New York, NY – January 24, 2005 – The international law firm of Chadbourne & Parke LLP today announced that Adrian Mecz, Christopher Cardona, Michelle George, John Barlow and Mark Pring will be joining the insurance and reinsurance practice as partners in the London office of Chadbourne & Parke, the affiliated multinational partnership of Chadbourne & Parke LLP. Messrs. Mecz and Cardona and Ms. George will also be partners in Chadbourne & Parke LLP. Currently, all are partners of Denton Wilde Sapte based in its London office.
The five partners join Chadbourne’s long-established reinsurance and insurance practice. Chadbourne’s reinsurance and insurance group offers clients an experienced interdisciplinary legal team able to address virtually any legal issue affecting the reinsurance and insurance industry. The group counsels and represents insurers, reinsurers, intermediaries, financial institutions and governmental entities on matters arising in all aspects of property-casualty, life and health, and financial risk reinsurance and insurance business.
“These new partners are the perfect choice to lead the expansion of our reinsurance/insurance practice in the London market, which also will provide formidable cross-marketing opportunities,” said Claude S. Serfilippi, managing partner of Chadbourne’s London office. “Their extensive experience in handling high-value and high-profile disputes on an international front make them a great addition to our Firm, bringing new depth to our insurance work and our ability to serve our clients’ needs.”
The addition of the five new partners complements the range of services offered through the London office, which operates as a multinational partnership.
David Raim, head of Chadbourne’s global insurance and reinsurance group in Washington, D.C., stated, “The addition of this group fits extremely well with our strategic plan. They are very talented lawyers who have worked with a diverse clientele within the insurance and reinsurance industry that will strengthen our presence in London as well as globally.”
Mr. Mecz, Mr. Cardona and Ms. George are widely recognized among some of the leading insurance lawyers in the UK, and are highly ranked in the 2005 edition of Chambers UK: A Client’s Guide to the UK Legal Profession.
Mr. Mecz, 51, is regarded as one of the pre-eminent UK lawyers in the financial institutions risk field. He regularly represents the London market and international insurers and reinsurers in high-value disputes involving banks and other financial lines of risk, including professional indemnity. He has been active in contingency risk and reinsurance disputes. Mr. Mecz has considerable experience in international fraud investigations, particularly those arising under financial institutions and commercial crime coverages. He also is a Centre for Dispute Resolution (CEDR) accredited mediator and member of the CEDR training faculty.
Mr. Mecz earned his B.A. in political science from the University of Rochester, and his J.D. from Albany Law School at Union University.
Mr. Cardona, 45, specializes in the resolution of high-value insurance and reinsurance disputes, particularly on an international level. He works extensively for the London and the international market on complex disputes. Many of these originate from claims under bankers, directors and officers, professional indemnity, property and public liability policies. Mr. Cardona received his law degree from Cambridge University.
Ms. George, 41, has extensive experience handling reinsurance disputes, often with an international element, as well as a wide range of professional indemnity and product liability claims. She is regularly asked to review and advise on policy wordings for clients. For the past few years, Ms. George has been involved with the Reinsurance Working Group of the Association Internationale de Droit des Assurances (AIDA), the leading international organization for insurance and reinsurance. She has a B.A. in German and French from the University of London, and completed legal training at the College of Law in London.
Mr. Barlow, 39, has extensive expertise involving the insurance of financial institutions throughout the world. He has handled claims in the areas of fidelity, computer crime, professional indemnity and D&O matters. He has significant experience in the areas of credit indemnity and political risk insurance, and has advised banks and receivers in connection with recoveries and insurers on coverage issues. Mr. Barlow earned his LL.B. from the University of London.
Mr. Pring, 38, has significant experience of handling high-profile multi-jurisdictional disputes. His key areas of expertise are: the handling of claims arising out of professional indemnity, D&O and credit risks; complex coverage disputes relating to facultative and treaty reinsurances; advising clients with respect to inspections and commutation exercises; and acting for office holders, policyholders, cedants and reinsurers on various issues impacting on insurance and reinsurance company insolvencies. Mr. Pring received a B.A. in history at Cambridge University and completed legal training at the College of Law in York.
About Chadbourne & Parke LLP
Chadbourne & Parke LLP, an international law firm headquartered in New York City, provides a full range of legal services, including mergers and acquisitions, securities, project finance, corporate finance, energy, telecommunications, commercial and products liability litigation, securities litigation and regulatory enforcement, white collar defense, intellectual property, antitrust, domestic and international tax, reinsurance and insurance, environmental, real estate, bankruptcy and financial restructuring, employment law and ERISA, trusts and estates and government contract matters. The Firm has offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Houston, Moscow, Kyiv, Warsaw (through a Polish partnership), Beijing and a multinational partnership, Chadbourne & Parke, in London. For additional information, visit www.chadbourne.com.
About Chadbourne & Parke, A Multinational Partnership
In London, the Firm conducts its practice through Chadbourne & Parke, a multinational partnership employing both English-qualified solicitors and U.S. lawyers who work closely with other Chadbourne offices to provide seamless service to international clients. The London partnership offers a range of legal services under both English and U.S. law and, in particular, focuses on project finance, privatization, energy, capital markets, banking, insurance and reinsurance, securitizations, structured finance, corporate finance, litigation and products liability.
