|
David E. Wood is a shareholder at Anderson Kill Wood & Bender, P.C. and was the co-founder of Wood & Bender LLP, one of the country's leading law firms specializing in insurance policy enforcement. With two decades of experience in the insurance industry, Mr. Wood devotes his practice to evaluating and enforcing business insurance claims and to handling litigation aimed at accessing insurance coverage.
"Clients come to us for our knowledge of the business of insurance," he says. "We know how to enforce insurance policies by creating risk for carriers that don't honor their responsibilities to policyholders. Our experience allows us to anticipate and deliver results, without surprises and without a big learning curve."
Mr. Wood holds the highest "AV" rating for professional skill and ethics conferred by Martindale-Hubbell. Chosen by 60,000 of his peers, and based on the independent research of Law and Politics magazine, he has been named one of the top 2007 Southern California lawyers. Mr. Wood is a long-time member of the American Bar Association Tort & Insurance Practice Section, Fidelity & Surety Committee, as well as the Directors and Officers Section.
Representative Engagements:
In matters throughout California and the nation, Mr. Wood represents public and private companies enforcing their claims under professional errors and omissions, directors' and officers' liability, special risk and general liability policies, and fidelity bonds. The policyholders Mr. Wood typically represents include Fortune 1000 corporations and corporate directors and officers, with special emphasis on contractors’ errors and omissions, design professional errors and omissions, contractor and subcontractor additional insured disputes, and construction risks in general. Representative clients include Turner Construction in the United States and Aecon Group, Inc. in Canada.
Publications
Mr. Wood is an author of the guide, Corporate Policyholders' 50-State Guide: The Right to Independent Counsel, the first state-by-state guide that equips in-house counsel to address the legal conflicts that may occur when a policyholder needs legal representation and the insurance company selects the attorney.
Mr. Wood has published articles for trade and legal publications including D&O Advisor, The John Liner Review, The National Law Journal, Risk Management Magazine, California Lawyer, San Francisco Recorder, and Risk & Insurance Magazine. Recent publications include:
"A Primer For Builders: How to Handle A Construction Insurance Claim," Enforce: The Insurance Policy Enforcement Journal, Volume 8, Issue 1 (April 2010)
"Whither the FDIC: It Might Become the 800-Pound Gorilla of Corporate Insurance Recovery," Enforce: The Insurance Policy Enforcement Journal, Volume 8, Issue 1 (April 2010) (with Joshua Gold)
"Risking It All," Enforce: The Insurance Policy Enforcement Journal, Volume 8, Issue 1 (April 2010) and Hospitality Lawyer's Risk Management Newsletter (February 2009)
"If AIG Enters Bankruptcy Would Insurer Subsidiaries - and Their Policyholders - Be at Risk?," Enforce: The Insurance Policy Enforcement Journal, Volume 7, Issue 1 (2009)
"Is it Time to Regulate The Insurance Industry?," Enforce: The Insurance Policy Enforcement Journal, Volume 7, Issue 1 (2009)
"Keeping an Eye on the Ball: Advocating and Protecting the Scope of Coverage in a Sensitive Market," Enforce: The Insurance Policy Enforcement Journal, Volume 7, Issue 1 (2009) (with John G. Nevius and Edward J. Stein)
"Another View: Imagining an A.I.G. Bankruptcy," The New York Times Deal Book (April 2009)
Speaking Engagements
Mr. Wood is a frequent speaker on insurance policy enforcement matters before organizations like the Association of Corporate Counsel, the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals, Mealey's, the International Risk Management Institute, and the Risk & Insurance Management Society. Recent speaking engagements include:
"Outside Counsel's Ethical Duties to Non-Clients: Can Insurance Companies Exert Backdoor Influences Over Your Defense Counsel," Association of Corporate Counsel Arizona Chapter, Phoenix, AZ (June 15, 2010)
"Emerging Legal Issues in Insurance Risk Management," Manitoba RIMS Chapter, Manitoba, Canada (April 27, 2010)
"Insurance Coverage for Defective Work," 29th IRMI Construction Risk Conference - Learn and Exchange Construction Risk Management Strategies, Washington, DC (November 3, 2009)
"D&O and Outcome of the Financial Crisis," 2009 RIMS Western Regional Conference, Seattle, WA (September 25, 2009) (with Robert M. Horkovich)
"Five Questions to Ask Before Switching Insurance Companies," 12th Annual Policyholder Advisor Conference, New York, NY (September 17, 2009) (with Cort T. Malone)
"Contractual Risk Transfer," Los Angeles RIMS Chapter Workshop (June 5, 2009) (with Robert M. Horkovich and Pamela D. Hans)
"Five Questions to Ask Before Switching Insurance Companies," RIMS 2009 National Conference & Exhibition, Orlando, FL (April 22, 2009) (with Cort T. Malone)
"What Hospitality Lawyers Need to Know About Insurance," 2009 Hospitality Law Conference, Houston, TX (February 11, 2009)
"How to Evaluate and Settle an Insurance Claim," RIMS Hawaii Chapter (January 15, 2009)
Press
Mr. Wood is frequently quoted in national media on significant insurance matters. He has been interviewed on insurance recovery issues on CNBC Television, Bloomberg Radio, USA Today, Forbes and Forbes.com. and most recently on Fox Business News: America's Nightly Scoreboard. Recent media coverage includes:
"AIG may wait on Chartis spinoff: Reported move fueled by economic troubles, say market observers," Business Insurance (January 3, 2010)
"Risk managers addressing threat of insurer solvency," Business Insurance (May 4, 2009)
"Nicholson faces class-action lawsuit," The Journal News.Lohud.com (March 14, 2009)
"Anderson Kill & Olick files class action against Westgate Capital Management," Hedgeweek (March 11, 2009)
"Anderson Kill Opens the Latest Front in Securities Class Action Litigation," American Lawyer.com (March 9, 2009)
"The Case for Saving A.I.G. by A.I.G. The New York Times (March 3, 2009)
"Another View: Imagining an A.I.G. Bankruptcy," The New York Times Online Dealbook (March 2, 2009)
Bar Admissions
California, U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, Central and Southern Districts of California, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Memberships
American Bar Association, Tort & Insurance Practice Section, Fidelity & Surety Committee, Directors & Officers Section, a Director of the Atlantic Legal Foundation
Education
University of California, Hastings College of Law, J.D.
Williams College, cum laude, A.B.
|
|
