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James E. Ruiz, J.D. Jim Ruiz serves as Senior Vice President and Claims Manager at the firm. .James Ruiz comes to C.R. Vince & Associates with a professional background in architecture and law with nineteen years of architects and engineers professional liability claims management experience. His architectural and legal background provide a unique reference for dealing with the many facets and personalities involved with construction industry claims. Prior to joining C.R. Vince & Associates, Mr. Ruiz was Vice President of Claims at Professional Underwriters Agency, Inc. (PUA) in Oak Brook, Illinois for more than six years. He was responsible for all aspects of professional liability claims management, including coverage analyses and reserve recommendations for all programs, including Architects, Engineers and Construction Managers, Environmental Consultants, Independent Testing Laboratories and Employment Practices Liability. Before PUA, Mr. Ruiz was manager of architects and engineers professional liability claims at Shand, Morahan & Company, Evanston, Illinois where he worked for more than twelve years. He supervised a staff of claim attorneys responsible for the investigation of claims, retention and supervision of defense counsel, experts and other pertinent support personnel, coverage and liability analysis, reserve allocation and development of resolution strategies. Before enrolling in law school in 1976, Mr. Ruiz worked as an architect for a period of ten years, and was associated with various firms engaged in urban planning, architecture and custom home construction. During part of that time, he was chief designer for F. Louis Wolff & Associates, a 14-man architectural firm in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, specializing in single and multiple family residential projects. Before going to Florida, Mr. Ruiz was a designer with Daverman Associates, a 200-man Architecture and Engineering firm in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he worked on commercial, educational and industrial projects, and was chief designer for an award-winning college library complex. Mr. Ruiz obtained a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Michigan in 1966 and received his Juris Doctor degree from the Indiana University School of Law in 1979. He maintains his architectural license in the States of Michigan, Indiana and Florida, and is admitted to the practice of law in Illinois. He is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association. Mr. Ruiz has participated in numerous lectures and seminars, and co-authored a chapter on professional liability insurance in "Architects and Engineers Liability Claims Against Design Professionals," published by John Wiley & Co. in 1987, second edition published in 1995.
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