Murchison & Cumming Joins Insuralex as California Member

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LOS ANGELES —Insuralex President Bill Perry has announced that Murchison & Cumming, LLP has been elected as the California Member of the expanding Insuralex group of firms dedicated to insurance and reinsurance coverage, defense and litigation. Murchison & Cumming is one of thirty firms to be selected internationally.

Insuralex is a world-wide network of independent insurance and reinsurance lawyers who provide legal services to the insurance and risk management communities in the areas of coverage, defense, litigation and other related legal services. Insuralex member firms are located in Europe, North America and the Middle East.

Mr. Perry welcomed Murchison & Cumming to Insuralex and commented, “We are extremely pleased that we have our friends at Murchison & Cumming join Insuralex as Members for California. Their practice and range of international instructions and contacts is enviable and we look forward to working closely with them over the coming years.”

Managing Partner of Murchison & Cumming, Jean M. Lawler, said, “We are pleased for the firm to be elected to membership. For many years we have provided services to clients in the international insurance market. Working with the team at Insuralex will be a terrific opportunity to offer the full range of our services in our own area, as well as contributing to the worldwide standing and reputation of this excellent group of lawyers.”

Murchison & Cumming regularly represents international insurers, particularly in the London market, and serves as national and regional coordinating counsel in multijurisdictional cases.

About Murchison & Cumming, LLP
With a firm history dating to 1930, Murchison & Cumming, LLP is a premier, AV-rated civil litigation firm with five offices in California and Las Vegas, whose attorneys specialize in the defense of domestic and international businesses, insurers and individuals, at trial and on appeal. The firm’s attorneys also handle employment matters and business transactions. The firm is a member of the USLAW Network. For additional information, please visit our website at www.murchisonlaw.com.

Jean Dalmore to Speak at General Contractors Convention

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PALM SPRINGS—Jean A. Dalmore will speak on construction law at the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) Annual Convention in Palm Springs, California, being held from March 6-9, 2013.

Ms. Dalmore will speak on “Contractor Controlled Insurance Programs (CCIPs) & Owner Controlled Insurance Programs (OCIPs)” during a ten-minute construction law drill presented with nine others from the USLAW Network’s Construction practice group.

About the Associated General Contractors of America
The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) is the leading association for the construction industry. Operating in partnership with its nationwide network of 95 chartered Chapters, AGC provides a full range of services satisfying the needs and concerns of its members, thereby improving the quality of construction and protecting the public interest. To learn more about AGC, please visit www.agc.org.

Edmund Farrell to Speak on Appellate Law at IADC Meeting

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FLORIDA—Edmund G. Farrell, III will speak on appellate law at the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) Midyear Meeting in Boca Raton, Florida, being held from February 9-14, 2013.

Mr. Farrell will discuss some of the strangest appellate experiences from his career in a panel titled, “Amicus Curious: Oddball Appeals and the Limits of Creativity.” The panel will also explore the limits of creativity in appellate briefing.

About the International Association of Defense & Corporate Counsel
The core purpose of the IADC is to enhance the development of skills, professionalism and camaraderie to serve and benefit the members, their clients, as well as the civil justice system, the legal profession and society in general. To learn more about the IADC, please visit www.iadclaw.org.

Three from Murchison & Cumming Selected as Top Attorneys by Pasadena Magazine

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LOS ANGELES–Murchison & Cumming, LLP is pleased to announce that attorneys Guy R. Gruppie, Eric P. Weiss and Mhare O. Mouradian have been named San Gabriel Valley “Top Attorneys” in a survey of peers and judges conducted by Pasadena Magazine. Mr. Gruppie has been selected for the fourth consecutive year and Mr. Mouradian for a third year.

Attorneys and judges from the San Gabriel Valley and metropolitan Los Angeles area cast votes for the lawyers who, according to their peers, are well qualified in their practice specialties.

Mr. Gruppie was named to the 2012 list in the category of Personal Injury Defense and Civil Litigation. He is the chair of Murchison’s Emerging Risks & Specialty Tort Litigation and Vertical Transportation practice groups, and is also a senior member of the firm’s Product Liability and General Liability & Casualty practice groups. A longtime resident of the San Gabriel Valley, Mr. Gruppie is active in his community through his service as a member of the Board of Directors of the Arcadia American Little League, a volunteer coach with the league and San Marino-South Pasadena YMCA, and through participation in the City of Arcadia’s annual Law Day. He has also served as a mediator for the Pasadena branch of the Los Angeles Superior Court. Mr. Gruppie is a longtime member of the Pasadena Bar Association.

Mr. Weiss was also selected for the Personal Injury category. The immediate Past-Chair of Murchison’s Toxic Tort & Environmental Law practice group, he focuses his practice in the areas of construction litigation, products liability, trucking, environmental and toxic tort litigation, as well as Nevada state and federal law.

