CARL E. FORSBERG
Shareholder
Main Phone: 206.689.8500
Direct Line: 206.689.8552
Email: cforsberg@forsberg-umlauf.com
Business Card: 
PRACTICE EMPHASIS AND EXPERIENCE
General Liability Defense
Insurance Coverage
Carl's busy litigation practice emphasizes insurance defense, first and third-party coverage opinions / litigation and the defense of alleged bad faith claims. Carl also defends personal injury and other general liability claims.
Carl has extensive trial experience, initially as an Assistant District Attorney in Anchorage, Alaska, and he continues with an active trial practice now. He is frequently asked to serve as a King County Superior Court Arbitrator and is an instructor for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy’s trial and deposition skills programs, as well as an Adjunct Professor, Trial Advocacy, at the University of Washington School of Law.
EDUCATION
J.D., Pepperdine University School of Law, 1983
B.A., Gonzaga University, 1980, magna cum laude
BAR / COURT ADMISSIONS
State of Alaska, 1983
State of Washington, 1987
State of Oregon, 2011
United States District Court, District of Alaska
United States District Court, Western and Eastern Districts of Washington
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
HONORS / AWARDS / UNIQUE RECOGNITION
- Recognized as one of "Washington's Top 100 Lawyers," 2011 and 2010, in Washington Law & Politics magazine.
- Recognized as a "Super Lawyer 2011" in Super Lawyers magazine.
- Named Washington Defense Trial Lawyers' "Defense Trial Lawyer of the Year" for 2010.
- Recognized as one of "Top Lawyers," July 2010, as selected by peers, in Seattle Met magazine.
- Recognized as "Super Lawyer" 2009-2011 in Law & Politics Corporate Edition.
- Recognized as "Super Lawyer" 2001 through 2011 in Washington Law & Politics magazine.
- "AV Preeminent" rated by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating obtainable by members of the legal community.
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
- Represented an Insurer in coverage litigation in United States District Court (D. Oregon) against an aircraft parts manufacturer’s claim for indemnity coverage, received summary judgment that their pretreatment system was an ordinary cost of doing business in compliance with regulatory licensing requirements and therefore not a covered indemnity cost under their liability policies.
- Represented an Insurer in coverage / bad faith claim by an Insured seeking coverage for damages related to serious injury / fatality auto accident, received summary judgment based upon language in the insuring clause.
- Representation of several insurance carriers in multi state / multi party, coverage litigation concerning numerous contaminated sites, received several summary judgment victories which lead to successful settlement of all known / unknown policies.
PROFESSIONAL AND CIVIC INVOLVEMENT
- Alaska Bar Association
- Washington State Bar Association
- King County Bar Association
- Member Judicial Conferencing Committee, 2001-2003, 2011-2012
- Member Judicial Screening Committee, 2000-2010
- Member CLE Advisory Committee, 2008-2010
- Chair Membership Task Force, 2008
- Trustee, 2006-08
- Co-Chair Bench Bar Conference, 2006
- Co-Chair Judicial Screening Committee, 2004-2005
- Member Judicial Evaluation Committee, 1999-2000
- Northwest Insurance Coverage Association, President, 2000-2001
- Northwest Environmental Claims Association, President, 1997-2000
- National Institute of Trial Advocacy, Instructor, 1997-Present
- Washington Defense Trial Lawyers Association, 1999-Present
- Council on Litigation Management
- Member, 2010-2011
ARTICLES AND PRESENTATIONS
- CPCU (Society of Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters) Pacific Northwest Chapter Seminar, Bellevue, WA: Panel member on a panel discussing deposition preparation, and defense of a mock deposition, February 9, 2012
- Washington State Association for Justice’s 34th Annual Insurance Law Seminar, “Strategic Settlement Milestones—Don’t Let Them Go By Unnoticed: A Defense Perspective,” January 26-27, 2012
- WSBA: How to Try an Insurance Case. Presentation and discussion with Ted Prosise of Tsongas Litigation Consulting on the trial of an insurance coverage case. December 12, 2011.
- Justice Africa Advocacy/Kenya School of Law, NITA Trial Skills Program, August 19‑27, 2011.
- National Institute of Trial Advocacy, Deposition Training Seminar, August 16-17, 2011.
