Rankings: Rising Stars

Law360’s Rising Stars profiles the top legal talent under 40. The winners are comprised of top litigators and dealmakers practicing at a level usually seen from veteran attorneys. Submissions highlight the winner’s age and reasons why his or her record deserves attention.
  • March 28, 2012

    Rising Star: Simpson Thacher's Deborah Stein

    In a career barely older than a decade, Deborah L. Stein of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP has already earned a reputation as a go-to litigator for major insurers like The Standard Fire Insurance Co. and National Fire & Marine Insurance Co., landing her a spot on Law360's list of five rising insurance stars under 40.

  • March 27, 2012

    Rising Star: Jones Day's Howard Sidman

    Jones Day's Howard Sidman has been a driving force behind the rapid growth of the firm's insurance recovery practice, bringing home upwards of a half billion dollars for policyholders in his short tenure as partner, landing him a spot among Law360's rising stars of insurance law.

  • March 26, 2012

    Rising Star: Wiley Rein's Gary Seligman

    Gary Seligman of Wiley Rein LLP is known within the insurance industry as a skillful lawyer whose handle on complicated law and deft brief writing have saved clients like Federal Insurance Co. millions of dollars, earning him a spot on Law360's list of insurance law's rising stars.

  • March 23, 2012

    Rising Star: ACE Bermuda's Joshua Schwartz

    ACE Bermuda Insurance Ltd. associate general counsel Joshua Schwartz began serving as the insurer's regional compliance officer in 2011, ensuring the company complies with Bermuda and U.S. regulations, and also found time to mediate a high-profile bankruptcy settlement, work that won him a spot among Law 360's top five insurance attorneys under 40.

  • March 31, 2011

    Rising Star: McDermott's Ryan Smethurst

    McDermott Will & Emery LLP partner Ryan Smethurst played a lead role in drafting the $712.5 million insurance settlement with cleanup workers who claimed they got ill at the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, earning him a place on Law360's list of five insurance attorneys under 40 to watch.

  • March 30, 2011

    Rising Star: Ropes & Gray's Catherine Mondell

    Ropes & Gray LLP's Catherine A. Mondell has helped insurers defeat hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of business interruption claims after Sept. 11 and Hurricane Katrina, earning her a place on Law360's list of five insurance attorneys under 40 to watch.

  • March 29, 2011

    Rising Star: Wiley Rein's Kimberly Melvin

    Kimberly Melvin of Wiley Rein LLP has led some of the world's biggest insurers through complex professional liability coverage battles sparked by policyholder bankruptcies and the financial crisis, earning her a spot on Law360's list of five insurance lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 28, 2011

    Rising Star: Simpson Thacher's Bryce Friedman

    Bryce Friedman of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP won a dismissal for The Standard Fire Insurance Co. in whistleblower litigation following Hurricane Katrina and secured a favorable settlement for several Chartis insurers over diacetyl claims, earning him a place among Law360's list of five insurance lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • March 24, 2011

    Rising Star: Crowell & Moring's Jennifer Devery

    Jennifer Devery single-handedly launched Crowell & Moring LLP's now-flourishing reinsurance practice, bringing more business to the firm from longtime clients like Ace USA and earning her a spot on Law360's list of five insurance attorneys under 40 to watch.

  • April 16, 2010

    Rising Star: Kasowitz's Adam Ziffer

    As a lawyer for corporate policyholders whose claims have been denied, Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman LLP's Adam Ziffer frequently faces off against 20 or 30 insurance companies. Against such formidable defendants, he has brought home multimillion-dollar settlements for a Philips Electronics North America Corp. unit in an asbestos exposure coverage case and for a Gotham Organization Inc. shopping center in an environmental liability case, making him one of Law360's 10 insurance lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • April 15, 2010

    Rising Star: Dewey & LeBoeuf's Allison Tam

    When insurers need to obtain regulatory approvals for major deals like Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.'s $11.8 billion acquisition of Travelers Life & Annuity, they turn to Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP's Allison Tam, making her one of Law360's 10 insurance lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • April 14, 2010

    Rising Star: Dickstein's Sandra Smith Thayer

    Before she’d even made partner, Dickstein Shapiro LLP’s Sandra Smith Thayer had helped San Diego Gas & Electric Co. collect hundreds of millions of dollars in claims and netted Sempra Energy one of the year’s 50 largest U.S. verdicts — achievements that have reserved her a spot among Law360’s 10 insurance attorneys under 40 to watch.

  • April 13, 2010

    Rising Star: Carroll Burdick's Gretchen Ramos

    A love for digging deep has helped Carroll Burdick & McDonough LLP's Gretchen Ramos excel at high-stakes insurance litigation — including handling CNA Financial Corp.'s role in one of the most comprehensive asbestos settlements in history — and made her one of Law360's 10 insurance lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • April 12, 2010

    Rising Star: Choate's Rob Kole

    Intense preparation and a record of success in multimillion-dollar reinsurance arbitration cases for Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. and other major insurers make Rob Kole, co-chair of the insurance and reinsurance group at Choate Hall & Stewart LLP, one of Law360's 10 insurance lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • April 09, 2010

    Rising Star: Sidley Austin's Sean Keyvan

    A deep knowledge of the insurance sector, which helped in the successful implementation of several multibillion-dollar deals for American International Group Inc. and other major insurers, has made Sidley Austin LLP's Sean Keyvan one of Law360's 10 insurance lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • April 08, 2010

    Rising Star: Akin Gump's Katherine Katchen

    Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP partner Katherine Katchen has represented Independence Blue Cross and its subsidiaries in numerous reimbursement cases around the country for the past decade, including in a national class action settlement, earning her a spot on Law360's list of 10 insurance lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • April 07, 2010

    Rising Star: Linklaters' Dan Dufner

    From shepherding the nation's largest health insurer WellPoint Inc. through billions of dollars worth of acquisitions to spearheading his firm's efforts to attract more insurance business in the U.S., Linklaters LLP partner Dan Dufner has developed an industry track record worthy of a place on Law360's list of 10 insurance attorneys under 40 to watch.

  • April 06, 2010

    Rising Star: Troutman Sanders' Jonathan Cohen

    Despite a perceived jury bias against insurance companies, Troutman Sanders LLP's Jonathan Cohen has helped clients like Federal Insurance Co. win trial victories, all while rising through the ranks to become the firm's youngest partner and now earning a spot on Law360's list of 10 insurance lawyers under 40 to watch.

  • April 05, 2010

    Rising Star: Jenner & Block's Kali Bracey

    Steering homebuilder Dragas Management Corp. through the first Chinese drywall insurance coverage action filed in the U.S. and representing policyholder Tyson Foods Inc. in a coverage suit over environmental claims from poultry operations mark just another day in the office for Jenner & Block LLP's Kali N. Bracey, garnering her a spot on Law360’s list of 10 insurance lawyers under 40 to watch.

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