'Go-to' insurance lawyer Huddleston has died
Lawyer Mike Huddleston was involved in numerous insurance cases that resulted in landmark decisions.
Michael “Mike” Wallace Huddleston, a Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr shareholder renowned for his insurance law practice, died Monday.
Huddleston, 66, named by Texas Lawyer the “go to lawyer in Insurance Law” in 2012, was president as recently as 2022 of the American College of Coverage Counsel (ACCC), the preeminent association of U.S., Canadian, and Bermudan lawyers representing the interests of insurers and policyholders. He was an ACCC fellow and board member at the time of his death.
Huddleston joined Munsch Hardt in July 2013, and was instrumental to the law firm’s insurance law practice.
Munsch Hardt CEO Phil Appenzeller said, “It is with a heavy heart Munsch Hardt announces attorney Michael W. Huddleston passed away unexpectedly on Monday, May 6, 2024. Mike was a valued member of the firm.”
“Mike was a passionate and skilled lawyer, colleague and friend who brought joy to those around him each day. He was one of the most notable insurance recovery litigators in the state of Texas, an avid saxophone player and a devoted father,” Appenzeller said. “He will be sincerely missed by all at the firm, and his loss will be felt throughout the greater legal community. At this time we extend our deepest condolences to Mike’s family.”
The cause of death was not disclosed.
In 2022, Huddleston said he was diagnosed with colon cancer but had completed chemotherapy that same year.
Huddleston was often hired to manage large-scale and complex litigation, particularly claims involving multiple claimants and/or excess and super-excess coverages. He also worked with transactional and corporate counsel in the review and drafting of risk management provisions.
Huddleston was involved in numerous cases that resulted in landmark decisions. He represented the insurer in the 1996 State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. v. Gandy, in which the Texas Supreme Court virtually ended “sweetheart deals” for plaintiffs who settle with insured defendants who assign their rights against insurers in coverage disputes to the plaintiffs.
Huddleston started his law career in 1983 at a firm then known as Cowles, Sorrells, Patterson & Thompson where he worked with partner R. Brent Cooper, a specialist in insurance law and Texas A&M University graduate Huddleston once described as “a whiz kid.” In 1993, the two left the firm and formed Cooper & Huddleston.
Two years later, Huddleston became a shareholder in McCauley, Macdonald, Devin & Huddleston. Beginning in 2001, he joined Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller and practiced in that firm for over a decade.
“They asked me to try to build an insurance recovery practice but we did not make the transition to a full policyholder-side practice for six or seven years,” Huddleston said of his time at Shannon Gracey.
Huddleston was an accomplished tenor saxophonist in high school and started his higher education path planning for a bachelor’s in applied music performance at the University of North Texas.
During an ACCC interview, Huddleston said he switched majors and schools because “music did not pay enough!” He enrolled at Texas A&M University to major in political science, then got admitted to Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law for his juris doctorate.
Huddleston is survived by wife Maggie Huddleston and his adult children Michael and Tiara, whom he had with his first wife Theresa.
Huddleston never walked away from music. For years, he performed for a big band, Pecos River Brass. Most recently, he was part of a jazz quartet called Jazz Visions.