Firm Overview - Barth Sullivan Behr

B U F F A L O S Y R A C U S E A L B A N Y

THE HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF OUR FIRM

Founded in 1928, Buffalo-based BARTH SULLIVAN BEHR has a long history of successfully defending insureds, insurers, municipalities and self-insured companies in trial and appellate litigation, arbitrations and mediations across Central and Western New York. We are wholly focused on providing the highest quality legal services to insurers and defendants against civil claims, whether insured or self-insured, at competitive rates. We place a premium on client satisfaction with both outcome and cost. Responding promptly to client inquiries, and sensitivity to their concerns, are the keynotes of our practice.

Our potent legal defense force is spearheaded by highly experienced trial and appellate defense counsel, who concentrate on managing and coordinating the efficient handling of contested matters, while pursuing each client’s particular goals, and serving its unique needs. All of our attorneys possess strong academic qualifications, and are zealous to achieve optimal outcomes for our clients, applying the highest professional ethics and the expertise resulting from our decades of cumulative experience.

Since its start in 1928, our firm has aimed unceasingly to provide diligent and thorough representation to insurers and their insureds for reasonable expense, and today as a result represents an impressive insurance and corporate clientele. BARTH SULLIVAN BEHR has been listed continuously for many decades in leading directories of recommended insurance counsel, including A.M. Best’s Directory of Recommended Insurance Attorneys, Hine's Insurance Counsel, and Directory of Insurance and Transportation Attorneys. We were also selected for represenation in the prestigious Who’s Who in Insurance and Risk Management.

The cornerstone of our practice philosophy has been to expedite the handling of litigation matters by taking an aggressive approach to our cases, being ever alert for opportunities to quickly resolve our client’s exposure via summary judgment and other dispositive motions. We endeavor to keep our clients informed regarding important developments in the law affecting their interests through newsletters highlighting important recent decisions, and have developed detailed, easy-to-follow guides regarding important legal issues of recurring concern.

FIRM PARTNERS

PHILIP C. BARTH III, grandson of our founder, acquired invaluable experience serving as one of the most successful in-house trial attorneys at Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company. Since rejoining Barth Sullivan Behr in 1996 he has continued to amass an impressive record of trial and appellate successes. Phil has been an active member of the Defense Research Institute for many years and was nominated and approved for membership in the prestigious International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) in 2004.

LAURENCE D. BEHR, after graduating magna cum laude from the University of Buffalo Faculty of Law and Jurisprudence in 1981, and following his 2-year service as Confidential Law Clerk to United States District Judge John T. Elfvin (Western District of New York), forged a distinguished career as a successful personal injury defense trial and appellate lawyer, and as highly respected coverage counsel with motion, trial and appellate victories in coverage disputes of many kinds. Larry held partnerships in two of Buffalo’s most respected insurance defense firms, the former Saperston & Day, P.C., and Lustig & Brown LLP, prior to joining our firm in 1999. He has tried approximately 30 personal injury cases to successful defense verdicts, and has published leading articles upon and is a frequent lecturer on important and timely insurance law topics.