All successful teams have an overarching philosophy that drive their success. For Coach Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide, it’s about “the Process” – a consistent dedication to getting the small things right. For Bruce Springsteen (The Boss) and the E Street Band, it’s about “heart” - a collective with a professional code of honor. The 31st U.S. Marine Corps Commandant, General Charles C. Krulak says, “Excellence doesn’t just happen. It must be forged, tested, and used. It must be passed down and woven into the very fabric of our soul until it becomes our nature.” At Maynard, we have built a premier national team representing insurance companies in a variety of contexts throughout the country with a philosophy that is simply summarized, but difficult to duplicate.
Begin each case with a plan for its end and know every inch of terrain between the two: removal, legal theories, case law, judge, jury instructions, appellate climate. Focus on the details while maintaining momentum and insist on excellence as our touchstone at every turn. Outwork your opponent and remember the case is yours to drive.
This philosophy has propelled Maynard’s Insurance Practice from an Alabama only practice in the 1980s and early 1990s, to a primarily southeastern focused practice in the late 1990s and early 2000s, to a truly national practice today. Over the last five years, our Insurance Litigation attorneys have appeared in state and federal courts in 45 states and U.S. territories, and handled appeals in nine federal circuits, routinely winning dispositive motions, trials, and appeals for clients in the most business-hostile venues. All the while, focusing on our process.
Driven considerably by this work, Maynard opened its first out-of-state office in 2014 (San Francisco). This was followed by office openings in New York in 2016, D.C. in 2017, L.A. in 2018, Dallas and Nashville in 2019, Miami in 2020, and Des Moines, Iowa in 2021.
They have an incredible eye for technical detail and are a real partner in navigating your governance.
— Life Insurance Client interviewed by Chambers USA
Our clients include life, health, disability fidelity, property, and casualty, as well as issuers of annuities and other non-traditional insurance products. We regularly counsel our clients on all aspects of their businesses, from regulatory compliance to product development to all types of litigation, including claims, coverage, bad faith, and class action.
While that description tells you what we do, it doesn’t tell you how we do it and what to expect from Maynard. Our attorneys have deep ties to the insurance industry. We have current members who have served in executive management at insurance companies in the past, and former members of our firm who currently serve in such roles. We are heavily invested in the leading insurance industry groups, including the Association of Life Insurers Counsel (ALIC), the Defense Research Institute (DRI), the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), the American Bar Association’s Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee (ICLC), and the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. Our involvement in these industry groups includes multiple lawyers in positions of leadership allowing us to stay in front of industry trends and regulatory changes.
More importantly, we believe in providing clients with the same high-level service with every engagement. At the center of who we are is our collaborative relationships with our clients and providing proactive options in an environment where – like Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band - everyone brings their best.
When it’s a good match along the way your heart is thrown in too. There is a love and respect at the center of everything we do together. It’s not just business, it’s personal. When you came to work with me, I had to be assured you would bring your heart. Heart sealed the deal. That’s why the E Street Band plays steamroller strong and undiminished 40 years in night after night.
— Bruce Springsteen
We appreciate the achievements to this point, but we are focused on our philosophy. Day in and day out, we’re steamroller strong.
Insurance and Financial Services Litigation
The passion and commitment the 35 lawyers in Maynard's Insurance and Financial Services Litigation Practice Group bring to matters translates to excellence, which has been recognized by several market leading rankings over the last five years:
- BTI Industry Power Rankings lists Maynard as a “core, go-to firm” for the insurance industry, among the top 2% of all law firms, BTI Industry Power Rankings: The Law Firms with the Best Client Relationships
- BTI Client Service A-Team: Survey of Law Firm Client Service Performance – BTI describes recipients as “the firms delivering the absolute best client service rely on clearly stated Standards, measure performance, and are relentless in improving—no matter how good they are.”
- Benchmark Litigation ranks Maynard as a Highly Recommended firm for Litigation, including attorneys identified as Litigation Stars
- BTI Consulting Group recognizes Maynard as a Litigation Powerhouse - top legal decision makers identify the firms best suited to meet their most pressing litigation needs
- Ranked by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers® among the Best Law Firms and distinguished as a National Top Tier firm in numerous litigation areas of practice, including Insurance Law
- BTI Consulting Group includes Maynard among the 37 Law Firms Most Feared in Litigation
- Maynard attorneys recognized in The Best Lawyers in America©, including insurance litigators
Our Team’s rankings and recognition are the result of over 30 years of hard work and success representing insurance carriers throughout the United States.
We serve as primary outside litigation counsel for Protective Life Insurance Company and as national trial counsel and class action counsel for AIG/American General. Our attorneys have served as lead counsel in defending insurance and annuity-related class actions and multi-district litigation in state and federal courts in Alabama, California, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Mississippi, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, and Tennessee. We have also served as trial counsel in bad faith and punitive damages cases pending throughout the United States, including notorious “tort hell” venues in Alabama, California, Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi South Florida, Texas, and West Virginia. We have defended banks, finance companies and mortgage loan servicing companies in hundreds of cases in state and federal courts related to loan originations, loan servicing, collection practices, credit reporting, underwriting, mortgage insurance, flood insurance, forced-placed hazard insurance, foreclosures and redemptions, and virtually every other issue that arises in a financing transaction.
The insurance coverage/bad faith arena is one where we excel. Our depth of knowledge goes beyond coverage advice. In keeping with our philosophy of high-level service for every engagement and working with clients to see the whole picture, we approach this work by asking what will this look like at trial? We are known for our abilities in this area and are frequently asked to jump in and take bad faith cases to trial even if the work did not originate with our firm. We bring a multi-faceted group of professionals to the table to look at every angle of a case, including analysis of coverage to prevent litigation in the future. If a company needs a shift in momentum or a fresh outlook on the narrative of their case, we look at it holistically and tell the client’s story effectively. We also have a world-class appellate group that understands the insurance world and the varied issues faced by clients.
We could not have asked for a stronger team. They fulfilled all of our needs.
— Client interviewed by Chambers USA
Businesses that operate on a national level need a national appellate strategy. In any given appeal, Maynard’s appellate team will include not only appellate generalists who are trained to think about appeals in the same way generalist appellate judges do, but also specialists in whatever subject-matter is at issue—whether insurance related or some other area. As a matter of fact, over one-third of our insurance attorneys have held clerkships at the district, federal and Supreme Court level bringing their specialized knowledge and experience to bear on questions before the appellate court. Our appellate team is chaired by John Neiman, a former U.S. Supreme Court clerk and Solicitor General of Alabama whom Chambers USA Litigation has rated a Tier 1 appellate attorney. Other members of our group have successfully briefed and argued important appeals in high-stakes class actions and other complex cases throughout the country.
In addition to our litigation expertise, the Firm provides many of its clients with representation in all forms of corporate and regulatory matters. These activities typically include assistance in both the design and approval of insurance products, obtaining authorizations from state departments of insurance to transact insurance, and responding to regulatory enforcement actions and investigative requests. While our geographic location has served the group well in responding to clients’ needs in diverse venues, at substantial cost savings, we primarily attribute our success to adherence to our process and one of the Firm’s founding principles: To provide our clients with the best and most professional service of which we are capable, remembering that service to clients is the principal reason for a law firm’s existence.
Client Services:
- Class Action, Complex and MDL Litigation
- ERISA and Group Insurance Litigation
- Managed Care Litigation
- Coverage Disputes/Bad Faith Litigation
- Appellate Litigation
- Annuity Litigation
- Sales Practice Litigation
- Consumer/Commercial Financial Services Litigation
- Corporate Practice and Governmental Affairs
- Regulatory Compliance and Investigations