Chambers USA 2019 Highly Ranks Freeborn Insurance and Reinsurance Practice and Partners

CHICAGO – Freeborn & Peters LLP is pleased to announce that Chambers USA has ranked the firm’s Reinsurance practice for the first time and five Freeborn insurance and reinsurance Partners in its 2019 legal industry guide. Among the ranked attorneys, Freeborn Partner Joseph T. McCullough was nationally ranked for Dispute Resolution: Reinsurance. He is one of only six attorneys nationwide to receive that honor.

The firm’s Chicago-based Partners ranked as among the leading insurance and reinsurance practitioners in Illinois, and their recognized practice areas, are:

• James J. Boland (Insurance: Dispute Resolution: Reinsurance)
• Mark R. Goodman (Insurance: Transactional & Regulatory)
• Joseph T. McCullough (Insurance: Dispute Resolution: Reinsurance) 

The firm’s New York City-based Partners ranked as among the leading insurance and reinsurance practitioners in New York, and their recognized practice areas, are:

• Daniel Hargraves (Insurance: Dispute Resolution: Insurer)
• Sean Thomas Keely (Insurance: Dispute Resolution: Insurer)

“We are extremely proud of our insurance and reinsurance attorneys that have earned them top rankings in the Chambers USA 2019 industry guide,” said Freeborn Co-Managing Partner Joseph L. Fogel. “We congratulate Jim, Mark, Joe, Daniel and Sean for their leadership in helping to further Freeborn’s reputation as a leading law firm in their practice areas.”

Serving all areas of the global insurance and reinsurance marketplace, including insurance coverage and defense practices, Freeborn’s nationally acclaimed Insurance and Reinsurance Industry Team is one of the largest in the nation. The attorneys advise insurance and reinsurance companies on their litigation and arbitration matters in the United States and abroad. Among the sophisticated and complex insurance and reinsurance coverage and rescission issues that the group handles are arbitration, underwriting, claims and allocation, finite reinsurance, agency, and counseling. Freeborn also assists clients with managing class actions, bankruptcies, insurance insolvencies, cross-border disputes, and other specialized proceedings. The team works seamlessly across all of Freeborn’s offices in Chicago; New York City; Richmond, Va.; Springfield, Il.; and Tampa, Fla.

Chambers and Partners ranks leading U.S. firms and attorneys based on in-depth research and interviews with attorneys’ clients and peers. Chambers assesses attorneys on attributes most valued by clients, including technical legal ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial astuteness, diligence, and commitment. The Chambers USA guide is widely read by industry-leading companies and organizations nationwide. For more information, visit https://www.chambersandpartners.com.

Following are additional details about Freeborn’s ranked insurance and reinsurance Partners.

• James J. Boland: A member of the Litigation Practice Group and Insurance and Reinsurance Industry Team, he focuses on complex commercial litigation and domestic and international arbitration. He has represented a variety of corporations, businesses and professional firms in matters involving reinsurance (life & health, property & casualty), antitrust, securities fraud, accountant liability, consumer protection, shareholder and derivative disputes, mergers and acquisitions disputes, including post-closing disputes, and a variety of other commercial matters.

• Mark R. Goodman: A member of the Corporate Practice Group and the Insurance and Reinsurance, Transportation and Emerging Industries teams, he has three decades of experience advising the insurance industry on corporate, regulatory and transactional matters. His clients in complex, high-profile matters have included insurance holding companies, insurers, producers, agents and brokers, and managing general agents. He also advises non-traditional sellers of insurance on insurance programs, including trade associations, retailers, banks and savings associations, and leasing and finance companies.

• Daniel Hargraves: Managing Partner of Freeborn’s New York office and a member of the Litigation Practice Group and Insurance and Reinsurance Industry Team, he concentrates his practice on insurance and reinsurance litigations and arbitrations on behalf of ceding and assuming reinsurance companies, brokers, underwriting agents and pools. In more than 30 years of practicing, he has been involved in numerous high-profile reinsurance arbitrations and litigations and has successfully taken many cases to final hearing. Those disputes have involved a wide range of issues, including contract formation, fraud, bad faith and non-disclosure, contract interpretation, loss allocation, insolvency, run-off, finite reinsurance, agent’s authority, fronting, pools, and commutations.

• Sean Thomas Keely: A member of the Litigation Practice Group and Insurance and Reinsurance Industry Team, he litigates and arbitrates commercial disputes with a particular focus on the reinsurance industry. Over the past several years, he has been at the center of cases addressing developing issues in the industry, including late notice, allocation and aggregation of losses, follow-the-settlements, breaches of the duty of utmost good faith, material misrepresentation, and insurer insolvency.

• Joseph T. McCullough: Leader of the Insurance and Reinsurance Industry Team and a member of the Litigation Practice Group, he has more than 30 years of experience representing insurance and reinsurance companies in life & health and property & casualty matters. He has acted as counsel to insurers and reinsurers in more than 140 arbitration, court, and administrative proceedings across the United States, as well as in Bermuda, England, Continental Europe and Australia, including some of the highest-profile cases in the industry.

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