Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge

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Brian practices in the areas of insurance and reinsurance. He regularly advises insurers on issues of coverage, claims handling, and bad faith claims and represents them in state and federal court. He also advises reinsurance industry clients and represents them in litigation and arbitration. Additionally, Brian represents companies in matters involving various aspects of commercial litigation.

Brian was a founder of the Insurance & Reinsurance Department Blog, InsureReinsure.com, shepherding it from conception to launch in June 2007. He continues his involvement by being one of the EAPD Blog Team coordinators as the Blog covers developments in the insurance and reinsurance industry.

• Brian advises insurers on coverage issues arising under their policies, including the analysis of the scope of insuring agreement, applicability of exclusions, choice of law, bad faith, aggregation, related acts, number of occurrences, and late notice. He prepares coverage opinions and represents insurers in litigation. Brian has experience with a wide range of insurance policies including Commercial General Liability (CGL) Errors & Omissions (E&O), Environmental (including Storage Tank System Third Party Liability and Cleanup and Environmental Impairment Liability Insurance policies), Professional Liability, and Contingency (Non-Appearance).
  
  
• Brian represents ceding companies and reinsurers in reinsurance arbitrations and provides pre-dispute analysis on a variety of reinsurance issues including the interpretation of the sunset clause, definition of reinsured, misrepresentation, ramifications of a cedent's insolvency, follow the fortunes, number of occurrences, waiver, estoppel, access to records, pre-answer security, and scope of reinsurance coverage.
  
  
• Brian also represents clients in commercial disputes in state and federal courts. Such representation includes attendance at court conferences, oral argument on various motions, depositions, drafting of motions, preparation of discovery requests and responses.
  
  
• Brian advises clients regarding the application and interpretation of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act.
  
  
• Brian counsels clients on insurance coverage and reinsurance issues arising from Hurricane Katrina.
  
  
• Brian provided advice to English counsel on New York law regarding efficient and proximate cause relating to a Hurricane Rita-related business interruption claim made by an energy refinery.
  
  
• Brian advised a large aviation insurance pool on various coverage matters and also provided coverage advice related to a claim made by a space tourism company.
  
  
• Brian represented a Lloyd's contingency underwriter in an arbitration involving a theatrical non-appearance claim.
  
  
• Brian represented London-based cedents in U.S. claims proceedings to determine the proper allocation of funds to be paid by a U.S. reinsurer in liquidation.
  
  
• Brian assisted a life insurance company in sales practice litigation and responded to regulatory inquiries. Brian drafted a survey relating to vanishing premium class action settlements for a foreign life insurance company.
  
  
• Brian has represented medical professionals and medical facilities in medical malpractice litigation.

• "Microinsurance: The Market of tomorrow," quoted, Reactions, June 24, 2010.
  
  
• "Microinsurance Going Macro, Especially in Latin America," co-author, Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge Insurance and Reinsurance Review, June 2010.
  
  
• "The Tide Turned - In the Wind vs. Water Debate, Insurers Floated to the Top," quoted, Best's Review, June 2010 and "In the Wind vs. Water Debate, Insurers Floated to the Top," quoted, InsuranceNewsNet, May 24, 2010.
  
  
• "United States: Latin American Insurance And Reinsurance Trends: Microinsurance," co-author, Mondaq, March 12, 2010.
  
  
• "Microinsurance Going Macro, Especially in Latin America," co-author, Complinet, February 22, 2010.
  
  
• InsureReinsure.com (Insurance & Reinsurance Blog), Contributor.
  
  
• "How to Catch a Rising Star," quoted, Reactions, December 2009/January 2010.
  
  
• "The U.S. Reinsurance Under 40s Group - Who Are We?," author, Risky Business - A U.S. and Bermuda Under 40s (Re)Insurance Collaboration, Inaugural Edition, Spring 2009.
  
  
• "Adopting Web 2.0 Capabilities Into Your Web Presence," presented, LegalTech 2009, New York, New York, February 3, 2009.
  
  
• "Risk Management-Reinsurance Panel," moderator and panel chair, 2008 American Banker Insurance Association (ABIA) Annual Conference, Phoenix, Arizona, September 22, 2008.
  
  
• "The Insurance and Reinsurance Crystal Ball," Financier Worldwide, January 2008.
  
  
• "Reinsurance - What's New?" presented, AICP Annual Conference, Portland, Oregon, October 30, 2007.
  
  
• "A New Deal for Cedents," co-author, Run Off Business, No. 20, Spring 2007; Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge Insurance and Reinsurance Update, June 2007; and International Law Office's Insurance & Reinsurance - USA, July 24, 2007.
  
  
• "Hurricane Katrina Claims & Legal Update," co-presenter, Excess/Surplus Lines Claims Association One Day Mini-Session, New York, New York, April 19, 2007.
  
  
• "Developments in Property Coverage in the Wake of Katrina," co-presenter, Reinsurance Association of America Re Claims Conference, Chicago, Illinois, March 30, 2007.
  
  
• Co-presenter, Insurance and Reinsurance Developments Concerning Hurricane Katrina, webinar, March 27, 2007.
  
  
• "Decisions, Verdicts, Settlements and Rejections Heighten Concerns Arising from Hurricane Katrina," co-author, Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge Insurance & Reinsurance Update, March 2007.
  
  
• "The TRIA Extension Act of 2005," co-author, Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge Insurance and Reinsurance Update, March 2006.
  
  
• "Reinsurance 101," presented, AICP Annual Conference, Orlando, Florida, October 9, 2006.
  
  
• "Katrina Update," panelist, Under 35's Reinsurance Group, New Orleans, Louisiana, September 15, 2006.
  
  
• "A Scheme with a Twist," co-author, Run Off Business, Spring 2006 and Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge Insurance and Reinsurance Update, June 2006.
  
  
• "TRIA Update," co-author, JTW News, February 2006.
  
  
• "Support for TRIA Extension Grows in Wake of Katrina," co-author, Insurance Day, September 30, 2005.
  
  
• "Will Day Dawn Again for TRIA?" co-author, Business Insurance Industry Focus, September 2005.
  
  
• "Facultative Certificates and the Law," co-author, Insurance Day, May 27, 2005.
  
  
• "Asbestos Reform in a Post-Election Era," co-author, Insurance Day, December 17, 2004.
  
  
• "The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act: Sunset or Sunrise?" co-author, International Law Office Insurance/Reinsurance Newsletter, November 23, 2004.
  
  
• "DJ Expenses - Recent Instructive Cases," Journal of Reinsurance, Summer 2004.
  
  
• "Punitive Damages Under the Revised Uniform Arbitration Act," co-author, Edwards & Angell Insurance & Reinsurance Update, June 2003.

• More Publications...

Prior to joining the firm, Brian worked at a defense litigation firm in New York. He worked on life insurance-related litigation, as well as civil litigation in the New York courts. Prior to this position, Brian worked in Boston in a small general-practice office, where he focused on civil litigation. During law school, Brian was a Case & Note Editor for the American Journal of Law and Medicine.

Brian has served as Industry Advisor to an educational non-profit during the creation of a Law and Justice computer simulation program, and has volunteered as a mentor to New York City school children.