Curtis M. Caton, former Co-Chair of the firm’s Product Liability Practice Group, joined the firm in 1964. He is also the founder and senior member of the firm’s Insurance Recovery Practice Group.

Experience

Mr. Caton has had four decades of experience in all aspects of the litigation process including jury and non-jury trials in state and federal courts, appellate advocacy, arbitrations and other alternative dispute resolution techniques. His prior professional engagements have included successful representations across a wide spectrum of subject areas ranging from intellectual property to sports law. More recently, he has concentrated on product liability and insurance coverage matters. He acted as national litigation counsel for the world’s largest manufacturer of asbestos-containing insulation products, and currently serves in the same capacity for the leading domestic manufacturer of cigarettes in the tobacco health litigation. He is the senior member of a group of Heller Ehrman attorneys who offer insurance coverage counseling, negotiation and litigation services to policyholder clients. Under his leadership, the coverage practice group has recovered billions of dollars from insurers who had denied defense and indemnity protection to their insureds.

Mr. Caton has been a frequent speaker in programs sponsored by the Practicing Law Institute, Law and Business, Inc., the Defense Research Institute and similar continuing education organizations. Besides insurance-related issues, the subjects of his teaching and writing have included class actions and multi-district litigation; attorney/client and work product privileges in the corporate context; management and coordination of the defense of mass tort claims; enterprise liability and market share theories; and doctrines for imposing tort liability against the U.S. Government.

Mr. Caton has served the profession in a variety of bar-related activities, most recently as Co-Chair of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Loan Repayment and Forgiveness. He was formerly National Chair of the ABA Law Firm Pro Bono Project. He has also led various community organizations in Northern California devoted to social service and cultural objectives.