Insights

Washington – August 20, 2026: The Best Lawyers in America® has recognized 57 of the firm's attorneys in its 2027 edition, a testament to the firm's deep bench of legal talent across practices and offices nationwide. In addition, 29 attorneys have been named to the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® list, recognizing outstanding attorneys earlier in their careers. 

Washington, D.C. – July 22, 2026 – Crowell & Moring LLP today shared results from its firmwide integration of Legora as a collaborative AI platform. Crowell has realized significant gains in opportunities to deliver for clients across practices and jurisdictions.  

Washington – July 8, 2026: Steve Raptis, a Chambers-ranked insurance recovery attorney with more than 30 years of experience representing policyholders, has joined Crowell & Moring as a partner in Washington, D.C., further bolstering the firm’s growing insurance recovery practice. Raptis’s arrival enhances the firm’s robust capabilities in representing policyholder clients in complex and high-stakes insurance disputes.

On April 30, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a significant ruling in an insurance coverage dispute between a commercial general liability insurer and its policyholder. The decision addresses several critical issues in insurance law, including the scope and continuity of the duty to defend and the standard for insurer reimbursement of defense costs in mixed-claim actions. The court ruled largely in favor of the insured, SVO Building One, LLC ("SVO"), and the matter now heads toward settlement or trial on SVO's remaining counterclaims.

In Wake Chapel Church, Inc. v. Church Mutual Insurance Company, the Fourth Circuit affirmed a $1.1 million jury verdict in favor of a policyholder, reaffirming that under North Carolina law insurers cannot defeat all-risk coverage by pointing to a postulated inherent defect or other excluded cause if a covered peril also contributed to the loss.

Because effective Directors & Officers insurance (D&O) is becoming even more important for companies and their leaders, particularly for peace of mind and financial soundness in our highly litigious society, we provide this coverage alert.