Providing sophisticated solutions to manage complex risks: It’s what our clients — and our attorneys — do best.
As strategic counsel to many of the world’s leading insurers and reinsurers, as skilled litigators and dealmakers, and as recognized authorities in rapidly emerging issues such as environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives, InsurTech, cyber coverages, climate change, mass tort product liability and more, we help clients:
- Resolve complex, high-stakes commercial, coverage and other disputes with policyholders, competitors and vendors
- Identify and evaluate strategic business considerations in light of evolving market conditions, geopolitical events and other forces
- Navigate policyholder bankruptcy proceedings
While we take great pride in our record of success — Chambers USA highlights our team’s “considerable strength” and “substantial capabilities” — our eyes are firmly focused on the future. We help insurers and reinsurers maximize the value of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, drones, cloud computing and blockchain; navigate regulations governing their application and use; and address the risks that arise from these revolutionary tools. Our deep roots in mass tort, products liability and environmental law also help us stay abreast of emerging cases that will impact and potentially change insurance exposures.
Sophisticated dispute resolution, precedent-setting appeals.
A litigation powerhouse, our team has successfully handled numerous multimillion-dollar disputes and won key trial- and appellate-court victories that have helped draw clear lines around insurer liability and exposure. We draw on the firm’s powerhouse litigation and trial practice to help our clients confront litigation challenges and intelligently protect their business interests. Our strong negotiating skills have enabled us to achieve favorable settlements in numerous high-profile disputes. In addition to representing insurers and reinsurers, we have also advised industry trade associations in the development of amicus briefs and policy statements designed to clarify key issues and further the development of established law.
Taken together, our first-chair trial and appellate experience, industry-specific knowledge and efficient use of resources have positioned us for success at every step of complex, high-profile and high-dollar insurance disputes, from discovery and pre-trial planning, to motions and appeals. We serve as lead and coordinating counsel for class action and multi-district litigation and have developed sophisticated arguments that have helped shape case law and precedent.
Among other examples:
- We represent a large regional insurance company as nationwide coordinating counsel for its COVID-19-related insurance exposures. We recently won an important victory in the Wisconsin Supreme Court, in which a unanimous Court reversed and remanded the circuit court’s decision to deny our client’s motion to dismiss.
- We represented one of the top ten global property and casualty insurers in the company’s successful negotiation of a multimillion-dollar, high-profile settlement of a complex, mass-tort liability case with families of victims of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.
- We negotiated a $52.5 million settlement on behalf of the US subsidiary of a global, multi-line insurance company with Boy Scouts of America (BSA), its official committee of creditors and other claimant representatives in BSA’s Chapter 11 case in Delaware. The settlement is pending approval as part of BSA’s request for confirmation of its reorganization plan.
Our seasoned practitioners have decades of experience advising clients in all major insurance business lines, including property, casualty, directors and officers, errors and omissions, and other coverages, and across all segments of the industry, such as insurance, reinsurance, captives, runoffs and special-purpose vehicles. Learn more about our experience:
Helping insurers take care of themselves so they can better help their clients.
The insurance industry is all about minimizing risk in the face of uncertainty — a rule that applies to insurers and reinsurers as much as it does to their customers. Since 2020, industry participants have faced significant challenges that have demanded creative responses, and the pace of change is likely to accelerate.
As insurers take bold steps to address structural shifts in the marketplace, leverage InsurTech and other financial-services tools and platforms, and respond to evolving customer behaviors, Crowell’s insurance and reinsurance lawyers can help. We have assembled a host of resources, teams and services to advise clients on key issues such as cyber incidents and data security, environmental social governance, labor and employment matters, government relations, internal investigations and more. We draw on experienced practitioners across the firm’s practice groups to provide proactive, industry-specific guidance.