Beth began her legal career in New York, where she represented policyholders in federal and state courts throughout the country. Her clients ranged from hospitals to consumer products manufacturers to insurers seeking coverage from their own insurers. She later gained experience on the other side of the bench representing commercial property and general liability insurers in disputes with their policyholders or with other insurers regarding which policy covered an underlying loss. Her work as an insurance litigator is complemented by experience in other areas of the law, including general commercial disputes, immigration, and proceedings before the Security and Exchange Commission, among others. She has also worked as a newspaper reporter at the New Jersey Star-Ledger and as an academic book editor at both Vanderbilt and Rutgers Universities.
Beth plays a fast-paced offensive game and works to be a detective, translator, and advocate for her clients. Through discovery, she pieces together the story, interprets it from a legal perspective, and then helps clients determine their next best move. She finds that motion practice, mediation, or a combination of the two will often resolve disputes before trial.
Beth arrived at Amy Stewart Law after realizing she felt most fulfilled as a policyholder advocate navigating the jargon and complicated structure of insurance policies in order to optimize coverage before a conflict arises, or to advocate for clients in litigation when necessary. When she’s not practicing law, you can often find Beth at her local branch of the Dallas Public Library with her husband, son, and dog Moo, or at one of the many playgrounds in the city.
Education
University of Michigan Law School, 2012, cum laude
Rutgers University, 2003, summa cum laude
Court Admissions
Licensed in Texas
Licensed in New York
U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Eastern Districts of Texas
U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
Representative Experience
- In litigation concerning insurance coverage for liabilities arising out of a client’s lender-placed insurance business, helped draft a dispositive motion that led to partial payment of client’s defense fees and costs in New York state court
- In case concerning coverage for liabilities stemming from trucking accident, drafted successful opposition to motion to dismiss declaratory judgment action
- In case concerning coverage for COVID-19 losses under commercial property policy, drafted successful motion to dismiss all claims against client in federal court
- In case concerning terms of coverage under commercial property insurance policy for weather-related losses, drafted motion for summary judgment on breach of contract claim that led to favorable settlement in Texas state court
- Helped draft brief to Securities and Exchange Commission that led to upholding of administrative trial win for client facing allegations of insider trading
- Represented Zimbabwean national in successful application for asylum due to political persecution
Awards and Recognition
- Recognized in 2022 as a Texas Rising Star in Insurance Coverage litigation by Super Lawyers as published by Thomson Reuters
- Contributed reporting to a 2005 Pulitzer prize-winning series on N.J. Gov. James E. McGreevey as a staff writer for the Newark Star-Ledger
- Rutgers College Valedictorian and graduation speaker, 2003
Professional and Community Involvement
Member, Insurance Law Section, State Bar of Texas, 2020 Present
Member, Dallas Bar Association, 2019-Present
Publications
- “Fifth Circuit Interprets Texas’s No-direct-action Rule as Applied to Third Party Plaintiffs with Underlying Default Judgments,” Insurance Law Section, State Bar of Texas website, Oct. 13, 2021.
- “Creating ‘What Might Have Been a Fuss’: The Many Faces of Equal Public Rights in Reconstruction-era Louisiana,” Louisiana History Journal, Vol. 56, No. 1 (Winter 2015).
Employment
Before joining Amy Stewart Law, Beth was an associate at the Dallas-based law firm of Tollefson Bradley Mitchell & Melendi LLP. She began her legal career in New York as an associate at Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP and at Serpe LLC. She has also worked as an academic book editor at Rutgers and Vanderbilt University Presses and as a staff writer at the Newark Star-Ledger.