Our lawyers have gained national praise and recognition for our ability to win insurance coverage and bad faith cases in jurisdictions across the nation. Our insurance-company clients rely on us to help navigate the often-complex terrain of this litigation, from the claim stage through an appeal.
At the outset, when a claim is made, we lean on our years of experience to dispense to our clients straightforward, objective interpretations of insurance contracts and offer counsel on the rights and obligations of the parties involved in the contracts. We quickly come to our clients’ aid when allegations of bad faith violations, insurance code missteps or other acts of negligence arise.
We provide coverage analysis, loss counseling, adjustment advice, policy drafting expertise, and prosecution and defense of coverage claims to a variety of self-insureds, insurers, and reinsurers.
Because of our skills at synthesizing both the big-picture nature and the fine-print nuances of policies, clients often retain us to analyze and interpret policies for an opinion of whether an insured is entitled to defense or indemnification with or without reservation of rights under policy terms, conditions, endorsements, or exclusions.
We approach our coverage analysis from a unique perspective, as both insurance insiders as well as big-case jury trial experts. We’re not just ivory-tower observers objectively evaluating what a policy should cover, we consider how the language would play to a jury. The real consideration is often whether we can win this case if we went to trial.
Once we determine the answer, we then craft a strategy to best position the dispute for trial. We consider the witnesses we would need to depose or prepare.
We also see the big picture. We understand that sometimes the precedent is more important than the dispute in any particular case. Small-dollar cases can have big-dollar impacts if a policy or clause is interpreted a certain way, rippling across the country or industry. We may need to position one case to help create larger or more-important wins farther down the road. Or protect the company’s valuable reputation in the media.
Our nationwide vantage can be especially useful to clients who are sued in multiple jurisdictions. We’ve tried cases in the most plaintiff-friendly bad-faith venues, like Missouri, Hawaii, and California. Managing multiple cases in disparate jurisdictions, we can help quickly set the precedents that will inure to a client’s benefit in tougher courthouses.