Shari Klevens
Partner
Dentons
Shari Klevens (she/her/hers) is an experienced lead trial lawyer who handles cases in state and federal courts across the country. She also has experience handling state and federal appeals. She has several decades of experience successfully litigating matters involving allegations of breach of professional and fiduciary duties, insurance coverage and bad faith, breach of contract, business tort disputes, conspiracy, concealment, misrepresentation, and fraud, among many others. She is a lawyer to whom clients turn when they need an aggressive but practical approach to difficult matters, and her clients rely on her to create and implement a successful pre-trial, trial, and appellate strategy, whether they are bringing, defending or avoiding litigation. Shari’s clients include some of the most prestigious and established law firms, attorneys, insurance companies, and businesses in the country.
Shari is the co-chair of the Dentons global Insurance sector team. She is also a member of the Firm's leadership team, serving on its US board of directors.
Insurance
Shari represents and counsels insurance companies in coverage disputes and litigates high-exposure insurance bad faith cases.
Shari also regularly represents insurance companies in complex insurance coverage actions in state and federal courts across the country and also in confidential and unlitigated matters involving high stakes insurance issues. For example, Shari has handled a number of very high exposure coverage and bad faith insurance lawsuits, including a case in 2014 arising from a US$284 million jury trial verdict, which Shari and her team successfully resolved on behalf of the insurance company. She also has extensive experience defending insurance companies in litigation matters involving “set ups,” and regularly counsels her insurance company clients on how to navigate complicated coverage issues and avoid claims for bad faith. Much of Shari’s insurance related experience involves professional liability policies for attorneys, accountants, engineers, financial planners, insurance brokers, real estate professionals, travel agents, and others, and Shari is considered one of the preeminent experts on insurance issues arising out of professional liability policies. Shari serves on the Law360 Insurance Editorial Advisory Board.
Professional and Fiduciary Liability
Shari also has deep experience handling matters regarding claims against professionals and other individuals for breach of fiduciary and other professional duties. Moreover, Shari represents lawyers and law firms in the defense of legal malpractice claims and advises and counsels lawyers concerning allegations of malpractice, ethical violations and breaches of duty.
In addition, Shari counsels lawyers and law firms on an array of ethical and business issues arising from practice management, evaluation and pursuit of merger opportunities, law firm acquisitions and law firm restructuring.
Lawyers and law firms often engage Shari to review and provide advice on their internal systems and agreements (such as partnership agreements, engagement letters and internal policies) for legal sufficiency, preservation of privilege, compliance with ethical obligations and usefulness in claim prevention. Shari also provides advice regarding lawyers transitioning from law partnerships, including providing guidance regarding contractual and ethical obligations to firm partnerships and to clients, crafting transition plans and identifying potential ethical and legal issues. In addition, Shari handles other professional negligence claims, such as those involving accountants, engineers, financial planners, insurance brokers, real estate professionals, trustees, travel agents and others.
In light of her broad experience in professional negligence claims, Shari is a frequent writer and lecturer on issues related to legal malpractice and ethics and is regularly interviewed and quoted by the media on these issues. She co-authored Georgia Legal Malpractice Law and California Legal Malpractice Law, which address the intricacies and nuances of legal malpractice law and issues that confront the new millennium lawyer. She also co-authored The Lawyer's Handbook: Ethics Compliance and Claim Avoidance, an easy-to-use desk reference offering practical solutions to real problems in the modern law practice for attorneys throughout the United States. From 2013-2016, Shari was a member of the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Lawyer’s Professional Liability, serving as Chair of that Standing Committee from 2016-2019, during which time she chaired the Standing Committee’s National Legal Malpractice Conference held in the spring and fall of each year.
Community Service
Shari is highly committed to pro bono and public service. She has represented clients in a variety of pro bono matters, including domestic and housing issues. Shari was featured on the cover of Arlington Magazine’s November/December 2012 issue for her extraordinary commitment to charitable causes and was profiled in the article "Why We Give, Inside the Hearts and Minds of Local Altruists."
Shari is active in Dentons' women's initiative, has served as a mentor and sponsor to many attorneys, and formerly served as chair of the Dentons Women’s Steering Committee.
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