Jordon S. Steinway

Jordon Steinway has enjoyed a dramatic rise in the insurance industry, having quickly established himself as go-to counsel for some of the largest insurance companies in the world as they navigate contentious, high-exposure coverage disputes with their policyholders. Over the past three years alone, Steinway has served as lead counsel in lawsuits pending in more than twenty states, where he has litigated coverage issues spanning construction defect, bad faith, wrongful conviction, duty to defend, and sexual abuse, among other novel issues, some of which were matters of first impression.

Attorneys know they are working against a smart and tenacious adversary when they see Steinway’s name attached to a case, and the results are self-evident. For example, in one particularly complex federal court case involving fifteen parties, Steinway successfully orchestrated a multifaceted strategy that led to millions of dollars in savings for his client. Among the legal and factual issues in the case were several choice-of-law questions, a combination of commercial general liability and pollution policies, multiple and irreconcilable other-insurance endorsements, bad faith allegations, and claims for equitable contribution and subrogation.

One Forty Under 40 nominator who worked alongside Steinway as co-counsel in a California declaratory judgment action praised his writing skills: “His legal writing is some of the best I’ve seen during my eighteen years of litigation practice: it was clear, precise, persuasive, supported, and tight as a drum. I am very glad I never had to oppose one of his motions!”

Another Forty Under 40 nominator, who worked with Steinway in a coverage lawsuit arising from a murder that occurred at a Washington, D.C. nightclub, noted that Steinway’s decision to add the decedent’s estate as a defendant and to file an early motion for summary judgment “struck fear in the heart of the underlying plaintiff that there could be no recovery,” which forced a settlement at Steinway’s final offer.  The nominator added, “Jordon is an incredibly talented attorney, one who is adaptable, thinks within and outside the box, leaves no stone unturned, is zealous, wise beyond his years, and in his display of civility to fellow counsel, helps remove some of the tarnish that has fallen on this profession.”

Additional acclaim from another Forty Under 40 nominator recognized Steinway’s value in counseling clients before disputes ever get to the litigation stage: “A substantial part of his practice is the provision of pre-litigation coverage advice, claims analysis, and other counsel that is intended to minimize his clients’ potential exposure for defense costs and/or indemnity.”  With respect to Steinway’s general lawyering abilities, one nominator commented: “While some attorneys are good at strategy but cannot write; and some can write but cannot advocate on their feet; and some are impersonal and have a hard time communicating with others, Jordon personifies the best of all these traits.”