Life, Disability, or Accidental Death Claim Denied?
Dorian Law Helps You Say:
“Not So Fast.”
Dorian Law represents people denied long-term disability benefits and families facing denied life insurance or accidental death claims. Based in California, we handle claims, appeals, litigation, and beneficiary disputes nationwide under ERISA and state insurance law.
Informed by five decades of combined insurance litigation experience, our Litigation Back Approach adapts to each case—building evidence and preserving arguments now to strengthen your options during the claim process and later in court.
Free consultation. Most denial cases are handled on contingency, with no attorney’s fees or costs unless benefits are recovered.
A boutique firm. Direct access to the attorney who handles your case.
Dorian Law represents claimants, and only claimants, in disability, life, accidental death, and ERISA benefit disputes. We know how stressful a denied claim is after a diagnosis, an injury, or a death in the family — and we know the question underneath it: who, exactly, is going to be working on this?
At a larger firm, a file can pass through intake staff, paralegals, associates, and a supervising partner — all capable people, and each one a step between you and the lawyer who will argue your case. Dorian Law has no layers. Lower overhead, no red tape, and no one learning the area on your file. Some clients feel more comfortable with that. If you are one of them, this is the firm built for you.
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The lawyer who evaluates your claim is the lawyer who argues it.
Brent Dorian Brehm reviews every matter personally, writes the appeal, and handles the litigation himself. Decisions get made the same day, by the person who will have to defend them in court. He will also tell you early if the case isn’t there — not every denial should be fought, and you should hear that from the attorney, not from a form letter. How we work with clients →
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Twenty years in this one area of law.
Brent Dorian Brehm has represented insurance claimants exclusively since 2006 — first as a partner at Kantor & Kantor, LLP, and since 2025 at Dorian Law, the firm he founded. Alan E. Kassan has done the same work for more than three decades. Between them, the firm’s attorneys have reviewed thousands of disability and life insurance claims. What that depth looks like →
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Trial and appellate experience in federal court.
Trial judgments for claimants in all four federal districts of California, oral argument before the Ninth Circuit, and published decisions against Unum, MetLife, Prudential, Sun Life, and Life Insurance Company of North America, among others. Clients also represented in Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, and Virginia. The record →
Recognition: Super Lawyers (2017–2026), Rising Star (2014–2016), Avvo 10.0 with Clients’ Choice Awards (2014, 2018, 2019, 2024), Top Attorney — Los Angeles Magazine (2026).
This is what we do.
Nothing else. No distractions.
When an illness or injury stops you from working, we help you secure the long-term disability benefits you're owed.
When life insurance is denied, delayed, or disputed, we fight to get you what your loved one intended you to receive.
When an accident takes your loved one from you and the insurer won’t pay, we fight to recover the benefits the policy promised.
When insurance or retirement benefits are tied up in a beneficiary dispute, we fight to get the funds released to you.
Claims, Appeals, Litigation, or Interpleader.
Individual and ERISA.
Dorian Law creates opportunities to get your benefits paid.
Creating opportunities starts before the lawsuit
During a Lincoln National disability appeal involving Meta, we identified an earlier disability approval and incorporated the supporting claim file by reference. We expressly asserted that disability was established, putting Lincoln on notice of that position and laying groundwork for litigation.
When the federal court later questioned the significance of the earlier approval, Dorian Law moved to admit the policy governing it. The court granted the motion, finding the policy necessary for an adequate review.
An appeal strategy became the foundation for a favorable evidentiary ruling.
Why clients choose Dorian Law.
Representative outcomes for Dorian Law clients, and published federal decisions our attorneys have secured against insurers.
Published decisions our attorneys have won
- Cobb v. Chevron Corp., No. 24-cv-03851 (N.D. Cal. 2025) — plan administrator could not reclassify a traumatic brain injury as “mental illness” to cap benefits at 24 months; judgment after trial.
- Waldron v. Unum Life Ins. Co. of America, 773 F. Supp. 3d 1169 (W.D. Wash. 2025) — trial judgment; the plan imposed no “objective evidence” requirement, and Unum could not raise a new denial rationale in litigation.
- Lee v. West Coast Life Ins. Co., 688 F.3d 1004 (9th Cir. 2012) — interpleader does not shield a negligent insurer from liability for the dispute it created.
