Dave Schoeggl joins JAMS with more than 40 years of experience as a litigator, mediator and arbitrator, focusing on complex, high-stakes trials and arbitrations. He has represented a wide range of clients—including national and international insurers, aviation companies, product manufacturers and local businesses—in challenging and often unusual claims around the country.

In addition to his litigation and arbitration work, Mr. Schoeggl has served as a mediator in more than 30 matters and joins JAMS with a reputation as an effective mediator. He has also frequently acted as an expert witness on issues involving insurance coverage and bad faith, trial practice and legal ethics, He taught insurance law for more than 20 years as an adjunct professor of law at Seattle University School of Law and is a regular speaker at regional and national legal seminars.

Mr. Schoeggl has been twice recognized as “Seattle Lawyer of the Year” in insurance litigation by Best Lawyers and is consistently acknowledged for his excellence by Chambers USA and Thomson Reuters. His practical approach, deep industry knowledge and ability to navigate complex contract and tort disputes make him a trusted neutral in high-value and nuanced disputes.

Representative Matters

• Aviation

• As an advocate and mediator, aviation product liability issues involving design, manufacture and duty to warn claims
• As an advocate and mediator, cases involving interstate and international choice of law issues and federal pre-emption issues
• As an advocate and mediator, general aviation accidents
• As an advocate and mediator, hull damage and repair disputes
• Mass aviation disasters, including multidistrict litigation (MDL)
• Commercial aircraft lease disputes
• Commercial disputes involving aviation companies and airport property disputes
• Aircraft accident litigation involving issues such as:
  • VFR (Visual Flight Rules) and IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) procedures and Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) interpretation
  • Weather issues, including icing and turbulence
  • Mid-air and ground collisions
  • Air traffic control issues
  • Takeoff and landing planning and procedures
  • Weight and balance
  • Reciprocating and turbine engine performance and failure issues
  • Aeronautical design and modification
  • Airframe and powerplant repair standards
  • Avionics design and configuration
  • Federal pre-emption
  • Personal jurisdiction and choice of law, both international and interstate
  • Design and manufacturing defects
  • Rotorcraft-specific issues, including blade delamination, mast bumping and autorotation procedures
• Commercial aviation disputes involving issues such as:
  • Complex disputes over commercial aircraft lease terms
  • Aircraft purchase disputes involving delivery delays, grounded aircraft, financing issues, terminations, performance issues and post-manufacture maintenance issues
  • Airport property disputes
  • Supply chain disputes
• Business Commercial

• Numerous complex breach of contract disputes
• Federal government contract disputes
• Enforcement of settlement agreements
• Employment Law

• Noncompete agreements
• Environmental Law

• Disputes under Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and analogous state laws
• National Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) claims
• Air pollution disputes
• Public and private nuisance claims
• Insurance

• Coverage disputes involving many different types of commercial and personal insurance policies, including:
• General liability
• Professional liability, including legal, medical and miscellaneous
• Builder’s risk
• Financial Institutions
• Property
• War and confiscation
• Political risk
• Aircraft hull and liability
• Marine insurance, including inland marine
• Auto liability
• Space LRG and satellite
• Bad faith disputes of all kinds, including denial of coverage for loss of business income during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Insurance regulatory issues
• Insurance insolvency issues
• Risk retention groups
• Personal Injury

• Numerous auto, truck, bicycle, bus, motorcycle and pedestrian accidents
• Defamation cases
• Public and private nuisance cases
• Liability waivers and releases
• School shootings
• Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA)
• Professional Liability

• Malpractice, including legal, medical, expert witnesses and consultants
• Real Property

• Commercial property foreclosures
• Boundary disputes
• Timber trespass

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

Memberships 

• Washington State Bar Association, 1983–2025
• Disciplinary Board Hearing Officer, 2011–2017
• Alaska State Bar Association, 2005–2025
• Oregon State Bar Association, 2005–2025
• King County Bar Association, Aviation Section, Chair, 1989
• American Bar Association, Air and Space Law; Tort and Insurance; Litigation; Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee, 1983–2024
• Federal Bar Association, Western District of Washington, 1995–2025
• Aviation Insurance Association, 1988–2024
• Northwest Insurance Claims Association
• Northwest Aviation Insurance Association, 1983–2025
• Sound Experience, Board Member, 2018–2024
  
  

Honors

• Best Lawyers, "Seattle Lawyer of the Year," Insurance Litigation, 2020, 2024
• Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, Insurance, 2024
• The Best Lawyers in America, Insurance Law, 2014–2025; Insurance Litigation, 2018–2025
• Thomson Reuters, "Washington Super Lawyer," Insurance Coverage, 2003–2006, 2009, 2011–2025; Civil Litigation: Defense, 2003–2006, 2009, 2011–2024
• AV Preeminent in Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings
  
  

Selected Presentations

• Presenter, “Some Ethical Questions for Insurance Coverage Attorneys Considering Changing Sides,” The Seminar Group, October 2024
• Presenter, “Turning the Tables: Taking the Offensive to Defend Bad Faith Lawsuits,” Lorman, February 2019 and May 2022
• Presenter, “Expedited Insurance Coverage Trials,” ABA Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee, October 2016
• Presenter, “Aviation Claims That Make You Wonder,” Northwest Insurance Claims Association, November 2015
• Presenter, “Safety and Legal Issues Associated With International Flight Data Tracking and Collection,” University of Victoria, Trans-Pacific Aviation Law and Policy Conference, October 2015
• Presenter, “Aviation Pro Bono,” SMU Air Law Symposium, March 2015
• Presenter, “Developing, Presenting, and Objecting to New Generation Weather Graphics,” SMU Air Law Symposium, April 2014
• Presenter, “Space Law and Insurance,” Aviation Section, King County Bar Association, November 2013
• Presenter, “The Professional Services Definition in Real Life,” Professional Liability Underwriting Society, April 2013
• Presenter, “The Insurance Trial,” Washington State Bar Association, February 2013
• Presenter, “Insurance Law 301, Insurance Law and Ethical Issues,” Washington State Bar Association, December 2012
• Presenter, “Ethical Issues Connected With a Defense Under a Reservation of Rights,”    Pacific Northwest Law and Insurance Seminar, September 2012
• Presenter: Insurance Law 201 – “Defense under a Reservation of Rights,” Washington State Bar Association, December 2011
• Presenter, “Tough Evidentiary Issues in a Coverage and Bad Faith Trial,” ABA Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee, March 2011
• Presenter, “Strategic Issues in Insurance Litigation,” The Seminar Group, December 2010
• Presenter, “Misrepresentation Issues in Commercial Insurance Placements,” Risk and Insurance Management Society, October 2009
  
  

Publications

• "Structured Settlements Are Back — After Two Years of Court Closures and Low Rates," Forbes, Oct. 28, 2022

Background and Education

Background and Education

• Lane Powell/Ballard Spahr, 1983–1999 and 2014–2025
• Mills Meyers Swartling, 2000–2014
• Seattle University School of Law, 1998–2023
• Adjunct Professor, Insurance Law
• J.D., With Honors, University of Washington School of Law, 1983
  • Executive Articles Editor, Washington Law Review
• B.A., With Honors, University of Washington, 1980
• University of Michigan
• The Boeing Company (tooling machinist), 1980
• Production Gear Works (machinist), 1975–1979