Most Highly Regarded Firms: California 2009 - Insurance & Reinsurance
This chapter features 39 lawyers from 25 firms. Many of the following specialists are experts in coverage litigation; many others deal with corporate advice and regulatory work. However, the diversity of the clients and industries represented by these professionals shows the vibrancy of this discipline in the legal marketplace.
At Duane Morris LLP the "very smart and talented" Phillip Matthews is considered "top notch" by sources. Matthews focuses on complex insurance litigation and has been involved in environmental and toxic tort coverage cases for Texaco and Exxon, and is also experienced in asbestos-related bankruptcies. Also highly though of is Richard Seabolt, co-head of the commercial, securities and antitrust division of the firm's trial practice. Seabolt focuses on complex insurance, construction and technology litigation, with recent engagements including acting as lead defence counsel in the insurance coverage case of Aerojet-General v Cheshire, and winning a defence jury verdict in FMC v London Market Insurers. Of counsel Barry Bunshoft is "outstanding for insurance litigation" according to one source, with representative matters including the "Shell Oil/Rocky Mountain Arsenal" case, as well as numerous criminal litigations. Completing the firm's strong showing in this section is civil litigation expert and active speaker within the ABA's insurance coverage litigation committee Ray Wong.
Richard Barger is a founding partner of Barger & Wolen LLP and acts as senior partner at the firm's Los Angeles office. Barger specialises in the M&A in the insurance sector and has served as president of the national association of insurance commissioners. Also at the Los Angeles office is Royal Oakes, who was recommended for his class action defence work in the fields of property-casualty and life insurance. Kent Keller is the firm's managing partner and his class-action litigation and substantial regulatory experience are held in high regard by peers. Also highly nominated for his litigation work is Steven Weinstein, who has represented insurers in connection with rating practices, market conduct examinations, non-compliance orders, enforcement actions and administrative hearings.
David Goodwin represents corporate policyholders in insurance coverage disputes and litigation on numerous issues including major property damage and business interruption losses, mortgage and financial guarantee disputes, product liability and environmental matters. The "excellent" Donald Brown was lead trial attorney in Exxon Mobil's lawsuit against insurers over more than $2 billion of coverage for environmental clean-up liabilities, and he has also represented Morgan Stanley, Adelphia and Vulcan Materials Company. Lawrence Hobel combines his insurance work with a strong environmental focus, and has represented policyholders in a broad range of claims including toxic tort and property damage cases.
Shernoff Bidart Darras & Echeverria LLP also fields three specialists in this section: name partners William Shernoff, Michael Bidart and Frank Darras. Shrenoff gained a landmark settlement for MGM Grand Hotel over fire insurance claims, and has recently taken on Holocaust-era life insurance litigation against some of Europe's major insurance companies. Bidart's representative experience includes a $120.5 million verdict in the case of Goodrich v Aetna, as well as State Farm v Superior Court, which helped establish that unfair business practice statutory liability applies to insurance companies in California. Darras is the firm's managing partner and heads the disability and long-term care insurance department. An "outstanding" plaintiff's lawyer, Darras's extensive client list encompasses the medical, commercial and sports and entertainment sectors.
The "highly recommended" Gary Hernandez of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP figured prominently during our research, alongside partner and former director of the California Bar Association Paul Glad. Hernandez specialises in handling state regulatory compliance, approval and administrative law matters on behalf of insurers and holding companies as well as representing companies in insolvency and complex insurance and reinsurance proceedings. Glad focuses on insurance litigation and was involved in Exxon Corporation et al v Insurance Company of North America et al regarding $1.2 billion in Exxon environmental contamination liability.
Mary McCutcheon chairs the construction and insurance department of Farella Braun + Martel LLP and stood out during our survey. McCutcheon counts Dolby, Herbalife, Levi Strauss and Visa among her clients, and she has special expertise in advising companies in placement of directors' and officers' liability insurance, risk-transfer and the handling of claims under traditional and self-insurance programmes. Joining her is William Friedrich, who specialises in coverage and bad faith cases and whose corporate portfolio includes Albertsons, Applied Materials and Pacific Telesis, as well as government entities such as the Port of Oakland.
Cotkin & Collins PC also provides two nominees in this area: shareholders Joan Cotkin and Raphael Cotkin. Joan has secured successful appellate decisions for coverage case in State Appellate and Ninth Circuit courts, with high profile engagements including Stonewall v City of Palos Verdes. Raphael Cotkin specialises in insurance coverage litigation, encompassing toxic substances litigation, professional liability and reinsurance, as well as general civil litigation, mediation and arbitration work.
