Partners Mary Craig Calkins and Helen K. Michael, of counsel Daniel H. Rylaarsdam, and associate Sarah L. Edri, and partner Natasha Romagnoli, who joined the firm’s insurance recovery group Aug. 1.

Blank Rome has brought on a four-attorney team from Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton to bolster its insurance recovery practice in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

Partner Mary Craig Calkins joined Blank Rome’s Los Angeles office along with of counsel Daniel Rylaarsdam and associate Sarah Edri. Meanwhile, partner Helen Michael joined the firm’s Washington, D.C., office. The group has also brought along two paralegals.

Both Calkins and Michael used to practice at now-defunct Howrey. They said joining Blank Rome allows them to reunite with their former colleagues. “It is coming back home, practicing with friends,” they said.

“We have known so many of the folks at this firm for such a long time. We have such high respect for them and it is great to be part of a practice group that is so focused on the policyholders,” said Calkins, who most recently led Kilpatrick Townsend’s West Coast insurance practice.

Michael, who previously served as co-chair of Kilpatrick Townsend’s insurance recovery practice, added that Blank Rome’s exclusive representation of policyholders allows his group to be conflict-free.

Michael said she was drawn to Blank Rome because of the firm’s “commitment to really grow that practice and expertise, the quality of the lawyers and the deep expertise of the lawyers.”

With the latest addition, Blank Rome will now have 24 attorneys in its insurance recovery group, said James Murray, chair of the firm’s insurance recovery practice. Earlier this month, the group also added partner Natasha Romagnoli in the New York office from McKool Smith.

According to Murray, Blank Rome has been building out its insurance recovery practice group since it absorbed over 100 lawyers from Dickstein Shapiro in 2016, including nine with the insurance recovery practice.

“Since we came over here, the insurance group has done insurance work for over 65 heritage Blank Rome clients, meaning clients that Blank Rome had when we got here,” Murray said. “As a result of us being here, we were able to service their insurance needs rather than sending them to some other specialized firms.”

The group has also added over 100 of its own clients over the past three years, he noted.

“Since welcoming more than 100 attorneys from Dickstein Shapiro in 2016, we have been committed to building a premier, market-leading insurance recovery practice,” Grant Palmer, Blank Rome’s managing partner and CEO, said in a statement welcoming the group. “Bringing this leading team led by Mary and Helen on board further strengthens our deep bench as well as our ability to deliver the best services possible to our clients.”

According to the two partners’ LinkedIn pages, Calkins has more than 30 years of experience litigating insurance recovery matters under directors and officers liability, management liability and professional errors and omissions policies. Meanwhile, Michael focuses her practice on insurance law and complex commercial litigation. She has more than 25 years of experience representing policyholders in high-stakes coverage disputes.

In a statement responding to the group’s departure, John Page, Kilpatrick Townsend’s director of communications, said: “Mary and Helen are exceptional litigators with strong reputations. We wish them well—along with Dan and Sarah—and thank them for their many contributions to the firm.”