Robert Foster is a Partner at Meehan, Boyle, Black & Bogdanow and serves as Co-Chair of the BBA’s Insurance & Tort Litigation Section for the 2026–2027 program year. Through his leadership, he is committed to bringing together practitioners to share knowledge, build connections, and strengthen the insurance and tort litigation community.
What are you most looking forward to as a Section Co-Chair this year?
I’m looking forward to creating more opportunities for lawyers in our practice area to learn from each other and engage meaningfully with one another as we navigate this everchanging legal landscape. The programs that members of the BBA’s Insurance & Tort Litigation Steering Committee have put together during my time as Co-Chair have simply been excellent, tackling emerging issues in our field and offering practical, engaging, and extremely valuable content for newer and more experienced litigators alike. I’m particularly excited, as always, to moderate this year’s Bench Meets Bar program with a new panel of judges. We are so fortunate to have such knowledgeable and thoughtful judges who are willing to candidly share their experience, insight and guidance with members of the bar, and can confidently say that everybody who attends leaves a better practitioner!
What’s one issue or trend in your practice area you’ll be watching closely?
As I expect is the case across all of the BBA’s section committees, I’ll be keeping a close eye on the role of technology in personal injury litigation. Artificial Intelligence is increasingly being used in tort practice for the review of voluminous discovery materials and medical records, to reduce administrative burdens, drafting correspondence and other legal documents (even briefs!), among many, many other uses. But, while AI has the potential to dramatically increase our efficiency as lawyers and litigators, it carries with it a number of potential pitfalls. Instances of AI systems “hallucinating” legal authority have been well-documented, and I’m sure that any practitioner using AI these days has found inaccuracies or misstated evidence generated by the software. There have even been some recent developments in the law regarding the discoverability of AI use by parties, expert witnesses, and others. I am excited to learn more from other members of the bar about how they are using AI, what has been successful (or unsuccessful), and where they are seeing the most common “traps for the unwary.” While this has certainly been a widely-discussed issue over the last few years, the technology and its role in tort practice is a rapidly evolving and fascinating topic that I look forward to exploring further.
Why would you encourage someone to get involved with a BBA Section?
I first became actively involved in the BBA as a member of the 2019-2020 Public Interest Leadership Program (PILP), and have served as a member or Co-Chair of the Insurance & Tort Litigation Steering Committee since 2021. The I&T section has given me the opportunity to build meaningful relationships with fellow tort practitioners, members across the BBA, and many sitting judges. As a member of this section, I have gained valuable leadership experience, improved my professional visibility, and gotten to participate in a forum where I can share my own experience and learn from that of my peers. Getting involved with a BBA Section is an excellent opportunity for any lawyer – whether newer to the bar or a more seasoned practitioner – to both contribute to our legal community and to grow your own skills and network.
