Murchison & Cumming Updates Insurance and Business Professionals on 2011 Case Law at Year in Review

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LOS ANGELES–Staff reductions, courtroom closures, reduced availability of court reporters and an increased reliance on settlement courts are the “new normal” for civil courts, retired Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carl J. West told a standing-room only audience on April 24 at Murchison & Cumming, LLP’s annual Year in Review program held at the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

At the 2012 event, Judge West told an audience of business and insurance executives, claims and risk management specialists and members of the bar that the consequences of the civil court budget crisis may be mitigated by taking advantage of technology, approaching litigation management as a collaborative process and through alternative protocols for resolving discovery disputes.

Murchison’s YIR program takes a look back at the significant Supreme Court and Appellate Court decisions during the past year. Before Judge West’s keynote address, several of the firm’s attorneys spoke on last year’s key appellate rulings impacting their specialized areas of practice. Areas addressed included insurance coverage and bad faith, construction defect, employment law, foodborne illnesses and brain injury trauma.

Program Chair Edmund G. Farrell, III, helms the event held each spring and conducts local Year in Review presentations for clients.

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 Adds Two Associates to Its Los Angeles and San Francisco Offices

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LOS ANGELES – Murchison & Cumming, LLP is pleased to announce that Diane P. Cragg and James N. Kahn have joined the San Francisco and Los Angeles offices, respectively. Both attorneys primarily handle matters involving general liability.

Ms. Cragg joins the firm as a Senior Associate. She handles a variety of general liability matters, from premises liability to auto accidents, and employment matters. Ms. Cragg is also experienced in the areas of coverage, commercial litigation and product liability. Her clients have included insurance companies; machinery, equipment and computer component manufacturers; importers and exporters of goods; construction companies; property management companies; and mortgage brokers.

Mr. Kahn joins the firm as an Associate. His experience includes work on matters involving personal injury, premises liability, product liability and business 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.

Jean Dalmore Serves as USLAW Conference Co-Chair

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LOS ANGELES—Jean A. Dalmore is serving as a Co-Chair of the USLAW Network’s Spring 2012 Client Conference. The conference will be held April 12 to 14, 2012 in Dana Point, California, bringing member attorneys and clients together for education and professional networking opportunities.

Ms. Dalmore is the incoming Secretary of the organization’s Construction Law practice group and also serves as Co-Chair of the Spring Conference Construction Law track. She is Co-Chair of Murchison & Cumming’s Construction Law practice group and Vice-Chair of the Defense Research Institute’s Construction Defect Committee.

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.

Michael Nunez Named to Board of Las Vegas Defense Lawyers

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LAS VEGAS—Michael J. Nunez has been named to the Founding Board of Directors of Nevada’s newly formed professional organization of civil defense attorneys, the Las Vegas Defense Lawyers (LVDL). Murchison & Cumming, LLP made a contribution to support the group as a founding sponsor.

“There has been a real absence of a defense bar in the Las Vegas community. The LVDL was formed in response to that void,” said Mr. Nunez, who is also the organization’s secretary.

The LVDL serves the defense bar through education, community service and by providing a platform for the exchange of ideas and perspectives.

Partner-In-Charge of the firm’s Las Vegas office, Mr. Nunez is an experienced trial and appellate lawyer. He has represented defendants in a variety of matters including general, product and professional liability; transportation, construction and employment law; and insurance coverage and bad faith.

About the Las Vegas Defense Lawyers
The Las Vegas Defense Lawyers is a professional organization of civil defense attorneys who provide counsel to civil litigants. Among the organization’s goals are: fostering mutual education and the exchange of ideas with fellow counsel in the city of Las Vegas and Clark County, providing balanced defense perspectives in matters of civil defense, promoting cooperation and civility among fellow counsel, improving the public perception of civil defense attorneys through service to the community, and establishing and maintaining standards of professional conduct.

Two Murchison & Cumming Attorneys Elected for IADC Membership; Two Elected for ADTA

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LOS ANGELES–Murchison & Cumming, LLP is pleased to announce that Dan L. Longo and Bryan M. Weiss have been elected to membership in the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), and that Kasey C. Townsend and Heather L. Mills have been elected to membership in the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys (ADTA).

The IADC and ADTA are preeminent professional associations that serve the interests of defense trial attorneys, the defense bar and their clients, the IADC having been in existence since 1920 and the ADTA since 1941. Membership in each Association is limited and by nomination only. Several of the firm’s partners are long-time members of each organization and the firm is honored to have Mr. Longo, Mr. Weiss, Ms. Townsend and Ms. Mills admitted as members and pleased to continue its tradition of service to the defense bar.

