Attorneys
Ramiro Morales, the firm founder, has extensive experience in all aspects of coverage analysis and litigation. His practice has been exclusively devoted to insurance coverage and bad faith for the last 20 years. He is well-known in the practice, not only for his breadth of knowledge, but also for his skill as a negotiator in complex, multi-party litigation. He has successfully tried coverage and bad faith matters in both California and Nevada. Mr. Morales is a member of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, California Super Lawyer, a Fellow of American Bar Association, and an AM Best recommended attorney. His consistent success has made him a sought-after insurance practitioner on the west coast.
Prior to going into private practice, Mr. Morales handled complex litigation for a major insurance carrier. His training and experience both within the insurance industry and as counsel has enabled him to provide efficient, cost-effective representation and unparalleled responsiveness to the multi-faceted needs of his clients.
Mr. Morales’ corporate clients include multiple Fortune 500 companies from both aspects of the insurance field insurer and insured. On their behalf, he has successfully litigated and tried cases involving bad faith and all types of insurance issues arising from carrier-policyholder conflicts, including: personal lines coverage; professional liability coverage; D&O coverage; commercial general liability coverage, and life insurance disputes. He also represents clients in commercial litigation outside the insurance arena.
Mr. Morales has been a featured speaker at seminars on a wide variety of insurance topics in both California and Nevada. He has lectured on behalf of the Nevada State Bar, California State Bar, the Construction Claims Managers Association, HBW Litigation, West Coast Casualty seminars, trade association, and specialized corporate training for his clients. Mr. Morales received his Juris Doctorate from the University of San Francisco, after earning his Bachelor of Science, with honors, from California State University.
Christine M. Fierro has extensive experience litigating complex coverage suits relating to commercial auto, product liability and general liability coverage issues, including bad faith. She has drafted insurance policy provisions on behalf of a major insurer, has reviewed and drafted construction contracts for a variety of contractors, and has given numerous presentations on a wide variety of coverage topics to client groups.
Ms. Fierro received her Juris Doctorate in 1997 from Boalt Hall, while concurrently earning a Masters in Social Welfare from Haviland Hall at the University of California at Berkeley. Upon graduating, she worked in a small firm, representing the prisoners of the state of Texas in a civil rights, class action suit against that state. Before entering the field of law, she was a tax accountant at Arthur Anderson & Company and spent several years as a social worker in New York City. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in 1988 from Santa Clara University, graduating magna cum laude and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
William C. Reeves specializes in all aspects of business litigation with a concentration on insurance coverage related matters. In addition to advising several major insurers as to their rights and obligations in pending underlying matters in an effort to negotiate global resolutions, Mr. Reeves has advocated for and represented insurers in all aspects of coverage-related litigation, including bad faith litigation, having successfully taken several matters to verdict.
Mr. Reeves also specializes in real estate law, having previously been licensed as a salesperson with the California Department of Real Estate. Mr. Reeves' practice includes representing parties in connection with residential and commercial transactions, unlawful detainer matters, foreclosure proceedings (both judicial and non-judicial) and quiet title actions. Mr. Reeves also has extensive experience in representing both developers and contractors in connection with new construction as well as assisting and advising in related insurance issues, including title, property and liability coverage disputes.
Mr. Reeves received his Juris Doctorate from King Hall at the University of California at Davis after earning Bachelor of Arts degrees in Philosophy and Political Science from the University of California at San Diego. While attending King Hall, Mr. Reeves was a member of the Davis Law Review. Mr. Reeves served under Justice James Marchiano (formerly with the Contra Costa Superior Court) and the Honorable Garland E. Burrell, Jr. of the United States District Court, Eastern District of California. Mr. Reeves is a licensed member of the State Bars of California, Nevada and Arizona, and is admitted to practice in all courts (both State and Federal) in California, Nevada and Arizona.
Mr. Reeves has spoken and given seminars in several different coverage and insurance-related topics as well as on real estate matters. In addition, Mr. Reeves has participated in the preparation of articles and legal treatises addressing issues relevant to insurance coverage and real estate law.
Marilyn A. Rogers specializes in insurance coverage litigation. Ms. Rogers has extensive experience in a wide variety of insurance coverage disputes, including coverage issues arising out of construction defect litigation, environmental contamination disputes, health and disability claims, and Bankers Blanket Bonds disputes. She specializes in handling large complex litigation of such disputes, and has extensive experience in all aspects of insurance coverage litigation. Ms. Rogers was an associate with Adams, Duque and Hazeltine, where she handled complex environmental coverage and health and disability litigation, and Segdwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold, where she practiced Bankers Blanket Bond coverage.
Ms. Rogers received her Juris Doctorate from Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, after earning her Bachelor of Arts in the History of Art from University of California at Berkeley. She is admitted to the California Bar, and the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Central and Eastern Districts of California. Ms. Rogers is a member of the State Bar of California, the American Bar Association and the Bar Association of San Francisco.
Patrick M. Quigley has specialized in insurance coverage analysis and litigation for more than 18 years. Mr. Quigley has experience with a wide range of insurance coverage matters, including commercial general liability, commercial property, personal lines policies, errors & omissions policies, director’s & officer’s policies, and commercial automotive. He has successfully represented insurance carriers in coverage matters involving complex construction defect, intellectual property/trade dress issues, product defects, first‑party losses (personal and commercial), specialty lines (aviation and entertainment), and “bad faith”. He has defended insurance carriers in trial and appellate courts, and has been instrumental in several matters resulting in reported decisions defining California law; most recently Hurvitz v. St. Paul (2003) 109 Cal.App.4th 918.
