Palmer J. Swanson, PC is a specialty law firm based in Fair Oaks, California. The firm has a general civil practice, and it is a specialist in certain niche areas of practice. The firm does not handle criminal or family law matters. The firm handles all types of civil litigation and civil transactional matters.

Areas of Concentration:

The firm's forte is in real estate and constuction law. Mr. Swanson is on the panel counsel list of the California Association of Realtors.  He has represented owners, buyers, sellers and lenders in all types of real property litigation.  He also represents owners, design professionals, developers, contractors and subcontractors in all types of construction-related litigation.  These matters include mechanics’ lien litigation, change order litigation, public contract claims, collection matters, and construction defect cases.  As to all these areas, the firm also works with clients on their transactional matters, drafting or reviewing agreements and related materials.   Mr. Swanson is licensed to practice in both California and Nevada, and he is conversant with Nevada law.

Another specialty practice area is insurance coverage, insurance bad faith and legal audit work.  Mr. Swanson and Mr. Ashley have authored hundreds of coverage opinions for both insurers and insureds, and they have both represented both plaintiffs and defendants in coverage and insurance bad faith litigation. Mr. Swanson and Mr. Ashley have served as coverage counsel for major insurers and large insured businesses  in matters involving all of the Western states.  The firm has a large “library” of coverage opinions and research for all of these states.  The firm has expertise in legal auditing –i.e. reviewing the bills and invoices of legal counsel to assure that the billings are reasonable and in conformity with generally accepted standards for attorney billing.

Locations and Geographic Range:

The firm is based in Fair Oaks, California, in the Sacramento metropolitan area.  Mr. Ashley is based in the Los Angeles area and provides coverage in the Southern California area.  Historically, the firm has handled matters all over the State of California, and where issues of insurance coverage are involved, it has extensive experience with all of the Western states.

Qualifications:

Mr. Swanson and Mr. Ashley are both graduates of the Law School at the University of California at Berkeley (Boalt Hall). They have served as coverage and defense counsel for major insurers in the Western United States. Mr. Swanson has tried over 30 cases and has published a number of articles on issues involving construction defects, insurance coverage, real property law, and related matters.