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7 February 2013

Thus, whether our client is an insurer, reinsurer, intermediary, financial institution or governmental entity, we can address all aspects of the property-casualty and life and health business, including:

• dispute resolution, including counseling, negotiation, mediation, arbitration and litigation
• corporate, transactional and regulatory matters, from financings, mergers and acquisitions, to cell structures and the formation of sidecar facilities
• business practices, regulatory compliance and responses to governmental investigations
• insurance/reinsurance company insolvencies and run-offs, including foreign insolvencies and schemes of arrangement
• analysis and resolution of coverage issues, including with respect to financial lines; commercial crime insurance; environmental; asbestos and other ‘toxic tort’ liability; natural and man-made catastrophes; as well as surety, directors and officers, errors and omissions and professional liability claims
• contract drafting, product development and evaluation of best practices in the industry
• complex allocation issues, including clash and catastrophe cover
• issues involving finite reinsurance and FAS 113
• commutations, due diligence audits and right of inspection reviews
• captive insurance companies
• rescission and fraud claims, including accountant and actuarial fraud
• fronting and agency issues

Rankings and recognition

Chadbourne’s insurance and reinsurance practice has been awarded top honors from several legal and industry publications, including Chambers USA, Chambers UK and Legal 500 UK. The firm’s London and US offices have both received recognition as one of the leading firms in the industry from Reactions, a monthly magazine covering the global insurance and reinsurance fields. In addition, several Chadbourne insurance and reinsurance attorneys have received individual honors, including practice group co-chair David Raim, who has been recognised by Executive Counsel magazine as one of the top six reinsurance attorneys in the US and Insurance & Reinsurance Who’s Who Legal as one of the 15 ‘Most Highly Regarded Individuals — Global’ in insurance and reinsurance law.

Dispute resolution

Our dispute resolution practice covers all areas of insurance and reinsurance law, excluding only routine defence work.

With two dozen US-based lawyers fully focused on insurance and reinsurance matters, we offer depth of experience, insight into the arbitration process, and a high level of credibility with arbitration panels and courts. In addition to having represented carriers in major declaratory judgment actions — including those involving environmental, asbestos and other ‘continuous injury’ claims — we are recognised leaders in handling reinsurance litigations and arbitrations. We have handled reinsurance disputes throughout the US and internationally, achieving numerous victories for our clients. Our pending matters encompass most, if not all, of the current issues today.

Our London team of more than a dozen lawyers likewise has an excellent track record handling high-value and high-profile insurance and reinsurance disputes. We are market leaders in the fields of financial institutions and commercial crime insurance, with a strong reputation in handling reinsurance disputes, as well as a wide range of professional indemnity and directors’ and officers’ claims. We are also experienced in conducting due diligence audits and right of inspection reviews.

We also have significant experience handling cross-border disputes, particularly in relation to Spanish, Latin American, European, Scandinavian, Middle and Far Eastern risks affecting the London market, as well as trade, political and credit risks.

Corporate, insurance regulatory and transactional matters

Our corporate and regulatory work for private clients takes advantage of Chadbourne’s corporate, litigation and tax capabilities, and focuses on industry mergers, acquisitions and financings, together with reinsurance transactions, self-insurance, captives and insurance regulatory matters.

Our lawyers have experience in the formation, financing, purchase and sale of insurance and reinsurance companies and a variety of other corporate transactions with regulatory implications. We have advised on insurance company demutualisations and bank insurer affiliations, and have represented a variety of financial services industry clients in domestic and offshore insurance securitisation transactions. We have a great deal of experience analysing and structuring fronting and captive arrangements.

In the reinsurance area, we structure and implement transactions, including sophisticated financial reinsurance arrangements, cell structures, sidecars, and life reinsurance assumption/novation facilities. We also negotiate commutations and draft treaty and facultative documentation, and advise clients on how claims should be ceded.

In addition, the group also has experience advising major accounting firms in a wide range of matters relating to their professional liability insurance programs, and counsels numerous industrial and financial services companies on matters relating to their directors’ and officers’ insurance programs.

Business practices, regulatory compliance and responses to governmental investigations

We have advised various industry participants with respect to ‘best practices’ and regulatory compliance, including Sarbanes-Oxley. We also work hand-in-hand with Chadbourne’s securities enforcement and litigation practice that encompasses international, as well as domestic, expertise in handling all forms of civil and criminal securities-related matters. For example, through its insurance and reinsurance and securities regulatory enforcement practices, Chadbourne has been closely involved in ongoing investigations by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Attorney General’s office into the use of ‘non-traditional’ or ‘finite’ insurance products.

One of our lawyers is a former general counsel of the New York Insurance Department. We have counselled insurers, reinsurers, intermediaries and other clients as to state insurance licensing and regulatory laws, and represented one of the country’s leading property/casualty insurers in major litigations and significant enforcement matters.

Insolvency

Our lawyers have had significant representations in most of the major US and international insurance insolvencies, representing not only debtor and creditor interests, but also receivers and liquidators. We currently represent reinsurers in various US liquidations and rehabilitations and also represent liquidators of foreign insurers in proceedings under Section 304 of the US Bankruptcy Code. We also have substantial experience in representing carriers who have issued sureties in bankruptcies of non-insurance entities.

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