Craig M. Hirsch

Craig Hirsch is a partner in Pasich LLP’s Los Angeles office.  Craig represents companies, directors and officers in corporate insurance recovery matters and coverage disputes with insurance companies.  He has assisted corporate insureds to recover hundreds of millions of dollars of insurance proceeds for business insurance claims.  He is consistently recognized by industry groups, including Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers, as a top-rated insurance recovery attorney in California.

Craig has deep experience analyzing and pursuing coverage against first-party and third-party liability coverage programs.  His claim advocacy work has resulted in significant loss payments from insurance companies covering all types of commercial risks.  His insurance recovery efforts involve various lines of coverage, including directors & officers, professional liability, cyber security, employment practices liability, media liability, crime/fidelity, fiduciary liability, commercial general liability, pollution liability, and commercial property policies.  He also routinely advises clients on specialized or “manuscript” insurance programs, such as owner-controlled, contractor-controlled and builder’s risk insurance policies tied to construction projects and complex claims by private equity firms and portfolio companies under asset management insurance programs.  Through mediation and resolution of coverage disputes before litigation, Craig has produced seven-digit and eight-digit settlements of underlying securities claims fully-funded by financial lines insurance companies.

Craig is also a seasoned litigator who has successfully brought and participated in coverage actions against liability insurance companies in various state and federal courts for breach of the duty to defend and indemnify, and “bad faith” claims handling and settlement practices.  Through his litigation teams, Craig has obtained multimillion-dollar judgments requiring insurers to reimburse underlying defense costs and damages awards to underlying claimants.  Craig’s litigation experience spans the gamut of insurance policies and coverage disputes.  He has represented companies and public entities in “long tail” coverage litigation arising from mass tort claims with hundreds of claimants and policies at issue.

Throughout his career, Craig has been a trusted advisor to clients on insurance issues and a tireless insurance claim advocate for Fortune 500 companies, publicly-traded companies, “unicorn” startups and privately-held firms in a wide array of industry sectors, including finance, investment management, energy, education, information technology, real estate, health care, telecommunications, manufacturing, food and consumer brands.

Craig writes and speaks extensively on insurance law topics and recovery strategies for corporate insureds.  He is licensed to practice in California and New York.  Craig was elected Sub-District Four Director for the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council in 2020. He is a proud father of three children.

Publications and Speaking Engagements

Below is a representative sampling of Craig’s publications and speaking engagements:

• “Insurer’s Duty to Settle for Policy Limits When Defending Non-Covered Claims under a Reservation of Rights,” Strafford Webinar, October 26, 2023, and November 16, 2021
• “Directors and Officers Liability Insurance: An Essential Coverage for the Real Estate and Construction Industry,” American Bar Association E-Report, Spring 2022 Edition
• “Do Owners and Contractors Need D&O Insurance,” IRMI Construction Risk Conference, November 15, 2022
• “Bad Faith Claim When Verdicts Exceed Policy Limits: Navigating Nuances of the Insurer’s Duty to Settle,” Strafford Publications Webinar, January 2018 and 2019
• “Ignorance is Not Bliss: ‘Sham Affidavit’ in Ninth Circuit,” Law360, October 29, 2012
• “D&O Insurance ‘Catch 22s’: Recent Developments Relating to Derivative Actions, Special Litigation Committee Costs, and Other Impediments to Settlement,” PLI Insurance Coverage 2008: Claims Litigation Conference, May 2008
• “Making Sure Liability Policy Claims are Paid,” American Banker, July 2007
• “Insurance Coverage under D&O and Professional Liability Policies: Watch Your Insurance Company’s Fuzzy Math,” RiskVue, June 2007
• “Insurance Update: Protecting Your Institution from Foreseeable and Hidden Liabilities,” A.S. Pratt & Son’s Audio Conference, January 2007