Mr. Quigley received his Juris Doctorate in 1990 from the Pepperdine University School of Law. While in law school he served as a judicial extern for Federal District Court Judge James Ideman of the Central District of California. Prior to law school Mr. Quigley worked in the entertainment industry. He earned his bachelors degree in Communication Arts with a minor in Philosophy from Loyola Marymount University in 1986.
Elizabeth B. Celniker specializes in representation of insurance carriers on coverage matters and insurance coverage litigation. Since 2003, her focus has been on commercial general liability coverage matters. Prior to that time, Ms. Celniker worked in defense of first-party property insurance coverage and bad-faith litigation, as an associate at LHB Pacific Law Partners. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable William B. Shubb at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, where she focused on civil, pretrial law-and-motion matters. She is a member of the State Bar of California.
Ms. Celniker received her Juris Doctorate from Boalt Hall at the University of California at Berkeley. At Boalt Hall, she was a 1995-96 Regent’s Scholar and was active as an associate editor for the Berkeley Technology Law Journal and a member of the Ecology Law Quarterly. Prior to studying law, she worked as a public policy analyst for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the Office of the Inspector General. She attended the University of California at Santa Barbara, where she received a Bachelors of Art degree with Highest Honors in 1990. Ms. Celniker is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and a National Merit Scholar.
Canon T. Young, Sr is an experienced insurance attorney and commercial litigator. His practice has included insurance coverage and bad faith litigation, coverage analysis, general commercial litigation, toxic torts, Proposition 65, and products liability. Mr. Young’s insurance work involves litigating matters relating to Homeowners policies, Commercial General Liability policies, and Media policies. Mr. Young also has extensive experience evaluating third-party and first-party coverage issues. Mr. Young’s litigation experience includes all aspects of construction defect claims, commercial and business disputes. As a strong proponent of alternative dispute resolution, Mr. Young has also successfully resolved cases through mediation, insurance appraisal, and arbitration.
Mr. Young received his Juris Doctorate from Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, Illinois, after earning his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Rhetoric from the University of California at Berkeley. Mr. Young is admitted to practice law in California as well as the U.S. District Courts in the Northern, Eastern, and Central Districts of California.
Mr. Young received his Juris Doctorate from Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, Illinois, after earning his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Rhetoric from the University of California at Berkeley. Mr. Young is admitted to practice law in California as well as the U.S. District Courts in the Northern, Eastern, and Central Districts of California.
Laurence Near earned his Master’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Chicago in 1989. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of California, Davis School of Law in 1995. Mr. Near began his legal career at a boutique law firm in San Francisco that specialized in uncovering fraudulent insurance claims.
He then turned his attention to coverage law, working for firms that represented major carriers in coverage/bad faith litigation in both state and federal courts. Mr. Near has a wide range of experience in complex insurance coverage analysis and litigation. He has successfully represented insurers in coverage disputes involving a variety of matters, including construction defects and bodily injury.
Kelly Hedberg Dedicates her practice to representing insurance carriers in insurance coverage and bad faith litigation. Ms. Hedberg has experience with a variety of insurance coverage and extra- contractual matters involving commercial general liability, commercial property, errors & omissions, commercial automotive and workers’ compensation policies. She has successfully defended insurers at trial and in the appellate courts. Ms. Hedberg’s success has earned her recognition among Super Lawyers’ Rising Stars from 2012-2016 and recently earned recognition by The Best Lawyers in America in the area of insurance coverage. She frequently hosts client seminars and speaks at conferences to help equip her clients – and their employees – with practical strategies to reduce the risk of litigation. Ms. Hedberg is a licensed member of the State Bars of Arizona and Nevada and is admitted to practice in all courts (both State and Federal) in Arizona and Nevada, as well as the 9 th Circuit Court of Appeals. Ms. Hedberg earned her Juris Doctorate from Cleveland State University and a bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University. During her undergraduate studies, Kelly attended Semester at Sea, a study abroad program that circumnavigated the globe, stopping in countries such as Vietnam, India, Malaysia, Israel, Turkey and Morocco.
Tony Abdollahi Tony Abdollahi practices insurance coverage and commercial litigation. He has litigated and prepared coverage opinions for first-party and third-party claims, excess claims, and bad faith actions. Tony has first-chaired jury and bench trials to successful verdict, and has extensive appellate experience. He has drafted policy provisions, presented seminars, and published articles regarding insurance coverage issues, including journals such as Business Insurance, PropertyCasualty360 and the PLUS Journal. Tony also handles intellectual property and constitutional law cases.
Mr. Abdollahi is a graduate of Berkeley Law, and received his bachelor's from the Haas School of Business.
Aaron M. Davis has over 15 years of litigation experience, including extensive experience in Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith Litigation. Aaron’s experience includes intensive research and writing regarding issues of first impression as to various 1st and 3rd party insurance matters, and defending carriers against claims for Breach of the Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing in relation to Commercial General Liability, Homeowners and 1st party property insurance policies. Aaron also has significant experience drafting insurance coverage opinions addressing claims made under Commercial General Liability, Homeowners, Errors & Omissions, Directors & Officers and 1st party property insurance policies. Aaron’s other insurance-related experience includes prosecuting and defending subrogation, contribution, indemnity and declaratory relief actions on behalf of carriers. Aaron’s trial experience includes second-chairing a 2010 defense verdict in Alameda County Superior Court.
In 1996, Aaron received his Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from Tulane University Law School in New Orleans. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1991.