Selected for the Civil Litigation category, Mr. Mouradian focuses his practice on complex civil litigation and business litigation, and he is a senior member of the Vertical Transportation practice group. Mr. Mouradian is an active member of the Pasadena Bar Association and he is a past San Gabriel Valley resident.

The list was published in Pasadena Magazine’s November issue. Attorneys named in this year’s poll were honored at a reception hosted by the magazine and attended by members of the Pasadena-area judiciary.

About Murchison & Cumming, LLP
With a firm history dating to 1930, Murchison & Cumming, LLP is a premier, AV-rated civil litigation firm with five offices in California and Las Vegas, whose attorneys specialize in the defense of domestic and international businesses, insurers and individuals, at trial and on appeal. The firm’s attorneys also handle employment matters and business transactions. The firm is a member of the USLAW Network. For additional information, please visit our website at www.murchisonlaw.com.

Friedrich Seitz Elected to USLAW Board of Directors

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LOS ANGELES–Murchison & Cumming, LLP is pleased to announce that Friedrich W. Seitz has been elected to the USLAW Network’s Board of Directors for 2012-2013. The announcement was made at the organization’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C. Mr. Seitz has served as a Chair of USLAW’s Product Liability practice group and has been a frequent speaker at the organization’s client conferences.

Mr. Seitz is the Chair of Murchison & Cumming’s Wildland Fire Litigation practice group and Co-Chair of its Product Liability, International Law and Business Litigation practice groups. He has held leadership positions with the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel (FDCC) and the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), and he is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) holding the rank of “Advocate.”

About Murchison & Cumming, LLP
With a firm history dating to 1930, Murchison & Cumming, LLP is a premier, AV-rated civil litigation firm with five offices in California and Las Vegas, whose attorneys specialize in the defense of domestic and international businesses, insurers and individuals, at trial and on appeal. The firm’s attorneys also handle employment matters and business transactions. The firm is a member of the USLAW Network. For additional information, please visit our website at www.murchisonlaw.com.

Murchison & Cumming Participates in Loyola Law School Externship Program

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LOS ANGELES—Murchison & Cumming, LLP is pleased to announce that the firm is participating in Loyola Law School’s Semester in Practice Program, and has welcomed its first extern, Ronda Bransteitter, Ph.D., to the Los Angeles office for the fall semester. As an extern, she accompanies Murchison attorneys on various case-related activities, including depositions, court appearances, mediations and trials. Dr. Bransteitter is in her final year at Loyola Law School and was selected for participation in the school’s Advocacy Institute, with an emphasis in Civil Litigation, which included an externship with a local law firm.

This past summer she worked as a judicial clerk for Judge Margaret Bernal of Norwalk Superior Court and she is on the International and Comparative Law Review at Loyola. Dr. Bransteitter holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Southern California, where she has been conducting research that includes ways to inhibit HIV-1 replication and other diseases.

“This is a very unique opportunity that we have, as a firm and individually, to give back to the local legal community. We are very pleased to be participating in this program,” said Murchison’s Managing Partner, Jean M. Lawler.

In addition to the firm’s involvement with the Semester in Practice Program, Murchison offers an internship program for German lawyers working through their last few months of practical training required to gain their license to practice law in Germany. The program, founded by then Managing Partner Friedrich Seitz about 20 years ago, was started when Mr. Seitz learned that German legal trainees have the option to take a portion of their practical training in foreign countries. Murchison is one of few Los Angeles law firms offering a program of its scope to German legal trainees, and has also hosted Swiss and French lawyers seeking legal trainee positions in the United States.

About Murchison & Cumming, LLP
With a firm history dating to 1930, Murchison & Cumming, LLP is a premier, AV-rated civil litigation firm with five offices in California and Las Vegas, whose attorneys specialize in the defense of domestic and international businesses, insurers and individuals, at trial and on appeal. The firm’s attorneys also handle employment matters and business transactions. The firm is a member of the USLAW Network. For additional information, please visit our website at www.murchisonlaw.com.

Murchison & Cumming Attorneys to Speak and Chair at USLAW Conference

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WASHINGTON, D.C.—Dan L. Longo, Steven C. Spronz and Tim M. Agajanian are slated to speak at the Fall 2012 USLAW Network Client Conference in Washington D.C. The three-day conference begins on October 4, 2012.

Serving as the event’s Professional Liability Track Vice Chair, Mr. Longo will discuss “Healthcare Reform after Supreme Court Review/Where Do We Go From Here?” Mr. Spronz, Business and Advisory Services Track Vice Chair, will speak on the topic of “International Licensing, Distribution and Outsourcing.” Mr. Agajanian will present on the “Effective Use of Provisional Remedies in Business Litigation.”

