Blank Rome strengthens its insurance recovery group
Blank Rome has strengthened its DC-based insurance recovery group with the addition of three new attorneys and a paralegal.
Robert Jacobs joins as a partner, while Linda Powell joins as of counsel. Allison Zamani joins as an associate in the San Francisco office, while Lakisha Foster joins as a paralegal.
The team joins from Perkins Coie where Jacobs served as firmwide chair of the insurance recovery practice. Jacobs in particular has deep experience handling Bermuda and London arbitrations, Blank Rome said.
The hires add to Blank Rome’s national policyholder practice, which has more than doubled since the firm welcomed more than 100 attorneys from Dickstein Shapiro’s New York and Washington, DC offices in 2016.
The new team has significant experience representing policyholders in a wide array of insurance coverage disputes arising from such things as product liabilities, asbestos and other toxic tort claims, first-party property loss, business interruption, advertising liability, professional liability, kidnap and ransom losses, and various directors and officers-related liabilities.
Grant Palmer, managing partner and chief executive at Blank Rome, said the hires “strongly complement our nationally recognised insurance recovery group,” noting the additional challenges clients currently face due to COVID-19.
James Murray, partner and chair of the insurance recovery practice group, added: “We have known this team through both their stellar reputation and our first-hand experience, as many of us have worked together in the past, which creates instant camaraderie that is integral to our strategic growth.”
Blank Rome said its insurance recovery group is extremely busy with COVID-related matters. It has also seen a lot of traditional policyholder work in financial institutions, cyber, entertainment, corporate deal reps and warranties, natural disaster and sex abuse areas, it added.
Jacobs described Blank Rome as “one of the premier insurance recovery practices in the country.”
He added: “I have been dedicated to building diverse teams throughout my career, and it is clear that Blank Rome has also made diversity and inclusion a top priority. I look forward to continuing these efforts at the firm.”
