Specialties

Insurance Agent /Broker Professional Liability; Wholesale / MGA/MGU Insurance Professional Liability; Insurer Bad Faith; Claims Adjuster/ TPA Professional Liability; other types of professional Liability / Standard of Care in a selective basis, Insurance Regulatory Expert on a selective basis.

Degrees/Licenses

J.D. degree; California Insurance Agent, Broker and Surplus Lines License; California Insurance Adjuster License

Formal Education

B.A., UC Berkeley, 1972; J.D. Degree, 1976 - Lincoln University Law School, San Francisco, Ca. (merged into USF Law School)

Previous/Current Position

President - Fisher Consulting Group 2010 - Present.; 1994 - 2010, Founder, President and CEO, Post Acquisition; Sr. Vice President, E.L.M Insurance Brokers (includes predecessor Sole-Proprietorship prior to Incorporation); 1975 - 1995, Staff Adjuster/Vice-President; Founder/President of The Fisher Associates, Adjusters (includes Predecessor Firm of Miller &Gilbert, Inc). Six 6 year Member, Board of Trustees; 1998, President of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS).

Honors/Awards

2019 recipient of the PLUS Founders Award

Prof. Affiliations

PLUS; The CLM (Claims and Litigation Management Alliance); Sr. Tech. Advisor of Professional Liability Insurance, published by the International Risk Management Institute; 2021 Co-Chair of the Ins. Agent - Broker Committee; Prof Liab. Def. Federation.

Publications

Over 75 articles in Insurance Trade Journals on Professional Liability Prevention, Coverage and related issues from 1979 through current.

Prior Expert

30 years experience, over the past 10 years: retained on over 80 Cases, 17 trials + depositions; 50-50 Plaintiff/defense work.

Specialties

Practicing civil trial attorney and expert witness having extensive experience with issues concerning insurance claims handling and standard of care for civil trial counsel and lawyers handling civil litigation. He has qualified as an expert witness on issues pertaining to these subjects in both state and federal courts.

Degrees/Licenses

A.B.; JD.

Formal Education

Indiana University, A.B., 1961; University of California, Hastings College of the Law, J.D. 1966

Registration and Licenses

California & Indiana Law Practice

Previous/Current Position

Specialized as a trial and appellate lawyer for over 45 years and in a wide range of civil litigation, including serious injury, wrongful death, financial, physical elder abuse, medical and legal malpractice; All aspects of insurance including “bad faith” claims; Handled over 4000 litigated matters to conclusion, Represented small businesses, individuals, and large Fortune 500 corporations.

Honors/Awards

Certified in Civil Trial Law and Pretrial Practice Advocacy, National Board of Trial Advocacy; Fellow, American College of Board Certified Attorneys; National Trial Lawyers, Top 100 Trial Lawyer (Personal Injury, Insurance); Charter Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America Trial Lawyer; Named, "Best Lawyers," 2018-2019; Lifetime Member, Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum; Named, Northern California "Super Lawyer", 2006-2019

Prof. Affiliations

American Bar Association, Member; California and Indiana State Bar Association, Member; American Association for Justice, Member; Consumer Attorneys of California, Member; San Francisco Bar Association, Member; San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association, Member.

Publications

Negotiating and Settling Tort Cases: Reaching the Settlement (2018) Fourth Edition, published by the Thomson West Publishing Company and the American Association for Justice; Co-author of books on insurance law; Authored over 150 published articles on various topics, including trial strategy and settlement techniques.

Prior Expert

Testified in over 35 depositions and 20 trials as an expert witness.

Specialties

Agent/Broker Standard of Care, Insurance Industry Customs and Practices, Bad Faith, Commercial and Personal Lines, Professional Liability, Surety, Life, Workers Compensation (see web site).

Degrees/Licenses

Licensed Broker/Agent; CPCU; RPLU; ARM; AIC

Formal Education

Juris Doctor; BS, Business Admin./Finance.

Prof. Affiliations

CPCU Society, Professional Liability, Underwriting Society, FEWA

Prior Expert

Expert work since 2009; 350+ retentions - Testifying in Deposition, Trial, Arbitration and Mediation

Specialties

Forensic accountant. Expert witness testimony on management and financial issues. Accounting malpractice expert. Litigation support. Workout and bankruptcy consultant. Assumes management responsibilities, implements cost controls, negotiates with creditors, and supervises asset liquidation. Acts as a State Court Referee and Receiver, Federal Bankruptcy Trustee, and Examiner. Federal Court Special Master.

Degrees/Licenses

CPA, MBA, CFE, CIRA, CFF.

Formal Education

BA and MBA, Stanford University.

