Severson and Werson

Katie Wadley joined Severson & Werson in 2001, after working for several years as a judicial staff attorney at the California Supreme Court and the First District Court of Appeal.  Ms. Wadley's focus is on writing appeal briefs and complex motions, in state and federal appellate courts and at the trial level.  She has represented individuals, financial institutions, and other businesses in appeals and extraordinary writ proceedings, in state and federal appellate courts.  The appeals have involved a broad range of issues, including insurance coverage, contracts, security interests, loan fraud, leases, assumption of the risk, the UCC, attorney fees, equitable indemnity, civil procedure, Indian tribal immunity, and baseball.

Ms. Wadley also represents insurers in both declaratory relief and bad faith litigation.  She serves as monitoring counsel in professional liability matters, handling claims, negotiating pre-litigation settlements, and supervising defense counsel.   She also represents design professionals in construction defect and commercial liability litigation.

Ms. Wadley is a member of the San Francisco Bar Association (Appellate Practice Section) and is active in the Bay Area community, serving on the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Choral Society and leading volunteer projects for Hands On Bay Area at the San Francisco Food Bank.

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Ms. Wadley's primary areas of practice are insurance coverage monitoring and coverage litigation. She handles civil litigation at trial and appellate levels with an emphasis on researching and writing complex motions and appeal briefs.

Ms. Wadley's specific experience includes:

Appeals and Trial-Level Motion Practice: Appeals and extraordinary writ proceedings in state and federal appellate courts, representing both parties and amici curiae. Complex trial-level motions, as well as arbitration and mediation briefs.

Insurance Litigation: Declaratory relief, bad faith, equitable contribution, and subrogation actions arising out of a variety of substantive legal areas, including construction defect and delay, business torts, patents, personal injury, pollution, and human rights abuses, involving various types of policies, including general liability, indemnity, and marine, at both primary and excess policy levels.

Insurance Coverage: Monitoring and coverage counsel to domestic, London-, German-, and Zurich-based insurance carriers, with specific emphasis on lawyers’ professional liability policies and employment practices liability policies.

Non-insurance Litigation: Motion, arbitration, mediation, trial brief, and appeal work in personal injury, wrongful death, architects’ and engineers’ design defect and delay, construction defect and delay, product liability, fire liability, breach of contract, contract interpretation, leases, unfair competition, employment, sports, gambling, mortgage, bankruptcy, and fraud cases.

Biographical Information:

Employment History:
Special Counsel, Severson & Werson, 2001-present
Judicial Staff Attorney, California Supreme Court, Civil Central Staff, 2000-2001
Judicial Staff Attorney, First District Court of Appeal, Division Three, 1998-1999
Associate, Hancock Rothert & Bunshoft, 1991-1998

Education: B.A., Stanford University, English and French Literatures, 1985. M.A., Stanford University, English and American Literature, 1986. J.D., University of California at Berkeley (Boalt Hall), 1991. Associate Editor, California Law Review. Article published in California Law Review at 79 Cal. L. Rev. 499 (1991). Member, High Technology Law Journal.

Admitted to Practice: California state and federal courts, 1991.

Professional and Community Affiliations: Member of San Francisco Bar Association Appellate Practice Section. Vice President (and past President) of the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Choral Society.

• Recently obtained a binding arbitration award in a case involving the defense of a geotechnical engineer, in which a retired appellate court justice upheld the applicability of a limitation of liability clause to all work performed by the geotechnical engineer, including claims brought the plaintiff spouse who did not sign the contract.