Alan has written and spoken extensively on insurance law and litigation. In 1993 and 1994, at the Law School’s request, he was Adjunct Professor (Advanced Torts/Insurance Law) at the University of Hawaii’s School of Law. He frequently speaks, writes and teaches on the subject of Hawaii Insurance Law; he has co-written the materials for, and been a panel presenter on, more than thirty (30) insurance coverage and bad faith seminars just since 1997. Attendees at the seminars are other attorneys and insurance professionals. Because his teachings contribute significantly to establishing the standard of practice of insurance claims handling in the State of Hawaii, he has been retained several times as an expert witness on that standard for both insureds and insurers.

Alan co-founded the Insurance Coverage Litigation Section of the HSBA in 2006, was its first chairperson, and is currently again its chair. He is a Vice-Chair of the Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee (ICLC) of the Tort & Insurance Practice Section of the ABA and was Program Chair for ICLC’s Annual Meeting in February, 2009. He is the only policyholder counsel in Hawaii who is a Fellow of the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel (ACCEC).

Alan also serves his profession. He is a past President of the Hawaii State Bar Association. He was the Hawaii State Representative to the American Bar Association House of Delegates for nine years, where he was a member of that body’s Nominating Committee. He served a 3-year term serving as one of the 15 members, nationally, of the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, which evaluates proposed federal court nominees for the White House.  He is currently serving the third year of a 3-year term on the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association.

Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, possessing the highest (“AV”) rating by Martindale Hubbell, and chosen as a national Superlawyer in Insurance Coverage Litigation, Alan’s practice concentrates in civil litigation, with an emphasis on insurance law and litigation, representing primarily policyholders in insurance coverage and insurance bad faith cases.  He also represents plaintiffs in personal injury work (he is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum) and litigates commercial torts on behalf of both corporate plaintiffs and corporate defendants.

Alan regularly represents individual and commercial policyholders, has also represented the State of Hawaii, and has recovered many millions of dollars for his clients, both in insurance coverage and in bad faith cases.

Education

• Yale University (B.A. History, 1967)
• University of California at Berkeley (Boalt Hall, J.D. 1972)

Member

• Fellow of the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel (ACCEC)
• American Bar Association Insurance Coverage and Litigation Committee of the Tort and Insurance Practice Section
• American Bar Association of the Section of Litigation
• Hawaii State Bar Association Insurance Coverage and Litigation Section
• American Bar Association Board of Governors.

Professional Positions

• Fellow of the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel (ACCEC), 2014 to present.
• Board of Governors of the American Bar Association, 2015 to present.
• 9th Circuit Representative on ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary 2008-2011
• State of Hawaii ABA Delegate to ABA House of Delegates 2000-2009
• Nominating Committee of the ABA House of Delegates 2000-2009
• Hawaii State Bar Association Delegate to ABA House of Delegates 1998-2000
• President, Hawaii State Bar Association, 1997

Awards

• AV rated by Martindale Hubbell since 2002
• Honolulu Magazine’s Best Lawyers in Hawaii
• Hawaii Super Lawyers 2008, 2010 to present
• Best Law Firms, Tier 1 Ranking – U.S. News – Best Lawyers 2014 to present
• Best Lawyers’ 2014 Honolulu Insurance Law “Lawyer of the Year”
• 22d Edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the practice areas of:
  Insurance Law and Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
• Million Dollar Advocates Forum – The Top Trial Lawyers In America
• Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers

Representative Cases

• Association of Apartment Owners of Imperial Plaza v. Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, 939 F. Supp. 2d 1059 (D. Haw. 2013)
• Hart v. Ticor Title Ins. Co., 126 Hawai’i 448, 272 P.3d 1215 (2012) (amicus).
• Miller v. Hartford Life Ins. Co., 126 Hawai’i 165, 268 P.3d 418 (2011) (amicus).
• Nat’l Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, PA v. Simpson Mfg. Co., 829 F. Supp. 2d 914 (D. Haw. 2011).
• Keown v. Tudor Ins. Co., 621 F. Supp. 2d 1025 (D. Haw. 2008).
• Feibusch v. Integrated Device Tech., Inc. Employee Ben. Plan, 463 F.3d 880 (9th Cir. 2006).
• Mikelson v. United Services Auto. Ass’n, 108 Hawai’i 358, 120 P.3d 257 (2005).
• Mikelson v. United Services Auto. Ass’n, 107 Hawai’i 192, 111 P.3d 601 (2005).

Insurance Law News/Articles

Key Issues in Hawaii Insurance Law Answered by the Moon Court
The University of Hawaii Law Review Vol. 33:779 (2011) ( co-authored by Alan Van Etten.)

Triggering The Duty To Defend For Inartful Pleadings
— by Alan Van Etten and Aaron Loeser

Key Issues in Hawai‘i Insurance Law Answered by the Moon Court

Association of Apartment Owners of Imperial Plaza v Fireman’s Fund Ins Co

Insurance Law News Triggering The Duty To Defend For Inartful Pleadings