Partner-In-Charge of the firm’s Orange County office and Co-Chair of the Health Law and Professional Liability practice groups, Mr. Longo primarily represents skilled nursing facilities, board and care facilities, psychiatric hospitals, and legal and medical professionals in a variety of litigation matters. Co-Chair of the firm’s Insurance Law practice group, Mr. Weiss represents insurers in declaratory relief, bad faith actions and insurance-related appeals, and provides coverage advice to insurers.

Ms. Townsend is Partner-In-Charge of the firm’s San Francisco office where she handles general litigation including construction defect and injury, employment law, premises liability, food liability, habitability, and represents HOA Board of Directors for the Sacramento and San Francisco Bay areas. Co-Chair of the Emerging Risks & Specialty Tort Litigation practice group, Ms. Mills is an experienced trial attorney defending cases involving complex legal issues and significant damages.

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.

Six Murchison & Cumming Attorneys Recognized as 2012 Super Lawyers

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LOS ANGELES – Murchison & Cumming, LLP is pleased to announce that six of its attorneys have earned the distinction of having been chosen by their peers as 2012 Southern California Super Lawyers®. The annual listing, based on peer evaluations, was recently released by Thomson Reuters and will be published in the February issues of Southern California Super Lawyers magazine, Los Angeles magazine and Orange Coast magazine.

The Murchison & Cumming attorneys selected for the 2012 list are:

Jean M. Lawler, Managing Partner of the firm, Past Chair of the Insurance Law practice group and Co-Chair of the International Law practice group. This marks Ms. Lawler’s seventh consecutive year on the list. A specialist in insurance law, she is listed in Martindale-Hubbell’s Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers and the “Who’s Who” directories of American Women and American Law. Ms. Lawler is a Past President of the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC) and has served as a Director on the Boards of the Defense Research Institute, Lawyers for Civil Justice and the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel.

Friedrich W. Seitz, the firm’s former Managing Partner, Chair of the firm’s Wild Land Fire Litigation practice group, and Co-Chair of its Business Litigation, Product Liability/Utilities and International Law practice groups. This is his ninth consecutive Super Lawyer mention. A respected trial lawyer and member of the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates, Diplomat rank, Mr. Seitz is also a member of the IADC and FDCC and is a former Chair of the FDCC Product Liability Substantive Law Section.

Michael B. Lawler, Co-Chair of the firm’s Employment Law practice group. A Past President of the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel, this marks the eighth consecutive year that he has been named to the list. Mr. Lawler, a respected trial lawyer, has been recognized as one of the “Best Lawyers in America” and a “Leading Employment Lawyer in California.” He has served on the national board of the American Board of Trial Advocates, is a member of its Los Angeles Chapter and a member of the FDCC and IADC.

Dan L. Longo, Partner-In-Charge of the firm’s Orange County office and Co-Chair of the Health Law and Professional Liability practice groups. A veteran trial lawyer, Mr. Longo was a contributing writer for Aspatore Books’ Inside the Minds series on “Elder Law Health Care Client Strategies.” He is a member of the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel and the Defense Research Institute, and serves as Vice Chair of USLAW Network’s Professional Liability practice group.

Guy R. Gruppie, Co-Chair of the firm’s Emerging Risks & Specialty Tort Litigation practice group and immediate Past Chair of the General Liability & Casualty practice group. This is Mr. Gruppie’s fourth consecutive year as a Southern California Super Lawyer. He is a member of the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the FDCC, having served as Co-Chair of the FDCC Trial Tactics Substantive Law Section from 2004-2008. He has served as an adjunct professor at Southwestern Law School, teaching California Civil Procedure.

James P. Collins, Jr., seven-time Super Lawyer and respected Orange County trial lawyer. Mr. Collins is a Past President of the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel and was a Founding Partner of the former firm of Cotkin & Collins. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the FDCC.

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.

Guy Gruppie and Mhare Mouradian to Speak at Elevator Industry Group Meeting

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LOS ANGELES–Murchison & Cumming Senior Partner Guy R. Gruppie and Senior Associate Mhare O. Mouradian recently spoke at the Elevator Industry Group (EIG) of Southern California’s January meeting.

Mr. Gruppie is a longtime member of the National Association of Elevator Contractors and has represented manufacturers, maintenance companies and property owners in escalator and elevator litigation for more than 20 years. He has written and spoken extensively on related tort and trial matters, including “Anatomy of Elevator Accident Trial” at an NAEC plenary session. Mr. Gruppie is co-chairman of Murchison & Cumming’s Specialty Tort and Emerging Risks practice group and a senior member of the firm’s Product Liability and General Liability practice groups.