- National Business Institute CLE, Insurance Law 2011: Current Case Law, Market Trends and Legal Updates, “Defense Attorneys’ Ethical Obligations in a Reservation of Rights Scenario,” July 15, 2011
- NICA, Scope of Coverage for an Additional Insured and Standards for Determining Whether a Party Is an Insured, May 27, 2011
- Washington Defense Trial Lawyers (WDTL), Annual Insurance Law Seminar, April 1, 2011
- Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Insurance Law Primer: Understanding the Essential Components: Defense Attorney’s Ethical Obligations in the Tripartite Relationship, and panel discussion on Strategic Considerations in Litigation, December 2, 2010
- Chair, 2010 Insurance Law Coverage Update, Forsberg & Umlauf seminar, November 4, 2010
- Chair, Life of a Construction Defect Claim, November 1, 2010
- Marine Insurance Association of Seattle (MIAS), Bad Faith Case Law Review / Update, September 7, 2010
- National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), Exhibits and Closing Argument Lectures, Faculty, August 14-18, 2010
- Washington State Bar Association (WSBA), Personal Injury Law Boot Camp from the Defendant's Perspective, August 11, 2010
- Chair, Environmental Coverage / Defense Lectures, July 29-30, 2010
- Chair, Lorman's King County Judicial Forum, June 11, 2010
- Washington State Bar Association (WSBA), Evidence and Objection Boot Camp, February 25, 2010
- University of Washington, School of Law, Effective Use of Exhibits in Trial, February 2, 2010
- Washington Defense Trial Lawyers (WDTL), Exhibits Use in Trial, December 11, 2009
- Chair, Lorman Educational Services, Washington Insurance Bad Faith Claims, December 10, 2009
- National Business Institute (NBI), Bad Faith Insurance Claims in Washington, November 13, 2009
- Construction Defect / Coverage Training, June 23, 2009
- IFCA / Bad Faith Update / Unfair Claims Practices, March 6, 2009
- University of Washington School of Law, Witness Deposition / Trial Testimony Preparation, February 27, 2009
- Seattle University School of Law, The Business of the Practice of Law, February 12, 2009
- University of Washington School of Law, Expert Witness Selection and Preparation, February 9, 2009
- Chair, Claims Handling Guidelines, January 21, 2009
- Lorman Educational Services, Top 5 Insurance Coverage Issues in Washington, September 26, 2008
- National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), Trial Skills / Exhibits / Direct and Cross Examination, September 7-10, 2008
- National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), Deposition Skills / Defending Your Client's Deposition, July 30-31, 2008
- Lorman Educational Services, Insurance Bad Faith Claims, July 22, 2008
- Chair, National Business Institute (NBI), Current Issues Impacting Insurance Defense Practice, June 11, 2008
- Chair, Washington Defense Trial Lawyers (WDTL), Advanced Trial Practice, April 23, 2008
- Insurance Broker Ethics Update, March 13, 2008
- National Business Institute (NBI), Insurance Law From A to Z, February 29, 2008
- Insurance Broker Ethics Review, February 27, 2008
- University of Washington School of Law, Expert Witness Selection and Preparation, February 14, 2008
- Lorman Educational Services, Insurance Bad Faith Claims in Washington, July 19, 2007
- National Business Institute (NBI), Current Issues Impacting Insurance Defense Practice, June 19, 2007
- National Business Institute (NBI), Bad Faith Insurance Claims in Washington, November 3, 2006
- Lorman Educational Services, Insurance Bad Faith Claims in Washington, July 19, 2006
- Chair, Washington Defense Trial Lawyers (WDTL), Advanced Trial Tactics Seminar, May 12, 2006
- Chair, King County Bar Association (KCBA), Trial Skills Workshop (Four-Part Series), October 5, 12, 19 and 26, 2005
- National Business Institute (NBI), Insurance Coverage Law in Washington, June 10, 2005
- Washington Defense Trial Lawyers (WDTL), The Effect of Stipulated Judgments on Coverage and Bad Faith Claims, April 8, 2005
- Washington Defense Trial Lawyers (WDTL), Good Times for Bad Faith Litigation, March 10, 2005
- National Business Institute (NBI), Third-Party Coverage in Washington, February 4, 2005
- Lorman Educational Services, Taking and Defending Effective Depositions, January 21, 2005
