The firm's Insurance Practice incorporates far reaching knowledge and experience. The attorneys in this practice group represent insurers and policy holders in a variety of contexts. The considerable expertise possessed by the members of this practice group trace back to the inception of the firm, drawing from a multitude of experiences analyzing and litigating insurance policy provisions and claims handling practices. Our lawyers possess extensive experience in researching, authoring, and litigating coverage opinions and legal briefs involving a wide range of insurance issues. Litigation stemming from several of these assignments has led to our success at the appellate level as well, with several published opinions in favor of our clients.

Insurance Coverage

The insurance coverage assistance we offer to our clients covers all aspects, but extends beyond litigation services. We routinely prepare thoroughly researched and well balanced insurance coverage opinions for our clients. Our on-line computer assisted research capabilities allow the considerable talents of our coverage attorneys to be fully utilized in accurately setting forth the current state of the law, as well as any split in authority on a given issue. With insurance coverage, up to date concise legal research is essential.

Insurers and policyholders are often forced to litigate disputes amongst themselves after the conclusion of an underlying lawsuit. Issues involving duties of defense and indemnification are often incapable of resolution through informal negotiation among policyholders and co-carriers, and court intervention is usually the result. We have vigorously represented our clients in insurance coverage litigation involving a wide variety of different types of insurance policies, ranging from common CGL to manuscripted, errors and omissions, automobile, earthquake, homeowner, all risk, and speciality lines. Our ability to analyze the policy, formulate and implement a litigation strategy with a favorable, efficient, and economic result sets us apart from other firms in this area. In addition to our considerable trial and appellate experience, we have also been innovative in our utilization of various methods of Alternative Dispute Resolution to obtain the best, most rapid and financially beneficial resolution of such coverage disputes for our clients.

Our insurance coverage expertise delves in-depth into cutting edge areas of the law including "personal injury" and "advertising injury"liability coverage, and the currently evolving realm of media and internet coverage issues. Our insurance coverage practice group possesses the skill and energy necessary to address even the most complex questions of insurance contract interpretation, and provides our clients with ready access to this important dimension of the legal practice.

Bad Faith Litigation

Focusing on the experience and knowledge represented in our Insurance Practice Group has allowed us to represent varying and different interests involved in "bad faith" suits. Through aggressive pleading, discovery, and law and motion practice, we have been successful in separating spurious from meritorious claims in bad faith actions, thus diffusing unjustified threats to our clients in the form of lost coverage or exemplary damage claims.

Utilization of our insurance coverage knowledge and experience has achieved desired results for our clients ranging from findings of no coverage whatsoever or providing complete dismissals of "bad faith" based causes of action, to obtaining settlements from opposing insurers involving their acknowledgment and payment for defense and indemnity obligations. Our vigorous defense of, and precise legal attacks on claims practices where justified, have provided our clients with a critical level of comfort in the matters that we handle.