ankura based in Denver, experienced in creating strategic graphics that break down complex ideas and communicate powerful visual messages.

As a member of the visual communications team at Ankura, Laura has worked with many leading firms on litigation involving product liability (including major pharmaceuticals and medical devices), securities, antitrust, tax law, employment and labor, healthcare, and contractual disputes. She appreciates the complexity and urgency that frequently accompanies these matters and works diligently to support the specific needs of each case.

Laura is skilled in understanding the needs of a client and collaborating with them to execute strong deliverables, including presentations, illustrations, 2-D motion graphics, print collateral, whiteboard animations, application design, and brand identity.

Laura earned her Bachelor of Science in Interactive Media from Bradley University in Peoria, IL.

Joe provides clear strategies to his clients when they are faced with risk management and insurance coverage issues.

Having worked in the insurance industry before becoming an attorney, Joe understands the nuances of the insurance industry, and he can guide clients through the complexities of insurance coverage and, where necessary, coverage litigation.

He represents policyholders exclusively in a variety of insurance coverage cases. These cases include commercial general liability, commercial property, directors and officers, errors and omissions, life, health, fidelity and surety bonds, and excess/umbrella insurance. In addition, Joe consults business professionals on risk management issues, including maximizing the possibility of insurance coverage by examining existing exposures.

Joe's extensive experience in insurance coverage includes 15 years of supervising litigation for a $5 billion national property and casualty company prior to law school. As a litigation supervisor, he was responsible for overseeing complex coverage disputes involving construction, environmental, and product liability cases.

John Abruzzo, a leader of the firm’s Forensics practice, has an extensive background in the investigation of structural failures involving bridges, construction cranes, stadiums, residential towers, parking garages and everything in between. His work includes emergency response, litigation support, construction defect cases, blast mitigation and deconstruction engineering.

John specializes in the use of forensic information modeling, blast analysis, nonlinear analysis, materials testing, data acquisition, soil structure interaction (SSI) and testing of structural elements. He is particularly knowledgeable in performance-based design, assessing and predicting the behavior of steel and reinforced concrete connections, structural stability and hardening. John was elected to Thornton Tomasetti's board of directors in 2021.

Ann Greeley has been a psychologist and trial consultant for 30 years and is currently the Vice President of DecisionQuest’s Northeast Division. She has consulted on over 1,000 civil and criminal cases in more than 100 federal and state jurisdictions throughout the country. She has conducted extensive pre-trial research including traditional in-person mock trials and focus groups, online jury research, online and in-person surveys, in-person and remote witness preparation, jury selections and post-trial interviews and consulted on online and in-person mediations, arbitrations and bench trials. She has worked in venues in most of the 50 states and territories, including Alaska, Puerto Rico and Guam.

Dr. Greeley has worked on intellectual property, product liability, antitrust, white collar, commercial, employment, insurance coverage, environmental, personal injury, including sexual assault and abuse cases, and medical, accounting and legal malpractice cases, many of which have been high stakes. She has written extensively on jury research, witness preparation and jury selection as well as diversity issues in the courtroom and most recently, the psychology of jurors in the COVID-19 era.