David Halbreich and James Penrod Honored For Landmark “Missing Policy” Case
California – 28 March 2005 – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – Morgan Lewis attorneys David M. Halbreich and James N. Penrod were recently honored by California Lawyer at the annual Attorney of the Year Awards in San Francisco. They were selected for the CLAY award for litigation for their work on behalf of their client Western MacArthur Company.
Halbreich, a partner in Los Angeles, and Penrod, a partner in San Francisco, were the lead counsel in a landmark “missing policy” case that resulted in two of the largest-ever settlements with an insurance company, which totaled $2.2 billion. The settlements ended 11 years of litigation in which Halbreich and Penrod attempted to prove that Western MacArthur Company, and its predecessors were duly covered by their insurance carriers for asbestos claims filed against them.
The CLAY Awards recognize those attorneys around the state whose work has had a profound, far-reaching impact in 2004 or whose achievements in 2004 are expected to have such an impact in the coming years. The attorneys honored changed law, broke new ground in various practice areas and business sectors, and substantially influenced public policy.
This year marks the third consecutive year that Morgan Lewis attorneys have received the prestigious CLAY Award. Last year, San Francisco partners Franklin “Brock” Gowdy and Steve Finn won a CLAY award in the law practice management category. Gowdy and Finn were commended for their role in bringing in more than 250 partners, associates, and staff to four California offices of Morgan Lewis within 48 hours of the closure of Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison. The prior year, Gowdy was honored for successfully representing Leigh Steinberg, one of the most well-known professional sports agents in the U.S., in a breach of contract and unfair competition case.
