News Archive

A host of declaratory judgment actions have already been filed across the country, and several state legislators have proposed bills to compel insurers to provide business interruption coverage, no matter policy terms and exclusions, in the wake of COVID-19. The federal government has taken notice.

On March 18, 2020, Rep. Maxine Waters issued a memo to the Democratic House of Representatives calling for legislation that would "create a reinsurance program similar to [Terrorism Risk Insurance Act 2002 (TRIA)] for pandemics, by capping the total insurance losses that insurance companies would face." On April 10, 2020, President Trump weighed in on the issue of coverage for business interruption during his daily press briefing with an ominous warning to insurers stating, "You have people that never asked for business-interruption insurance, and they've been paying a lot of money for a lot of years for the privilege of having it. And then when they finally need it, the insurance company says, 'We're not going to give it." We can't let that happen."

National litigation powerhouse WSHB announced this week that ten of the firm’s partners have been elevated and as of January 1, 2020 are defined equity partners. The promotion of this group of nationally recognized lawyers recognizes their consistent, outstanding contributions to the firm’s success. "Each of these individuals is a thought leader in their respective practice area and is widely thought of as a "go-to" lawyer for the most complex issues presented," said Stewart Reid, Firmwide Managing Partner. "Our partnership ranks are stronger because of these individuals, and we are honored they have accepted the invitation to join the ranks of defined equity."

WSHB kicked-off 2020 by electing eleven attorneys to the firm's partnership. Elevation to partnership is a reflection that each of the attorneys named below has demonstrated exceptional legal, supervisory and management skills over their caseloads. These individuals have also consistently exhibited a strong desire to provide the firm's clients with first class legal representation, while always working hard to be team players dedicated to maintaining the unique culture that makes the firm special.

Sage case handling and consistent results are a common thread cited in the announcement of each individual elevated to senior counsel this past week at WSHB. Eighteen individuals were elevated to senior counsel by WSHB, a national trial firm with offices in 15 states. "Each of the individuals have demonstrably strong legal prowess and case handling abilities," said WSHB Firmwide Managing Partner Stewart Reid. "They each enjoy records of success in cases resolved and have strong working relationships with our clients." Added Co-Founder Stephen Henning, "Collectively, these 18 represent rising stars in the legal field throughout the nation."

WSHB Partner Janice Michaels was recognized in the 2020 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America© for her work in Litigation - Construction in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ms. Michaels has been bestowed this honor for the past four consecutive years.

Seventeen lawyers from WSHB are recognized on this year’s list of 2019 Rising Stars®. The attorneys honored on this year’s list are 40 years or younger and demonstrate the finest qualities of a good lawyer: first-rate legal skills, preparation, judgment, creativity, dedication and ethics. No more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in each state are named to the renowned Rising Stars list.

WSHB Partner Jade Tran (Orange County) has been named to Lawyers of Color's inaugural "Nation's Best" list, which recognizes law firm partners and senior-level corporate counsel. Selection is based on noteworthy accomplishments and a commitment to diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. Lawyers of Color is a 501(c)(3) non-profit devoted to promoting diversity in the legal profession and advancing democracy and equality in marginalized communities.

The narrative regarding condo development in Washington State is well-known: It is almost universally accepted that the nearly 30-year-old condominium statute’s implied warranties provide unfair and uncertain standards that fueled near-certain litigation. Too often, these suits involve frivolous claims of "defects" in construction, which neither affected building performance nor were of material concern to any reasonable homeowner. Condo association board members feel pressured to sue or risk personal liability. Plaintiff attorneys capitalized on this low hurdle of a liability standard and seek heavily exaggerated repair costs. Developers, builders, and insurance carriers pay enormous sums for repair of technical violations, which often times are not repaired with the money paid to condo owners. All of this disincentivizes condominium developers and drives up the cost of condominiums for consumers.

National law firm Wood, Smith Henning & Berman LLP (WSHB) announced the opening of its North Carolina office, bringing the total number of offices nationwide to 24. Leading this office is prominent trial attorney William Silverman.

Mr. Silverman enjoys a well deserved reputation for consistent results throughout the Carolinas in complex commercial litigation. His practice areas include construction and corporate disputes, insurance coverage, first and third party insurance bad faith litigation, environmental, and catastrophic injury matters. He is an "AV Preeminent" rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell, and has been listed in Business North Carolina’s Legal Elite in the Young Guns and Construction categories. Mr. Silverman comes to the Firm from a seven year tenure at Wall Templeton, where he served as a Shareholder.

