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- Home
- Professionals
- Gretchen Hoff Varner
An accomplished trial lawyer recently named as one of the Daily Journal's 2017 Top 40 Under 40 Lawyers in California, Gretchen Hoff Varner represents a wide range of companies in high-stakes coverage litigation and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars from insurers on behalf of her clients. Her clients range from Fortune 100 companies to family-owned businesses, with a particular focus on claims related to the agriculture industry. She has successfully handled cyber-liability, first-party property damage and business interruption, product liability, professional liability, general liability, automobile insurance, and bad faith claims, as well as a range of other coverage disputes.
Ms. Hoff Varner has first-chaired bench and jury trials and, notably, led the Covington trial team that successfully overturned New York City's racially discriminatory stop-and-frisk policy after a three-month trial in the Southern District of New York.
- First-chaired a jury trial on behalf of major agricultural company resulting in favorable judgment, and ultimate resolution of related coverage and bad faith claims.
- Second-chaired an insurance coverage trial on behalf of major corporation that resulted in a highly favorable ruling and ultimate resolution of coverage and bad faith claims.
- Successfully recovered tens of millions of dollars in insurance coverage on behalf of major retailer after a highly publicized data breach.
- Successfully recovered hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of oil and gas company related to product-related losses.
- Representing several products manufacturers in obtaining coverage for highly-publicized underlying product defect litigations.
- Representing major oil and gas company in seeking coverage for liabilities stemming from groundwater contamination.
- Representing major utility seeking insurance coverage for legacy environmental liabilities.
- Representing a hospital system seeking coverage for multiple antitrust lawsuits.
- Representing a major corporation seeking insurance pursuant to a D&O policy based on post-acquisition shareholder litigation.
- Advising several companies in pursuing insurance recovery for data and privacy breaches.
- Representing major corporation in obtaining insurance for Mexico trademark liabilities and U.S. trademark/trade dress litigation.
- Represented several agricultural clients for losses related to property damage, crop loss, contingent business interruption, and other agricultural issues.
- Representing major corporation in seeking coverage for first party property loss and business interruption resulting from collapse of manufacturing facility, and related litigation in the Eastern District of California.
- Representing major corporation in litigation against insurance agent for fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and professional negligence in procuring insurance policies.
- Representing major industrial manufacturer in seeking marine cargo coverage for losses resulting from marine transport.
- Representing major corporation in seeking coverage under D&O policies.
- Successfully obtained dismissal of complaint alleging violations of the False Claims Act on behalf of Gilead Sciences, Inc., in United States ex rel. Campie v. Gilead Sciences, Inc. (N.D. Ca).
- Achieved a highly favorable settlement for the New York Stock Exchange in a widely reported SEC action involving the exchange’s dissemination of market data
Pro Bono
- Lead Covington trial counsel in Floyd v. City of New York, a landmark federal class action that successfully challenged the constitutionality of the New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk policies and practices under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments.
- Representing prisoners at the East Mississippi Correctional Facility in a class action lawsuit alleging Eighth Amendment violations against the State of Mississippi.
- Successfully obtained asylum and prosecutorial discretion on behalf of two unaccompanied minors from Guatemala.
- Represented plaintiffs in Harris et al. v. Atlanta Independent School System, a class action lawsuit that successfully challenged the Atlanta Independent School System’s practice of placing students in privately-run, taxpayer-funded alternative schools.
Memberships and Affiliations
- Federal Bar Council
Previous Experience
- The World Resources Institute, Washington, DC, Program Coordinator (2000-2003)
March 2020
As the legal, regulatory, and commercial implications of coronavirus COVID-19 continue to evolve, our lawyers and advisors are helping clients navigate the complex considerations that companies around the world are facing and develop plans and strategies in response. Reach out to our COVID-19 task force at COVID19@cov.com. Below is a compendium of resources ...
February 10, 2020, Covington Alert
The coronavirus has now infected more than 30,000 people. Cases have been reported in every province of China as well as in Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Vietnam, Australia, Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States. More than a dozen cities have been quarantined. China, the United States, Europe, Australia, and others have imposed significant ...
July 24, 2018, Covington Alert
Phishing, spoofing, and computer-based scams pose a significant threat to businesses. Yet in recent years many victims of these scams — also variously referred to as "business email compromise," "social engineering," "fake creditor," or "fake president" fraud — have found that their insurers refused to pay claims for their computer-related fraud losses.
