Movers & Shakers

“I am excited to join Crowell & Moring because the firm has invested in building a team of top lawyers who are embedded in the reinsurance community and understand the unique challenges faced by international insurers and reinsurers. They're committed to the industry, and that shows in their dedication to client service. Another compelling characteristic about the firm, particularly in this challenging economy, is that Crowell & Moring encourages the use of alternative fee arrangements that better align the firm's interests with our clients, which the group has been committed to for many years. This is just one example of the Insurance/Reinsurance Group's thoughtful response to our clients' needs,” said Johnson.

O'Melveny & Myers LLP has named partner Richard Goetz head of its Class Action, Mass Torts, and Aggregated Litigation Practice. Goetz will lead O'Melveny's team of approximately 120 lawyers who defend class actions in courts across the country.

Also the head of O'Melveny's Products Liability Practice, Goetz has defended individual, mass, and class actions across the country against medical device and prescription drug manufacturers, food companies, hotel chains, an automobile manufacturer, a boat manufacturer, a retail store chain, and a mining company. Goetz's clients include Johnson & Johnson, Merck, and ACE.

“We are delighted that Rich will bring his outstanding creativity and talent to this role,” said Arthur B. Culvahouse, Jr., chair of O'Melveny & Myers. “During his 25-year tenure at O'Melveny, he has played an integral part in some of our most significant and high-profile class action matters helping his clients achieve victories through innovative strategies and excellent legal skill.” In addition to his products liability work, Goetz also has extensive experience litigating insurance disputes. He represented insurers in the highly publicized class actions challenging insurance broker compensation, and is currently lead counsel in a major insurance coverage action pending in the California Supreme Court. He has been invited by the California Court of Appeal to file amicus briefs in highly publicized insurance coverage litigation.

“I look forward to leading O'Melveny's class action practice group. It's an honor just to be a member of this impressive group of outstanding lawyers who have strong institutional ties with clients in a variety of industries,” said Goetz. “Our thought leadership has been recognized in diverse areas ranging from products liability and mass torts to health care and insurance to financial services and beyond. It has been a rewarding experience to be a part of this team, and I look forward to many more exciting challenges in the years ahead.”

Crowell & Moring LLP has expanded both its insurance and reinsurance practice through the addition of new partner Deirdre G. Johnson to the firm's Washington, DC office. Johnson brings more than 15 years of experience to the firm's Insurance/Reinsurance Group, where she will handle a wide variety of insurance and reinsurance litigation and arbitration proceedings in the United States, Bermuda, London, and European markets. Johnson joins from Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP.

“During the past few years, Crowell & Moring's Insurance/Reinsurance Group has significantly expanded its team of lawyers focused on serving the needs of the reinsurance industry. This team is a critical and growing part of our overall Insurance/Reinsurance Group, and Deirdre's move further enhances the experience and knowledge base we can offer our clients. Deirdre is known for providing the kind of sophisticated, practical counsel that comes from having served the industry her entire career,” said Paul W. Kalish, co-chair of Crowell & Moring's Insurance/Reinsurance Group, and a member of this newsletter's Board of Editors.

Johnson has handled multimillion dollar insurance and reinsurance coverage disputes, in both domestic and international proceedings, involving a wide variety of subject matters. She assists both ceding companies and reinsurers in controversies involving a variety of complex issues, and her practice also includes handling insurance coverage litigation and defending public corporations in class actions, derivative lawsuits, mergers and acquisitions litigation, and SEC enforcement actions. Johnson has extensive domestic and international trial, arbitration and deposition experience, including adversarial proceedings governed by the Bermuda International Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1993 and the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration. She represents various London market insurers and reinsurers in complex disputes, including those relating to financial institutions, directors' and officers' coverage, liability, surety, financial guaranty, and property and casualty issues.

Johnson's work has included representing an international life reinsurer in a class action alleging material misstatements in financials concerning certain valuation allowances on deferred tax assets and the company's Sarbanes-Oxley certifications. She has also led internal investigations of reserving practices employed by Health Maintenance Organizations and property/casualty reinsurers in response to shareholder demand letters.

“I am excited to join Crowell & Moring because the firm has invested in building a team of top lawyers who are embedded in the reinsurance community and understand the unique challenges faced by international insurers and reinsurers. They're committed to the industry, and that shows in their dedication to client service. Another compelling characteristic about the firm, particularly in this challenging economy, is that Crowell & Moring encourages the use of alternative fee arrangements that better align the firm's interests with our clients, which the group has been committed to for many years. This is just one example of the Insurance/Reinsurance Group's thoughtful response to our clients' needs,” said Johnson.