Editorial: Insurance and Reinsurance in Georgia
01 April 2007
Our research has uncovered nine individuals with a proven track record representing insurance underwriters, reinsurers, intermediaries and corporate insureds in contentious, contractual, regulatory and corporate matters.
Tom Player, chairman of the insurance and reinsurance group at Morris Manning & Martin LLP, was variously described as the “dean of Atlanta insurance lawyers” and “the granddaddy of insurance regulation in Georgia”. Based on our findings, he has a reputuation as “one of the very best in the state”. Player is a former mentor to Brian Casey, who now maintains a wellrespected corporate and regulatory practice in the Atlanta offices of the insurance powerhouse Lord Bissell & Brook LLP. Casey leads the firm’s insurance capital markets practice group and was rated by one prominent source as “one of the two leading insurance lawyers in Atlanta”. He is also said to be “very active in the association of life insurance counsel”.
John Hopkins joined Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC in 2003, before which he served as executive vicepresident and general counsel of Jefferson- Pilot Corporation. Hopkins is “very well respected” and “well known in the industry”. The past 12 months have seen him representing a major US life insurer in the successful resolution of a dispute with a South Eastern insurance department arising out of a market conduct examination. He also helped a client obtain additional value in the sale of an insurance subsidiary by pointing out significant value that had been overlooked by actuaries and accountants in an insurance appraisal.
Alston & Bird LLP is the only firm with two individuals featured in the chapter – Betsy Collins and Susan Wilson. Praised as “very good lawyers at an excellent firm” they emerge as two of the state’s leading lights. Collins joined the firm in 2002 after serving as associate general counsel and first vice-president with an affiliate of Torchmark Corporation in Alabama. Much of the past year has seen her working on the negotiation and settlement of the HealthSouth Corporation securities litigation as well as litigation involving variable annuities and unfair competition in the replacement of a block of variable life and annuity business. Susan Wilson was also consistently endorsed for her work on reinsurance transactions – she led the legal teams representing Assurant in the sale of its asset accumulation business to Hartford Life.
Before joining Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, James Leonard served as general counsel with MAG Mutual Insurance Company, an Atlanta-based provider of medical professional liability insurance. It is unsurprising, therefore, that he continues to have strong ties to the health-care industry and has worked for firms such as Prudential HealthCare and Newton Medical Group. One source noted that Leonard “offers sound advice” and he is known for his coverage and litigation work.
William Stanhope chairs the insurance department at Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi LLP and was praised as “an excellent trial lawyer” with a specialty in property insurance and fire litigation. King & Spalding LLP is represented in the chapter thanks to the strong showing of Ralph Levy in the research. Levy’s practice focuses on contentious matters; over the years he has represented business and professional service clients in insurance litigation.
Stacy Freeman of Troutman Sanders LLP is another leading light on the state’s insurance and reinsurance scene. Praised as “exceptionally good”, Freeman is said to do “a lot of lobbying work for insurance companies”. He represents a national property and casualty insurance trade association and a national health carrier. Freeman also has a strong regulatory element to his practice.
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