Wiley Rein Profiled as ‘Insurance Practice Group of the Year’ by Law360

January 14, 2016

Wiley Rein’s Insurance Practice was profiled as a 2015 “Insurance Practice Group of the Year” by Law360, which noted that the Team “has a full plate of high-profile cases” and “saved its clients significant money” last year. The Group has won this recognition for four of the past five years—more than any other firm—and was also among just three firms named to Law360’s 2015 list of “Insurance All-Stars.”

The Team’s successes included saving a client nearly $5 million because its policyholder failed to obtain consent for a settlement, Law360 said in a January 12 article. Insurance Practice chair Daniel J. Standish said favorable appellate rulings in that case vindicated the insurer’s consent rights with respect to a settlement. “Historically there are many policyholder counsel who have viewed the consent requirement as a condition that’s easily overcome and easily disregarded, especially if in their view the insurance company hasn’t been prejudiced,” Mr. Standish said. “But the decision doesn’t turn on that. It turns on the plain language of the policy, and I think it underscored that the lines of communication between policyholders and their insurers need to be open in the context of resolving claims and litigation.”

In another high-profile victory, Wiley Rein obtained a reimbursement for a client of almost $1 million in defense costs. The Team persuaded a Virginia federal court and the Fourth Circuit that coverage exclusions were triggered when executives of the policyholder company pleaded guilty on fraud charges. “It was an important win in the sense that the requirements for recoupment are fairly stringent,” Mr. Standish said.

He credited such successes to the Group’s deep bench of over 40 litigators and coverage experts. “Nothing’s cut and dry for insurance companies,” Mr. Standish said. “You always feel like there’s a possibility that the deck is stacked against you when you litigate, but we like to try and dispel that view.”

Law360 received 730 submissions for the “Practice Group of the Year” series—now in its sixth year—and selected 184 winners across 30 practice areas for honors. Wiley Rein was one of nine law firms to receive awards in four categories this year. In addition to Insurance, the firm received honors for its Government Contracts, International Trade, and Telecom, Media & Technology practices.