Our People
Linda L. Foreman
Linda Foreman has been ranked in Chambers USA 2025 for her outstanding work in Insurance coverage for policyholders, earning a top ranking for her expertise and leadership in insurance coverage matters.
Practice Area—Insurance coverage for policyholders
I specialize in solving insurance coverage problems for commercial clients. My experience includes Property, General Liability, Errors & Omissions, Employment Practices and Difference in Conditions. Our firm’s extensive practice in the Construction and Real Estate/Development industries developed our expertise in Builders Risk and wrap-up liability policies.
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“Your reputation is that you are better at getting insurance companies to pay money than anyone.” This comment came from the owner of a general contracting company who worked with and against me on tens of claims over twenty years. The successes come by developing a strategy, with facts and close analysis of policies, to gain leverage with the insurer. Representing a defunct general contractor in a construction defect case brought by the Owner, I negotiated with claims representatives before mediation, resulting in the insurers paying the entire settlement and my client receiving $60,000 from the subcontractor’s insurer. Counsel for the insurer said “Linda, you are the only person in town who does this.,” an unintended compliment.
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“You don’t take on the insurance companies.” The comment, from the same contractor, is accurate as my practice is concentrated in using insurance to solve business problems for clients, not in contingency fee cases for bad faith. Years of trial experience taught me litigation risk. My role is to minimize risk by consulting with the client on business objectives. Litigation is one of my favorite tools, but it is not always the tool the client uses first. “Winning” can be “losing” when we successfully challenge provisions found in millions of policies. The insurer cannot afford to lose, appealing, rather than settling. Clients want resolution because of the needs of their business and to protects their insurance program. We work to tailor our litigation approach with guidance from the client.
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Career
Linda L. Foreman is a founding partner at Foreman Sturm & Thede LLP, she gained valuable experience about insurers’ claims management as a partner in a defense firm. During her fourteen-year tenure at Foster Pepper & Shefelman (now Foster Garvey) she co-founded a policyholders insurance practice. Her trial experience in state and federal courts has been invaluable. Over the years she has presented at CLEs, including for the ABA, and has published an articles.
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Projects
The Rise on Madison, Nexus Condominiums, Colman Bldg. UPS Facility at Boeing Field, Regata Condominiums, The Merc Apartments (all Seattle/Eastside), East Clearwell Water Filtration Plant (Everett), Komachin School (Thurston Co.) The Washington Building (Tacoma), Suntop Farms (Kitsap Co.), Pacific Rim Aquarium (Tacoma) and multiple Seattle downtown buildings and apartments after the Nisqually Earthquake.
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Education
Bradley University and the University of Illinois School of Law
Kyle concentrates his work across each of our firm’s core areas: insurance recovery, construction, real estate, and business. In his practice, he assists clients in matters ranging from day-to-day business issues to complex and high-end transactions and litigation.
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He regularly helps a wide range of policyholders recover the full benefits of their insurance coverage through claims and litigation. He also guides clients in all phases of commercial and residential construction, including property acquisitions and dispositions, construction contract preparation and negotiation, and litigation. His construction and real estate clients include project owners, developers, private equity firms, public agencies, general contractors, subcontractors, and material suppliers. He provides counsel for businesses and offers a wide range of services, including entity formation and dissolution, general risk management, contract preparation and negotiation, and corporate governance issues. His litigation practice focuses on the resolution of commercial disputes, including breach of contract, torts, insurance coverage, construction and design, real estate, and partnership and shareholder disputes.
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He is a regular and sought-after speaker and author on insurance and construction issues across the country. He has served as vice-chair for the American Bar Association, Property Insurance Law Committee, a national group dedicated to the education and development of first-party insurance law, and contributed annually to the Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal’s publication tracking the development of insurance law. He is the author of the Oregon State Bar’s BarBooks Insurance Law chapter on personal and advertising injury coverage.
Nick is an insurance recovery litigator who represents policyholders in complex insurance coverage disputes. He has advised clients in a wide variety of insurance disputes, including claims and lawsuits arising under commercial general liability, professional liability, directors and officers, employee dishonesty, and commercial and residential property insurance policies. Nick has successfully represented clients in claims, trials, arbitrations, and appeals, and has obtained numerous favorable settlements for his clients.
