New York City Metropolitan Area
An accomplished strategic thinker with extensive domestic and international experience in managing litigation of high-exposure commercial general liability cases throughout the European Union, Canada, the United States, Australia, and Africa. Macro/micro knowledge of industry-wide trends in catastrophic gas and electric tort, dram shop, premises liability, New York Labor Law, and inadequate security litigation. Solid strategic and analytic abilities; able to understand complex technical and regulatory issues and leverage them for defense and business strategy. Expert analytical, negotiation, communication and relationship-building skills. Heavy CEO contact; motivated by insured retention, unafraid to personally steer projects to realize larger strategic objectives.
• Director and Counsel with oversight responsibility for two GL/specialty lines insurers: Crum & Forster of Morristown, New Jersey and First Mercury Financial Corporation of Southfield, Michigan. • Across organizations and on a one-on-one basis, insure proper early liability investigation and damages evaluation on all death, head injury, spinal cord injury, burn, dismemberment, facial scarring, sexual misconduct, Labor Law and professional liability claims. • Manage majority of high exposure coverage and risk transfer matters affecting Labor Law and premises liability claims on the ISO CGL form, ISO and manuscript endorsements, including controversies of contractual indemnity, designated premises exclusions, action over exclusions, primary and non-contributory coverage requirements and hammer clauses. • Created and possess primary technical responsibility for specialized inter-company unit handling all inadequate security claims. • Personally conference requests for policy limits settlement authority with company CEO. • Perform comprehensive trial review of all matters on which excess potential exists and provide trial recommendation to SVP of Claims Division. • Ongoing responsibility for claim handler education; develop and maintain online databases and libraries for team use, e.g., “Estimating Medical Expenses in Catastrophic, Dismemberment and Spinal Cord Injury Cases,” “Wage Information (National to Local) for Estimating Lost Wage Claims” and “Wrongful Death Statutes, Jury Instructions and Damages by State.” • Heavy Underwriting interaction; advise of claim trends, review insured contracts, including construction primary, construction subcontract, licensing and lease agreements, and make bind and renewal recommendations to Underwriting. • Responsible for all risk management regulatory and compliance matters in all 50 states. • Personally prepare and present all risk management audits to state regulatory bodies.
• Senior litigation counsel at Bermuda-based gas and electric industry mutual insurer / reinsurer with London syndicate. • Managed litigation of 250 construction, aviation, oil and gas, electrical, pollution, advertising injury, Longshoremen's and Jones Act cases in venues throughout the United Kingdom, Western Europe, North and South America, Australia and Africa. • Heavy daily use of concepts of developing industry liability and reporting, e.g., mercaptan odor fade, the deployment of certain flex connectors and the allegedly deficient warnings provided with natural gas detectors. • Possessed basic settlement authority of US$1.5 million on cases with policy exposure to US$185 million. • Defended coverage arbitrations under CPR rules with exposures in excess of US$20 million, from case statements, through selection and hiring of neutrals to discovery. • Applied indemnity, London line slip, fronting, and manuscript policies, as well as pass-through and experience accounts, and reinsurance policies. Managed costs and erosion of self-insured retention under US policies and as dictated by UK custom and practice. • Developed, communicated and defended coverage positions raised by policy ‘no action’ clauses and controversies of horizontal and vertical allocation on concurrent policies, as well as by joint venture, operating, and asset transfer agreements, extended reporting periods, indemnity and insurance procurement agreements.
• Commercial litigation counsel at 7th-largest property-casualty insurer in U.S. • Applied ISO CGL occurrence policies. • Achieved a 103 point reduction in combined ratio and a US$6.1 million reduction in ALAE between the years 2000 to 2005. • Directed litigation of complex, multiparty Labor Law, Construction, D&O, Products Liability, Errors and Omissions, General Liability, Employer Liability, Chemical Exposure, Surety and Environmental cases. • Directed inside and outside trial counsel and field investigators. • Drafted large loss reports and conferenced trial cases with home office senior management on a weekly basis. Kept insured informed throughout course of litigation. • Detected reinsurance and contingent liability exposures, placed relevant parties on notice, and met reporting requirements. Perfected claims against reinsurers. • Analyzed pleadings for coverage issues, and drafted coverage declination letters when appropriate. Resolved coverage, contractual and common law indemnity issues through litigation or negotiated settlement. • Set and maintained judgmental reserves. • Evaluated trial testimony during course of trial, and negotiated settlement of tort, indemnification and coverage claims when appropriate. Utilized structured settlements. Identified appellate issues.
• Founded and built a three-lawyer, four-employee tort law firm in 1997 that grossed US$720,000.00 in annual revenues within three years. Managed law firm with over 850 active cases. In an average month, tried 2 cases, argued 8 motions and worked 150 cases. Obtained 20 defense verdicts in petit liability cases in 1999. • Defended and prosecuted tort actions, including professional liability cases, in New York State Supreme Court for the five boroughs of New York City, Nassau and Westchester Counties and District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. • Defended intellectual property actions commenced in the District Court. Conducted all legal work from answer (or complaint) through discovery, depositions, motion practice, trial preparation, jury selection, trial and appeal. • Defended insurance carriers and their insureds after each had been sued for coverage by parties claiming rights to defense and indemnification.