Nicole S. Adams-Hess
Shareholder
(408) 341-0234
Hess • Bower • Adams-Hess, PC
2105 S. Bascom Avenue
Suite 200
Campbell, California 95008
Practice Groups
Background
Nicole S. Adams-Hess, Esq. represents policyholders in insurance coverage and bad faith litigation under a broad spectrum of personal and commercial insurance policies including general liability, directors and officers, employment practices liability, errors and omissions, umbrella and excess, cyber insurance, homeowners, and automobile policies. Ms. Adams-Hess has extensive experience with insurance policy reconstruction, insurance archaeology, and lost policy cases, and has had success in obtaining significant recoveries for policyholders when their insurance policies have been lost or destroyed. Ms. Adams-Hess’s practice encompasses all aspects of litigation from drafting motions and trial court pleadings, to resolution through mediation, trial, and appeal. Ms. Adams-Hess also litigates insurance broker negligence claims.
Ms. Adams-Hess is currently an adjunct professor at Santa Clara University School of Law, co-teaching the Insurance Law Course with Randy Hess. Ms. Adams-Hess has published articles and spoken on insurance law issues.
Ms. Adams-Hess is admitted to practice before all of the courts of the State of California, and all United States District Courts in California. Ms. Adams-Hess is a member of the Santa Clara County Bar Association, the Santa Clara County Trial Lawyers Association, and the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association. Ms. Adams-Hess served as the Co-Chair of the Santa Clara County Bar Association’s Barristers Committee in 2015 and is a graduate of the Barristers Leadership Program.
Ms. Adams-Hess earned her B.A. with Highest Honors, from the University of California, Berkeley, and received her J.D. from Santa Clara University, School of Law, Cum Laude. She received a number of distinctions while at Santa Clara Law, including Order of the Coif, the Witkin Award for Academic Excellence in Insurance Law and Land Use Law, Articles Editor for the Santa Clara Law Review, and President of Equality | Santa Clara Law, Santa Clara’s LGBT student organization, among other achievements.
Bar Admissions
California State Bar
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
U.S. District Court, Central District of California
Education
J.D., Cum Laude, Santa Clara University, School of Law
B.A., Highest Honors, University of California Berkeley
Awards & Recognition
Northern California Rising Stars, Super Lawyers® – Insurance Coverage, 2016-2023
Professional Associations
Santa Clara County Bar Association
Santa Clara County Trial Lawyers Association
San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association
The National LGBT Bar Association
Publications
Author, “Maximizing Coverage Under Cyber-Insurance Policies,” Journal of Consumer Attorneys Association for Southern California, Advocate Magazine, November 2022.
Co-author, “Keeping Insurers Honest: Accepting the Reasonable Settlement Offer” with Randy Hess, California Mortgage Association, Points of Interest, Winter 2015.
Co-Author: “The Commercial Insurance Policy’s Potential” with Randy Hess, American Association for Justice, Trial, October 2014.
Co-Author: “Running For Cover: Important Insurance Issues for Mortgage Loan Brokers” with Randy Hess, California Mortgage Association, Points of Interest, Summer 2014.
Speaking Engagements
“Peaceful Protests or Violent Disturbances: Insurance Coverage in Times of Social Unrest,” Virtual Insurance Law Coverage Litigation Committee CLE Seminar, American Bar Association Litigation Section, March 2021.
“Shutdown, Making a Business Insurance Claim,” Attorney Action Club, April, 2020.
“Insurance Essentials from A to Z for Litigation and Transactional Attorneys”, Santa Clara County Bar Association, December 2016
“Cyberattack! Understanding Risk and Insurance Coverage in the Digital Age”, Santa Clara County Bar Association, December 2015.
“What You Don’t Know About Health Insurance Can Hurt you”, Santa Clara County Bar Association, May 2014.
