Zuckerman Spaeder Partner Brian Hufford Named a Law360 “Benefits MVP” for the Sixth Time

Zuckerman Spaeder is pleased to announce that partner D. Brian Hufford has again been named a Law360 “MVP of the Year” in the Benefits category. This is the sixth time in ten years that Mr. Hufford has received an MVP honor from Law360, which annually recognizes attorneys who have “distinguished themselves from their peers over the past year through high-stakes litigation, record-breaking deals and complex global matters.”
Mr. Hufford, alongside partners Jason S. Cowart and Caroline E. Reynolds, leads a national practice on behalf of hospitals, health care providers, and patients in disputes with health insurance companies. With this team, Mr. Hufford has made significant legal advances on behalf of these groups, with Law360 noting that he “secured key wins…in cases challenging thousands of healthcare coverage denials, including a victory at the Ninth Circuit where he was able to change the court's mind on the third try…”
In this case, the Ninth Circuit gutted the landmark 2019 behavioral health ruling the Zuckerman Spaeder team delivered against United Behavioral Health. Undeterred, they led a powerful retort that included a broad effort to draw attention to the dangers of the decision and to seek support from influential legal, governmental, and community leaders. As a result, their petition for reversal gained remarkable amicus support, including from the federal government, 17 states, and dozens of organizations. This intensive effort produced a stunning result, in which the court twice replaced its previous rulings, ultimately issuing a significantly more favorable decision that substantially revived the case.
In an article about the award, Law360 discusses Mr. Hufford’s motivation for taking on benefits cases, noting that he grew up “on the campus of a residential treatment facility for children, where his father worked as the executive director. Experiencing up close and personal how essential these services were for the facility's patients made him realize how important it is to have access to this kind of treatment…” As Law360 reports, a personal challenge arose when Mr. Hufford faced a battle with an insurance company over his son’s medical care, which “triggered his first legal action against United Health as well as the beginning of his healthcare practice: a case that resulted in a $350 million settlement…”
Mr. Hufford and his team delivered several other positive results over the last year, including obtaining certification of a nationwide class of Anthem subscribers. In that case, in which plaintiffs allege widespread wrongful mental health claim denials by the insurer, the court’s ruling included numerous references to the team’s other precedent-setting cases – demonstrating the significant impact of their decade-long fight.