McCormick Barstow's Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith Practice Group is widely recognized as one of the best practices of its type both in California and nationwide. The Practice Group provides a wide range of litigation and non-litigation services to numerous insurers, risk financing entities, and other interested clients on local, state, national, and international levels.

With respect to litigation, the Practice Group is involved in litigating declaratory relief and extra contractual actions and performs extensive work in the appellate courts on behalf of parties and amicus curiae. The Practice Group has handled a variety of complex coverage cases including claims involving hundreds of millions of dollars, some of which concerned thousands of parties.

Geographically, the Practice Group's litigation practice spans the entire State of California, including the urban centers of Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and Sacramento, where members of the Practice Group frequently represent insurers and other clients in both state and federal courts as well as in various forms of alternate dispute resolution. Members of the Practice Group have also appeared in court in several neighboring states and have recently begun representing insurers in numerous foreign jurisdictions.

Non-litigation related services provided by the Practice Group include opinion work offering coverage analysis and advice concerning all types of insurance and bond claims including intellectual property, professional liability, construction, financial institution, environmental, ERISA, and other claims under general liability, directors and officers, errors and omissions, umbrella and excess, employer's liability and worker's compensation, homeowners, automobile, aircraft, bonds, life, health, disability, and property coverages. Opinions and advice are frequently provided orally through the "fireline," which is staffed full-time by experienced coverage attorneys and provides instant coverage advice when needed. In addition, the Practice Group provides services related to investigation of suspected arson claims, suspected fraudulent property claims, and other claims under policies, drafting policy forms and endorsements, drafting, implementation of and compliance with new laws and regulations, and expert witness testimony and consultation. The Practice Group also actively monitors developments in the field of insurance and tort law in order to keep its clients fully updated on developments and trends and to endeavor to timely influence those developments where appropriate.