Firm Profile
Hanna & Plaut is a civil litigation law firm located in Austin, Texas. We focus on insurance coverage, insurance bad faith, workers' compensation, and appeals in state and federal courts around the state of Texas. We are AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell and recommended by Best’s Directory of Insurance Attorneys. Catherine and David have been named to the 2016 Texas Super Lawers List. "Super Lawyers" is a Thomson Reuter business. Our firm combines “big firm” levels of experience and expertise with “small firm” responsiveness. At Hanna & Plaut, you get the best of both worlds.
Law is nothing else but the best reason of wise men applied for ages to the transactions and business of mankind.
Abraham Lincoln
Practice Areas
Appellate Law
Hanna & Plaut handles appeals in state and federal courts throughout Texas, including the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Texas Supreme Court, and courts of appeals across the state.
Appellate Law
Hanna & Plaut attorneys have extensive research and writing experience and take great pride in their appellate advocacy. Whether your appeal involves a mandamus action on a sensitive discovery matter, the planning of a comprehensive appellate strategy in the post-verdict context, or anything in between, we will represent your interests thoroughly and aggressively.
+Insurance Bad Faith
Hanna & Plaut has an extensive “bad faith” litigation docket representing insurers in disputes involving a variety of policies, including personal lines and commercial lines. We are also available to present “in-house” seminars for your insurance professionals on a wide variety of insurance topics.
Insurance Bad Faith
Hanna & Plaut's partners have represented insurance carriers in first-party bad faith cases for over 25 year each and they have had outstanding success representing insurers in all types of disputes. We understand your business and work as a part of your litigation team to defend allegations of unreasonable claims handling and statutory violations. Our focus is on achieving the best results for our clients through early analysis and case evaluation and a collaborative approach to litigation.
+Workers' Compensation
Hanna & Plaut represents workers' compensation insurance carriers in compensability and medical disputes before the Texas Department of Insurance - Division of Workers' Compensation and the State Office of Administrative Hearings as well as in state district court.
Workers' Compensation
Our workers’ compensation section is led by Robert Josey, who is Board Certified in Workers’ Compensation by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Hanna & Plaut attorneys travel to every field office throughout the state to defend clients in Benefit Review Conferences and Contested Case Hearings.
+Insurance Coverage
Hanna & Plaut provides coverage advice and representation of insurance carriers in connection with a wide variety of insurance policies.
Insurance Coverage
Hanna & Plaut has represented carriers in coverage disputes with insureds and with other carriers and can provide coverage advice prior to suit and at any stage in the litigation, including post-verdict. We have represented carriers as Plaintiffs and Defendants in declaratory judgment actions in numerous duty to defend and indemnity coverage questions. We provide coverage opinions quickly and efficiently and we are willing to discuss flat fee coverage opinion services.
+Insurance Defense
Hanna & Plaut is often hired by insurance carriers to defend their insureds in suits alleging personal injury and property damage, including automobile liability, premises liability and defective construction claims.
Insurance Defense
Hanna & Plaut's attorneys are experienced litigators who demonstrate intelligence and tenacity in the courtroom. We are known for our responsiveness to client questions and concerns and will work with you and your insureds to develop a successful and cost-efficient litigation strategy.
+Client Counseling
In addition to client counseling on a number of issues, we also provide seminars on issues related to coverage and claims handling to our clients and professional groups.
Client Counseling
At Hanna & Plaut, we value our role as counselors and our many years of experience representing carriers gives us the industry knowledge we need to provide advice to our clients on a number of issues, from insurance policy drafting and regulatory issues to Texas law and legal culture.
+Recent Articles
You’ve come a long way, baby, but there is still a way to go!
A few weeks back, I journeyed to Baton Rouge alongside my partner Sheila Tan for an appellate argument before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. (Although typically held in New...
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Paint me like one of your…pleadings? Artful pleading remains an effective loophole to evade coverage exclusions.
Century Surety Company v. Club Adventure Learning Center, LLC, puts to rest the argument that artful pleading is an exception to Texas’s well-established eight-corners rule. 2023 WL 3575647 (W.D. Tex. May 22, 2023). In Century Surety, Aguero filed negligence claims in Texas...
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