Bethany L. Barrese, Esq.

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Bethany L. Barrese is a skilled insurance coverage attorney with a commitment to providing practical advice, creative solutions, and the highest level of advocacy for policyholders. Bethany helps clients recover on their insurance claims under a wide variety of policies, including commercial general liability, commercial property, builder’s risk, professional liability, educator’s legal liability, and captive policies. She has extensive experience handling insurance coverage disputes arising from construction projects and frequently negotiates construction defects and additional insured claims on behalf of owners, architects, construction managers, and general contractors.

Bethany’s litigation practice has successfully resolved coverage disputes at both the trial and appellate level. Bethany puts her strong oral advocacy skills to work nationwide, with a particular focus on assessing and litigating bad faith and unfair trade practices claims. Outside of the courtroom, Bethany works with clients to review their existing insurance programs, recommend various risk management strategies, and develop innovative long-term solutions to common coverage issues. She is also actively engaged in industry outreach and enjoys speaking on insurance coverage issues and authoring articles of interest to her client base.

Bethany discovered her passion for insurance coverage work while in law school, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Connecticut Insurance Law Journal. Bethany was recognized for her aptitude in insurance coverage as the recipient of the CALI Excellence for the Future Award® in Insurance Litigation, which is awarded to the highest-scoring student in each class, and the Connecticut Insurance Law Center J.D. Award, which is awarded to a graduating student who has excelled in the study of insurance law or rendered outstanding service to the Connecticut Insurance Law Journal.

Bethany is a part of SDV’s Northeast team and is resident of the firm’s New Jersey office. She currently represents clients in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., and nationwide. An indicator of her expertise, Bethany will co-teach the “Insurance Litigation” course for the Fall 2021 semester as part of the University of Connecticut Law School LLM program in Insurance Law.

Education:

J.D., University of Connecticut

School of Law, 2012

• Connecticut Insurance Law Journal,

Editor-in-Chief

B.S., University of Connecticut, 2009

Admissions Federal Court:

• U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut

• U.S. District Court, Southern and Eastern

Districts of New York

• U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey

• U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit

• U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Admissions State Court:

• Connecticut

• District of Columbia

• New Jersey

• New York

• Pennsylvania

Professional Activities:

American Bar Association

New Jersey State Bar Association

• Insurance Law Section

• Construction Law Section

• Young Lawyers Divison

Risk and Insurance Management Association of NJ

Professional Women in Construction – NJ Chapter

Commercial Real Estate Women, Inc. NJ

Honors and Awards:

• Connecticut Insurance Law Center Juris Doctor Award

• CALI Excellence for the Future Award in Insurance Litigation

• Selected to 2019, 2020 New England Rising Stars list