Lewis Brisbois Expands San Francisco Office with Team of Five New Attorneys

August 13, 2019

Lewis Brisbois’ San Francisco office has brought on a team of five new attorneys that includes two partners and three associates. Partners Thomas E. Mulvihill and Alan E. Swerdlow join the firm’s Insurance Coverage practice, along with Associates Zvonimir Sola and Christopher K. Whang, with Associate Michael E. Yakumithis joining the General Liability Practice.

San Francisco, Calif. (August 13, 2019) – Lewis Brisbois’ San Francisco office has brought on a team of five new attorneys that includes two partners and three associates. Partners Thomas E. Mulvihill and Alan E. Swerdlow join the firm’s Insurance Coverage practice, along with Associates Zvonimir Sola and Christopher K. Whang, with Associate Michael E. Yakumithis joining the General Liability Practice.

For over three decades, both Mr. Mulvihill and Mr. Swerdlow have practiced insurance law in the San Francisco area. They have provided advice on complex coverage issues for thousands of clients, and have represented international and domestic insurers in hundreds of matters at the federal and state level.

“We are very pleased to have this team joining us,” said San Francisco Managing Partner Julian J. Pardini. “Thomas and Alan have an outstanding reputation in the Bay Area, and have established an impressive client base that will now benefit from Lewis Brisbois nationwide network of skilled attorneys.”

Along with handling complex coverage and bad faith litigation, the new group also assists carriers with drafting policies, endorsements, and establishing methodologies for managing insurance claims.

With the addition of this new team, the San Francisco office now has over 100 attorneys.

Attorney Overviews

Thomas E. Mulvihill has devoted his thirty-two year career to the practice of insurance law, including coverage and bad faith litigation, first and third party coverage analysis, monitoring counsel, the drafting of policy forms and endorsements, and claims auditing. He has represented international and domestic insurers in more than eight hundred matters at the federal and state level, and has represented insurers before the California Supreme Court, the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the California Court of Appeal. A native San Franciscan, Mr. Mulvihill is a graduate of Saint Ignatius College Preparatory, UC Berkeley, and the University of San Francisco. He is rated “AV” by Martindale-Hubbell and has been recognized as a Northern California Super Lawyer in Insurance Law. Mr. Mulvihill is a member of the American Bar Association, the Defense Research Institution, and the Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California and Nevada, and is a Fellow of the American College of Coverage Counsel.

Alan E. Swerdlow represents insurance companies in connection with complex coverage and bad faith claims. For 30 years, he has provided advice and representation regarding complex claims handling, underwriting and risk management. Mr. Swerdlow also represents public entities in connection with their insurance matters, including analysis and representation regarding pooling agreements and Memorandums of Coverage. He also handles personal injury, construction defect and commercial disputes. A graduate of University of Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, Mr. Swerdlow is a member the Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California and the Defense Research Institute.

Zvonimir Sola joins from the California Department of Justice, where he worked most recently in the Public Right Division, Corporate Fraud Section. He received his undergraduate degree from UC Irvine and his law degree from the University of Notre Dame Law School.

Christopher K. Whang handles insurance coverage matters and insurance litigation cases for clients. He has experience in all phases of civil litigation and regularly advises top insurance companies on their contracts, policy, and litigation matters. Mr. Whang also gained commercial transaction experience advising prominent Fortune 500 tech companies in the Bay Area on various commercial real estate and corporate transactions. He received his undergraduate from UC Davis and his law degree from UC Hastings College of Law.

Michael E. Yakumithis handles construction defect and general civil litigation for clients, and has experience in all phases of civil litigation. Prior to private practice, he worked as a judicial clerk in the Housing and Environmental Court in Lucas County, Ohio. While earning his law degree at the University of Toledo College of Law, he worked full-time as a judicial clierk and served as a Contributing Articles Editor for the University of Toledo Law Review. He earned his B.S. in paralegal studies with a concentration in litigation, cum laude, from the University of Toledo.