Included on the highly anticipated list of 2019's Outside Counsel of the Year is Stephen Henning, one of the co-founders of WSHB. Henning will be one of the honorees during the opening ceremonies of the CLM Annual Conference that takes place on March 15, 2019, in Orlando, Florida.

Outside Counsel of the Year Honorees were announced earlier this month by the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM). This highly coveted national award is the result of an arduous nomination process by the entire membership, the largest professional organizations of lawyers, general counsel and claim professionals in the United States.

We're pleased to announce the opening of our newest office in Ventura County, bringing the firm's office count nationally to 23. With the addition of the Ventura location, WSHB enjoys an on-site presence in nine of the largest population centers in the California, the largest state in the nation.

"Our impetus in opening Ventura County is client driven, repeated requests for a local presence to service the growing legal needs in not only Ventura, but Santa Barbara and the Central Coast," said Stewart Reid, Managing Partner of WSHB. "We enjoy national recognition as leaders in litigation with a strong trial record of consistent results which has created intense interest in a local presence for this geographic region. Centrally located, the Ventura County office will service and complement our myriad of practice areas including business disputes, labor and employment, transportation, real estate, construction, medical negligence to agricultural exposures to name a few."

Kicking off 2019 are promotions for sixteen of the nation’s most talented lawyers at WSHB. Promotion of this talented group of lawyers comes on the heels of a year where the firm saw continued growth, as evidenced by its recognition in Law360 as one of the fastest growing law firms in the nation. Notably, as pointed out by this national publication, growth is organic from within the firm.

Fueling the growth is the raw talent and litigation success enjoyed by this class of rising stars, skilled in handling complex and civil litigation and consistent in results time and again. This year's senior counsel class is national in diversity, reflecting the geography of WSHB's 23 offices from coast to coast.

This year's class is comprised of James Chortanian (Orange County), Williams Daks (New York), Cassidy Ellis (Las Vegas), Robert Ferrier (Northern California), Jordan Gaskins (Glendale), Michael Harrell (New York), Anoush Holaday (Northern California), Kimberly Jones (Tampa), Andrew Kleiner (Phoenix), Danielle Kuck (Thousand Oaks), Colleen McCaffrey (Atlanta), Eric Morales (Miami), Samuel Nora (Los Angeles), Herjit Rubio (Riverside), Richard Singer (Miami), and Analise Tilton (Las Vegas).

WSHB is pleased to announce four attorneys have been elected to the Firm’s partnership, effective January 1, 2019. The four new partners are Katherine Brinson (Los Angeles), Kevin Fitzpatrick (New York), and J. Paul Lewis (San Diego), and Dana Withers (Dallas).

Assumption of partnership positions at WSHB comes after another impressive year of organic growth for the firm, which included the opening of a Texas office. It also caps a year where the firm expanded relationships throughout the world with an exclusive association with London based DWF. Recognized by Law360 as the second fastest growing law firm in the nation for a second consecutive year in a row, WSHB credits its growth year after year to its time-tested practice of developing a pipeline of talent through internal promotion. This year's partnership class falls squarely in that category, as the four individuals elected represent lawyers who have advanced through the ranks of the firm. Each is trial tested and brings a record of strong, consistent results to the partnership.

WSHB is pleased to announce its Chicago office has moved to a new location at 222 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 640, Chicago, IL 60606.

"It’s a great location in the West Loop area in downtown Chicago, close to many of our local clients and within walking distance to the courthouse," said Craig Derrig, managing partner of the Firm’s first Midwest office. "Cook County is a hotbed of litigation and clients had consistently asked us to be in this market, that’s why we opened here in late 2016. We’re happy to say we outgrew our first office because of the sheer volume of activity."

Included on the highly anticipated list of 2018's Outside Counsel of the Year is Stephen Henning, one of the co-founders of WSHB. Henning will be one of the honorees during the opening ceremonies of the CLM Annual Conference which takes place on March 14, 2018, in Houston, Texas.

"I am surprised, humbled and thrilled to be honored as one of the Outside Counsel of the Year nominees." said Henning. "People who navigate, litigate and resolve the most complex legal issues in the nation are the ones who drive the nomination process and award. Peer driven recognition is the best validation a lawyer can receive."

WSHB is pleased to announce eight attorneys have been elected to the Firm's partnership, effective January 1, 2018.

“Elevation to partnership at WSHB is a reflection that each of the attorneys identified below has demonstrated exceptional legal, supervisory and management skills over their case loads,” said Dan Berman, Firm Chairman and Co-founder. “Each has also consistently exhibited a strong desire to provide the firm's clients with first class legal representation, while always working hard to be a team player dedicated to maintaining the unique culture of WSHB that makes this firm special.”

