(Screenshot of Coalition Inc. website)

Coalition Inc., a cybersecurity insurance provider based in San Francisco, has hired John Littzi as general counsel, adding to the number of growth companies adding their first legal chiefs this year.

The move comes after the firm raised $250 million in a July funding round that took the valuation of the company from $3.5 billion to $5 billion.

Littzi is responsible for the firm's global legal affairs and serves as principal counsel to the company's CEO, Joshua Motta, as well as its senior management team and board of directors.

Littzi said he's looking forward to helping the company scale the legal department.

"Obviously, there are a lot of exciting things happening for the company at this point—going to new jurisdictions and new products. I'm really looking forward to building out a team that can help support that growth and help Coalition's mission," he said.

He added that with any high-growth company, there are going to be challenges along the way, so his goal is to build out a team that's able to figure out what the best next steps for the company are from a legal and compliance perspective and methodically tackle the challenges as they arise.

Littzi joins Coalition after serving as sole deputy general counsel of W. R. Berkley Corp., an S&P 500 company and one of the largest property & casualty insurance holding companies serving businesses in the United States.

"I spent over a decade at W.R. Berkley world class insurance companies and really enjoyed my time there," he said. "The market for cyber is in such a high growth mode right now, and the mission to help small- to medium-sized businesses tackle that risk is unique for the marketplace."

Littzi began his career as an associate in the mergers and acquisitions and financial institutions groups at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in New York.

In July, coalition raised $250 million through participation from Allianz X, Valor Equity Partners, Kinetic Partners and other existing investors. To date, Coalition has raised over $755 million in equity funding.

The firm partners with brokers in all 50 states to provide active cyber and active executive risks insurance and offers active cyber insurance across Canada.

Littzi's hire continues a trend of first time legal chief appointments by growth companies this year.

In June, Buffalo, New York-based health plan startup Centivo, hired former UnitedHealthcare senior attorney Tara Johnson as its first-ever general counsel. The hire followed a $30 million investment from Morgan Health, a new business unit of Wall Street giant JPMorgan Chase.

San Diego-based biotech firm Genomatica also found its first-ever chief legal officer in Shawnte Mitchell, who most recently served as the general counsel, executive VP and corporate secretary at Zogenix Inc. Mitchell's hire came after the company closed a $120 million joint venture deal with global consumer goods company Unilever.

EnCore Energy Corp. also hired its first general counsel last month. Gregory Zerzan settled into his first private sector legal chief role after spending most of his career as government official and lawyer. Zerzan joined the Corpus Christi, Texas-based energy company from the U.S. Department of the Interior where he served as principal deputy solicitor. The move coincides with the company's push to be the top uranium producer in the U.S., as demand for uranium has increased since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.