Blake Evans

AREAS OF EMPHASIS

• Complex Commercial Litigation
• Insurance Coverage
• Bad Faith Litigation
• Insurance Program Analysis
• Insurance Regulation
• Insurance Defense Litigation
• Class Action Litigation

• Member, American Bar Association (Business Law and Tort and Insurance Practice Sections)
• Member, Federal Bar Association
• Member, Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit
• Associate Member, Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc.
• Member, State Bar of Texas (Insurance and Litigation Sections)
• Member, Dallas Bar Association (Litigation Section)
• Admitted to practice in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the United States District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western Districts of Texas
• Admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the United States

• Prevailed at Texas Supreme Court on critical indemnity issue for corporate policyholder - D.R. Horton- Texas, Ltd. v. Markel Int'I Ins. Co., Ltd., 300 S.W.3d 740 (Tex. 2009)
• National counsel for insurers in multi-state class action litigation concerning workers’ compensation regulatory issues
• Lead counsel for Fortune 200 homebuilder in multicarrier coverage and bad faith litigation concerning underlying $1 billion copyright infringement matter
• Counsel for national homebuilder in successful coverage litigation to recover defense costs owed and statutory penalties
• Declaratory judgment litigation in both state and federal courts
• Coverage opinions
• Insurance program analysis, including types of coverage, limits, terms and conditions, and complex deductible and retention issues
• Premium calculation and recovery disputes
• Litigation involving alleged improper claims handling on behalf of insurance carriers
• Regulatory compliance
• Defense and indemnification issues arising under various types of liability policies

• Georgetown University Law School (J.D., 1991)
  • Georgetown International Environmental Law Review - Editor, 1990-91
• Georgetown University (B.A., magna cum laude, 1988)

• AV Peer Review Rating by Martindale-Hubbell

• "Texas Coverage Law Update" - Presentation for claims officers with American Empire Surplus Lines Insurance Company, May 2010.
• D.R. Horton v. Markel: Impact on Duty to Defend and Declaratory Judgment Actions - TIPS Section, Dallas Bar Association, March 2010.
• "The ABC's of SIRs" 2009 University of Texas School of Law Insurance Law Institute.
• "Update on Texas Insurance Law" Presentation for claims officers with American Empire Surplus Lines Insurance Company, April 2008.
• "Insuring the Construction Project: Drafting Strategies, Risk Management Considerations, and Insurance Options" - 2007 Construction Law Conference/University of Texas School of Law.
• "Additional Insureds, Contractual Liability and Indemnity; Who Owes Who What" - Risk and Insurance Management Society, DFW Chapter, Summer Conference 2007.
• "In the Crosshairs: Current Status of Agent/Broker Liability" - Fourth Annual Advanced Insurance Law Course 2007/ State Bar of Texas.
• "Independent Counsel - A Comparative Law Debate" - Advanced Insurance Law Course 2006/State Bar of Texas.
• "Update on 'Prompt Payment' Statute and Employee/ Adjuster Liability Under Article 21.21" - paper and presentation for the Texas Independent Insurance Adjusters Association, November 1999.

• "Bad Faith - A Claims Handling Update" - paper and presentation for the Texas Independent Adjusters Association, June 1998.
• "Recent Developments in Bad Faith Law" - paper and presentation for the Annual Meeting of the North Texas Subrogation Association, October 1997.
• "Bad Faith Law Update" - paper and presentation for the Texas Tort & Insurance Law and the New Millennium Symposium, August 1997.
• "1995 Tort Reform - One Year Later" - presentation for the Annual Meeting of the North Texas Subrogation Association, October 1996.

• Baylor Tom Landry Center
  • Member Advisory Board
• Make-A-Wish Foundation of North Texas
• Liaison to Board of Directors 2003-2005
• Dallas Summer Musicals
• Curtain Call Fund-raiser Event Committee Chair 2007
• Georgetown Alumni Admissions Program
• Applicant Interviewer