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He has successfully represented commercial property owners, multi-family property owners, homeowners’ associations, and residential property owners seeking coverage under their property insurance policies. In addition, Nick has secured coverage for contractors, developers, and other corporations under their liability policies. He also has substantial experience litigating claims for insurance “bad faith” and recovery of attorney fees on behalf of his clients. Nick has also represented clients in intellectual property litigation, including patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret matters. Given this experience, Nick is uniquely qualified to represent policyholders seeking insurance benefits for loss concerning intellectual property rights and cybersecurity breaches.
Nick has been selected to the “Rising Stars” list, published by Oregon Super Lawyers magazine, each year since 2013. He regularly presents and writes on a variety of insurance coverage issues. Additionally, he has been quoted in Law360, a publication that covers breaking news in insurance litigation and policy.
Brian brings 30 years of experience representing business clients in transactions, entity formation and dissolution, human resources, risk management and litigation.
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Previously, as a shareholder with a regional law firm, Brian represented a broad range of business, real estate and construction clients in all aspects of business administration. For several years prior to joining us, Brian served as in-house counsel for a regional construction company. In that role, Brian provided business, transactional, contracting and human resources advice. As an experienced litigator and business attorney with a strong construction industry background, Brian brings a unique set of skill and perspective to our construction and business clients.
Brian also brings that experience to his alternative dispute resolution practice. He has represented stakeholders in transactions and in litigation, enabling him to understand the personal and business considerations that are often the key to creating a zone of agreement to allow parties to resolve disputes through mediation. Brian’s experience and ability to confidently explain the risks of litigation allows parties to make practical and sound business decisions. As an experienced trial lawyer, Brian understands the role of the neutral to facilitate the efficient and fair resolution of disputes through arbitration.
Brian has also authored several Oregon State Bar civil practice and procedure chapters including the 2020 edition of the Oregon Civil Pleading and Litigation publication.
Scott is a seasoned litigator with over 10+ years of experience specializing primarily on insurance coverage disputes– now exclusively on the policyholder side. He has advised clients and successfully litigated matters to jury verdict in a wide variety of complex insurance coverage disputes in the Pacific Northwest. Scott takes a practical, solution-driven approach to his client’s disputes, with a focus on our client’s objectives and goals, both short- and long-term.
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Previously, as a shareholder with an insurance coverage litigation firm, Scott represented the insurance industry across all aspects of insurance related matters specializing in extra-contractual and bad faith litigation, insurance coverage advice and litigation, policy compliance and preparation, duty to defend analysis, and the investigation and litigation of Special Investigation Unit (SIU) claims. Scott also has considerable experience in a broad range of business litigation, including transaction-related breach of contract claims, construction claims and commercial torts.
Scott has presented numerous Continuing Legal Education presentations and co-authored articles published by American Bar Association regarding insurance coverage matters, including recently presenting to the Oregon Association of Defense Counsel regarding changes to Oregon law regarding negligence per se claims under Moody. Scott was also a chair for the Insurance Coverage Practice Group with the Oregon Association of Defense Counsel prior to joining FST. During law school, Scott worked at Lane County Legal Aid and Advocacy Center assisting indigent individuals with landlord/tenant issues, foreclosures, and victims of fraud.
Michael has over twenty years of experience as a trial attorney in Oregon state and federal courts. Michael’s practice includes a broad range of subject areas with a concentration on construction contracting and litigation, real property, commercial litigation, and land use. His experience includes representing clients in jury trials, appeals, administrative proceedings, and arbitrations.
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Michael is the chair of the Oregon State Bar’s Disciplinary Board for the Central Oregon region, and a member of the United States District Court Local Rules Committee for Oregon. Michael is the author of the Oregon State Bar’s Real Estate Deskbook chapter on Rescission, Reformation and Specific Performance. He has been given the AV rating by the Martindale Hubbell law directory for the highest level of professional excellence.