Holden Benon

Associate

  • Holden Benon
  • Phone: +1 415 957 3123

    Import to Address Book

  • Duane Morris LLP
    Spear Tower
    One Market Plaza, Suite 2200
    San Francisco, CA 94105-1127
    USA

Holden Benon is a trial lawyer who primarily focuses on insurance coverage litigation, typically dealing with complex or cutting-edge issues including cyber/technology/media insurance, professional liability and pandemic-related business interruption. Mr. Benon has experience representing insurers in declaratory judgment actions and bad faith disputes. In addition, Mr. Benon has experience advising insurers on seeking policy rescission, navigating regulatory issues, and drafting insurance policy language. 

Mr. Benon also develops expertise by representing clients in other industries as well. For instance, he has worked on contentious real property and commercial disputes, and has represented creatives in enforcing their intellectual property rights. He has also authored articles regarding liabilities facing technologies such as drones, artificial intelligence, and autonomous vehicles, and related insurance solutions. During his third year of law school, Mr. Benon was an intern for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, where he focused on copyright and privacy issues.

Areas of Practice

  • Insurance Coverage Litigation
  • Intellectual Property
  • Construction

Representative Matters

  • Represented a cyber liability insurer in a contentious policy rescission and coverage dispute where we argued the insured was aware of vulnerabilities in its cyber infrastructure but failed to disclose them in its insurance application, and those undisclosed vulnerabilities led to a large-scale ransomware attack.

  • Benon v. McMaster, (N.D. Cal.)  Represented the plaintiff, an automotive designer, in a copyright infringement action against a Silicon Valley entrepreneur where the defense asserted a “fair use” argument, alleging that the infringing use amounted to a satire or parody.  

  • Rhone v. Housing Authority for the City of Oakland, (N.D. Cal.)  Represented a pro bono client in securing a settlement which included issuance of a two-bedroom Section 8 Housing Voucher and a monetary payment. After the Housing Authority delayed payment, filed a motion to enforce settlement and a successful motion shortening time to expedite the hearing; upon being granted 24 hours to comply, the Housing Authority remitted payment, allowing the client to embark on a new chapter in his life.

Admissions

  • California
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California

Education

  • University of California, Hastings College of the Law, J.D., 2018
  • Arizona State University, B.A., 2014

Experience

  • Duane Morris LLP
    - Associate, 2020-present
  • Clyde & Co
    - Associate, 2018-2020

Selected Publications

Media Hits

Selected Speaking Engagements

  • Speaker, "Intellectual Property Webinar: Creative IP," Academy of Art University, San Francisco, November 3, 2022
  • Speaker, “Drone Liability,” Reinsurance Association of America: Re Basics, New York City, May 12, 2022
  • Speaker, "Intellectual Property Webinar: Creative IP," Academy of Art University, San Francisco, March 16, 2022
  • Panelist, "Drones: Taking Insurance into the Sky," Digital Insurance DigIn Conference, San Diego, December 10, 2021