Michael J. Bidart Honored With Charles Althouse Lifetime Achievement Award by Western San Bernardino County Bar Association

The Western San Bernardino County Bar Association honored Michael J. Bidart, managing partner of Shernoff Bidart Echeverria LLP, with its 2026 Charles Althouse Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing his extraordinary career as a trial attorney and his lasting contributions to consumer protection and insurance law.

The association presented the award during its annual Installation of Officers and Awards Ceremony on October 8 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Ontario, California.

A nationally respected trial attorney, Mr. Bidart has spent more than four decades challenging insurance companies and health maintenance organizations that wrongfully deny benefits to policyholders. His work has produced landmark jury verdicts, established important legal precedents and helped expand protections for consumers throughout California.

Since joining Shernoff Bidart Echeverria LLP in 1986, Mr. Bidart has played a central role in developing the firm’s insurance bad faith and healthcare litigation practices. He currently leads the firm’s HMO Litigation and Property/Casualty Departments.

Among his most significant accomplishments, Mr. Bidart secured a landmark $120.5 million jury verdict against Aetna in Goodrich v. Aetna in 1999. The lawsuit challenged the health insurer’s refusal to authorize medical care that its own physicians recommended. The verdict became a defining moment in litigation against HMOs and helped draw national attention to the consequences of insurance companies placing financial considerations ahead of patient care.

Mr. Bidart also helped establish important consumer protections through State Farm v. Superior Court, a 1996 decision involving the application of California’s unfair business practices laws to insurance companies. His work following the 1994 Northridge earthquake helped secure substantial recoveries for policyholders and challenged insurance industry practices that deprived homeowners of benefits under their policies.

Beyond his courtroom victories, Mr. Bidart’s advocacy has influenced healthcare coverage for patients facing serious medical conditions. His work contributed to expanded treatment benefits for women with breast cancer and helped establish insurance coverage for proton beam therapy for prostate cancer patients.

“Throughout my career, I’ve seen what happens when insurance companies place profits ahead of the people who depend on them,” said Mr. Bidart. “When someone pays for insurance, they deserve to know that the company will honor its promises when they need help the most. I’ve been fortunate to work alongside extraordinary attorneys who share that conviction, and together we’ve helped secure protections that extend far beyond any individual case. I’m deeply honored to receive this recognition from the Western San Bernardino County Bar Association.”

Mr. Bidart’s accomplishments have earned recognition from many of California’s leading legal organizations. The Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles named him its 2015 Trial Lawyer of the Year, while CAL-ABOTA recognized him as Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2011.

He has also earned repeated recognition among Southern California’s Top 10 Super Lawyers and received multiple Best Lawyers’ Lawyer of the Year honors for Insurance Law in the Inland Empire. The Daily Journal recognized him among California’s leading plaintiff attorneys and named him a Top Healthcare Attorney in 2019.

A fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, International Academy of Trial Lawyers and American Board of Trial Advocates, Mr. Bidart has also served in leadership roles with Consumer Attorneys of California and the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles.

His contributions extend to legal education, where he has frequently lectured on insurance bad faith and HMO litigation, sharing his experience with attorneys, judges and other legal professionals.

The Charles Althouse Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes another milestone in a career that has helped reshape the relationship between insurance companies and the consumers who depend on them. Mr. Bidart continues to represent policyholders and pursue litigation aimed at holding insurers accountable for wrongful claims practices.

About Shernoff Bidart Echeverria LLP

Founded in 1975, Shernoff Bidart Echeverria LLP is a nationally recognized insurance bad faith and consumer protection law firm with offices in Claremont and Beverly Hills, California. The firm has played a pioneering role in developing insurance bad faith law and represents individuals and businesses in disputes involving denied insurance claims, healthcare coverage, catastrophic injuries and other complex litigation. For more information, visit www.shernoff.com.