North America - United States • Insurance
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
With great expertise in the legal, financial, and regulatory facets of the insurance industry, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP attorneys serve as lead counsel for insurers in major, complex disputes. Specializing in securities, insurance, and litigation, the firm’s recent endeavors encompass the defense against securities class actions, qui tam lawsuits, and consumer class actions. Maeve O’Connor, a securities litigation specialist based in New York, leads the practice, providing counsel in diverse industries and high-stakes litigations involving allegations of misrepresentation, fraud, and regulatory compliance. Susan Reagan Gittes, a regulatory specialist also based in New York, supports the practice by representing insurance companies, directors, and officers in state and federal courts, handling both inquiries and class action suits.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘The regulatory team is knowledgeable, dedicated and responsive especially when there are challenging issues facing the client.'
‘The entire team is knowledgeable about insurance regulation. They also know and are respected by the insurance regulatory community. Eric DiNallo will assemble a first-rate legal team dedicated to your issues immediately.’
Key clients
- AIG
- AXA
- EmblemHealth and subsidiary Group Health Incorporated
- Guardian Life Insurance Company
- James River Group Holdings
- John Hancock
- Massachusetts Mutual
- MetLife, Inc.
- New York Life Insurance Company
- Prudential Financial, Inc.
- TIAA
- United Property and Casualty Insurance Co.
Work highlights
- Representing Prudential and its CEO, CFO and Vice Chair in connection with a securities class action lawsuit and related matters arising from a charge to reserves taken in 2019 following the Company’s annual review of its actuarial assumptions underlying its life insurance reserves.
- Represents a consortium of eight insurers, MetLife, Inc., New York Life Insurance Company, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, Prudential Financial, Inc., TIAA, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, John Hancock , and AXA Financial, Inc., in a qui tam lawsuit filed against them in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York alleging over $14.5 billion in damages.
- Representing James River Group Holdings in a putative securities class action alleging that James River made misrepresentations regarding the sufficiency of its reserves related to its underwriting of insurance covering Rasier LLC a subsidiary of the ride-sharing company Uber Technologies, Inc., allegedly necessitating over $200 million in reserve charges and causing corresponding losses.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Maeve O’Connor