Patton Boggs Builds International Insurance and Reinsurance Disputes Practice With Addition of Four Leading Practitioners

WASHINGTON, April 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Patton Boggs LLP will significantly enhance its bench strength in insurance and reinsurance dispute resolution, international arbitration, cross-border dispute resolution, and commercial litigation with the addition of four attorneys affiliated with the New York office of Dewey & LeBoeuf, the firm announced today.

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Effective April 9, John M. Nonna, Larry P. Schiffer, Eridania Perez and Suman Chakraborty will join Patton Boggs' Commercial Litigation practice, resident in the firm's New York office. Each brings exceptional and complementary strengths in insurance and reinsurance litigation and dispute resolution, particularly with matters involving international and cross-border concerns. 

Late last year, Patton Boggs expanded its insurance dispute resolution practice with the addition of three insurance litigation partners to the firm's Newark office, led by Mark Sheridan. Now, with the addition of four highly regarded insurance and reinsurance dispute resolution lawyers in New York, the firm has established a formidable presence in insurance dispute resolution, comprising seven senior insurance dispute attorneys in what is fast becoming one of the top practices in the profession. The team also bolsters the firm's capabilities in international arbitration and commercial and cross-border dispute resolution.

"We are delighted to welcome four of the country's leading insurance dispute lawyers to the firm," said Edward J. Newberry, managing partner of Patton Boggs. "We are building a top tier insurance practice and the addition of these four lawyers, with a breadth of skills in insurance, international arbitration and commercial litigation, will significantly expand our capabilities. We are now well-positioned to handle even the most complex cross-border insurance and reinsurance matters for multinational clients."

The team is led by John Nonna, chair of Dewey's Insurance/Reinsurance Dispute Resolution practice and a member of that firm's International Arbitration and Cross-Border Dispute Resolution practice group. He is particularly well known for his work in the reinsurance area, having handled several of the largest reinsurance arbitrations on record.

In addition to matters involving insurance and reinsurance, Mr. Nonna litigates a range of business matters and is known for his innovative approaches to complex cases involving fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, breaches of warranties and representations, employment discrimination, distributorship agreements, stock and asset purchase agreements, and M&A disputes.

Mr. Nonna is a fellow of the American College of Trial lawyers, and has been ranked Band 1, nationally and in New York, in insurance dispute resolution by Chambers Guide to America's Leading Lawyers for Business. He also appears in the American Lawyer Guide, Best Lawyers in America, Commercial Litigation and Insurance Dispute Resolution, and was named one of the top 100 lawyers in the New York metropolitan area by New York Superlawyers.

Joining Mr. Nonna is Larry Schiffer, who is ranked by Chambers USA Guide – Insurance:  Dispute Resolution, as well as appearing in the International Who's Who of Insurance & Reinsurance Lawyers, Legal 500, and the Guide to the World's Leading Insurance and Reinsurance Lawyers. Mr. Schiffer practices in the areas of commercial, insurance and reinsurance litigation, arbitration and mediation, including insurance insolvency and run-off. Additionally, he regularly advises on coverage and contract wording issues. He also serves as a mediator for the mandatory commercial mediation program of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and for the New York Supreme Court Commercial Division's Alternative Dispute Resolution Program. Mr. Schiffer is an established author and frequent speaker on legal, management and risk topics in the insurance and reinsurance industries. He is widely published by the International Risk Management Institute, ARIAS U.S. Quarterly, AIRROC Matters, and the New York State Bar Association.

Eridania Perez, who has been recognized in Legal 500 US Rankings for the past three years, practices commercial litigation and arbitration, including insurance and reinsurance disputes. She has tried and arbitrated cases involving a range of contract disputes, as well as complex fraud and misrepresentation claims, breaches of warranties and representations, stock and asset purchase agreements, and insurance and reinsurance disputes.

Ms. Perez regularly advises non-US companies regarding defense and strategy in potential United States litigation and arbitration proceedings on contract and agency disputes, among others. Additionally, Ms. Perez serves as Chair of the United States Council for International Business (USCIB) Arbitration Committee's Young Arbitrators Forum (YAF) Subcommittee. She has published and presented on various topics.

Suman Chakraborty helps clients resolve international commercial disputes, with an emphasis on reinsurance litigation, arbitration, alternative dispute resolution, as well as disputes in the financial services industry.  He has served as trial counsel in numerous commercial arbitrations in state and federal courts in the United States.

Mr. Chakraborty has also overseen cross-border and bilingual discovery in arbitration and court proceedings. Prior to being resident in New York, Mr. Chakraborty worked in London and Washington, D.C. In 2006, Mr. Chakraborty practiced law for a leading law firm in Tokyo, where he represented Japanese and multinational clients in various M&A transactions, commercial disputes and contract negotiations.

About Patton Boggs LLP

Patton Boggs is a leader in public policy, litigation and business law, and is well known for its deep bipartisan roots in the US political arena. The firm's core practice areas are Public Policy, Business, Litigation and Intellectual Property.

With offices in Washington DC, New York, New Jersey, Dallas, Denver, Anchorage, Northern Virginia and internationally in Doha, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, more than 550 lawyers and professionals provide comprehensive, practical and cost-effective legal counsel to clients around the globe. For more information, visit www.pattonboggs.com.

SOURCE Patton Boggs LLP