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Law360 (March 22, 2021, 11:25 PM EDT )
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| Emily Garrison |
Emily Garrison joined Honigman's Chicago office as a partner in late January, ending 10 years of practice at Reed Smith, where she was also a partner and started her legal career as an associate.
"The whole firm is incredibly collegial, collaborative, and committed to getting to know me and my practice and helping me fit in. It's been fantastic," Garrison told Law360 on Monday.
The attorney said joining a growing team and building her practice at a time when there is a high demand for policyholder lawyers amid the pandemic was the right decision for her at this stage of her career. Garrison said she is most thrilled to help Honigman build out its insurance team.
"It's certainly a smaller group than Reed Smith was, but it's a very well-known and well-regarded group," she said. "I really got excited for the opportunity to help them grow in this space and grow the Chicago office."
She also looks to help Honigman's clients with a range of needs, including coronavirus-related business interruption, data breaches, ransomware and weather-related losses during the pandemic. The partner said that insurance premiums for director and officer liability coverage, cyber and other types of coverage have all gone up, and that it's more important than ever for businesses to understand what their policy covers.
The partner said she is not personally representing clients in litigation over COVID-19 business interruption at the moment, but is advising them in this area. Garrison said she has seen an increasing demand for policyholder attorneys to help companies identify how their policies will respond to potential loss claims.
The pandemic has put a spotlight on insurance, she said. Insurance contracts can be complicated and disputes can come down to how single words are being repeated, she added, recalling that she once had a million-dollar dispute "over a word that was written in the past tense versus the present."
"COVID-19 business interruption insurance starts them questioning 'where are other areas of our business that we might have insurance as well,'" Garrison said. "You want to make sure you're buying something that is going to respond when you need it."
Garrison has handled complex coverage disputes through arbitration and litigation, and participated in out-of-court negotiations and mediation.
"We are very excited to welcome Emily to our firm," Mike Huget, chair of the Honigman litigation department, said in a January statement. "She is a well-respected and accomplished attorney. She is a valuable addition to our team."
--Editing by Regan Estes.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