James Woods is co-head of the insurance industry sector group of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP and came "highly recommended" in our research. Woods also manages the firm's San Francisco office and has represented clients as diverse as the Dutch Association of Insurers and Fidelity National Financial as well as volunteering as an organiser of Hurricane Katrina insurance claims relief efforts. Dean Hansell is a former FTC prosecutor and specialises in insurance insolvency, reinsurance, fraud and class actions, and maintains a particular focus on environmental law.
The "highly regarded" David Steuber is co-chair of Howrey LLP's insurance recovery practice, and has served as special insurance counsel for WorldCom and its related domestic subsidiary and affiliated companies in one of the largest bankruptcy cases on record. Steuber was involved in one of the largest judicial proceedings in Californian history: the coordinated asbestos insurance proceeding, and has also acted in Danjaq v Sony, FMC v Liberty Mutual Insurance and Wolf v Banco Nacional de Mexico, among others. Kirk Pasich of Dickstein Shapiro LLP also figures prominently in this chapter. Leader of the firm's insurance coverage practice, Pasich was recognised by peers for his "exceptional" trial and appellate practice, with particular reference to insurance coverage in the entertainment industry. "Leading" Winston & Strawn LLP partner Scott DeVries specialises in the decision defence of companies facing major insurance, environmental, and toxic tort litigation and his client list includes Monsanto, Aerojet, GenCorp and Nucor.
David Godwin represents Carroll Burdick & McDonough LLP in this chapter, earning praise for his "excellent" work in insurance coverage involving mass tort, environmental and bankruptcy matters. At Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, Barry Levin also comes highly recommended for his environmental and tort work. An "outstanding litigator", Levin specialises in insurance recovery matters and counts Hewlett-Packard, Kelly-Moore Paint and Johns-Manville among his clients. Julia Molander at Sedgwick Detert Moran & Arnold LLP was recognised by peers for her insurance coverage, reinsurance, claims handling and insurance insolvency work, and achieves a prominent position in our listings.
Patrick Alan Cathcart of Adorno & Yoss focuses his practice on multi-party insurance coverage litigation and professional liability, with recent engagements including Boeing Space Systems v ICO Global. Chapman Popik & White LLP can take pride in William Campbell's inclusion in this section. Campbell specialises in insurance coverage litigation and counselling, including professional liability and employment practices, while on the insurer side he assists in drafting contract language for new coverage products, employment practices and employee benefits liability. Christopher Byers at Latham & Watkins LLP is also well thought of. Byers focuses on complex litigation and arbitration with particular emphasis on reinsurance and has recently been involved in numerous arbitrations to recover reinsurance losses in the wake of 9/11.
Linda Dakin-Grimm of Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy LLP divides her time between the firm's Los Angeles and New York offices and she specialises in insurance and reinsurance disputes. "Strategically excellent" according to one source, Dakin-Grimm recently obtained numerous victories for US property and casualty insurers in disputes with Lloyd's and other London reinsurers. Of counsel Jonathan Bank achieved a high ranking in our research, with peers praising his insurance restructuring work. The Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP attorney is a former insurance practice leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and also devotes his practice to insurance dispute resolution and regulatory matters.
Michel Horton is a "top choice" at Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP. The Los Angeles-based partner is a specialist in policyholder insurance recovery counselling and litigation and has substantial experience in toxic tort, environmental property damage, personal injury and product recall work. At Reed Smith, LLP David Halbreich is a popular name, praised for his "excellent" recovery work, which has seen him successfully represent clients in the oil and gas, construction, electronics, telecommunications and financial services industries. Cary Lerman has been a partner at Munger Tolles & Olson LLP for more than 30 years and his extensive experience is recognised by respondents in this chapter. Lerman represents policyholders in insurance litigation and company restructuring, encompassing issues such as environmental impairment, engineering and architecture liability, and first-party property damage.
Martin Checov is general counsel of O'Melveny & Myers LLP, and brings substantial trial experience to the table. Checov has been involved in numerous asbestos coverage claims as well as acting as counsel to insurers in multi-party environmental lawsuits. The "very talented" David Babbe is the former managing partner of the Los Angeles office of Morrison & Foerster LLP, and currently focuses on insurance coverage, professional liability and banking litigation, and he achieves a high ranking in our survey. Completing the listing in this chapter is David Campagne of Sinnott Dito Moura & Puebla. Campagne participated in Shell Oil v Swiss Winterthur and he focuses on professional liability, bad faith, toxic tort and construction defects litigation.