Mark R. Israel

Headshot of Mark Israel
As the father of two boys, Mark’s interests and hobbies include coaching youth sports and other outdoor activities. Mark is also active in the Boy Scouts of America. He spent six years as a Den Leader and Camping Chair for Pack 5 and currently serves as an Assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 50 in West Los Angeles where he has enjoyed high adventure backpacking treks on Catalina, in the Sierras, and at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico.

MARK ISRAEL

Of Counsel

Practice Areas

Civil litigation in the areas of insurance coverage, bad faith, premises liability and transportation torts. Insurance coverage analysis, coverage opinions, examinations under oath, and first party claims investigation. Appellate practice in the California Courts of Appeal, California Supreme Court, and Ninth Circuit.

Biography

Mark has more than thirty-five years of experience in insurance coverage analysis and civil litigation. Over 80% of his practice focuses on providing insurance coverage advice and opinions, drafting policy language, and litigating insurance coverage issues. Mark’s insurance practice includes first party claims investigation through targeted document demands and Examinations Under Oath. He also specializes in appellate practice, having briefed and argued more than 40 appeals, including before the California Courts of Appeal, the California Supreme Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Mark is also routinely retained by other lawyers in the industry to serve as an expert witness on insurance and bad faith issues confronting their clients in state and federal court actions. He has been retained as an expert on insurance matters more than 25 times. Mark frequently provides training for insurers on coverage and compliance issues, including the California Fair Claims Settlement Practices Regulations.Mark has been consistently designated as one of Southern California’s “Super Lawyers” (by Law & Politics, and the publishers of Los Angeles Magazine and Orange Coast Magazine) every year from 2005 to 2024.

  • Vardanyan v. VJ’s Touch Beauty Salon 2024 Cal.App.Unpub.LEXIS 470
  • Dennis v. Live Nation Worldwide, Inc. 2023 Cal.App.Unpub. LEXIS 464
  • Sharkh v. Continentale Krankenversicherung aG 2021 WL 1959672
  • Online Trucking v. Superior Court 2020 Cal.App.Unpub. LEXIS 1596
  • Fong v. Hoek 2020 Cal.App.Unpub. LEXIS 993
  • Dix v. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (2020) 56 Cal.App.5th 590
  • Castlepoint Nat’l Ins. Co. v. Weather Masters Waterproofing 2014 U.S.Dist. LEXIS 197361
  • Padilla v. Thee El Rodeo 2010 Cal.App.Unpub. LEXIS 2757
  • California Capital Ins. Co. v. Nielsen (2007) 153 Cal.App.4th 1221
  • Morris v. De La Torre (2005) 36 Cal.4th 260
  • U.K. Abba Products v. Northbrook Natl’ Ins. Co. 2003 Cal.App.Unpub. LEXIS 2121
  • Leibovic v. Nationwide Mutual Ins. Co. 2002 Cal.App.Unpub. LEXIS 2121
  • National Union Fire Ins. Co. v. Nationwide Ins. Co. (1999) 69 Cal.App.4th 709
  • Maryland Casualty Co. v. Nationwide Ins. Co. (1995) 65 Cal.App.4th 21
  • 3250 Wilshire Blvd. Bldg. v. Nationwide Ins. Co. (1995) 39 Cal.App.4th 1277
  • Engle v. Edlich (1992) 9 Cal.App.4th 1152
  • Butki v. United Services Auto. Assn. (1990) 225 Cal.App.3d 464
  • State Bar of California, 1986
  • U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, 1994
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, 1994
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, 1996
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1994
  • Association of Southern California Defense Counsel, 1995
  • The Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (The CLM), 2013
  • Martindale Hubbell Rated AV – Preeminent
  • “Super Lawyer” in the field of Insurance every year from 2005 to 2024
  • Liability for Injury on Your Premises Caused by Third Party Criminal Acts, presented at the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel 54th Annual Seminar.
  • DFISL — California’s Top Ranked Law Firms (2015);
  • All Told About Mold, presented at the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel 42nd Annual Seminar;
  • Integrity is the Best Policy in Practicing Insurance Law, Southern California Legal Profiles (December 2011);
  • Defending Claims for Pre-Tender Defense Costs: Who Ultimately Pays?, published in Verdict Magazine (2nd Quarter 1997);
  • Defending the Bad Faith Action: The Empire Strikes Back, presented at the Consumer Attorneys of Cal. 34th Annual Seminar;
Education

J.D. University of California at Los Angeles
B.A. Pennsylvania State University
(Schreyer Honors College Member; High Honors and Distinction; Phi Beta Kappa)

Bar Admissions

State Bar of California
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit