John S. Worden has been with Schiff Hardin's San Francisco office (and its predecessor, Morgenstein & Jubelirer) since 1989 and has been a partner since 1996. From 1997 to 2000, Mr. Worden was San Francisco's managing partner. He practices throughout the United States and, in addition to substantial work in California and elsewhere, heads the firm's Nevada practice.

Trial Practice
Mr. Worden is a trial lawyer. He has tried dozens of cases for plaintiffs and defendants, in state and federal courts, in front of judges, juries and binding arbitration panels. Most such cases are on the defense, but he has multiple seven- and eight-figure plaintiff verdicts. He has tried cases in every one of the following areas, and to date he has won the last 20 cases he has tried:

• Commercial
• Construction
• Contract
• Environmental
• Finance
• FINRA
• Insurance
• Labor and Employment
• Personal Injury (plaintiff and defense)
• Real Estate
• Reinsurance
• Securities
• Wrongful Death

Insurance Coverage
Mr. Worden has experience representing policyholders and carriers in insurance disputes in the following areas, among others:

• Comprehensive General Liability
• Construction
• Directors & officers
• Environmental/Asbestos
• Life insurance
• Personal injury
• Reinsurance
• Wrongful acts

Financial Services
Mr. Worden's experience in the financial services area, in addition to trial work, involves dozens of NASD/FINRA arbitrations, including:

• Banking disputes
• Customer suits against broker-dealers
• Venture capital/private equity disputes

Construction
Mr. Worden has handled construction disputes for more than 20 years, representing subcontractors, prime contractors and owners in all types of litigation, including the following examples:

• Commercial general and subcontractors on commercial projects throughout California and Nevada
• Multiple Las Vegas casinos
• The largest contractor (HVAC) in a $60 million Stockton waterfront redevelopment hotel project
• The largest subcontractor (electrical) in the $8 billion Las Vegas CityCenter project
• The owners/developers in numerous residential home and condominium developments throughout the West

Personal Injury
Mr. Worden has handled and tried (for plaintiffs and defendants) the following types of personal injury cases, among others:

• Asbestos
• Automobile and Trucking
• Catastrophic Injury
• Premises Liability
• Wrongful Death

Personal
In his "spare time," Mr. Worden competes year-round in four sports and is a black belt kung fu instructor and a former silver medalist at the world kung fu championship in Sao Paulo, Brazil. But, alas, Mr. Worden must confess that he is not as good at any of these pursuits as he remembers himself to be.

Publications

"Your Best Opening," The Recorder (April 5, 2013)

"Advice for the Next Generation of Trial Lawyers," Bloomberg Law Reports - Business of Law (Sept. 4, 2012)

"A Guide for the Next Generation of Trial Lawyers," San Francisco Daily Journal (May 18, 2012)

"The Price of Victory: Controlling Costs in Small 'Complex' Cases," Bloomberg Law Reports - Federal Practice (Aug. 24, 2009)

"Securities Arbitration: An Idea Whose Time Has Come & Gone? (Part 2)," Wall Street Lawyer (October 2007)

"Securities Arbitration: An Idea Whose Time Has Come & Gone? (Part 1)," Wall Street Lawyer (September 2007)

"What Every Construction Professional Should Know About Insurance Coverage," Construction Accounting and Taxation (July/August 2007)

"What Every Real Estate Professional Should Know About Insurance Coverage (Especially Real Estate Lawyers Who Do Not Do Coverage Work),"California Real Property Journal Vol. 23, No. 4 (Fall 2005)

"Equine Law: They Sue Horses Don't They?" San Francisco Attorney Magazine (December 2000)

"A Parent Corporation's Insurance Coverage, Watch Out!" Association of Business Trial Lawyers Report (November 1997)

"The 'Waiver of Damages' Provision in Commercial Construction Contracts: a Most Prudent Weapon," Association of Business Trial Lawyers Report (March 1996), and California Construction Law Reporter (December 1995)

"Litigating a Small Complex Case Cost-Effectively," Association of Business Trial Lawyers Report (November 1994)

"The Mountains Behind Molehills: How to Litigate Effectively Complex Cases," Association of Business Trial Lawyers Report (November 1994) and The Recorder (July 1993)

"Liquidated Damages for Delay in Completion of Commercial Construction Projects," California Construction Law Reporter (September 1995), and Santa Clara University Law Review (Fall 1993)

"Potential CERCLA Liability of Parent Corporations for the Acts of Their Subsidiaries," University of Idaho Law Review (Fall 1993)

Speeches and Presentations

Mr. Worden has given numerous presentations at national and regional legal seminars, including:

"And Justice for All: Pro Bono Service," Litigation Management: The Company in Crisis, Litigation Management SuperCourse, Naples, Fla. (May 3, 2013)

"What Every Lawyer Should Know About Insurance," (co-presenter) Bar Association of San Francisco, Arbitration Committee, San Francisco, Calif. (April 30, 2013)

"What's New in Mediation," (moderator) The Arbitration Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco, San Francisco, Calif. (Nov. 7, 2012)

"FINRA Arbitration Appeals," FINRA CLE SuperCourse, New York, N.Y. (Sept. 14, 2012)

"Commercial Arbitration: The Pitfalls No One Wants to Talk About," San Francisco Real Estate Roundtable, San Francisco, Calif. (July 12, 2012)

"Arbitration: Great Expectations," Litigation Management SuperCourse, Chicago, Ill. (June 15, 2012)

"Alternative Fees," Litigation Management SuperCourse, Scottsdale, Ariz. (April 28, 2012)

"AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion and its Aftermath," The Bar Association of San Francisco (Dec. 1, 2011)

"Arbitration Exasperation," Litigation Management SuperCourse, Laguna Beach, Calif. (Nov. 4, 2011)

"Arbitration," (moderator) Litigation Management in a New York Minute (Aug. 5, 2011)

"Dodd-Frank: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," (co-speaker) Catlin Fourth Annual Broker-Dealer Consortium (May 5, 2011)

"Class Action Arbitration," Bar Association of San Francisco (Dec. 9, 2010)

"What They Don't Teach in Law School About How Law Firms Really Work," Seattle University School of Law (Sept. 21, 2010)

"Business Development for Newer Lawyers (and Older Lawyers, too)," Seattle University School of Law (Sept. 21, 2010)

"Best Arbitration Practices," (Speaker, with Hon. Fern Smith (Ret.) and Hon. Rebecca Westerfield (Ret.)) The Arbitration Committee of the ADR Section of The Bar Association of San Francisco, San Francisco, Calif. (March 23, 2010)

"How to Argue the Burden of Proof, in Voir Dire, Opening and Closing," The Bar Association of San Francisco, San Francisco, Calif. (Jan. 29, 2009)

"Opening Statements," University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law (Jan. 21, 2009)

"Taking Control of Your Career," Bridging The Gap: Between Law School and Legal Practice, The Bar Association of San Francisco, San Francisco, Calif. (Nov. 14, 2008)

"Insurance and California Real Estate," CREW (California Real Estate Women) (July 31, 2008)

"What Every Real Estate Lawyer Should Know About Insurance Coverage," State Bar of California Section Education Institute (Jan. 19, 2008)

"Winning by Arguing Burden of Proof," Network of Trial Law Firms, Pebble Beach, Calif.  (April 2007)

"What Every Real Estate Lawyer Should Know About Insurance Coverage," State Bar of California, 78th Annual Meeting (Sept. 9, 2005)

"Creative Discovery in NASD Action"NASD SuperCourse, New York, NY (Sept. 13, 2004)

"What's Hot in Coverage Litigation," The Network of Trial Law Firms, San Diego, Calif. (April 2003)

"World Trade Center Insurance Coverage Issues: Property and Liability Issues in Claims for Damages Incurred as a Result of War (Declared or Not)Hijacking, and Acts of Foreign Enemies," Network of Trial Lawyers, Palm Beach, Fla. (Oct. 2001) and State Bar of California, Carlsbad, Calif. (May 2001)

"Recent Coverage Developments in Construction Litigation," State Bar of California, Anaheim, Calif. (Sept. 2001)

"California Insurance Law," Lorman Education Services, San Francisco (May 2001)

"California Insurance Law," Lorman Education Services, Monterey, Calif. (June 2000)

"Coverage Issues With Mergers and Acquisitions," State Bar of California, Monterey, Calif. (June 2000)

"Dealing with Insurance Issues in Mergers and Acquisitions," State Bar of California, San Francisco (June 2000)

"California Insurance Law," Lorman Education Services, San Francisco (Jan. 2000)

"Insured-Insurer Issue Resolution," Network of Trial Law Firms, Palm Beach, Fla. (Oct. 1999)

"Recent Developments in 'Continuous Trigger' Insurance Coverage Litigation," Network of Trial Law Firms, Palm Beach, Fla. (Oct. 1998)

Awards and Honors

1997 San Francisco Bar Association Barrister of the Year

Northern California Super Lawyers, Insurance Coverage & Securities Litigation (2004-Present)