J. Russell Stedman

Russ Stedman is a partner based in our San Francisco office. With an AV® Peer Review Rating by Martindale-Hubbell, and more than 25 years of litigation, arbitration and consulting experience, Mr. Stedman focuses on the client’s goals in each individual assignment, tailoring the firm’s services as needed. He has developed long-term relationships with many companies by learning and applying his extensive knowledge of the law to the client’s business philosophy and procedures.

Mr. Stedman is a member of the Firm’s Development Committee and served as Managing Partner of the San Francisco office from 2002-2007.

Examples of Mr. Stedman’s experience include:

• Institutional investor disputes, for example investment advisor and asset manager liability, asset allocation, suitability, guidelines and permissible investments, self-dealing, related party transactions, mismanagement of specific assets, enforcement of due on sale clauses for real estate investments, foreclosure, ERISA fiduciary liability.
• Large property and business interruption insurance loss claims, for example oil refinery incidents and earthquake damage to a major port.
• Life and disability insurance, including traditional claims disputes, bad faith and ERISA benefits claims, agent misconduct, elder abuse, tax loss, suitability, twisting, selling away including Ponzi scheme exposure.
• Broker-dealer liability including FINRA arbitrations involving issues such as suitability, breach of fiduciary duty, selling away and elder abuse.
• Liability coverage under multiple-layer excess program for toxic cloud dispersal.  Liability coverage for mass torts, including primary and excess, exhaustion, aggregate limits, contribution.
• Reinsurance disputes and arbitrations, including traditional, financial, captive, fronting and pooling, and MGA.  Drafting of agreements, including reinsurance and assumption agreements.
• Class action defense, for example a suit filed against life insurer for failure to pay death benefits on policies issued between 1895-1915 to persons reportedly killed in the Turkish-Armenian conflict.
• Unfair business practices claims, including sales, claims adjusting, reserve and experience modifier practices, premium charges, non-renewal and group health insurance discriminatory rating.
• Non-compete agreements and customer list disputes, partnership dissolution, closely held business freeze-out and taking of business opportunities.
• Malicious prosecution and abuse of process defense.
• Insurance insolvency law, including representation of insurers or reinsurers in California, Bermuda, Texas, Illinois, Florida and Mississippi.