Carl Forsberg

Career

Carl Forsberg is a shareholder with Forsberg & Umlauf whose litigation-heavy practice emphasizes general liability defense, analysis and counseling insurers on first and third-party coverage issues. He also defends insurers against alleged bad faith matters. Carl is a frequent arbitrator and now, more often, a mediator in these practice areas. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Gonzaga University and his law degree from Pepperdine University School of Law.

He is licensed to practice law in Washington, Alaska and Oregon and represents clients throughout the Western states. Carl has extensive trial experience, initially as an Assistant District Attorney in Anchorage, Alaska, and with an active trial practice now. Over his career he has tried more than 120 criminal and civil cases.

Carl enjoys teaching and regularly participates as an instructor for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (“NITA”), in its trial practice and deposition skills training seminars. After teaching for many years, he is now a guest lecturer on pre-trial and trial issues at the University of Washington School of Law, Seattle University School of Law, and for the American College of Coverage Counsel. In 2011 he was invited to teach trial advocacy skills with Justice Advocacy Africa in Nairobi, at the Kenya School of Law.

For the past 20(+) years, Carl has served on the King County Bar Association’s Judicial Screening, Judicial Conference and Judicial Selection Committees, and is past chair of KCBA’s Judicial Screening and Judicial Evaluation Committees. In 2010, Carl received recognition as the Washington Defense Trial Lawyers Defense Attorney of the Year, in 2013 he received King County Bar Association’s Outstanding Lawyer award and in 2018 he received King County Bar Association’s President’s Award. Carl has been AV Preeminent Rated for the past 35(+) years and has been named to Washington’s “Super Lawyers” list since 2001 and to Washington’s “Top 100” attorneys list every year (but one) from 2010 to 2024.

Carl is past president of the Northwest Insurance Coverage Association, a nationally recognized expert on analysis of insurance policies and an author and frequent lecturer on topics related to insurance coverage and bad faith litigation. In the last ten years he has lectured on the following property and casualty insurance subjects:

Washington Defense Trial Lawyers (WDTL) “Preparing and Conducting a “Dual Mediation” with Coverage and Defense Issues,” 2024

“Washington and Oregon Long-Tail Claims Handling,” in-house insurer seminar, 2021 – 2023

“Insurance Coverage Considerations for Coronavirus Claims in Washington and Oregon,” 2020

Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) Environmental Insurance Law Update, 2017

Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) Seattle, “Perez-Crisantos Decision…,” 2017

Washington Defense Trial Lawyers (WDTL) “Insurance Law Update,” 2016

CLM Seattle “Coverage Update and Trends Discussion,” 2015

Co-author: Chapter of the LexisNexis Practice Guide: Washington Insurance Litigation regarding the rescission of insurance policies “The Insurance Application and the Insurer’s Remedies for Misrepresentation,” 2014