Kirk A. Pasich

It was a busy summer for Pasich, who chose not to join his former firm Liner LLP’s merger with DLA Piper and instead struck out on his own, launching Pasich LLP Aug. 1 with his high-earning insurance recovery practice of nine attorneys.

“We had a lot of firms ask us about joining them when word got out that Liner was merging with DLA,” he said.

“But at some point you need to control your own destiny for your client’s sake,” Pasich continued. “Big firms do a lot in the insurance arena, and since we sue insurance companies, we’re not completely compatible with a lot of big firms. So we would prefer to be in a position where we don’t have to worry about conflicts of interest.”

Pasich wasn’t shy about touting the value his practice might have brought another firm, noting that his new venture opened with 65 to 70 clients right out of the box — most of whom have been with his group for some time.

“I was the largest business producer at Dickstein Shapiro and also at Liner,” he said. “And just about all of that business is with us [now].”

Pasich continues to handle comedian Bill Cosby’s effort to reclaim benefits from insurance giant AIG. He obtained an important ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on a motion to dismiss that a sexual assault exclusion in AIG’s policies did not excuse the company from its responsibility to defend Cosby in defamation lawsuits. AIG Prop. Cas. Co. v. Cosby, 2:15-cv-04842 (C.D. Cal. Nov. 13, 2015).

Pasich’s firm is also working for Pacific Gas & Electric in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, pursuing insurance coverage for a range of lawsuits arising out of the Butte County Fire in October 2015. The suits involve claims approaching $1 billion, and trials are set to begin next spring.

“For paying clients, I think we help them navigate through a crisis,” he said. “And I think we help make sure the law develops in a way that actually reflects what insurance policies should do.”

— Shane Nelson