Jean M. Lawler is a Senior Partner and serves as the Managing Partner of the firm. She is Co-Chair of the firm's International Law practice group and is the immediate past-Chair of the Insurance Law practice group and the Business and Real Estate Transactions practice group.

Ms. Lawler's practice includes representing and defending insurers, agents and brokers in insurance, bad faith and professional liability litigation, at trial and on appeal; providing insurers with coverage, underwriting and risk management advice; and defending businesses in commercial litigation, handling contract matters and negotiations and providing risk management evaluations.  She is a certified mediator and has served as an arbitrator. 

Ms. Lawler's insurance practice and experience encompasses most types and lines of insurance and most industries (i.e. professional liability, D&O, personal and commercial lines, life, health and disability, environmental, first-party property, marine, financial institutions, trucking/transportation, agri-business and equine, program and specialty insurance) at all levels of insurance (i.e. primary, excess, umbrella and reinsurance) for domestic and international insurers, including the surplus lines market. She has served as an expert witness in matters involving insurance law.

Ms. Lawler is "AV" rated by Martindale-Hubbell and has been recognized as a "Southern California Super Lawyer" for many years. She is also recognized in "Who's Who of American Women" and "Who's Who in American Law."

She is a Past President of the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel and has served on the Board of Directors for the Defense Research Institute (DRI), Lawyers for Civil Justice (LCJ) and the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel. She co-founded the inaugural “National Summit on the Right to Trial by Jury,” which was jointly sponsored by FDCC and ABOTA and held in Las Vegas in April 2005. She presently serves on the Board of Directors of the FDCC Foundation.

A frequent author and speaker, Ms. Lawler has been a presenter at educational seminars sponsored by many legal and insurance industry organizations. She regularly provides in-house seminars for clients, including certification for insurers on the California Fair Claims Settlement Regulations.

Representative Published Decisions

Published appellate decisions in Ms. Lawler's cases include St. Mary Medical Center v. Cristiano (C.D. Cal. 1989) 724 F. Supp. 732, Mitchell v. Scott Wetzel Services (1991) 227 Cal. App. 3rd 1474, Hartford Fire Ins. Co. v. Irene Macri (1992) 4 Cal.4th 318, In Re Circuit Breaker Litigation (C.D. Cal. 1997) 984 F. Supp. 1267, A-H Plating v. American Nat'l Fire Ins. (1997) 57 Cal. App. 4th 427,  Century Surety Co. v. Crosby Ins., Inc. (2004) 124 Cal. App. 4th 116 and Essex Ins. Co. v. Five Star Dye House (2006) 38 Cal. 4th 1252.  She also has many non-published decisions.

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel, Board Chair 2005 - 2006, President 2004-2005, Board of Directors 1996-2006.  Member Insurance Coverage, Extra-Contractual Liability, Property Insurance, Reinsurance, Excess & Surplus Lines (Chair 1996-1998), and Trial Tactics Substantive Law Sections
• Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel, 1999 Convention Chair, Mid-Winter Meeting and 1998 Program Chair, Mid-Winter Meeting.
• Association of Southern California Defense Counsel, Board of Directors 1994 - 2000
• Defense Research Institute (DRI), Board of Directors 2003 - 2006
• Defense Research Institute (DRI), Insurance Law Committee
• Lawyers for Civil Justice (LCJ), Board of Directors 2003 - 2006
• Association of Defense Trial Attorneys (ADTA)
• Loss Executives Association (LEA)
• U.S. Law Network, Business Transactions and Insurance Law & Bad Faith (Past Chair) Committees 
• Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel Foundation, Board of Directors
• Claims and Litigation Management Alliance

Honors and Awards

• Defense Research Institute Service Award, 2006
• Lawyers for Civil Justice Recognition for Service Rendered, 2006
• Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel Recognition for Service Rendered, 2005
• Loyola Law School – Distinguished Alumni, 2004

