Location: Culver City, California
Phone: 800-215-7237 – 310-821-9000
Fax: 310-943-2764
Email Me
For more than 20 years, Malena has advised insurance carriers on bad faith, trademark infringement, defamation, personal lines and employment-related matters, handling insurance coverage and bad faith litigation involving these and other areas. Malena has also advised and represented insurance brokers in professional liability disputes.
Malena is a trusted advisor and litigator, as well as a skilled negotiator, with a proven track record of obtaining favorable results for her clients. She is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell.
Malena is a member of the American Bar Association, Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS), Southern California Chapter, and Claims & Litigation Management Alliance (CLM). She also is a board member of the Cultural Affairs Foundation of Culver City.
In demand as a lecturer, Malena recently has taught classes in claims investigation, and bad faith and insurance adjuster personal liability for negligent misrepresentation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Malena is a graduate of the University of California Los Angeles with Honors (B.A.), and the University of California Los Angeles School of Law (J.D.). She is admitted to practice in California state courts, the United States District Court for the Central, Southern, Eastern and Northern Districts of California, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth and Tenth Circuits.
AREAS OF PRACTICE
Entertainment & Media
Insurance Practice Group
Business Litigation
BAR ADMISSIONS
California, 1992
U.S. District Court Central District of California
U.S. District Court Southern District of California
U.S. District Court Eastern District of California
U.S. District Court Northern District of California
U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit
EDUCATION
University of California at Los Angeles School of Law, Los Angeles, California
J.D.
University of California Los Angeles
B.A., With Honors
HONORS AND AWARDS
AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS
American Bar Association, Member
Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS), Member
Southern California Chapter, Member
Claims & Litigation Management Alliance (CLM), Member
Cultural Affairs Foundation of Culver City, Board Member
PUBLICATIONS AND SPEAKING EVENTS
Horizontal vs. Vertical Exhaustion at the Excess Level, Malena Dobal and Bryan M. Weiss, November 2014, International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) Committee Newsletter.
Speaker and author, “Insurance Adjuster Personal Liability for Negligent Misrepresentation and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress in Their Claims Handling,” February 20, 2015, American Bar Association CLE Seminar, Phoenix, Arizona.
Panelist and co-author, “A Liability Carrier’s Duty to Defend,” March 31, 2015, Murchison & Cumming Insurance Roundtable.
Panelist and co-author, “Claims Investigations – Avoiding Pitfalls and Bad Faith,” June 2, 2015, Murchison & Cumming Insurance Roundtable.
Panelist and co-author, “Double Agents, Order-Takers, and Special Advisors – The Producer’s Intriguing Role in Coverage Disputes (Ethics),” February 19, 2016, American Bar Association CLE Seminar, Phoenix, Arizona.
Moderator and co-author, “Adjusting Attitudes: Exploring the Role of the Attorney During the Adjustment of a Claim,” February 23, 2018, American Bar Association CLE Seminar, Phoenix, Arizona.