Biggest Insurance Decisions Of 2018: Midyear Report
June 15, 2018, Law360
Gretchen Hoff Varner and Michael Greenberg are quoted in a Law360 article regarding the biggest insurance decisions of 2018. Commenting on Liberty Surplus v. Ledesma & Meyer Construction, Hoff Varner says that the state high court injected more certainty into liability coverage litigation by making clear that the question of whether an accident has occurred must ...
Five Firms Going Above and Beyond on Pro Bono
May 8, 2018, The AmLaw Litigation Daily
The AmLaw Litigation Daily highlights Covington’s work alongside the ACLU, the Southern Poverty Center, and prisoners’ rights litigator, Elizabeth Alexander, regarding a class action that was filed in the Southern District of Mississippi on behalf of the East Mississippi Correctional Facility’s prisoners, 80 percent of whom are mentally ill. “Prisoners suffer ...
January 17, 2018, Covington Alert
Dozens of pharmaceutical manufacturers, wholesale distributors, and retailers have been named as defendants in opioid-related lawsuits, investigations, and congressional inquiries across the country. These actions and investigations include allegations that defendants misleadingly marketed opioids, failed to comply with regulatory requirements to report ...
December 12, 2017, Covington Alert
Massive wildfires have devastated Ventura County, and they now threaten lives, homes and businesses in Los Angeles and San Diego. In the face of these catastrophic fires, businesses and their employees should focus on safety. In their aftermath, businesses must act promptly and assertively to protect their insurance rights and remedies. Early and deliberate ...
April 26, 2017
SAN FRANCISCO—The Daily Journal has named Covington partner Gretchen Hoff Varner one of its “Top 40 Under 40” lawyers in California. The Daily Journal praised Ms. Hoff Varner for her insurance coverage practice, which has successfully recovered millions of dollars from insurers on behalf of a diverse array of clients. The profile also highlighted Ms. Hoff ...
Covington Promotes 13 New Partners
October 3, 2016
WASHINGTON—Covington has promoted 13 lawyers to its partnership. “Our new partners reflect the excellence, strengths, and diversity of the firm and will play important roles in the firm for decades to come and will help drive our key practices to even greater success in the years ahead,” said Timothy Hester, Covington’s chair. The new partners, who are based in ...
January 1, 2016, McCarthy on Trademarks and Unfair Competition (rev. ed.)
The Top Five Things Every Insurance Litigator Should Know About Corporate Transactions
January 2016, American Bar Association Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee CLE Seminar
January 21, 2015
WASHINGTON, DC, January 21, 2015 — A California federal judge recently dismissed allegations made by whistleblowers that Gilead Sciences Inc. defrauded the government. Covington represented Gilead in the case. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen said in his ruling that the whistleblowers’ allegations over poor drug quality, false certifications and violations of ...
11/4/2014
NEW YORK, November 4, 2014 — In a win for Covington & Burling’s clients, a federal appeals court has denied an effort by police unions to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk tactics. The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Second Circuit clears the way for the implementation of ...
August 12, 2013
NEW YORK, August 12, 2013 — A federal judge ruled today that the New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk policies and practices violate the constitutional rights of blacks and Hispanics by targeting them for stops on the basis of their race or ethnicity. The plaintiffs in the case, Floyd v. City of New York, are represented by Covington & Burling the ...
Covington Helps Secure Class Certification in Suit Challenging NYPD Stop-and-Frisk Policies
May 16, 2012
NEW YORK, May 16, 2012 — A federal judge today granted class certification in a lawsuit challenging the New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk policies and practices as unconstitutional and racially discriminatory in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. The ruling in Floyd v. City of New York, et al. (S.D.N.Y.) allows anyone who was unlawfully ...
Pro Bono Firms of 2012: Covington & Burling
2012, Law360
Gretchen Hoff Varner was quoted in this article. Covington was recognized for its work related to the Floyd v. City of New York stop-and-frisk case.
September 15, 2009, Securities Law 360
2003, 23 SAIS Review 53
Closing the Gap: Information, Participation, and Justice in Decision-Making for the Environment
2002, World Resources Institute, Washington, DC
- Daily Journal, "Top 40 Under 40" (2017)
- Legal 500 US, Insurance - Advice to Policyholders (2017)
- Named 2015 and 2016 “Rising Star” by Northern California Super Lawyers
- Charles C. Ruff Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year (2013)
COVID-19: Legal and Business Toolkit
We are helping clients around the world navigate this evolving, complex situation.
Education
Yale Law School, J.D., 2006
- Yale Law Journal, Projects Editor
- Yale Journal of International Law, Editor in Chief
Harvard University, A.B., 2000
- magna cum laude
- Phi Beta Kappa
- Harry S. Truman Scholarship