Published Works

• "No Assurances, Insurance Coverage for the Events of September 11 Will Hinge Upon the Interpretation of Often Ambiguous Policy Language", Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine, Vol. 25 No. 6, September, 2002
• "Managing Exposure in the New Age of Terrorism", Declarations Magazine, Excess/Surplus Lines Claims Association, February, 2002
• "Indemnity Agreements and Additional Insured Endorsements", Declarations Magazine, Excess/Surplus Lines Claims Association
• "Finding A Threshold: When Conflicts of Interest Give Rise to the Duty to Provide Independent Counsel" with "Survey of Jurisdictions Mandating Appointment of Independent Counsel", Defense Research Institute, 1999
• "Finding A Threshold: When Conflicts of Interest Give Rise to the Duty to Provide Independent Counsel" with "Survey of Jurisdictions Mandating Appointment of Independent Counsel", Federation of Insurance & Corporate Counsel, 2000
• "Sexual Harassment: What It Is, What It Isn't, and Who Signs the Check for Defense or Indemnity", Federation of Insurance & Corporate Counsel Quarterly, Summer, 1996
• "The Tripartite Relationship: A Guidebook for Defense Lawyers", Federation of Insurance & Corporate Counsel, 1996
• "Coverage Issues Raised By Employment Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Claims", Defense Research Institute, 1992
• Environmental Claims and Coverage Issues, Federation of Insurance & Corporate Counsel
• "Advertising Injury Coverage", Federation of Insurance & Corporate Counsel
• "Lost Policy Issues", Federation of Insurance & Corporate Counsel
• "Right of Insurers to Withdraw from State in Spite of Proposition 103", The Broker Magazine, Western Association of Insurance Brokers, Spring, 1990

Classes/Seminars Taught

• “The Power of Persuasion,” USLAW Network Women’s Collection Meeting, Austin, TX, April 27-28, 2012
• “Primary Exhaustion of Limits in Construction Defect Litigation,” Claims and Litigation Management Alliance Webinar, April 11, 2012
• "Technology For Lawyers - Best iPad Apps," Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel Winter Meeting, Phoenix, AZ, March 7, 2012
• "Mediation Strategies and Effective Negotiation," Fall 2011 USLAW Network Client Conference, Chicago, IL, September 24, 2011
• "Protecting Client Assets: Indemnity and Other Contract Terms - The Short List", USLAW Network Client Conference, Colorado Springs, CO, 2010
• "Litigation and Bankruptcy: Removal, Remand, Jury Trials and Everything in Between", USLAW Network Client Conference, San Francisco, CA, 2009
• "Hot Topics in Excess Insurance: A Survey of Underwriting, Claims Handling and Legal Developments" , PLRB/FDCC Critical Issues for Senior Insurance Executives and In-House Counsel Seminar, Chicago, IL, 2007
• "Handle with Care: Discovery of Sensitive Information in the Coverage Action", DRI Insurance Coverage and Claims Institute, 2007
• "Insurance, Indemnity and Construction Defect Claims", U.S. Law Network Annual Meeting, 2007
• "What’s Hot and What’s Not in the USA – Trends and Latest Cases", DRI International Liability Program, Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, November 8 and 10, 2004
• "Insurance Coverage for Employment Discrimination and Harassment Claims: Who Pays for Defense or Indemnity?", DRI/FDCC/IADC and ATDA Joint International Conference, May 11, 2004
• "Construction Defects: Coverage Under Third Party Liability Policies", Property Loss Research Bureau Meeting, Chicago, 2004
• "Policy Provisions, Endorsements and Exclusions", National Association of Independent Insurance Adjusters, 2003
• "Policy Provisions, Endorsements and Exclusions - An Ever Changing Face in Construction Coverage", West Coast Casualty Seminar, 2002
• "Fundamentals of Insurance", California Continuing Education of the Bar
• "The Right to Independent Counsel", Defense Research Institute
• "Litigation Avoidance Techniques", Federation of Insurance & Corporate Counsel Litigation Management College, Northwestern University, Kellogg Graduate School of Management
• "Building and Developing a Relationship of Trust: Tools for evaluating and Establishing Performance", Federation of Insurance & Corporate Counsel Litigation Management College, Northwestern University, Kellogg Graduate School of Management
• "Good Faith and Bad Faith Issues Involving Primary, Excess and Reinsurance Carriers: Who Draws the Short Straw", Federation of Insurance & Corporate Counsel
• "Resolution of Ethical Dilemmas - An Introduction to ‘The Tripartite Relationships: A Guidebook for Defense Lawyers", Federation of Insurance & Corporate Counsel
• "Recent Developments in Excess Insurance Coverage", Federation of Insurance & Corporate Counsel
• "The Anatomy of Advertising Injury Claim", Federation of Insurance & Corporate Counsel
• "The Excess Insurer: At the Mercy of the Primary Carrier", Federation of Insurance & Corporate Counsel
• "Developments in Environmental Coverage Issues", Federation of Insurance & Corporate Counsel
• "Coverage Issues Under Employers’ Liability Policies", Association of Southern California Defense Counsel
• "Insurance Litigation", National Business Institute
• "Emerging Coverage Issues", Association of Southern California Defense Counsel