Professional Experience:
Mr. Portner is a partner in the Firm's Philadelphia office and chairs the Insurance Practice group. He has extensive experience providing advice, counsel and representation to insurance companies in the areas of insurance coverage and bad faith avoidance and litigation. Mr. Portner regularly represents clients in coverage and bad faith litigation in the state and federal courts in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. He also has experience representing insurance companies in disputes with managing general agents and has represented companies involved in American Arbitration Association proceedings adjudicating such disputes.
Mr. Portner also has experience representing institutional lenders in collections, workouts and bankruptcies.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Portner served a two-year clerkship with the Honorable Joseph T. Doyle of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania.
Education:
Dickinson School of Law at the Pennsylvania State University, J.D. cum laude, 1991.
Pennsylvania State University, B.A., 1988.
Universite de Strasbourg, Diplome des Etudes Francaises, 1987.
Professional Memberships and Activities:
Admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. Admitted to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Member of the Philadelphia Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the American Bar Association.
Selected Reported Cases:
Wider v. Heritage Maintenance, Inc., 827 N.Y.S.2d 837 (N.Y. Sup. 2007)
Potenzone v. Annin Flag Co., 388 N.J. Super. 303 (App. Div. 2006)
Recent News:
2009-06-08 :: New York's Appellate Division Upholds Dismissal of Action Against Insurer
2006-09-18 :: Kenneth M. Portner and Michael S. Savett Author Article in NJ Law Journal
2006-07-17 :: Kenneth M. Portner Gains NJ Appellate Court Reversal in Insurance Coverage Dispute
2006-04-19 :: Weber Gallagher Attorneys Author Article in Insurance Counsel Journal