An elite litigation, insurance and reinsurance team has joined Troutman Sanders LLP in Washington, D.C., New York and Orange County. The partners, regarded as some of the best practitioners in the industry, include William C. O'Neill, Leslie Davis and Michael T. Carolan (DC); Jack Thomas (New York); and Steven D. Allison (Orange County). They previously practiced at Crowell & Moring, with O'Neill and Davis serving as the Co-chairs of Crowell & Moring's Insurance & Reinsurance Practice Group, and Thomas and Allison serving as the Managing Partners of Crowell's London and Orange County offices, respectively.
"This seasoned team increases the firm's commercial and class action litigation bench, having represented clients in complex, high-stakes disputes across various industries," said Bill Withrow, chair of Troutman Sanders' Business Litigation Department. "They have extensive trial and appellate experience in state and federal courts throughout the country. They also bring to the firm significant international dispute resolution capabilities."
Notably, the accomplished partners have represented clients in all major insurance segments – life, health and property-casualty – and all lines of business – insurance, reinsurance, captives, runoffs, and SPVs. Their insurance experience spans litigation, regulatory and legislative matters, and bankruptcies.
"Insurance is one of the firm's strengths and core areas, and we have been focused on continuing to expand the depth and breadth of our practice," said Tony Jones, chair of Troutman Sanders'Specialized Litigation Department and a partner in its Insurance and Reinsurance practice. "These partners, who are widely recognized in the industry as among the best at what they do, enhance our practice with substantial first-chair litigation and reinsurance experience."
"We are very pleased to be combining our highly experienced practices and to be able to offer clients the benefit of our shared capabilities and industry knowledge," O'Neill said.
"Our complementary practices make this a natural fit," Davis added. "With the increasing complexity of insurance and reinsurance matters, our ability to address the full scope of coverage issues that a client may confront is of great value."
The partners have handled some of the industry's most complex and high-profile matters, from representing London market insurers in unique professional liability matters, to defending a national managed-care organization against claims that it overcharged its reinsured by multiple millions in premiums, to representing insurers in coverage for concussion-related injuries involving the National Football League, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and World Wrestling Entertainment.
Bill O'Neill, former co-chair of Crowell & Moring's Insurance/Reinsurance Group, focuses primarily on guiding insurers and reinsurers through complex arbitrations, litigations, and regulatory issues. He has navigated hundreds of disputes involving life, health and property/casualty insurance and reinsurance issues. In recent years, several of the world's largest life and health reinsurers have called on O'Neill to help them confront many of the most significant international and domestic regulatory and dispute-resolution issues impacting that industry.
Jack Thomas, former Managing Partner of Crowell & Moring's London office and member of the firm's Steering Committee for the Litigation Practice Group, is a seasoned trial and appellate attorney. He represents clients in a variety of complex commercial matters, including international commercial disputes, insurance and reinsurance disputes, with a focus on professional liability coverage disputes, enforcement of foreign judgments, and disputes arising from financing transactions and mergers and acquisitions. Thomas has tried cases and argued appeals in multiple federal and state courts, including international disputes with parallel proceedings, for a broad spectrum of clients, both U.S. and foreign. Thomas is also licensed to practice in England and Wales, and he has substantial international arbitration experience.
Steven Allison, former Managing Partner of Crowell & Moring's Orange County office, is an experienced trial attorney who represents clients in the insurance, healthcare, financial services, retail, and real estate industries in complex litigation matters. He has significant experience in handling insurance coverage matters, with a focus on environmental, mass tort, class action and construction defect liabilities. He has also successfully defended nationwide and state-specific consumer class actions. In each of these matters, Allison has led trials, arbitrations and appeals. In addition, he has handled federal and state investigations.
Leslie Davis, former co-chair of Crowell & Moring's Insurance/Reinsurance Group, handles complex litigation matters for clients in a variety of industries, including insurance and reinsurance, energy and commodities trading, biopharmaceuticals, entertainment and sports leagues. She has significant experience in handling insurance-related matters, with a focus on representing insurers in policyholders' mass tort bankruptcies, along with environmental, asbestos, concussion, and other mass-tort liabilities. Davis has litigated matters in federal and state courts throughout the United States, including leading trials and appeals. Davis also has significant experience arbitrating reinsurance and contractual indemnification disputes.
Michael Carolan concentrates his practice on litigating, arbitrating, and resolving domestic and international disputes involving reinsurance, complex insurance coverage, and brokers' liability, representing company and intermediary clients across the life, health, and property/casualty markets. He has litigated and arbitrated in both state and federal courts and a variety of U.S. and foreign arbitral settings. Carolan also has significant experience representing domestic and offshore captive insurance companies and captive managers, providing counseling on corporate, regulatory, and insurance or reinsurance issues.
Troutman Sanders' Insurance practice has been described by Chambers USA as having "a level of depth that is rarely matched when it comes to contentious insurance matters." Over the past two decades, the practice has advised clients in sophisticated coverage litigation in all 50 states and in many foreign jurisdictions. Firm attorneys have secured landmark rulings in trial and appellate courts across the country that span decades and involve tens of billions of dollars.
About Troutman Sanders
With a diverse practice mix, workforce and footprint, Troutman Sanders has cultivated its reputation for a higher commitment to client care for over 120 years. Ideally positioned to help clients across sectors realize their business goals, the firm's 650 attorneys transact for growth, resolve mission-threatening disputes and navigate complex legal and regulatory challenges. See troutman.com for more information.
