Sandra Thayer

Sandra Smith Thayer has been recognized as one of the nation’s top insurance recovery lawyers (Law360) and one of California’s Top 100 Women Litigators (Daily Journal). She specializes in representing clients in high stakes, bet-the-company litigation against insurers and insurance brokers. She also advises clients on post-loss and post-claim insurance issues, including assisting clients in negotiations with insurers. Sandy has represented insureds in a wide range of industries and in a wide range of insurance matters, including claims under cast insurance, directors and officers liability, employment practices, errors and omissions, general liability, political risk, property, revenue shortfall, and specialized policies.

Sandy co-led efforts that resulted in insurance recoveries of more than $1.8 billion for an energy company in connection with the 2007 San Diego Wildfires. Sandy co-led efforts to obtain insurance coverage for another energy company in connection with coverage issues arising out of a major fire in Northern California and yet another energy company in connection with the Aliso Canyon/Porter Ranch, California, natural gas well leak.

In addition to insurance recovery matters, Sandy represents insureds in claims against insurance brokers for malpractice, breach of contract, and fraud. She played an instrumental role in obtaining one of the largest jury verdicts ever against Marsh USA ($48.5 million). She handled all aspects of the pre-trial work in the Marsh lawsuit, conducted direct and cross-examination of the majority of the witnesses at trial, and developed many of the key arguments and evidence that led to the judgment and its affirmance in full on appeal. Sandy also was instrumental in obtaining an even larger recovery against another insurance broker involving a dispute over whether the broker accurately represented the insurance it procured.

Sandy also specializes in the area of political risk insurance. She has handled political risk insurance claims for companies with losses in Argentina, China, and Mexico, including second chairing a month-long arbitration before the London Court of International Arbitration on behalf of a major east coast energy company.

Sandy has litigated and arbitrated entertainment insurance claims, including second-chairing an entertainment industry arbitration resulting in a total recovery of $100 million under a revenue shortfall policy and representing a studio in the largest cast insurance recovery in entertainment industry history. Sandy also is a co-author of the New Appleman Sports and Entertainment Insurance Law & Practice Guide.

Sandy also recently first-chaired an arbitration against an insurer that challenged the rates charged by the insured’s underlying defense counsel and costs incurred in that defense. The arbitrator awarded the full amount sought.