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    1. Home
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    3. Dawn N. ValentinePeople
    1. Home
    2. People
    3. Dawn N. ValentinePeople

    Dawn N. Valentine

    Counsel


    • San Francisco
    • Office415.984.8474
    • dvalentine@nixonpeabody.com
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    Introduction

    Dawn Valentine is a litigator with over 20 years of experience representing clients in a wide variety of complex commercial disputes, with an emphasis on Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) class action litigation and all aspects of insurance-related matters. Dawn advises clients in pre-dispute evaluations and all facets of litigation. Dawn also has experience advising clients on false and misleading advertising and unfair business practices and has significant appellate experience.

    Practice Areas

    LitigationComplex DisputesInsurance LitigationAppellateClass Actions & Aggregate LitigationERISA Litigation

    My focus

    I focus my practice on all facets of complex commercial litigation matters. I am particularly adept at fashioning early processes for practical, early resolution of disputes.

    Insurance and Coverage Disputes

    I have extensive experience providing coverage advice and developing and implementing litigation strategies for complex coverage actions involving primary, excess, errors and omissions, and directors–and-officers policies, malpractice claims, asbestos litigation, intellectual property matters, advertising injury claims, intentional torts, punitive damages, and lost wages claims.

    ERISA Litigation

    I have litigated ERISA class action matters and numerous other types of ERISA disputes in district court and on appeal.

    Complex Commercial Litigation

    I have extensive experience both in pursuing and defending against fraud claims. I have litigated fraud claims against an agent that resulted in a directed verdict and successfully defended several health clinics against allegations of False Claims Act violations, including convincing the U.S. Attorney not to intervene.

    I have had primary responsibility for managing complex disputes involving false advertising, unfair competition, copyright and trademark violations, and contract disputes. I specialize in devising assertive litigation strategies and using efficient and effective motion practice, and have a history of settling cases for waiver of cost or little or no financial participation by clients.

    Looking ahead

    The economic, physical, and emotional fallout from the COVID-19 global pandemic, climate change, increasingly devastating fires, hurricanes and flooding will continue to challenge insurers, policyholders, and insurance guaranty funds for years to come. I also see an increasing amount of litigation and legal uncertainty around emerging risks posed by advances in technology and newly enacted privacy regulations.

    Presentations and Publications

    • “California’s Reader Privacy Act: What Every Bookseller Must Know” (Barger & Wolen’s Insurance Litigation & Regulatory Law Blog, February 21, 2012)
    • “New California Security Breach Notification Requirements Set Standard for Notification Letters” (Barger & Wolen’s Insurance Litigation & Regulatory Law Blog, January 27, 2012)
    • “Reinsurance California Insurance Law and Practice—Chapter 11” (Revised) (LexisNexis Matthew Bender, June 01, 2010)
    • “Fall From Coverage,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, November 28, 2006)
    • Defending the Insured (Aspen Press 2004, 2008)
    • Reinsurance Practice and the Law, by Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, “Letters of Credit and Other Security Provided by Reinsurers.”

    Admitted to practice

    California
    U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
    U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
    U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
    U.S. District Court, Central District of California
    U.S. District Court, Southern District of California

    Education

    Boston University, B.A., summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa; President’s Award
    University of California, Berkeley School of Law, Boalt Hall, J.D.

    Professional activities

    • American Bar Association
    • San Francisco Bar Association
    • San Francisco Bar LGBT Issues Equality Committee Member

    Pro bono services

    • Drafted a comprehensive appendix of background facts in support of analysis of U.S. policy toward African Americans and whether such policies met international definitions of genocide or apartheid
    • Represented nonprofit owner in Inglewood in dispute with landlord
    • Sat on the Board of Oakland Charter Academy

    News Mentions

    • Law360

      5 insurers off hook for city's $5M flood damage costs

      This article covers a California federal judge’s decision clearing five insurers of covering more than $5 million in settlements and other costs resulting from a trio of suits alleging the city of Walnut Creek failed to maintain its storm drains and caused flooding. NP was mentioned for the work by San Francisco Complex Commercial Disputes partner Matthew Richards and department attorney Dawn Noel Valentine in representing Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania, an AIG subsidiary.
      Feb 5, 2021

    Professionals in the Practice Area

    View All
    • Anthony Barron

      Partner / Chair, Litigation Department
      • San Francisco
      • Office:415.984.8309
      • abarron@nixonpeabody.com
      Anthony Barron
    • Kimberly Harding

      Partner / Deputy Leader, Litigation Department
      Leader, Labor Relations Team
      • Rochester
      • Office:585.263.1037
      • kharding@nixonpeabody.com
      Kimberly Harding
    • John Ruskusky

      Partner / Practice Group Leader, Complex Disputes / Leader, Medical Device, Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostic Health
      • Chicago
      • Office:312.977.4460
        Mobile:708.606.8720
      • jtruskusky@nixonpeabody.com
      John Ruskusky
    • Jeffrey S. Brenner

      Partner / Practice Group Leader, Construction & Real Estate Litigation
      • Providence
      • Office:401.454.1042
      • jbrenner@nixonpeabody.com
      Jeffrey S. Brenner
    • Daniel J. Hurteau

      Partner
      • Albany
      • Office:518.427.2652
      • dhurteau@nixonpeabody.com
      Daniel J. Hurteau
    View All

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