Danger! Contract Issues Ahead!

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Robert A. Cutbirth is a partner in the Firm’s San Francisco Office.  Mr. Cutbirth has been a practicing trial attorney and counselor for more 30 years, working with local, regional, and national clients to meet their commercial, insurance and business litigation needs.

Mr. Cutbirth began his career handling high exposure catastrophic injury cases and later developed specialties that include insurance coverage, cyber, employment and commercial litigation. 

Mr. Cutbirth’s Insurance practice includes the drafting and analysis of nearly every type of insurance policy and endorsement, with particular emphasis in the areas of employment practices, directors and officers, commercial general liability, professional liability, and business/transportation insurance policies.  He has represented insurers in numerous state and federal courts, including binding arbitrations, trial, and appellate proceedings involving underwriting, coverage, and “bad faith” issues. Having served as an interim claims manager for a Lloyd’s of London Syndicate, and the manager of national claims programs, Mr. Cutbirth is well versed in all issues facing domestic and foreign insurers and reinsurers.  Read More

FMG is proud to announce that our partner Zachary Smith was selected as the Distinguished Defense Attorney of the Year by the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association. Mr. Smith will be presented the award tonight at the 19th annual Trial Lawyer of the Year Gala at the Hotel Nikko in San Francisco.  Click here for more information.

Mr. Smith is a member of the firm's CGL and Business Liability National Practice Section and the firm's Transportation Law and Premises Liability Practice Teams.  He has tried over 35 cases to verdict as lead counsel.

Mr. Smith specializes in high-exposure litigation involving personal injury, trucking, hospitality, construction defect,  HOA disputes, landlord-tenant, and breach of contract. He also defends a wide range of professionals including doctors, real estate brokers, lawyers and insurance agents.

For more information, please contact Zachary Smith at (415) 352-6445 or [email protected].

Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP is pleased to announce that Allen Sattler has been named vice-chair of the Firm’s Data Security, Privacy & Technology practice team.  Mr. Sattler is a partner in the firm's Orange County, California office.

Prior to joining FMG earlier this year, Mr. Sattler practiced law at Mendes & Mount, LLP in New York where he was one of two partners to lead the firm’s cyber insurance coverage practice.  Mr. Sattler represents domestic and foreign insurers as coverage counsel for claims made against policies providing data security, privacy liability, and technology errors & omissions coverage.  He also has handled some of the nation’s largest data breaches by number of records disclosed and has defended an array of privacy liability and tech E&O claims.

"Allen brings a wealth of knowledge and will be a great addition to our capabilities on the West Coast. Together with David Cole, who chairs the team, Allen adds both vast legal experience and leadership to our rapidly growing national cyber and data privacy practice." said Ben Mathis, FMG Managing Partner.

Mr. Sattler is a frequent author and speaker within the field, having recently moderated and participated in panel presentations on topics ranging from the Internet of Things, the use of drones and the privacy and liability concerns they pose, and liability and coverage issues specific to claims concerning privacy regulations and statutes, including consumer protection statutes such as the TCPA.

For more information on Mr. Sattler please click here.  For information on FMG's Data Security, Privacy & Technology practice team, please click here. 

Brenton S. Bean has joined the firm as a Partner in the Atlanta office. 

Mr. Bean practices in the firm’s Labor and Employment Law and Professional Liability National Practice Sections.  He is also a member of the Wage and Hour and Lawyer’s Liability practice teams.

Mr. Bean has a wide variety of civil litigation experience having tried cases in federal court, state court and arbitration throughout the country for nearly 25 years.  He has defended public and private employers in virtually every type of Title VII, civil rights, and restrictive covenant litigation, as well as individual and collective action, FLSA and state wage and hour claims.  Mr. Bean has also defended a variety of professionals, and particularly attorneys, in professional negligence actions. Read More

Wendell K. Willard has joined the firm as Of Counsel in the Atlanta office. 

