Marc S. Maister

Marc Maister is a partner in the Newport Beach office of Irell & Manella LLP, where he is a member of the litigation group and head of the insurance group. He specializes in handling high-profile insurance matters, general civil litigation and professional liability defense. Mr. Maister is currently litigating multiple large insurance coverage cases and recently secured a several hundred million dollar insurance recovery on behalf of Pinnacle Entertainment in connection with Hurricane Katrina. He is also currently defending several legal malpractice claims and consumer class action claims. Mr. Maister also assists clients, brokers and risk managers with the structuring of insurance programs and works with our transactional attorneys on various sophisticated insurance matters.

In 2013, Mr. Maister was named to the Southern California "Super Lawyers" list by Los Angeles Magazine for the tenth consecutive year, identifying only five percent of lawyers in the country to earn the honor. In addition, Mr. Maister was included among the "Top 50 of Orange County" by Los Angeles Magazine in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. The 2010 edition of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers recognized him as a leading insurance lawyer and a "legal malpractice and consumer class action specialist." Mr. Maister was also named to the Los Angeles Daily Journal’s “Top 20 Lawyers Under 40,” its list of the top 20 California attorneys under 40 years of age. He has been selected for inclusion in the prestigious Best Lawyers in America for years 2007-2013 in the specialty area of insurance law and is listed in Cambridge Who's Who among Executives, Professionals and Entrepreneurs for 2008. Mr. Maister was also selected as one of Southern California's best lawyers by the Los Angeles Times Magazine for his work in commercial litigation and insurance law.

Mr. Maister's expertise in matters involving business and property insurance is widely recognized. Both business entities and individuals involved in complex business litigation frequently retain Mr. Maister to identify and assist them in pursuing coverage under policies of commercial general liability insurance, professional liability insurance, fidelity and crime insurance, directors and officers liability insurance, multi-media insurance, employment practices liability insurance, environmental insurance, and umbrella and excess liability insurance. When necessary to recover policy benefits, Mr. Maister leads the insurance group in representing clients in litigation against insurers in both state and federal courts across the country, as well as in arbitration proceedings.

Mr. Maister also assists clients in evaluating their insurance needs before losses occur or claims have been asserted. He heads a group of attorneys who are experienced in reviewing a client's current coverage and evaluating whether it provides sufficient protection against loss and liability. They also negotiate and enforce various agreements pertaining to self-insured retentions, minimum premium arrangements, captive insurance and reinsurance programs, group and association agreements, and similar arrangements.

Mr. Maister has also been retained to defend against several high profile lawyers' professional liability claims. His successes include obtaining summary judgment for a leading international law firm on claims that firm's alleged professional negligence resulted in $20 million in damages.

Representative Matters

A few of the recent matters handled by Mr. Maister and our Orange County attorneys include the following:

• Securing a several hundred million dollar insurance recovery in connection with Hurricane Katrina on behalf of Pinnacle Entertainment.
• Litigating a $150 million dollar claim for The Flintkote Company seeking insurance coverage for asbestos claims.
• Defending an international law firm on several legal malpractice claims including obtaining summary judgment and winning the appeal on a $20 million dollar claim.
• Representing the County of San Bernardino on several insurance recovery matters.
• Representing a claimant in the Highlands Insurance Company receivership proceedings.
• Defending several apartment management entities in defense of class action ICRA claims.  
• Successfully retaining insurance coverage on behalf of a client and negotiating a settlement in the then-largest ERISA case in the country.
• Successfully obtaining insurance coverage indemnity contribution on behalf of clients and payment of defense costs in numerous construction defect actions.
• Assisting numerous entertainment clients such as CBS, Viacom and Paramount Pictures and others with various insurance issues, including acting for some of these clients as coverage counsel.

Professional Activities

Active in the professional community, Mr. Maister is a member of the American Bar Association and the Orange County Bar Association. He is also a past co-chair of the Orange County Bar Association Insurance Law Section, a member of the State Bar of California, and was a member of the Mealey's Publications Insurance Advisory Council. In addition, he lectured for two years on insurance law at the UCLA School of Law. He is also a member of the advisory committee for the Lexis/Nexis Appleman Editorial Board.

Mr. Maister is the recipient of the American Jewish Committee's Judge Learned Hand Award for community service, January, 2006.

Mr. Maister is currently serving as editor-in-chief of Matthew Bender's California Insurance Law and Practice Guide. 

Publications, Seminars & Speeches

Mr. Maister has written and spoken extensively on topics relating to insurance law. Among these include:

• “Breaking Down Liability Insurance for Transactional Lawyers,” co-author, Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal, November 2012
• "Some Pragmatic Advice for the Non-Insurance Litigator," co-author, Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal, October 2012
• "In Vogue:  A-Side DIC D&O Insurance Coverage," co-author, New Appleman on Insurance: Current Critical Issues in Insurance Law, December 2008. 
• "The Choice of Law Conundrum," Appleman Editorial Board, 2006.
• Co-author of the chapter on insurance coverage for Nimmer on Copyright, release 70 (2006).
• "Insurance Litigation 2004," panelist, CJA/TheRutter Group, January 2004.
• "Corporate Governance Conference," speaker, CLE International, November 2002 and March 2004.
• "Mold Insurance Litigation," speaker, Bridgeport Continuing Education, March 2003.
• "Employment Practices Liabilities and Coverage Conference," Mealey's Publications, January 2003.
• "Directors & Officers Liability In Turbulent Times – The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002-The Role of Independent Directors and the Changing D&O Insurance Marketplace," speaker, DLD Insurance Brokers, November 2002.
• "Identifying and Using Insurance Coverage in Business Litigation," CEB program, March 2002 and Fall 2003.
• "California Insurance Conference," Mealey's Publications, July 2001.
• "The Executive Management Liability Landscape," Aon Risk Management Services, June 2001.
• "Fundamentals of Insurance Litigation," CEB program, April 2001.
• "Year 2000 Insurance Seminar," speaker, Mealey's Publications, July 1999.
• "USC Institute for Corporate Counsel seminar," speaker, March 4-5, 1999.
• "Construction Defect: Litigation and Coverage Conference," Mealey's Publications, December 3-4, 1998 (co-chair in 1999).
• "Identifying and Using Insurance Coverage in Business Litigation," CEB program, July 1998.
• "Insurance Coverage Seminar," speaker, Mealey's Publications, 1996, 1997 and 1998.
• "Birth of an Insurance Claim--The Trigger of Coverage and the Tender of a Claim to the Insurer," American Bar Association, 1995.
• "Trigger of Coverage: A Contract Approach," article, American Bar Association, Summer 1995.

Bar & Court Admissions

• 1991, California
• 1995, U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. District Court, Central District of California
• 2004, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California