Josh Franklin

Josh Franklin is a business trial lawyer who has tried nearly fifty jury trials in his career.  He handles cases throughout California and Colorado, focusing primarily on insurance coverage/bad faith litigation and business litigation.  Josh has represented mutual funds, software companies, biotech companies, contractors, developers, manufacturers, law firms, accounting firms, medical practices, small businesses, and individuals as both plaintiffs and defendants in a variety of high-stakes disputes.  Having frequently represented underdog clients against insurance companies and other powerful opponents, Josh is in his element when litigating against much larger law firms.

In the insurance coverage/bad faith arena, Josh only represents policyholders.  He regularly handles matters arising out of an array of insurance policies, including directors and officers liability (“D&O”), errors and omissions (“E&O”), employment practices liability (“EPL”), and cyber liability.  In recent years, Josh has litigated insurance coverage matters involving the duty to defend, the right to independent counsel, bad-faith claim handling, and other coverage issues in state and federal courts in California and Colorado.  Josh has also written and presented on the topic of cyber insurance coverage.  In 2017, he served as the Chair of the San Diego County Bar Association’s Insurance/Bad Faith Law Section.   

Josh also represents businesses in disputes alleging breach of contract and business torts, including fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and unfair competition.  He also handles civil actions alleging violations of various state and federal statutes, including California’s Unfair Competition Law (“UCL”), False Advertising Law (“FAL”), Consumer Legal Remedies Act (“CLRA”), and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”).

Apart from his litigation practice, Josh completed mediation training at Pepperdine University’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution and occasionally serves as a mediator for commercial insurance coverage disputes.

Josh’s prior experience includes litigating complex civil cases with Arnold & Porter LLP and serving as a Deputy District Attorney in the Economic Crime Unit of the Denver District Attorney’s Office.  He has tried a wide variety of cases, ranging from insurance bad faith to securities fraud to first-degree murder, among others.

Josh has a peer-review rating of “AV-Preeminent” from Martindale-Hubbell, has been recognized by Super Lawyers in the area of Insurance Coverage, and has been recognized by Best Lawyers in the area of Commercial Litigation.  In 2017,  he was named as one of 100 attorneys in the San Diego Business Journal’s “Best of the Bar” list.  He is admitted to practice in California, Colorado, and New York.

Education

J.D., University of Colorado School of Law, 2000

Order of the Coif
Articles Editor, University of Colorado Law Review

B.A. (International/Intercultural Studies), Fordham University, cum laude, 1996

Mediation Training, (“Mediating the Litigated Case”), Caruso School of Law, Pepperdine University (2023)

Admissions

California
New York
Colorado
U.S. District Court, Central District of California
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Clerkships

Law Clerk to the Honorable Nathan B. Coats, Colorado Supreme Court (2000-2001)

Publications

Comment: Three Strikes and You’re Out of Constitutional Rights? The Prison Litigation Reform Act’s “Three Strikes” Provision and Its Effect on Indigents, 71 U. Colo. L. Rev. 191 (2000)

Tipping Friends Without Benefits – Will the U.S. Supreme Court Clarify the “Personal Benefit” Element of Insider Trading After United States v. Newman?, L.A. Daily Journal (August 2015)

Why the Supreme Court Denied Certiorari in United States v. Newman and What to Expect Next, L.A. Daily Journal (October 2015)

Cyber Insurance 101, Linkedin (January 2016) Link to Article

Speaking Engagements

Insurance Bad Faith 2023, National Business Institute, Live Online Seminar (June 2023)

A Lawyer’s Guide to Cyber Insurance, Association of Corporate Counsel – Colorado Chapter, Live Online Seminar (May 2022)

Advanced Insurance Bad Faith in California, National Business Institute, Live Online Seminar (January 2022)

Insurance Coverage Litigation Boot Camp, National Business Institute, Live Online Seminar (September 2020)

Cyber Insurance: What Every Financial Executive Should Know, Financial Executives Networking Group,
San Diego Chapter (October 2018)

Navigating the Labyrinth of Cyber Insurance, Construction Financial Management Association — Southwest Regional Conference, Phoenix, AZ (September 2018)

Mitigating the Costs of Arbitration and Litigation, Financial Executives International, San Diego Chapter (February 2018)

Navigating the Labyrinth of Cyber Insurance, Association of International Certified Professional Accountants — Construction and Real Estate Conference, Las Vegas, NV (December 2017)

Cyber Insurance Basics, Financial Executives International, San Diego Chapter (March 2017)

Nightmares on Cyber Street: Recent Developments in Data Privacy Litigation and Cyber Insurance Coverage, San Diego County Bar Association (October 2016) Link to Nightmares on Cyber Street Program

Cyber Insurance 101, San Diego County Bar Association (December 2015) Link to Cyber Insurance 101 Presentation

Roundtable Discussion: Hartford Casualty Insurance Company v. J.R. Marketing, L.L.C., San Diego County Bar Association (November 2015)

Strategies for Effective Rule 30(b)(6) Depositions of Insurance Companies, Colorado Trial Lawyers Association (May 2015)

Professional Memberships

San Diego County Bar Association
Insurance/Bad Faith Law Section

• Chair (2017)
• Executive Committee Member-at-Large (2016)

Federal Bar Association, San Diego Chapter

Lawyers Club of San Diego

Association of Business Trial Lawyers, San Diego Chapter

Hon. J. Clifford Wallace American Inn of Court (2015-2017)

Volunteer Activities

Encinitas Little League, Manager – T-Ball/Rookies (2016, 2017)

La Costa Youth Organization, Assistant Coach – T-Ball/Pinto/7U All-Stars (2016-18)