Prominent Insurance Recovery Team Joins McGuireWoods in Los Angeles

11-Lawyer Group Strengthens Firm's Premier Insurance Recovery Practice Representing Commercial Policyholders  

CENTURY CITY, Calif., Aug. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- McGuireWoods bolsters its position as the go-to law firm for commercial insurance coverage and recovery matters with the addition of a nationally acclaimed litigation team in the firm's Century City, California, office. 

The 11-lawyer group, including six partners, joins from Pasich LLP, a boutique firm recognized globally for representing commercial policyholders in high-profile and high-stakes insurance recovery disputes. The group helps clients recover losses under D&O, E&O, CGL property and business interruption, product recall, event cancellation, motion picture and television production, and other insurance policies. It has secured landmark wins, jury verdicts and settlements for corporate clients, their directors and officers, and other insureds. 

The team includes the nation's leading entertainment and sports insurance recovery lawyers, representing major studios, production companies, actors, recording artists and professional sports franchises in litigation and appeals.

"The addition of Kirk Pasich and the other team members will solidify us as having one of the preeminent, top-tier insurance recovery practices in the United States with unparalleled capabilities from coast to coast and globally," said Noreen Kelly, the firm's deputy managing partner for litigation.  

The group includes partners Kirk Pasich and Shaun Crosner, two of the founding partners of Pasich LLP, who rank among the top insurance recovery lawyers nationally and in California. Both earned rankings in the 2024 edition of the Chambers USA guide, with Pasich receiving another Band 1 nationwide ranking for insurance dispute resolution. In addition, Pasich was named Los Angeles "Lawyer of the Year" for insurance law and insurance litigation in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

Michael Gehrt, Craig Hirsch, Christopher Pasich and Sandra Smith Thayer also join McGuireWoods as partners, along with counsel Pamela Woods and associates Daria Clecicov, Eliza Logan, Noelle Malindzak and Caitlin Oswald.

Their arrival follows the addition of Mikaela Whitman, also a founding partner of Pasich LLP, who joined McGuireWoods' Century City office in January 2024.

"We have assembled a deep bench of talented lawyers with unmatched experience and ability in complex high-stakes insurance recovery matters," said Tony Tatum, co-leader of the firm's insurance recovery practice group. "Our new colleagues build on that strength and ensure that McGuireWoods has the dominant insurance recovery practice for policyholders."

The expanded and combined insurance recovery practice has collected over $12 billion in insurance recoveries for policyholder clients, Tatum noted.

Said Alice Youngbar, managing partner of the firm's Century City office: "This group represents a significant expansion of our client service capabilities on the West Coast. We are thrilled to welcome this outstanding team to McGuireWoods."

McGuireWoods has a long history representing corporate policyholders in insurance-related matters and assisting clients with maximizing recoveries under their insurance programs and policies. The firm's lawyers litigate high-profile, large-exposure actions in state and federal courts nationwide and abroad, as well as in domestic and international insurance arbitrations in Bermuda, London, Singapore and other leading venues.

"McGuireWoods provides a platform that allows us to take our practice to another level," Kirk Pasich said. "The firm's cutting-edge litigation and appellate capabilities, collaborative culture and innovative approach to client service set McGuireWoods apart and we are excited to join this world-class team."

Tatum and Kirk Pasich will co-lead the firm's international insurance recovery practice, along with Crosner, who will focus on the West Coast. 

McGuireWoods LLP is a leading international law firm with 1,100 lawyers in 21 offices worldwide. It continuously ranks among the top firms in Financial Times' prestigious North America Innovative Lawyers report. The firm has been recognized 18 times on BTI Consulting's Client Service A-Team — elite firms singled out for client service excellence based on unprompted feedback from clients in major companies. Its full-service public affairs arm, McGuireWoods Consulting LLC, offers infrastructure and economic development, strategic communications and grassroots advocacy, and government relations solutions. For more information, visit www.mcguirewoods.com.

SOURCE McGuireWoods LLP