Tracy L. Kepler is the risk control consulting director for CNA’s Lawyers
Insurance Program. In this role, she designs and develops content and
distribution of risk control initiatives relevant to the practice of law. She
collaborates with the underwriting and claims teams to develop and execute
strategies for the profitable growth of the program. Tracy lectures frequently at
CNA-sponsored events, state and local bar associations, and national
seminars hosted by industry-leading organizations. She also writes articles
focusing on law firm risk control and professional responsibility issues.
Prior to joining CNA, Tracy served as the director of the American Bar
Association’s Center for Professional Responsibility (CPR), providing national
leadership in developing and interpreting standards and scholarly resources in
legal and judicial ethics, professional regulation, professionalism, client
protection, professional liability, and attorney well-being. From 2014–2016,
Tracy served as an associate solicitor in the Office of General Counsel for the
U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), where she concentrated her
practice in the investigation, prosecution, and appeal of patent/trademark
practitioner disciplinary matters before the agency, U.S. district courts, and
Federal Circuit; provided policy advice on ethics and discipline related matters
to senior management; and drafted and revised agency regulations. From
2000–2014, she served as senior litigation counsel for the Illinois Attorney
Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), where she investigated
and prosecuted cases of attorney misconduct.
Tracy has served in various volunteer capacities, including as president
of the board of the National Organization of Bar Counsel (NOBC), a non-profit
organization of legal professionals whose members enforce ethics rules that
regulate the professional conduct of lawyers who practice law in the United
States and abroad. Tracy is currently an adjunct professor at American
University’s Washington College of Law, Georgetown University Law Center,
And Loyola School of Law (Chicago), teaching Legal Ethics. Committed to the
promotion and encouragement of professional responsibility and attorney well-being
throughout her career, Tracy has served on the ABA’s Commission
on Lawyers Assistance Programs, where she was a commission member, a
member of its Advisory Committee, the chair of its Education and Senior
Lawyer Committees, and a member of its National Conference Planning
Committee. She is a board member of the Institute for Well-Being in Law
(formerly the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being) and is an author of
its Well-Being Report. She is also an advisory board member of the
Mindfulness in Law Society. She is a graduate of Northwestern University in
Evanston, Illinois, and received her law degree from New England School of
Law in Boston, Massachusetts.