- Holmgren v. Sun Life & Health Ins. Co., 354 F. Supp. 3d 1018 (N.D. Cal. 2018) — judgment for a tax director disabled by chronic pain; surveillance and social-media activity were not evidence of work capacity.
- Harris v. Life Ins. Co. of North America, 419 F. Supp. 3d 1169 (N.D. Cal. 2019) — fiduciary liable for failing to tell a terminally ill employee about conversion rights.
- Porco v. Prudential Ins. Co. of America, 682 F. Supp. 2d 1057 (C.D. Cal. 2010) — benefits reinstated with interest; surveillance did not outweigh the medical record.
Past results do not guarantee or predict future outcomes. Every case depends on its own facts and law. Full list on Brent Dorian Brehm’s profile.
What people say after working with us.
“From the beginning of my initial consult, it was clear to me that Brent is an expert in this legal area and leaves no stone unturned in evaluating a case. He was not only able to strategically walk me through the strengths and weaknesses of my case, but he also gave me helpful guidance on issues I hadn’t even thought to raise. As an attorney myself, I have a sense for what distinguishes the good from the mediocre or bad in attorneys, and I can tell you that Brent is an excellent one.”— Suzie S., Google review
“Brent Dorian took and won my case after several other attorneys had declined to take me on as a client.”— Rita R., Google review
“Brent helped me with a retirement case last year. He never spoke in absolutes and always gave me the insight to look into different angles with each decision I made. He never overpromised — I feel like he overdelivered with the outcome I received.”— Constantino family, Google review
“Although he ultimately was unable to take my case, I came away from our conversation very grateful that I had spoken with him. He was knowledgeable, straightforward, generous with his time, and did not make promises or tell me what I wanted to hear.”— Micheala T., Google review
Frequently asked questions
The consultation is free and confidential. Most disability, life insurance, and accidental death denial cases are handled on a contingency fee, meaning you pay no attorneys’ fees unless we recover benefits for you. In ERISA cases, a court may also order the insurer or plan to pay your attorneys’ fees separately; in Cobb v. Chevron Corp. (N.D. Cal. 2025) the fee award was $92,463.75 on top of the client’s judgment. We confirm the fee arrangement in writing before any work begins.
Yes. Dorian Law is based in Calabasas, California, and handles ERISA disability, life insurance, and accidental death claims nationwide. ERISA is federal law, so the same statute and the same federal courts govern employer-provided benefits in every state. Our attorneys have represented clients in California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, and Virginia, with trial judgments in all four federal districts of California and oral argument before the Ninth Circuit.
For employer-provided plans governed by ERISA, federal regulations give you at least 180 days from receipt of a disability denial to file an administrative appeal (29 C.F.R. § 2560.503-1), and at least 60 days for a life or accidental death denial. The deadline runs from the denial letter, not from when you decide to act. Missing it usually ends the claim, because a court will not hear an ERISA case unless the internal appeal was completed on time. Individual (non-ERISA) policies follow state law and the policy’s own terms. If you have a denial letter, call before the clock runs.
Our attorneys have published federal decisions or trial judgments against Unum, MetLife, Prudential, Sun Life, Lincoln National, Life Insurance Company of North America (now New York Life Group Benefit Solutions), Aetna, Anthem, Brighthouse, West Coast Life, and self-funded plans including Chevron and AT&T. The firm also handles claims against Hartford, Reliance Standard, Guardian, The Standard, Aflac, Securian, and FEGLI, among others. Insurer-specific pages are in the menu above.
Brent Dorian Brehm, the firm’s founder. He has practiced exclusively in disability, life, AD&D, and ERISA benefit disputes since 2006, has resolved more than 500 disputes with insurers, and personally argues the firm’s cases in federal court. Alan Kassan, a forty-year ERISA litigator, serves as Of Counsel. Rachel Eve Teicher manages operations and is usually the first person you’ll speak with.
It is the firm’s method for building a benefit claim or appeal with the eventual court case in mind. Because ERISA courts generally decide cases on the administrative record alone, Dorian Law begins by asking what a judge would need to see to reverse the denial, then builds that evidence and preserves those arguments during the claim and appeal rather than hoping to add them later. The Lincoln National ruling described above is an example: a position stated during the appeal became the basis for a favorable evidentiary ruling in federal court. Read more about the approach →
Tell us what happened.
We respond fast — usually within one business day. No obligation, no pressure, no cost. 100% confidential.
