Insurance Law

Direct Line eyes move into legal services with planned ABS switch

By Gerard Starkey | October 8, 2012

Direct Line has signalled its intention to become an alternative business structure (ABS) once it has completed its separation from the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). The insurance company, which is currently being advised by Allen & Overy and Slaughter and May on its £3bn initial public offering (IPO), revealed in its share flotation prospectus that it is considering applying for an ABS licence.

1 minute read

Taylor Wessing and RPC confirm new launch plans for Asia

By Elizabeth Broomhall in Hong Kong | October 4, 2012

Taylor Wessing and Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC) have confirmed plans to open new bases in Asia, as UK law firm interest in the region shows no sign of abating.

1 minute read

Berrymans ventures abroad for Dublin launch as new strategy kicks in

By Pui-Guan Man | October 1, 2012

Berrymans Lace Mawer is set to launch a new office in Dublin as the top 50 UK law firm kicks off an expansion strategy. The insurance specialist's new practice in the Republic of Ireland, which opens today (1 October), will focus on motor, liability and property damage claims, aiming to create and develop client relationships in the region.

1 minute read

Norton Rose bulks up City disputes team with high-profile CMS hire

By Pui-Guan Man | September 7, 2012

Norton Rose has secured a high-profile hire from CMS Cameron McKenna, recruiting the firm's former head of commercial regulatory and disputes Liam O'Connell.O'Connell, who specialises in insurance work became a partner at CMS in 2001 after rejoining the firm in 1997 from insurance broking company Sedgwick.

1 minute read

Parabis targets acquisitions as private equity-backed ABS secures approval

By Gerard Starkey | August 22, 2012

Parabis Group has received its alternative business structure (ABS) licence from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), making it the first private-equity backed organisation to take up the business model. The licence approval has rubberstamped a deal agreed late last year which saw private equity house Duke Street take a majority stake in Parabis, the parent company of insurance litigation firms Plexus Law and Cogent Law.

1 minute read

Browne Jacobson takes on 25-strong team for Exeter launch

By Gerard Starkey | August 21, 2012

Browne Jacobson has widened its UK reach after acquiring its first Exeter offices along with a large team from local law firm Veitch Penny. The upwardly mobile firm, which in the past nine months has opened a new office in Manchester and moved to new headquarters in Nottingham, has agreed a deal to take a 25-strong team of legal and support staff from Veitch Penny's defendant insurance and employment practices.

1 minute read

Travelers turns to Flagstone Re for new European legal head

By Pui-Guan Man | August 20, 2012

Insurance firm Travelers has turned to Flagstone Re for the hire of John Abramson to head its European legal and compliance team. Abramson, who held the post of general counsel Europe and global chief compliance officer at Flagstone, will take responsibility for interacting with regulators on behalf of Travelers and managing corporate governance issues. Based in London, he will also work with the insurance company's in-house legal team to provide strategic and legal advice to business managers.

1 minute read

Insurers plan investment in legal arms to cut external spend

By Suzi Ring | August 15, 2012

A number of big insurance companies are planning to ramp up their internal legal teams and set up their own law firms in moves that are likely to reshape the legal insurance market, according to new research from Espirito Santo Investment Bank. The research, referenced in The Times earlier this week (13 August), found that half of insurers consulted by the bank plan to build their own enlarged teams to handle disputes instead of handing work to external law firms in an attempt to cut costs.

1 minute read

Mills & Reeve sets up low-cost paralegal unit in Norwich

By Gerard Starkey | August 3, 2012

Mills & Reeve has joined the growing list of firms setting up low-cost paralegal support units. The firm has pulled together a team of seven paralegals in Norwich for the unit, which launched last month, with the paralegals taking on low cost, high volume work.

1 minute read

PEP falls as investment drives revenues for insurance and shipping-focused firms

By Suzi Ring | July 26, 2012

Insurance and shipping-focused law firms have seen partner profits dip this year, following a sustained period of investment which has driven revenues across the group to new heights.

