Thierry V. Barkley concentrates his practice in insurance work including coverage opinions, declaratory relief, interpleaders, defense of bad faith litigation, and life, health, disability, and ERISA litigation.
Mr. Barkley was with his prior firm for more than 22 years after completing two years as lead counsel for Bristol Meyers Squibb defense team in Reno handling the defense and settlement of over 150 individual plaintiff cases. Over the years, Mr. Barkley has tried to verdict premise liability slip and falls; personal injury auto; professional legal malpractice cases; environmental class actions; commercial contract claims; and first party bad faith and first party disability insurance cases.
Mr. Barkley is licensed to practice law before the Nevada Supreme Court, the Nevada Federal District Court, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme. He is also an active member of the Defense Research Institute as a Regional Editor for Covered Events, acts a state liaison for the DRI Insurance Law subcommittee and the newly formed Lawyers & Professionalism committee. He is a frequent lecturer on handling coverage and bad faith litigation.
Mr. Barkley is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
Mr. Barkley was born March 21, 1955 in Paris, France. The Barkley family emigrated to the United States in August 1967 and moved to Reseda in the San Fernando Valley in 1969. Mr. Barkley graduated from Reseda High School in 1972 with honors including membership in the California Alcuins Scholarship Federation, Outstanding Teenagers of America and elected a member of the City of Los Angeles Ephebians Society for his civic activities.
Mr. Barkley attended UCLA, graduating in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Mr. Barkley attended UCLA on a full four year scholarship as a California State Scholar. At graduation he was honored as one of 50 Chancellor’s Marshalls (Blue & Gold). In the summer of 1976, Mr. Barkley was proud to see his father’s 4th Symphony “America 1976? performed by the San Diego Symphony as part of the nation’s bicentennial celebrations.
Mr. Barkley obtained his Juris Doctor from California Western School of Law, in San Diego in 1979. During this time, he worked with then Prof. Houston Lay who was the director of the International Law Program. Mr. Barkley was both a member and director of the School’s Phillip C. Jessup Moot Court Team as well as an associate editor with the International Law Journal. He interned his last year with the 4th District Court of Appeals as law clerk to Justices Cologne and Staniforth.
In 1979 Mr. Barkley moved to Nevada clerking with the Hon. Merlyn Hoyt for the 7th Judicial District Court. He stayed on for a second term and set roots in Nevada. After a stint as a City prosecutor and general practice, Mr. Barkley and his wife decided to move to Reno where Mr. Barkley started his career in insurance defense litigation in 1983. The Barkleys have made Sparks their home since 1986 raising four children.
