Akerman LLP, a top 100 U.S. law firm serving clients across the Americas, today further advanced its Houston expansion with a leading group of four insurance litigators, including experienced partners David Clark and Kristen McDanald. They enhance the capabilities of the national Litigation Practice Group, at a time when Corporate Counsel ranked Akerman first among the top 10 law firms dedicated to financial services and insurance clients. Alongside associates Rick Gene Boepple and Mark Shutt, their arrival more than doubles Akerman’s Texas headcount since 2016. Akerman has grown to 65 litigation and transactional lawyers in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin.
“David and Kristen bring decades of combined experience in high stakes, multi-district insurance litigation, bolstering our core capabilities for insurance carriers,” said Lawrence Rochefort, chair of the Litigation Practice Group. “They also bring new coverage panel attachment serving the interests of a prominent Oklahoma- and Texas-based insurer that provides national coverage, with an emphasis on the western United States and the Gulf Coast.”

“With David and Kristen, we continue to attract top talent across Texas to serve clients in strategic sectors of rising importance to them,” said Scott Marrs, Regional Managing Partner – Texas. “We are confident their arrival will bring immediate value to our Houston team and nationally, as we continue developing exceptional teams of lawyers dedicated to problem-solve our clients’ most complex disputes and transactions.”

David Clark
Clark is a veteran trial lawyer with more than 30 years of experience litigating commercial disputes. He centers his practice on insurance litigation. Clark analyzes coverage and defends insurers in both first-party and third-party disputes across a range of policy lines with an emphasis on CGL, excess/umbrella, commercial auto, E&O and property matters. He also represents insurance brokers and agents in lawsuits alleging negligent procurement or placement of insurance coverage. Additionally, Clark has extensive experience advising clients on product liability litigation in the automotive, aviation and healthcare sectors.

Kristen McDanald
McDanald concentrates her practice on insurance coverage and commercial litigation. In her insurance practice, she analyzes coverage and defends insurers with respect to both first- and third-party actions across a variety of policy tiers and lines. McDanald also counsels clients on issues tied to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, primarily defending companies in connection with Superfund sites. Furthermore, she defends clients in professional liability suits.

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