Kicking off 2018 are promotions for thirteen of the nation’s most talented lawyers at WSHB. “Senior counsel criteria at WSHB is one of the highest bars set by law firms in the nation. In addition to having sharp legal skills, litigation prowess and consistent results, lawyers enjoying this designation must have the “full package” which clients have come to expect,” said Stewart Reid, Managing Partner at WSHB. “This accomplished group includes a sports coach, an improv comedian, and a volunteer advocate for children’s literacy.”

On September 19, 2017, WSHB client Fetzer Vineyards received a resounding trial victory in a trademark action brought by Sazerac Company. In its lawsuit, Sazerac alleged that Fetzer Vineyards’ bourbon barrel aged 1000 Stories wine, which depicts a buffalo image, was confusingly similar to Sazerac’s Buffalo Trace bourbon whiskey, which also depicts a buffalo image. In a 35-page ruling, following a week long bench trial, U.S. District Court Judge William H. Orrick agreed with virtually every argument advanced by the defense, including that the Buffalo Trace brand lacked the requisite distinctiveness, that the two products are not confusingly similar, and that Sazerac failed to demonstrate any harm. “In the final analysis,” wrote Judge Orrick, “this case was not close.”

WSHB jumped to the #2 spot in the recently-published Women's Scorecard by the National Law Journal. The Women’s Diversity Scorecard is produced as part of the annual NLJ 500 firm head count report, which now ranks WSHB in the top 200 of the nation’s largest law firms.

WSHB is proud to announce six of our lawyers are included on this year’s Super Lawyers® Lists, all with top ratings. Each of the WSHB attorneys included on this year’s list has consistently earned the blue ribbon selection to the Super Lawyers list year after year. Only 5% of attorneys nationwide are selected to the Super Lawyers list. Super Lawyers is a rating service of highly credentialed attorneys from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations.

Nine lawyers from WSHB are recognized on this year’s list of 2017 Rising Stars®. The attorneys honored on this year's list are 40 years or younger and demonstrate the finest qualities of a good lawyer: first-rate legal skills, preparation, judgment, creativity, dedication and ethics. No more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in each state are named to the renowned Rising Stars list.

Kicking off the New Year are promotions for eight of the nation’s most talented lawyers at WSHB.

“Senior counsel criteria here at the Firm is one of the highest bars set by law firms in the nation. In addition to having sharp legal skills, litigation prowess and consistent results, lawyers enjoying this designation must have the “full package” which clients have come to expect,” said Stewart Reid, Firmwide Managing Partner. “This accomplished group includes a licensed real estate broker, a world champion equestrian, and a champion for special needs children.”

WSHB is proud to announce eleven of our lawyers were recognized on the list of 2016 Rising Stars®. The attorneys honored on the Rising Stars list are 40 years or younger and demonstrate the finest qualities of a good lawyer: first-rate legal skills, preparation, judgment, creativity, dedication and ethics. No more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in each state are named to Rising Stars.

WSHB is proud to announce that seven of our lawyers are included on this year’s Super Lawyers Lists, all with top ratings. Each of the WSHB attorneys included on this year’s lists has consistently earned the blue ribbon selection to the Super Lawyers list year after year.

New procedural rules will impact both deadlines and the substantive handling of new and pending civil cases in federal court. At least 35 States base their own rules of civil procedure on the federal rules, so the impact of these changes may be even more widespread.

Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure adopted by the Supreme Court in April 2015 and accepted by Congress took effect on December 1. The changes affect Civil Rules 1, 4, 16, 26, 30, 31, 33, 34, 37, 55, and 84, and the Appendix of Forms. The amendments govern all proceedings commenced on or after December 1, 2015, and all proceedings then pending “insofar as just and practicable.”

WSHB is pleased to announce that we have elected eleven associates to senior counsel: Summit Dhillon (Fresno), Steven Disharoon (Concord), Robin Holseth (Las Vegas), J. Paul Lewis (San Diego), Haley Maglieri (Denver), Graham Miller (Portland), Andrew Mallon (Rancho Cucamonga), Graham Miller (Portland), Jodi Mullis (Phoenix), Kamran Shahabi (Rancho Cucamonga), D. Sean Smith (Denver), and Erin Varriano (Seattle).

WSHB, a national law firm with 18 offices nationwide, announces that Daniel Berman, WSHB Co-Founder and Managing Partner, is promoted to firm chairman effective immediately. Dan assumed the role of firmwide managing partner in 2007 and has been instrumental in evolving the firm from a regional one with 75 lawyers in 8 offices in 3 western states into a prominent national law firm with almost 200 lawyers in 18 offices in 10 states.