Bethany L. Barrese Partner

Bethany L. Barrese is a skilled insurance coverage attorney committed to providing practical advice, creative solutions, and the highest level of advocacy for policyholders. She helps clients recover on their insurance claims under a wide variety of policies, including commercial general liability, commercial property, builder’s risk, professional liability, educator’s legal liability, and captive policies.

Bethany has extensive experience handling insurance coverage disputes arising from real estate development and construction projects. She frequently negotiates construction defect and additional insured claims on behalf of owners, architects, construction managers, and general contractors. Bethany puts her strong oral advocacy skills to work nationwide, with a particular focus on assessing and litigating breach of contract and bad faith and unfair trade practices claims. Her litigation practice has successfully resolved disputes at both the trial and appellate level.

Some of her most impactful cases include:

• Appeal of Nash Street, LLC v. Main Street America Assurance Co. before the Connecticut Supreme Court, which set a significant judicial precedent for Connecticut insurance law.
• Litigation of complex coverage issues involving post-9/11 World Trade Center first responder injury claims.
• Preparation of an amicus brief in Cypress Point Condominium Association Inc. v. Adria Towers, which contributed to a precedent-setting decision from the New Jersey Supreme Court regarding coverage for construction defects.

Outside of the courtroom, Bethany works with clients to review their existing insurance programs, recommend various risk management strategies, and develop innovative long-term solutions to common coverage issues. She is also actively engaged in industry outreach and enjoys speaking on insurance coverage issues.

Bethany regularly publishes articles on insurance coverage issues, legislative updates, and major court decisions, particularly those that impact the mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States. Her experience includes teaching the “Insurance Litigation” course for the University of Connecticut Law School’s LLM program in Insurance Law. Bethany is a part of SDV’s Northeast team and is a resident of the firm’s New Jersey office. She currently serves on the firm’s Executive Committee and represents clients nationwide.