Cecilia O’Connell Miller is a Shareholder in Buchalter’s San Diego Office. She is Co-Chair of the Insurance Law practice group and a Member of the Firm’s Board of Directors. Ms. Miller’s practice encompasses trial and appellate representation of her policyholder clients in arbitrations, state courts and federal courts across the country. Her practice focuses on complex commercial litigation and pre-litigation counseling with an emphasis on insurance coverage recovery for policyholders under numerous lines of coverage including commercial general liability, D&O, employment practices liability, pollution legal liability, first party property (including business interruption), tax liability, life insurance, AD&D, LTD, and representation and warranty insurance. Ms. Miller also regularly represents clients in securing coverage under Memoranda of Coverage issued by Joint Powers Authorities as well as prosecuting claims against insurance brokers.

Ms. Miller has extensive experience advising clients from a variety of industries, including technology, financial services, hospitality, multi-media, retail, health care, manufacturing, construction, gaming, charter schools, and municipalities, for whom she has successfully obtained millions in insurance coverage for first and third party liabilities.

In 2022, Law360 Selected Ms. Miller as a member of the IA General Liability Editorial Advisory Board. Ms. Miller was a San Diego Business Journal “Leaders in Law” 2020 finalist and 2022 Honoree, and was named to The Daily Transcript “Top Attorneys” in Insurance in 2013. She has also been named to the Best Lawyers in America list from 2022-2024 in the area of “Litigation – Insurance.” Ms. Miller was also named a Women of Influence in Law 2023 by the San Diego Business Journal.

Ms. Miller is a frequent lecturer and author on insurance coverage issues, including advising clients as to best practices to maximize existing insurance coverage and prospectively managing risk.

Bar Admissions

• California

Education

• The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law
• Boston College

Significant Accomplishments

• Represented municipality in prosecution of insurance coverage and bad faith claims resulting in a multi-million dollar settlement mid-trial.
• Obtained on appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversal of district court’s judgment denying an insurer’s duty to defend a multi-million dollar underlying Lanham Act litigation.
• Through bad faith litigation, obtained compensatory award and ongoing payment of defense fees and costs in underlying litigation for which health care policyholder’s exposure exceeded $20 million.
• Led team in multimillion dollar settlement and payment of ongoing defense in a series of high-stakes and decades-long litigations for municipal policyholder through bad faith litigation obtaining insurer-funded settlement in excess of $25 million.
• Obtained 100% insurer reimbursement toward settlement of high profile land use litigation and full payment of client’s defense fees and costs.
• Represented local municipality in obtaining full insurer-funded defense of multi-party CERCLA action based on alleged contamination of private lake over decades.
• Obtained insurer contribution toward settlement and defense fees in multiple intellectual property, wrongful death, construction defect, employment practices, and products liability litigations through pre-litigation negotiations.
• Reversed denial of coverage under Memorandum of Coverage following appellate presentation before self-insurance joint powers authority.
• Obtained contempt order requiring insurers immediately to pay corporate policyholder $9M in defense costs and prejudgment interest or face incarceration.
• Seminal federal health care fraud prosecution (U.S. v. Weinbaum), including preparation of both expert and percipient witnesses and extensive regulatory analysis.

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