Veteran attorney John Podesta has joined Wilson Elser’s San Francisco office as a partner.

Podesta focuses his practice in the areas of insurance coverage and bad faith, business litigation and general civil litigation. Throughout his 20-year legal career, he has handled a broad spectrum of sophisticated litigated and nonlitigated matters, including insurance agents’ professional liability, negotiating licenses and real estate contracts, drafting entity formation agreements, all forms of alternative dispute resolution, and insurance issues with environmental contamination.

As a former claims supervisor for a major insurer and an insurance investigator, Podesta contributes a discerning perspective to insurance coverage, bad faith and construction defect matters.

“John brings a unique point of view to his cases,” said Bill Hake, regional managing partner of the firm’s San Francisco office. “He further deepens Wilson Elser’s bench of skilled attorneys in one of our core practice areas with accomplished litigation skills and intuition honed as a claims adjuster and investigator. His keen ability to provide creative lawyering and cost-effective resolutions to his cases is a tremendous asset to the firm and a great value to our clients.”

Recognition by his peers in the form of an AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating by Martindale-Hubbell and inclusion in Super Lawyers speaks to John’s exceptional reputation within the industry, added Hake.

Podesta is admitted to practice in California and Nevada, though his experience extends into Colorado, Oregon, Washington and Florida.

Included in Podesta’s professional affiliations are co-committee chair for Construction Insurance Sub-committee of the American Bar Association, Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee and member of Claims and Litigation Management Alliance and the San Mateo County Bar Association.

Podesta earned his J.D. degree from University of San Francisco School of Law (1991) and his A.B. degree from University of California, Berkeley (1983).

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