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    Global Problem Solving from Covington: Deal with Complex Problems Anywhere in the World

Darren S. Teshima

Partner

San Francisco +1 415 591 7094

  • About
  • Representative Matters
  • Credentials
  • About

    Darren Teshima helps corporate policyholders resolve their most complex insurance coverage disputes by providing both creative business solutions and strategic representation in litigation. Chambers USA (2022) has clients praising Darren as “incredibly efficient, responsive and practical” adding, “For any insurance coverage questions, he is my first call.”

    Darren serves as a true business partner to technology and financial services clients, working closely with in-house risk management and legal departments to guide them through the cutting-edge issues they’re facing today, from D&O coverage on SPAC transactions, to reps & warranties and indemnification coverage in agreements and transactions, to E&O and cyber coverage related to data breaches.

    When litigation is necessary, Darren helps clients assert their rights. He has successfully litigated high stakes commercial disputes with significant wins in connection with insurance coverage, D&O coverage, and cyber insurance for some of the largest data breaches in history.

    Darren also is deeply committed to pro bono work and community involvement. He’s handled administrative trials and hearings on behalf of asylum seekers and low-income tenants and provided litigation advice to nonprofit organizations. For his efforts, Legal Services for Children honored him with the Pro Bono Advocate Award twice.

    Darren also is a leader in the community, and currently serves as the Chair of the Board of Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus, and has previously served on the board of the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area (AABA).

    Areas of Expertise

  • Practices and Industries
  • Representative Matters
    • Premera Blue Cross in disputes with several of its insurers regarding coverage for class actions and multiple regulatory proceedings arising out of a 2014 data breach that affected more than 11 million Premera customers. Among the disputes was a declaratory relief action brought by Premera’s commercial general liability (CGL) insurer, Atlantic Specialty Insurance Company. Darren convinced the Court to deny the insurer’s motion for summary judgment seeking to establish that it did not owe a duty to defend because the insurer contended that a data breach does not constitute a “publication” under a CGL policy—a hotly contested issue across the country and one of first impression under Washington state law.
    • Getaround, an app-based peer-to-peer vehicle rental marketplace, in a professional negligence lawsuit against its third-party administrator for auto liability claims currently pending in San Francisco Superior Court.
    • Tanium, a cybersecurity and systems-management company, in an insurance coverage lawsuit brought by Zurich American Insurance Company seeking to recoup amounts previously paid toward an underlying settlement.
    • Global manufacturer in a coverage arbitration against the insurer who issued a Representations & Warranties insurance policy in connection with an acquisition.
    • IEC, a for-profit education company, in a lawsuit brought by the company’s educators’ professional liability insurer, seeking to recover hundreds of thousands of dollars paid to defend, and $12.5 million paid to settle, an underlying class action. On the eve of trial, the case resolved on very favorable terms for the client.
    • Braden Partners in a lawsuit against its D&O insurer who refused to provide a defense to an underlying False Claims Act investigation. Darren won summary judgment establishing the insurer’s duty to advance defense costs for the underlying claim.
    • Leading dental insurance provider in a dispute with its D&O insurer and E&O insurer about the applicable coverage for underlying claims about alleged managed care wrongful acts. The parties ultimately reached a negotiated resolution on favorable terms for our client.
    • Leading disruptive financial services company in obtaining coverage under its D&O and cyber policies for underlying class actions and regulatory investigations arising out of a network outage affecting millions of customers.
    • Scopely, a leading mobile gaming company, in a coverage dispute with its cyber insurer regarding coverage for a trade secrets misappropriation claim.
    • Sony Pictures, advising on insurance claims related to a cyber-attack on its network and IT infrastructure.
    • Credit Suisse in defending a dozen lawsuits brought by monoline insurers and trustees alleging claims related to RMBS transactions following the global financial crisis, including a suit brought by MBIA, which was one of the only post-crisis RMBS cases to go to trial, and one of the financial sector’s largest and most complex litigations.

    Areas of Expertise

  • Credentials
    Education
    • Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 2005
        • The Georgetown Law Journal, Articles Editor
    • Amherst College, B.A., 2000
        • summa cum laude
    Bar Admissions
    • California
    • Texas
    • U.S. Supreme Court
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
    • U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
    • U.S. District Court, Central District of California
    • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
    • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas
    • U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas
    Judicial Clerkship
    • Hon. David O. Carter, U.S. District Court, Central District of California
    Pro Bono
    • Represented several unaccompanied minor children from Central America seeking asylum.
    • Represented the Habeas Corpus Resource Center (HCRC) in a lawsuit challenging expedited review of habeas corpus petitions from death sentenced inmates.
    • Filed amicus brief on behalf of California school districts challenging executive order threatening to withhold federal funding from so-called sanctuary cities.
    • Represented a female inmate who was a victim of domestic violence and serving a life sentence, win parole after 34 years in prison. Darren represented the client for over 8 years, filing habeas petitions on her behalf and representing her at three parole board hearings.
    Accolades
    • Chambers USA, California - Insurance: Policyholder (2020-2022)
    • The Legal 500 US, Insurance: Advice to Policyholders, (2019-2022)
    • Legal Services for Children honored Darren with the Pro Bono Advocate Award twice.
    • National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), “Best Under 40” (2015)
    • American Bar Foundation, Life Fellow
    • Super Lawyers Northern California (2018-2020)
    • Law360 Insurance Editorial Advisory Board Member (2018)
    • Law360, “Rising Star” (2017)
    • Asian Pacific American Bar Association Educational Fund inaugural Robert T. Matsui Annual Writing Competition Winner (2006) “A ‘Hardy Handshake Sort of Guy:' The Model Minority and Implicit Bias About Asian Americans in Chin v. Runnels,” 11 Asian Pac. Am. L. J. 122 (2006)
    Memberships and Affiliations
    • Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Asian Law Caucus, Chair of Board of Directors
    • Legal Services for Children, Board Member
    • Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, Fellow
    • Former Bar Association of San Francisco Judiciary Committee Member
    • Former Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area, Board of Directors Member and Judiciary Committee Member
    • Former Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, Advisory Board Member
    • National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
    Previous Experience
    • In 2012, Darren spent three months on loan to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office as an Assistant District Attorney, where he first-chaired four criminal jury trials to verdict.
    • United Nations Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Office of the Prosecutor, Trial of Slobodan Milosevic, The Hague, Extern (Summer 2002)

    Areas of Expertise

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