Summary: Akin Gump welcomes James E. Fitzgerald to its Los Angeles litigation team.
James E. Fitzgerald is joining Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP from Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP. The litigation partner will be working from Akin’s Los Angeles office.
Mr. Fitzgerald has tried over 40 trials in state and federal courts during his career, and has been involved in over 20 arbitrations. His broad-based, complex litigation practice will focus on complex commercial cases and arbitrations, including insurance matters.
Fitzgerald is known for defending major insurers in a $1.4 billion case involving first and third party coverage and bad faith environmental insurance in Texas and California. He also litigated an insurance coverage case for a drug manufacturer and policyholder, which resulted in the California Supreme Court defining the law on lost insurance policies.
Akin Gump chairperson Kim Koopersmith has said Fitzgerald “brings tremendous talent and depth to our West Coast litigation practice. His depth of skills, record of success across venues and substantial experience in an industry-insurance-where many of our clients reside make him an excellent complement to our California and firmwide litigation teams.”
When not in the office, Fitzgerald serves as an instructor at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. He frequently speaks on general litigation, trial skills, and other aspects of insurance law such as bad faith, coverage, and claims handling.
He earned his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law and a B.S.B.A from Georgetown University School of Business.
Akin Photo: akingump.com
Fitzgerald Photo: stroock.com