Previous/Current Position

Randy Sugarman, Managing Partner, founded Sugarman & Company LLP in 1977. Mr. Sugarman was previously associated with the national accounting firms of Main Hurdman (now KPMG Peat Marwick) and Kenneth Leventhal & Company (now Ernst & Young).

Prof. Affiliations

Association of Insolvency Accountants, Turnaround Management Association, American Bankruptcy Institute, National Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, California Bankruptcy Forum, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, BASF and California Society of Certified Public Accountants. A founding member of the Turnaround Management Association, where he served on the Board of Directors. Mr. Sugarman also previously served on the Board of Directors of the Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum and on the California Society of Certified Public Accountants' Committee on Taxation.

Prior Expert

Expert witness testimony on management and financial issues in 60+ litigation cases. Appointed State Court Referee and Receiver, Federal Bankruptcy Trustee, Assignee for Benefit of Creditors or Examiner with over 50 years experience.

Specialties

TRIAL EXPERT: Standard of Care/Coverage/Bad Faith. 50 years of litigation experience; founder of AIM Ins. Co./multiple published opinions.

Degrees/Licenses

BA; JD.

Formal Education

BA, Stanford, 1966; JD, Hastings, 1970.

Registration and Licenses

Certified to practice in all California state courts and federal courts; and Supreme Court of the United States.

Previous/Current Position

Founded & Managed Bad Faith Section at Haight Brown for 20 years; A founder and past Board of Director of Attorney Insurance Mutual (AIM.)

Honors/Awards

Rockefeller Fellowship, AV since 1985 by Martindale-Hubbell

Prof. Affiliations

CA State Bar. Defense Research Institute, Federation of Defense, and Corporate Counsel.

Publications

Articles: Independent Cumis Counsel: The second Prong (2013); Intentional Harms & Cumis rights; A Reply to Denial-first steps when the insured says no to client’s COVID-19 business interruption claim (2020)

Prior Expert

Testified as an expert in both state and federal court including a published opinion as an expert on the issue of the duty to defend under a CGL policy.

Specialties

Compliance of organizational policies, procedures, and practices with standards of human resources management; preventing and investigating complaints concerning sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination and harassment; ADA, interactive process, reasonable accommodation; CFRA, FMLA, workers’ compensation; retaliation, discipline, wrongful termination; negligent hiring/retention/supervision; independent contractor vs. employee classification; compensation, wage & hours, benefits/pensions; performance evalution, promotion selections, workforce- reductions; workplace violence, safety, OSHA.

Degrees/Licenses

PhD, MBA, BS

Formal Education

PhD Management, University of CA, Los Angeles: 1977; MBA, Management, University of CA, Los Angeles; BS, Business Administration, Drexel.

Registration and Licenses

Lifetime California Community College Instructor Credential in both Business Management and Psychology.

Previous/Current Position

Human resources manager for Ford Motor Company; consultant to over 100 organizations concerning how to improve human resource management policies and practices.

Honors/Awards

2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 & 2011, Received university research award for quality of articles published in the most recent five years. 2008, Favorably featured in Employment Law Verdict Reports. 2007, Profiled in Bender's California Labor & Employment Bulletin. 2001, Outstanding Scholarly and Creative Activity Award. 2000, Faculty Merit Award. 1998, Creative and Scholarly Activity Award. 1997 and 1996 Performance Award. 1996, "Teacher Scholar" Award. 1995-96, Taught first graduate Managing Human Resources and Human Behavior in Organizations courses ever to be publicly televised. 1993. Nominee for Bradford Outstanding Educator in United States Award. 1992, Finalist for Outstanding Faculty Award, SBAE. 1986-90, Meritorious Performance Award. Selected for Marquis' Who's Who in Business Higher Education, Who's Who in Finance and Industry, Who's Who in California, and Who's Who in the World.

Prof. Affiliations

Society For Human Resource Management; Society for Nonprofits.

Publications

Over 500 in high quality professional and peer-reviewed academic journals. These Include “When it's time to say good-by: how to discharge workers without legal hassles," and "Workplace reduction guidelines," which was reproduced in a college textbook titled "Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Management,” published by McGraw-Hill. Also, "Designing Effective Performance Appraisal Systems," one of the most downloaded articles of all time, with over 12,500 downloads.

Prior Expert

Have been retained in over 1,000 cases and have given trial/arbitration testimony over 80 times for plaintiffs and defense in over 15 California federal and state courts.

Specialties

RHA, established 1979, as a group of insurance experts - former insurance company executives, agents, brokers, underwriters, Workers Compensation specialists, D&O/E&O expertise, risk managers, claims managers, adjusters, actuaries, and captive management specialists.

Degrees/Licenses

Masters; PhDs; CPCU; ARM; RPLU; More.