McCormick, Barstow's Tort/Speciality Litigation Practice Group specializes in the field of Insurance Defense and Tort Litigation. The group members' expertise also encompasses a variety of speciality practices, among them Agriculture and Crop Loss, Construction Defect (including a subspecialty in Mold Litigation), Civil Rights cases (including subspecialization in the defense of allegations of Excessive Force and Police Brutality), Products Liability, Food Safety, Premises Security and Environmental Tort cases (including Toxic Tort and Environmental Contamination Cleanup defense). We also offer Arbitration and Mediation services.

Experience
The Group's partners include members of the American Board of Trial Advocates with a combined departmental experience of over 120 years in the practice of law. This level of experience naturally lends itself to the handling of complex litigation where experience and large scale resources are at a premium. Associate members of the Practice Group continue to assist in the aggressive defense of cases in each one of the speciality areas described above.

Geographic Reach
The Practice Group has an active federal and state practice. Complex personal injury litigation has been a primary staple of the Group's work in venues including the Counties of Fresno, Tulare, Kings, Madera, Merced, Mariposa and Stanislaus. Fresno's prime Central California location has allowed the Group to effectively and economically practice within a geographic reach extending to Kern County to the south, to San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties to the west, Mono and Inyo Counties to the east and San Joaquin County, Tuolumne County and Sacramento County to the north. We handle matters in the United States District Court in Fresno and Sacramento, as well as in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Additionally, the Practice Group has represented clients in appeals in the Court of Appeals in various state venues and in the Supreme Court of the State of California as well as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Practice Group includes those admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court.

Professional Associations
Members of the Practice Group are associated with various professional organizations, concentrating its efforts in those with a Tort Practice and Defense Litigation focus. Such organizations include the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Trial Advocates, the Association of Defense Counsel, the Defense Research Institute and the Public Agency Risk Manager's Association, to name but a few. Members are frequent lecturers and authors for these and similar organizations and regularly provide seminars for clients on selected topics.