Alan Van Etten

Chosen as a national SuperLawyer, possessing the highest ("AV Pre-eminent") rating by  Martindale-Hubbell and listed in The Best Lawyers in America, Alan's practice concentrates  in civil litigation, with an emphasis on insurance coverage and bad faith law and litigation, representing individual, corporate and government  entity policyholders in insurance coverage and bad faith cases.  He also represents  plaintiffs in selected personal injury cases (he  is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum).  He is the only policyholder/plaintiff's attorney in Hawaii admitted as a Fellow of the American College of Coverage Counsel, an invitation-only national organization of insurance coverage and bad faith attorneys.  Born and raised in  Honolulu, Hawaii, he graduated from Yale University in 1967 and from U.C. Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law in 1972.  He clerked for State of Hawaiii Chief Justice William S. Richardson in 1972-73, and  has served his profession as  President of the Hawaii State Bar Association in 1997, Hawaii State Bar Association Delegate to ABA House of Delegates, 1998-2001, State Delegate for Hawaii to ABA House of Delegates 2001-2009, and 9th Circuit Representative on the ABA Standing Committee for the Federal Judiciary,2008 - 2011. He is a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation (ABF) and Past Chair of the Hawaii Chapter of the ABF.  He co-founded the  Insurance Coverage Litigation Section of  the Hawaii State Bar Association in 2006, was its first Chairperson, and is currently again its Chairperson.  He has  been a Vice-Chair of the  Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee (ICLC)  for the Tort and Insurance Practice Section of the ABA, and was Chair of the  2009 ICLC Annual Meeting.  Alan has written and spoken extensively on insurance law  and litigation since 1993 when, at the Law School's request, he was  Adjunct  Professor of  Advanced Torts and Insurance Law at  the  University of  Hawaii's William S. Richardson School of Law.  He frequently speaks, writes and teaches Hawaii Insurance Law.  He has co-written the materials for, and been a panel presenter on, more than fifty (50) insurance coverage and bad faith seminars in the past 30 years.  Attendees at the seminars are other attorneys and insurance professionals.  Because his teachings contribute significantly to establishing the standard of care in the handling of insurance claims in the State of  Hawaii, he has served as an expert witness on that standard for both insureds  and insurers.  He has recovered many millions of dollars for his clients in insurance coverage, insurance bad faith and personal injury cases.