"A lot of lawyers get nice cases and verdicts. But I am proudest of the insurance bad faith body of law that was created by those cases. After I'm gone, the body of law lives on. To me, it's the biggest protection between the consumer and the insurance industry."
His passion: After the Egan case, Shernoff, now 71, went out on his own to focus on representing consumers against insurers of all types, including property, life and health.
"The whole David versus Goliath aspect of it appealed to me, and nobody was taking on the insurance companies. I thought, boy, there needs to be some balance there. This was too one-sided. Once that grabbed me I was driven. . . . I got consumed by the whole idea of pushing this concept forward. And I became pretty single-minded."
Biggest verdict: More than $100 million for the American Samoan government in insurance claims stemming from a 1991 hurricane.
High-profile clients: Shernoff represented the MGM Grand Hotel in claims on its property insurer after a devastating fire. Kirk Kerkorian turned to him twice in insurance disputes. And he recently settled a life insurance claim on behalf of the daughter of late actor Heath Ledger.
High-profile cases: Helping families claim payouts from life insurance policies purchased by Holocaust victims.
On winning: "Somebody comes to me with, say, a $10,000 problem, and they could come out of my office with $100,000 in their pocket. That makes me really happy, and it makes them really happy. And they think I'm a great lawyer. I'm getting notes right now from the Holocaust families. That's what my law license was for was to bring about that kind of balance and fairness and happiness to people."
On picking cases: "You do your due diligence upfront. We have a lot of people who come to us, but we try really hard to screen them and make sure they are legit and aren't just people trying to screw insurance companies. We spend a lot of time and money upfront making sure cases are meritorious."
Advice for others: "If something comes along that really touches your fancy, you should really go for it and not let the opportunity slide by."
Plans to retire: "None."
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lisa.girion@latimes.com
