Shannon L. Santos

Insurance Coverage Practice
Shannon has focused on insurance coverage since she began practicing in 2008 after earning her J.D. Over nearly two decades, she has built a deep understanding of policy language, claims-handling standards, and the coverage case law that shapes how insurers evaluate and resolve claims. She counsels insurers on complex coverage questions, including defense and indemnity obligations, the scope of exclusions and endorsements, allocation among multiple insurers and policy periods, and the interplay between primary and excess layers. She has also assisted insurers in writing endorsements to limit later exposure.

Shannon’s coverage practice covers third-party liability claims and first-party commercial and homeowner claims, including personal and advertising injury, wrongful death, construction defect, and workers’ compensation. Her clients include large domestic and international primary and excess insurers. She advises on and resolves coverage matters at the pre-litigation stage, in active litigation, and in appraisal proceedings. In the pre-litigation phase, she analyzes available coverages, prepares coverage position letters, responds to policy limits demands, and assists in claims investigations with respect to loss and valuation. With respect to coverage litigation, Shannon handles affirmative declaratory relief actions and defends insurers against breach of contract and bad faith claims, managing each case from pleadings and discovery through dispositive motions, trial, and appeal. Throughout each process, Shannon works to align strategy with each client’s business goals and risk profile.

Shannon litigates in state and federal court, mainly in California but with experience across the country under commercial general liability (CGL), errors and omissions (E&O), directors and officers (D&O), and homeowners’ policies. She has deep industry experience and knows a broad range of liability policies and claims. Based on her coverage experience, Shannon routinely trains insurers on emerging insurance risks and California regulations.

Shannon has a strong record in dispositive motion practice. She has won numerous summary judgment awards for her clients, and those rulings have been affirmed by the California Courts of Appeal and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

In 2019, Shannon spent the summer on a secondment with the claims adjustment team of a syndicate of Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London. The secondment gave her hands-on experience with day-to-day claims-handling issues and a practical, inside view of the field. That experience still shapes how she serves her clients.

Defense Practice
Shannon also defends insureds in general liability matters, including habitability and premises liability matters. She has broad experience in civil litigation in state and federal court in a variety of jurisdictions, bringing the same thoroughness and strategic focus that define her coverage work. Her work on such matters starts with early case evaluation and continues through settlement or trial. In habitability matters, she defends property owners and management companies against tenant claims involving alleged unsafe or uninhabitable conditions, building code issues, and related statutory and tort claims. In premises liability matters, she defends owners, operators, and businesses against claims of bodily injury caused by dangerous conditions on their property. In both areas, she works closely with experts, investigators, and clients to build a strong factual record and assess liability and damages early.

Pro Bono and Firm Leadership
Shannon is committed to pro bono service and devotes a significant amount of time to pro bono matters. She serves as Wilson Elser’s Los Angeles and Orange County representative on the firm’s Pro Bono Committee. In addition to providing pro bono opportunities for all attorneys in those offices, her individual pro bono work includes:

• Adoption finalization cases for children in the foster care system
• Expungement clinics that help veterans clear their criminal records
• Domestic violence shelter clinics, advising them on immigration and housing issues
• Pro se clinics, assisting self-represented litigants in federal court

Shannon has also served as a representative for the firm’s Women Attorneys Valued & Empowered (WAVE) Committee and mentors numerous associates in her office.