Online legal services part of changing landscape
Online legal services are not going away, so traditional attorneys need to adapt to the changing marketplace, according to panelists at a San Diego Law Library event last month.
Education
Law School/Year: University of Chicago Law School 1989, Associate Editor of Law Review;
College/Year: Dartmouth College, phi beta kappa, 1986
Bar Admissions
California
Practice Areas
Insurance Coverage; Business Litigation; Intellectual Property; Land Use; White Collar Criminal Defense
Major Cases
I have successfully represented policyholders in numerous landmark insurance cases before the California Supreme Court and the California Courts of Appeal. Most notably, I represented Montrose Chemical Corporation of California in an appeal that led to the California Supreme Court’s adoption of a so-called “continuous trigger” of damage for third-party liability policies. I have also represented Chris-Craft Industries, Pacific Coast Communities and Staefa Control Systems in cases that have helped to protect and expand policyholders’ rights. Other significant cases have included: the closure of the San Marcos Landfill due to widespread environmental violations; the dismissal of all charges against a public utility’s environmental specialist for alleged asbestos-related crimes.
Professional Background
My firm specializes in representing policyholders in insurance coverage disputes. I am an experienced trial attorney who is committed to vigorous client advocacy. Following a federal judicial clerkship, I worked at Latham & Watkins for ten years where I headed the San Diego office’s insurance practice group. I left the partnership in 2001 to serve as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of California. As a federal prosecutor, I secured criminal convictions in all 20 of my jury trials and was never overturned on appeal. Since starting my own firm in 2004, my insurance clients have included individual, corporate, and governmental policyholders. I am AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell for the highest standards in professional and ethical performance.
Professional Affiliations
I have served as chair of the Insurance/Bad Faith Section of the San Diego County Bar Association. I am a member of the State and County Bar Associations, the San Diego Association of Business Trial Lawyers, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Personal Background
I was raised in a small town in upstate New York (population 400, counting beaver and trout). It was there that I learned how to play bridge, backgammon and various board games. Whether by outwitting my opponents or by sheer dumb luck, I have won several bridge and backgammon titles and, for a brief time, was ranked the No. 1 backgammon player in the country. The reasoning skills that I have gained from those pursuits have helped me formulate effective and cost-effective legal strategies for my clients over the years. I am most proud, though, of my two teenage sons, Graham and Miles, who know enough not to waste their time on silly games like bridge and backgammon.
Online legal services are not going away, so traditional attorneys need to adapt to the changing marketplace, according to panelists at a San Diego Law Library event last month.
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