1 minute read

Daily Business Review

Legal Malpractice Claims Are Soaring: Here Are the Most Vulnerable Practice Areas

By Michael A. Mora | May 24, 2022

"As we continue to the work more remotely, and go into an economic downturn, we can expect potentially more malpractice claims," survey leader Eileen Garczynski said.

4 minute read

New York Law Journal

Insurance Law

By Angela Turturro | May 23, 2022

In this Special Report: "New York State Finalizes Changes to Insurance Disclosure Law," "While New Biometric Privacy Laws Have Led to Widespread Litigation and Large Settlements, Most Courts Have Held That Insurance Covers These Claims," "An Insurer's Ongoing Battle To Limit Disputable Discovery," "The 'Related Claims' Provision in Insurance Coverage Disputes," "Supply Chain Woes Bring Contingent Business Interruption Recovery—and Its Limitations—Into Sharp Focus" and "Call to Action: Modernizing the 'War Exclusion' for the 21st Century."

2 minute read

New York Law Journal

Call to Action: Modernizing the 'War Exclusion' for the 21st Century

By Jillian Raines and Amber N. Morris | May 20, 2022

Many prudent businesses are revisiting their insurance portfolio, seeking confirmation that their coverage will adequately protect them if they are victimized by increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks, including those connected to the acute conflict in Ukraine.

8 minute read

New York Law Journal

While New Biometric Privacy Laws Have Led to Widespread Litigation and Large Settlements, Most Courts Have Held That Insurance Covers These Claims

By Cort T. Malone and Jade W. Sobh | May 20, 2022

Across the United States, legislatures are passing new biometric privacy laws with potentially onerous fines, making businesses who collect biometric information, and the insurance companies that sell policies to those companies, understandably nervous.

11 minute read

New York Law Journal

The 'Related Claims' Provision in Insurance Coverage Disputes

By Mikaela Whitman and Tae Andrews | May 20, 2022

These provisions can play a pivotal role in the amount of coverage available for a given claim or claim(s) and can determine whether "claims" trigger multiple policy years or instead, whether those "claims" trigger only a single policy year.

7 minute read

New York Law Journal

An Insurer's Ongoing Battle To Limit Disputable Discovery

By Brian R. Biggie and Joanna M. Roberto | May 20, 2022

Proactively limiting discovery, or shielding information, may not be an effort to hide such information from a litigant, but necessary to avoid irrelevant information from impacting a motion for summary judgment or more importantly, a jury's decision.

9 minute read

New York Law Journal

New York State Finalizes Changes to Insurance Disclosure Law

By Steven B. Saal | May 20, 2022

The amended statute clearly places the onus on defendants to proactively address insurance coverage matters. Defense counsel can no longer wait for plaintiffs to pursue the issue and respond as necessary.

6 minute read

New York Law Journal

Supply Chain Woes Bring Contingent Business Interruption Recovery—and Its Limitations—Into Sharp Focus

By David L. Yohai, Heather Weaver and Sherry Safavi | May 20, 2022

The article examines the potential limitations of CBI coverage and the practical challenges of litigating CBI claims. It also discusses ways to draft stronger CBI policies and the growing popularity of other types of insurance in response to global supply chains that are increasingly reliant on just-in-time sourcing and that continue to be aggravated by recent disasters.

9 minute read

New York Law Journal

A Snapshot of Russia-Related Sanctions and Export Controls

By Anthony Rapa and Matthew J. Thomas | May 19, 2022

This article provides a snapshot of the U.S. measures currently in place.

8 minute read

Corporate Counsel

How the SEC's Climate Disclosure Proposal May Trigger Insurance Coverage

By David Halbreich, Ben Fliegel and Kya Coletta | May 18, 2022

Public companies and their stakeholders often struggle with effective environmental, social and governance programs in the absence of clear and common standards and regulations. But the landscape is rapidly changing in a way that will likely impose new risks and costs on companies.

6 minute read