Defeating Reptile Tactics and Mastering Reverse Strategies: Ethical, Step-by-Step Defense to Stop Nuclear Verdicts Before They Start

Donald Patrick Eckler | Freeman Mathis & Gary LLP

Donald Patrick Eckler is a Partner in Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP’s Chicago office and is Co-Chair of the firm’s Professional Liability / Errors and Omissions national practice section, Vice-Chair of the firm’s Midwest Coverage Team, Vice-Chair of the firm’s Transactional Risks/Representations & Warranties practice team, and a member of the firm’s Appellate Advocacy Section. He is a highly experienced litigator who focuses his practice on professionals, insurers, and businesses in disputes in state and federal courts across Illinois and Indiana. In addition to working at the trial level, he has successfully represented clients in numerous appellate matters and filed several amicus briefs on behalf of defense organizations.

Mr. Eckler is active in the organized defense bar both at the state and national level. He is a past president of the PLDF and current Second Vice President of the Illinois Defense Counsel. He is on the Amicus Committee of the Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana and is a member of the DRI Third-Party Litigation Task Force. He publishes a weekly column, For the Defense, in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, is the civil practice columnist for the IDC Quarterly, and is a frequent contributor to the PLDF Quarterly. He is a member of the Rules Committee of the Appellate Lawyers Association. He also gives an annual Illinois insurance coverage update to the Insurance Law Committee of the Chicago Bar Association. He is very active on LinkedIn with three posts daily focusing on developments in the law in Illinois and Indiana and trends impacting civil justice. Finally, he co-hosts the Podium and Panel Podcast where they discuss recent oral arguments before the Illinois and Indiana courts of review, the Seventh Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

After completing his undergraduate degree, Mr. Eckler taught history and coached high school and college basketball for three years before attending law school at the University of Florida. In his final semester of law school, he served as a certified legal intern with the Public Defenders’ Office of the Eighth Judicial Circuit, where he represented defendants in misdemeanor criminal cases.

Kate S. Whitlock | McAngus Goudelock & Courie LLC

Kate has spent her career defending and counseling individuals and companies accused of not doing their jobs right. Primarily in professional liability, bad faith and sexual misconduct matters, Kate represents clients in many different fields – legal, insurance, accounting, real estate, education and more. She never loses sight of the fact that her job is to close the case as efficiently as possible so that her clients can get back to doing their jobs. Kate is skilled in both the courtroom and alternative dispute forums; having tried over 100 cases to jury verdict, bench decision or final arbitration award in state court, federal court, licensing board, arbitration and other venues. Kate handles her own cases through appeal and is called on by others to help on appeal after they receive a disappointing first level outcome.

Kate has been awarded multiple professional awards and has been recognized for years by The Best Lawyers in America© and Super Lawyers organizations. She serves in leadership roles with several national organizations, including Defense Research Institute (DRI) and Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM). She is also active in several other professional organizations. To advance the legal field, Kate regularly lectures and publishes articles on emerging issues related to her litigation practice. A lifelong learner, in 2025 she earned her Masters Negotiation certification from the Harvard Law School Executive Education’s Program on Negotiation and in 2019 her Certified Litigation Management Professional (CLMP) from CLM. Kate is also passionate about mentoring the next generation of trial attorneys.

Outside of MGC, Kate gives her time to non-profit organizations in Atlanta. She has been married to her husband—who is also an attorney—for over 35 years. They have three grown non-lawyer children and two non-lawyer dogs.

I. Introducing the Reptile theory | 2:30pm – 3:00pm

• Definition and core principles of Reptile theory
• How it leverages fear and safety rules to influence jurors
• Early signs in pleadings, correspondence, and public messaging
• The “direct line” from Reptile to nuclear verdicts (with reference to monograph material)

II. Understanding the landscape | 3:00pm – 3:30pm

• What are TPLF, ABS, and private equity investments in law firms?
• How these financial and structural shifts are changing the business of law
• The connection between these changes, aggressive marketing strategies, and juror conditioning
• How early conditioning sets the stage for Reptile tactics and nuclear verdicts

Break | 3:30pm – 3:40pm

III. Countering Reptile before trial | 3:40pm – 3:50pm

• Using written filings and motions to neutralize Reptile arguments
• Leveraging procedural tools to limit inflammatory or fear-based framing
• Aligning defense strategy with jury psychology to counteract pre-conditioning

IV. Defeating Reptile in depositions | 3:50pm – 4:20pm

• Spotting Reptile questioning techniques in discovery
• Tactical objections and witness preparation strategies
• Avoiding traps that reinforce the plaintiff’s safety-rule narrative

V. Fighting Reptile at trial | 4:20pm – 4:40pm

• Voir dire approaches to uncover juror bias from pre-conditioning
• Cross-examination techniques that reframe safety rule arguments
• Closing strategies that dismantle Reptile’s fear-based appeal