Mr. Longo is Partner-in-Charge of Murchison & Cumming’s Orange County office and serves as a Co-Chair of the Professional Liability and Health Law practice groups. He focuses his practice in the areas of medical malpractice, legal malpractice, insurance agent/broker E&O and directors and officers liability in a variety of litigation matters. Co-Chair of the firm’s Business & Real Estate Transactions practice group, Mr. Spronz focuses on matters involving corporate and real estate transactional and financing matters. Mr. Agajanian is a Co-Chair of the Business Litigation practice group, focusing his practice on matters involving business law and commercial litigation, general liability and casualty litigation, and business transactions.

About the USLAW NETWORK
USLAW NETWORK is a national organization composed of 64 independent, defense-based law firms with over 4,000 attorneys covering the United States and Latin America. Among the firms, there are over 150 offices in 47 US states. An alliance with the Trans-European Law Firm Alliance (TELFA) gives them access to 25 European law firms each representing its own jurisdiction and a similar relationship with ALN Limited enables USLAW to partner with 10 firms in East and Central Africa. To learn more about USLAW, please visit www.uslaw.org.

Heather Mills and Gina Bazaz Attend IADC Trial Academy

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LOS ANGELES – Heather L. Mills and Gina Bazaz are attending the International Association of Defense Counsel’s (IADC) 40th Annual Trial Academy. The trial advocacy training program is being held at Stanford Law School from July 28 to August 3, 2012.

Seasoned trial attorneys, Ms. Mills and Ms. Bazaz are enhancing their skills through hands-on learning with an emphasis on the effective use of technology in trial strategy. The Academy exposes participants to different approaches and ideas in solving common trial problems. The seven-day intensive program blends small group faculty instruction and demonstration with individual participation.

Ms. Mills is a Co-Chair of the Emerging Risks & Specialty Tort Litigation practice group, and a member of the firm’s Product Liability and Professional Liability practice groups. Ms. Bazaz focuses her practice in the areas of complex litigation and high exposure matters, handling product liability, personal injury, premises liability, habitability and construction defect cases in all phases of litigation.

About Murchison & Cumming, LLP
With a firm history dating to 1930, Murchison & Cumming, LLP is a premier, AV-rated civil litigation firm with five offices in California and Las Vegas, whose attorneys specialize in the defense of domestic and international businesses, insurers and individuals, at trial and on appeal. The firm’s attorneys also handle employment matters and business transactions. The firm is a member of the USLAW Network. For additional information, please visit our website at www.murchisonlaw.com.

Murchison & Cumming Attorneys to Speak at Major Elevator and Escalator Industry Event

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ATLANTIC CITY—Guy R. Gruppie and Mhare O. Mouradian of Murchison & Cumming, LLP will address a plenary session of the annual meeting of the National Association of Elevator Contractors (NAEC) and World Elevator Exposition in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Sept. 12, 2012. The educational program is the major portion of the much-anticipated annual meeting of North American elevator and escalator industry representatives and is designed to assist attendees in charting the best course through the industry’s ever-changing landscape.

Mr. Gruppie is longtime California counsel for a number of elevator and escalator manufacturers and service companies, and for private and public properties that include multiple vertical transportation modes. He is a member of the NAEC and the Elevator Industry Group of Southern California (EIGSC), the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and the Defense Research Institute, and former chairperson of the Trial Tactics section of the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel. Thomson Reuters has named Mr. Gruppie a Southern California “Super Lawyer” for six consecutive years. A sought-after speaker and author on legal and risk management topics, he additionally serves as an adjunct professor at Southwestern University Law School.

Mr. Mouradian is a member of the EIGSC and has represented elevator and escalator industry clients for many years. He participated in the successful defense of the case Schiavelli v. Peppy, an escalator tort case that received national media attention. Thomson Reuters recently named Mr. Mouradian a “Rising Star” among Southern California lawyers for the third consecutive year.

About the National Association of Elevator Contractors
The National Association of Elevator Contractors is the premier association representing the elevator industry. NAEC is an association of elevator contractors and suppliers serving primarily the interests of independent elevator contractors and independent suppliers of products and services; promoting safe and reliable elevator, escalator and short-range transportation and promoting excellence in the management of member companies. To learn more about NAEC, please visit www.naec.org.

Murchison & Cumming Attorneys Selected as Women Lawyers of Long Beach Officers

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LONG BEACH–The Women Lawyers of Long Beach selected Lisa D. Angelo and Heather L. Mills as Board Members for the professional organization’s 2012 to 2013 term.

Ms. Angelo serves as Vice President of Foundation, overseeing funding for pro bono work, and Ms. Mills is a Membership Co-Chair and Vice President of Programs. The WLLB installed the Murchison & Cumming attorneys as Board Members during a dinner in Long Beach on April 24.

About the Women Lawyers of Long Beach
The WLLB seeks to provide encouragement and camaraderie from other female attorneys, judges and other related professionals to help make their lives richer, broader and ultimately more rewarding and successful. For additional information, please visit http://wllb.org.