Mr. Mouradian is also a veteran of elevator and escalator litigation, and participated in the successful defense of an elevator accident case that received national media attention in 2009. Like Mr. Gruppie, he is a longtime member of the EIG and the firm’s Product Liability and General Liability practice groups.

About the Elevator Industry Group of Southern California

The Elevator Industry Group Of Southern California is a not for profit association formed in 1947. The purpose of the group is to facilitate the common interests of the elevator industry and the public welfare by social interaction and bilateral information distribution. To learn more about the Elevator Industry Group, please visit http://elevatorindustry.com/.

Murchison & Cumming Again Named Top 500 “Go-To Law Firm” for Litigation

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LOS ANGELES – Corporate Counsel’s annual survey of Fortune 500 Companies has identified Murchison & Cumming, LLP as a Go-To Law Firm® in the Litigation category for the third year in a row. Nominated by Avis Budget Group, Inc., Murchison & Cumming will appear in ALM’s 2012 Edition of In-House Law Departments at the Top 500 Companies. The publication, which is distributed to senior counsel of in-house law departments and law firms nationwide, will feature Murchison & Cumming for its litigation work.

Corporate Counsel’s parent company ALM selects Go-To Law Firms® based on polls collected from the legal departments of the top 500 companies who name their primary outside law firms. Nominated firms then undergo comprehensive review by researchers in order to produce a final list.

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 Recognized as a Top Nationally Ranked Law Firm by Martindale-Hubbell

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LOS ANGELES – LexisNexis® Martindale-Hubbell® has identified Murchison & Cumming, LLP as one of the top nationally ranked law firms in the United States, as determined by the firm’s high percentage of AV Preeminent™ rated lawyers, Martindale-Hubbell’s highest available rating.

Recognized for the exceptional legal abilities and professional ethical standards of its lawyers, Murchison & Cumming will be recognized in Martindale’s “2012 Top Ranked Law Firm” list, one of only 966 firms selected for inclusion from a field of 254,000 firms rated.

The firm’s contributions to the legal profession will be featured in Fortune magazine’s December 26, 2011 “2012 Investor’s Guide” issue, and online at Martindale.com, law.com and CNNMoney.com.

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 Forms Wildland Fire Litigation and White Collar Crime Practice Groups

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LOS ANGELES – Murchison & Cumming, LLP is pleased to announce the formation of its Wildland Fire Litigation and White Collar Crime practice groups.

In response to the growing demand for the specialized representation needed by utilities and others to defend against lawsuits arising out of the ever-increasing number of wildfires in the United States, Murchison & Cumming has formed a dedicated Wildland Fire Litigation practice group. The attorneys in this group bring a depth of experience to the defense of these matters, the firm having a long history of defending utilities against such lawsuits arising out of fires in Southern California and elsewhere. Practice Group Chair Friedrich W. Seitz, who together with Partners Richard C. Moreno and Gina E. Och has handled innumerable suits arising out of Southern California wildfires, was recently appointed lead counsel in the Bastrop County Complex Fire litigation in Texas.

“Catastrophes caused by nature or man seem to have increased over the last few years,” Mr. Seitz said of the increased litigation in this area, noting that “With extreme winds, it is not uncommon for wind-felled trees to down electric power lines initiating fires that cause damage to the environment and structures with ensuing litigation by home owners for damage to homes and personal property, suits by insurance carriers to recoup payments made to their insureds and claims and suits by government agencies to recover fire suppression costs and resource damages to the environment. This type of litigation not only raises unique legal issues but requires background and knowledge of electric power distribution, fire science relating to cause and origin, meteorology, metallurgy and damage evaluation and appraisal.”

The White Collar Crime team, Co-chaired by Michael B. Lawler and Lisa D. Angelo, represents corporations and individuals in white collar criminal investigations and proceedings from pre-indictment investigations to trial, including matters involving allegations of mail and wire fraud, money laundering, asset forfeiture (civil and criminal), extortion, embezzlement and bribery. The attorneys are available for consultation at each stage of the criminal process and are experienced at negotiating a lesser charge or sentence, investigating government witnesses and preparing clients for interviews with the FBI, the Department of Justice or grand jury proceedings.

“An indictment does not mean one has been fairly charged. Until twelve people state otherwise, no one should be prematurely convicted either in the public eye or otherwise,” said Ms. Angelo, who recently successfully prevailed in having a twenty-count criminal indictment dismissed.

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.