Mike Brisbin handles and supervises the litigation of life, health, disability and ERISA matters, plus commercial general liability lawsuits involving slip and falls, habitability and premises liability claims. Mike focuses on the defense of individual life, health and disability insurers in bad faith and breach of fiduciary cases with significant punitive damages exposure. He also defends employee benefit coverage matters involving group plans governed by ERISA, as well as business entities and landlords sued for claims of negligence, premises liability, habitability and breach of warranty.
From inception through trial, Mike handles, monitors and supervises all aspects of a lawsuit from assessing the case and directing discovery to taking depositions and preparing motions and appeals. The latter includes monitoring cases to independently evaluate potential exposure of the insured (liability and damages) as early as possible in the claim process, recommending appropriate reserves, developing a strategy to minimize the insured’s exposure and negotiating settlement.
Mike’s service approach combines responsive communications with a genuine interest in making the client’s life easier. He places a high premium on understanding what clients need, resolving their specific issues and following up to ensure their ongoing satisfaction with the resolution. He has extensive mediation, arbitration, pre-trial and trial experience in state and federal courts throughout California.
Prior to law school, Mike worked for five years as an Employee Benefits Specialist for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company. He gained significant trial experience working at a personal injury defense firm following law school and later handled complex medical and errors and omissions claims before joining Wilson Elser in 2005.