Mr. Willard practices in the firm’s Government Law National Practice Section. Mr. Willard has been a practicing lawyer in the Atlanta area for over 50 years.   For the past 18 years he has served in the Georgia House of Representative, 14 of those years as Chair of House Judiciary, and authored or sponsored several major legislative initiatives, including the Evidence Code, new Juvenile Justice Code, Georgia Garnishment law and Civil Forfeiture law.  Read More

Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP is pleased to announce the addition of four partners who have joined us in our California and Atlanta offices.

Gregory T. Fayard has joined the firm as a Partner in the Sacramento office.  Mr. Fayard brings nearly two decades of trial experience and will practice in the firm’s Professional Liability and Complex and Commercial Litigation national practice sections. He is also a member of Lawyer’s Liability and Governmental Law practice teams.  Mr. Fayard is panel counsel for a number of the nation's premier providers of professional liability coverage and his practice includes defense of a variety of professional sin errors and omission lawsuits around the country.  He has represented accountants, doctors, dentists, lawyers, insurance agents, real estate agents, teachers, architects, engineers, clergy, corporate officers, and other professionals.  Read More

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Jill R. Johnson has joined the firm as a Partner in the Atlanta office. She  also will Co-Chair the firm’s Commercial and Complex Litigation National Practice Section which consists of nearly 40 attorneys throughout firm’s offices.  Ms. Johnson's experience includes defending collective and class action state and federal lawsuits throughout the country. Her Directors and Officers practice includes suits under the False Claims Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Telephone Consumer Protection Act, RICO, Fair Business Practice Act, ERISA and non-ERISA fiduciary actions, shareholder derivative suits, breach of fiduciary duty claims, restrictive covenant, trade secret and confidential business information suits and many other business law and partnership disputes.  Read More

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Christine C. Lee has joined the firm as a Partner in the Marin County office.  Ms. Lee has been practicing civil litigation in San Francisco for over 12 years now.  She has represented individuals and businesses in numerous lawsuits throughout Northern and Central California through all phases of litigation including through jury trial as lead attorney.  Ms. Lee has also participated in dozens of mediations, arbitrations, and other forms of alternative dispute resolution.  Ms. Lee practices in the areas of employment, construction, and commercial and real estate litigation.  Ms. Lee emphasizes her practice in counseling construction employers and employees on their rights and obligations under California employment law.  Read More  

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Allen E. Sattler has joined the firm as a Partner in the Orange County office.  Mr. Sattler's practice includes matters in commercial general liability and professional liability, including employment liability, data security and privacy liability, and environmental liability.  As coverage counsel, he represents insurers and reinsurers located in the United States and in London.  He previous represented several domestic and foreign insurance companies.  He performed a secondment in 2013 with a syndicate in Lloyd's of London, where he worked closely with underwriters, claims personnel and in-house counsel.  Read More

Freeman Mathis &  Gary is pleased to announce that Bart Gary’s Georgia Construction Law Handbook, 2018 edition is now available.  The Georgia Construction Law Handbook, now in its sixth annual edition, is a guide to public and private construction law issues, including contract terms, regulatory matters, defective construction, payment and claims, the lien law and bonds.  It is a ready reference for attorneys and all construction and design professionals and includes legal forms.

For more information to purchase a copy, click here.

For more information on the author, click here.

FMG Partner David Cole was recently quoted in the article “Managing Corporate Data in the Era of Mobile Tech and the Internet of Things,” in the November 2017 issue of Today’s General Counsel. Mr. Cole is the national practice team leader of FMG’s Data Security, Privacy & Technology practice team which, in addition to representing clients in data breach preparedness and response and Tech E&O litigation, provides e-discovery and records management services. In the article, Mr. Cole discusses best practices for businesses to manage data before and during litigation to ensure that document preservation and production obligations are met.

For more information, please contact David Cole at (770) 818—1287 and also visit our Data Security, Privacy & Technology webpage.

