Burns Bair Earns Top Ranking for Insurance Law by Best Law Firms in 2024 Guide

Burns Bair is proud to announce that the firm has been recognized in the 2024 edition of Best Law Firms, ranked by Best Lawyers, as one of the top firms for Insurance Law in Wisconsin. Read more

Burns Bair Defeats Insurer’s Summary Judgment Motions on the Expected/Intended Defense and Lost Policy Issues In Case Involving Stipulated Judgments for Childhood Sexual Abuse

ST. PAUL, MN — A Minnesota federal court has turned aside efforts by TIG Insurance Company to deny coverage to three sexual abuse survivors who had obtained stipulated judgments against the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate religious order for negligent retention of one of the Catholic Church’s worst sexual predators. This case will now go to a jury trial with a strong signal that insurance funds may be available to compensate victims of sexual abuse even in states that the insurance industry thinks of as having tough standards for showing that sexual abuse incidents are “accidents” covered by general liability insurance policies. Read more

Firm Secures Subpoena of Insurer in Diocesan Bankruptcy 

In arguments before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn in New York, Burns Bair secured a significant discovery request on behalf of the committee of unsecured creditors of the bankrupt Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre. The court’s order will allow the committee to gather more information about the financial solvency of a diocesan insurer to indemnify clerical abuse claimants. The insurer, Arrowood Indemnity Co., provided liability insurance with no aggregate limit for several of the years that are relevant to the abuse claims.

Read more about the ruling in Law360 (password-protected) here.

Burns Bair Files Lawsuit Following Wisconsin Supreme Court Impeachment Threat

Burns Bair has filed a lawsuit following threats from Republican lawmakers to impeach Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz, saying that impeachment would be a violation of her constitutional right to free speech. Read more

Court Rules Insurance Coverage Can be Pursued to Settle Claims of Oakland Diocese Sexual Abuse Survivors 

In a case involving the bankruptcy filed in May 2023 by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland, Judge William J. Lafferty of the Northern District of California has issued an order confirming that the Unsecured Creditors Committee, which represents more than 325 sexual abuse survivors, now has broad authority to intervene in an insurance coverage adversary proceeding between the Diocese and its insurers. Read more

Firm Partners Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for 2024

Burns Bair is pleased to announce that the firm’s two partners have been honored in the 2024 edition of Best Lawyers in America, the oldest and one of the most-respected guides to the legal industry. Read more

Rochester Diocese Abuse Trust Reaches Over $126M

A sexual abuse claim fund created by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester as part of its Chapter 11 plan has reached over $126 million, the diocese recently reported. In a status report filed with a New York bankruptcy court on Friday, July 21, the diocese stated that deals with a pair of its insurers totaling more than $50 million were responsible for the increase. This leaves only one of the diocese’s insurers that hasn’t agreed to pay into the abuse claims trust. Read more

Firm Partners Named Among Nation’s Top Bankruptcy Lawyers

Congratulations to the firm’s Tim Burns and Jesse Bair for being named to the list of the nation’s 500 top bankruptcy and restructuring attorneys by the Lawdragon legal guide. Read more

Tim Burns Earns Prestigious Chambers USA Ranking for Outstanding Work in Dispute Resolution

The firm is delighted to announce that partner Tim Burns has been named as one of only 31 lawyers in the nation recognized in the practice area of Insurance: Dispute Resolution: Policyholder by the Chambers USA guide to the legal profession. Read more

Leakhena Au Honored by State Bar of Wisconsin

Leakhena Au is one of 24 attorneys invited by the State Bar of Wisconsin to attend its annual Leadership Development Summit in Madison. Those invited have displayed leadership capabilities, demonstrated a strong commitment to the legal profession, and possess the potential to be the next generation of State Bar leaders. Congratulations to Leakhena for this tremendous accomplishment!

More information on the Summit can be found here.