KAREN-DENISE LEE, JD

acg23w@r.postjobfree.com

**** **** ***** ******, *******, CA 91505

818-***-****

Associate General Counsel / Litigation Manager

Commercial & Civil Litigation / Insurance, Construction, Entertainment &

Employment Law / Contracts Negotiations / Compliance / Case Management /

Loss Mitigation / ADR / Arbitration / Mediation / Budgets

Accomplished litigation and general practice attorney serving individual

and corporate clients primarily in insurance and entertainment arenas.

Leveraged legal, interpersonal, business and analytical skills to resolve

complex claims and legal challenges. Acquired significant experience in

civil trials and appeals, arbitrations, case management, staff development

and office administration. Directed in-house and outside counsel in

litigation, transactions, regulatory compliance and specialty legal

matters. Managed successful solo practice. Can contribute by:

< Quickly assimilating and litigating new substantive areas of law

< Maintaining currency with legal and regulatory environment

< Negotiating broad range of insurance, business and contractual

transactions

< Communicating effectively, both orally and in writing

The key to my success has been my ability to understand both the legal

implications of a course of action and the risk/reward from the business

perspective.

Career Overview & Selected Achievements

Senior Litigation Counsel, MGA Entertainment, 2012-present. Manage 5

attorneys within litigation division of Legal Department for this $10M toy

manufacturer. Supervise/assist outside counsel. Handle employment issues.

. Cut overtime costs by $35-40K within six months by overhauling

litigation procedures

. Recovered $3.1M in compensatory damages and $1.4M in punitive damages

for client

In-housed mismanaged case, winning $4.5M judgment. Multi-million dollar

contract fraud case had been mismanaged by outside counsel, putting MGA

at risk of losing case. Brought case in-house 30 days before trial,

producing evidence to support breach of contract. Recovered $3.1M

compensatory/$1.4M punitive damages.

Implemented effective case management procedures, improving attorney

efficiency. MGA litigation division lacked procedures for effectively

handling litigation in-house or supervising outside counsel. Instituted

case management procedures/weekly status meetings. Improved management of

outside counsel and enabled in-house attorneys to better manage workload

while cutting exorbitant expenses incurred for using last minute

services.

Principal/Owner, Law Offices of Karen-Denise Lee, 2001-present. Congruent

with MGA Entertainment position, manage this sole proprietorship and its

independent contractors. The firm specializes in coverage, insurance issues

and litigation as well as construction defect litigation, malpractice

litigation and employment issues. Scope of representation includes analysis

of coverage issues, drafting of policy language, working with claims

personnel and management, litigation of coverage issues and defense of bad

faith cases, monitoring of defense counsel, coordinating of defense

efforts, and reporting to management and reinsurers.

. Represent clients in employment law matters and litigation and in

legal malpractice.

. Guided insurance companies in formulating responses to insureds and

their attorneys.

. Drafted Commercial General Liability Coverage form and related

endorsements.

. Drafted application for insurance, supplementary questionnaire and

warranty statements.

. Evaluated settlement demands and defense counsel recommendations in

relation to handling issues with insureds, other carriers, counsel

and vendors.

. Assisted companies in applying policy language, reducing expenses

associated with claims handling expenses. Facilitate relations with

co-carriers to reduce litigation.

. Mediated disputes to avoid litigation, decreasing costs and limiting

the creation of adverse laws regulating insurance companies.

. Worked with brokers to meet marketing needs of insurance companies.

. Handled appellate cases instrumental in establishing precedent in

California.

KAREN-DENISE LEE, JD

Page 2

Secured critical insurance coverage, saving client millions of dollars.

Lee Law Office's residential developer client was being denied insurance

coverage, forcing it to defend itself at great cost. Persuaded carrier

to accept the defense and reimburse client for legal/past defense fees.

Revised policy to avoid misunderstanding in the future.

Slashed claims-handling losses 20%. Lee Law Office insurance carrier

client was experiencing increased losses, challenges to their policy

language, and inconsistencies in handling of claims. Re-wrote language

to reduce exposure and clarify coverage. Drafted new guidelines,

improving quality and consistency of claims handling.

Argued favorably on behalf of client's carrier. Lee Law Office insurance

carrier client refused to participate in defense of claims with client's

carrier, citing its "per claim" language to its deductible and self-

insured retention. Brought litigation against carrier seeking

contribution/clarification from the court as to interpretation of "per

claim." Court determined that "per claim" did not mean "per house."

Interpretation was adopted by appellate court.

Recovered $500K for client from insurance carrier. Lee Law Office

homeowner client had recovered judgment against roofing contractor, but

it was denied by contractor's carrier. Demonstrated that carrier failed

to properly investigate claim against insured, breached its duty to

settle, and was therefore liable for all fees/costs incurred.

Senior Associate, Hahn & Bolson, 1997-2001. Responsible for rendering

coverage analysis services to clients and handling any litigation including

appeals for this firm specializing in in insurance coverage and related

litigation as well as business transactions. Also managed less experienced

attorneys and staff. Headed litigation teams.

. Reviewed and analyzed primary and excess insurance coverage issues for

key clients.

. Advised clients directly, working with them to evaluate and develop

solutions to legal issues.

. Acted as counsel for insurance carriers in proceedings with other

carriers.

. Represented clients in multiple insurance lines including Error and

Omissions, Commercial Property, Commercial General Liability and

Homeowners.

. Won a $15M verdict in the trial of an excess carrier against a primary

carrier.

. Captured $1M+ in savings for an insurance carrier client by winning a

rescission of a policy due to fraud.

. Handled the insolvency of 2 carriers, fielding inquiries from

insureds, vendors, other attorneys, as well as several courts and

Departments of Insurance.

. Drafted Commercial General Liability Coverage form and related

endorsements.

. Audited defense files for carrier.

. Assisted companies in applying policy language, reducing expenses

associated with claims handling expenses. Facilitated relations with

co-carriers to reduce litigation.

. Handled appellate cases. Instrumental in establishing precedent in

California.

Sustained case for contract fraud, saving client $1M plus legal fees.

Hahn & Bolson client was being sued for bad faith. Obtained information

indicating that suing entity had committed fraud in obtaining the

contract. Court ruled in favor of legal firm's toy manufacturing client,

resulting in rescission of contract and major savings to client.

Established legal precedent in California law, recovering $1.7M for

client. Hahn & Bolson excess carrier client had to pay claim mishandled

by primary carrier. Proved that primary carrier failed to properly

evaluate settlement opportunities, resulting in damages to insured and

excess carriers. Set precedent on issue of reverse bad faith.

Associate Attorney, Engstrom, Lipscomb & Lack, 1994-1997. Handled appeals

in all practice areas for this private law firm specializing in insurance

coverage and appellate matters.

. Analyzed coverage issues and, when necessary, represented insurance

carriers in court and in dealings with insureds or other insurance

carriers.

. Handled appeals for firm clients in all practice areas.

Earlier: Associate Attorney for Hart, King & Coldren and also Diehl,

Steinheimer, Riggio, Haydel and Mordaunt.

KAREN-DENISE LEE, JD

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Education

Juris Doctorate

Willamette University, College of Law, Salem, Oregon

Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education

Western Oregon University, Monmouth, Oregon

Affiliations

Bar Admissions: California State and Federal Courts

Professional Associations:

. California Bar Association

. Irish American Bar Association

. National Association of Female Executives

. Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles

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