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Direct Dial: (510) 835-6709
Facsimile: (510) 835-6666
Practice Areas
Education
J.D., University of California School of Law, 1991
B.A., San Diego State University
Licensed to Practice in
Articles
Attorney Profile PDFs
Client Alerts
- Pending California Supreme Court Employment, General Liability, Health Care, Insurance, Professional Liability, And Public Entity Cases As Of March 29, 2013
- California Supreme Court Applies Rule Of Retroactive Revival To Notices Of Appeal Filed By A Suspended Corporation
- California Supreme Court Issues Decision on “All Sums” and Stacking in Continuing Injury Damage Lawsuits
- California Insurance Law Alert
- Intellectual Property Rights Exclusion Applies to Claims for Misappropriation of Likeness Under “Personal and Advertising Injury” Coverage
Practice Expertise
- Ms. Firtch has been advising and representing insurance companies since 1991
- Practice encompasses insurance coverage analysis and advice as well as coverage and bad faith litigation and appellate work
- Ms. Firtch has researched and analyzed all types of coverage matters under commercial general liability and first party policies, as well as farm, director and officer, errors and omissions, public entity, and trucking policies
- Specializes in factually complex, high exposure claims, particularly under advertising and personal injury coverages
- Significant experience in construction defect coverage matters
Litigation
- Ms. Firtch represents insurers in insurance litigation, bad faith, and declaratory relief actions in state and federal court, at the trial and appellate level
- Prevailed on summary judgments for insurers on personal injury and advertising issues at the trial court level and on appeal
- Briefed, argued and prevailed before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in a case involving personal and advertising injury coverage for violation of artist rights' statutes, preserving on appeal a summary judgment in favor of the insurer
Advice & Counsel
- Ms. Firtch is experienced in interpreting and analyzing a wide variety of insurance policy language
- Provides advice to the insurance industry on a broad range of insurance coverage issues ranging from dog bites, to construction defects, to sexual harassment, to cargo loss, to errors and omissions, to personal and advertising injury issues
- Also provides advice concerning Buss reservations, and audits independent counsel and pre-acceptance invoices
- Presents in-house education programs to insurers on construction defect issues
Professional Associations
- Member of State Bar of California, State Bar of Nevada and Alameda County Bar Association
Publications
- Ms. Firtch has contributed updates to several Matthew Bender publications
- Authored article on the history of Advertising Injury Coverage, which was published in the New Appleman on Insurance, Current Critical Issues in Insurance Law
Community Involvement
- Ms. Firtch founded the Burnham Brown "Adopt A Preschooler" program, which recently celebrated its 13th year of providing toys at Christmas to disadvantaged preschoolers
- Member of the Board of Directors of Legal Assistance for Seniors, where she serves on the planning committee for The Annual Elder Abuse Conference
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