An insurance coverage dispute is a highly specialized area of the law. To properly handle such matters, it is crucial that the lawyer have substantial prior experience learning the ins and outs of the many different types of insurance policies that can give rise to a dispute. Those lawyers who claim that their many years of trial experience enable them to tackle an insurance coverage dispute notwithstanding their lack of extensive insurance dispute experience provide a disservice to their client. No matter how well educated and how many cases a lawyer may have won, if he or she doesn't have prior experience with the intricacies of insurance policies, insurance law, and the insurance industry, hiring that lawyer is a disaster waiting to happen.

For over 37 years Mr. Ellis has handled virtually every variety of insurance coverage problem including disputes arising from errors and omissions policies issued to lawyers, accountants, doctors, insurance brokers, real estate brokers, and numerous other professions; directors and officers and commercial liability policies issued to all sizes of businesses; homeowners and umbrella policies issued to individuals; and disability, life, and health insurance policies issued to individuals. (See a summary of Mr. Ellis's handling of some of those matters in the "Practice Areas/Representative Matters".)

What makes Mr. Ellis a uniquely effective coverage lawyer is that his experience comes from BOTH sides of the insurance bar. Much of his early experience in this field was as a lawyer representing professional liability, commercial liability, and property insurers in complex coverage disputes including the defense of insurance bad faith claims. But over the last 25 years, most of Mr. Ellis's insurance coverage practice has been devoted to representing policyholders in coverage disputes, while he still continues to also represent insurance companies. Mr. Ellis's experience on both sides of insurance disputes has enabled him to serve on multiple occasions as an expert witness regarding insurance claims handling practices, bad faith, and insurance policy interpretation.

In addition, as a result of his 25 years prior experience, from 1990 to 2014, as a partner in the prestigious Century City business litigation firm Gaims Weil West LLP, he also has extensive experience, including trial experience, in a wide variety of business litigation matters including construction, real estate, employment, contract and partnership disputes; attorney, architect and engineer, insurance broker, and accountant malpractice; and state and federal appellate work.