Marc Bardack presents at NBI's Auto Injury Litigation Seminar.  He will be presenting on “How to Get Your Social Media, Email, and Text Evidence Admitted (and Keep Theirs Out)”. The NBI Seminar will take place at the Doubletree by Hilton Atlanta Perimeter Dunwoody in Atlanta from November 16th-17th.

The NBI will bring together attorneys, insurance adjusters and paralegals.

For more information, please contact Marc Bardack at (770) 818.4241.

Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP, is pleased to announce that Jan S. Sigman has joined the firm as a Partner in the Atlanta office. 

Ms. Sigman practices in the firm’s Construction and Design Law and CGL and Business Liability National Practice Sections.  She is also a member of the Transportation Law practice team.

Ms. Sigman brings over 10 years of experience in construction law and construction defects litigation, including general contractor and subcontractor liability, contribution, and contractual indemnity. She also specializes in the defense of motor carriers and truck insurers, including claims for wrongful death, personal injury and cargo loss/damage. 

Ms. Sigman received her law degree from Louisiana State University Law Center and her Bachelor of Science degree from Spring Hill College. She is licensed to practice before all courts in the State of Georgia and the United States District Courts for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Georgia.

Ms. Sigman lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband. 

Click here to read more.

Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP, is pleased to announce that Zachary Smith has joined the firm as a Partner in the San Francisco office. 

Mr. Smith's practice focuses on CGL and Business Liability, Transportation Law, Premises Liability and General Liability.  Mr. Smith spent two decades as a senior trial attorney for one of the nation’s largest insurance companies and specialized in high-exposure litigation involving personal injury, construction defect, property line disputes, HOA disputes, landlord tenant, landslides and breach of contract.  

Mr. Smith has tried more than 35 jury trials as lead counsel.

Mr. Smith has a Martindale-Hubbell rating of AV Preeminent and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). He earned his law degree from the University of Michigan in 1997 and his undergraduate degree from University of California, Berkeley. 

Mr. Smith lives in Oakland with his wife, son and two golden-retrievers. In addition to the practice of law, he enjoys restoring his classic car, travel, and keeping up with the latest in consumer technology. 

Click here to read more.

FMG is pleased to announce that it has been selected for membership in  Lexwork International, a global alliance of law firms throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia.  With nearly 3000 attorneys around the world, Lexwork International law firms offer the highest level of expertise in a cost effective manner with invaluable local knowledge.

Ben Mathis, FMG Managing Partner said, "Lexwork International offers our clients access to a group of first-class law firms and a desirable alternative to large international firms.    We also value the local expertise, cost effective structure and connections that our new partners provide which often are determinative in obtaining the best possible outcome."

Daryl Bailey, Chair of Lexwork  for the Americas commented, "We are so pleased to have FMG join our organization. Their demonstrated excellence met all of our stringent practice standard measures. They continue our strategic growth plans to add member firms who are recognized leaders in their core practice areas."

For more information on Lexwork International, please visit www.Lexwork.net

Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP, is pleased to announce that Lizel R. Cerezo has joined the firm as a Partner in the Los Angeles office.

Ms. Cerezo is an accomplished trial attorney who has tried multiple cases to verdict throughout California.  Ms. Cerezo focuses her practice in Commercial General Liability and Business Liability, Transportation and Premises Liability.  In addition, she has extensive experience in medical malpractice cases.

Ms. Cerezo received her Bachelor of Arts degree (cum laude) from San Francisco State University.  She received her Juris Doctor from Golden Gate University School of Law.  During law school, Ms. Cerezo served as a Judicial Extern to the Hon. Elizabeth D. Laporte and the Hon. James J. McBride.  Ms. Cerezo was also a Certified Law Clerk with the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office and the State Bar of California, Office of Chief Trial Enforcement. 

Ms. Cerezo is a mother of two and dedicates her free time as a volunteer for local organizations.