Reed Smith LLP today announced the addition of Stephen Moll and Jim Cooper as partners in its Insurance Recovery Group. The two will join the firm’s Houston office from Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP in Houston, where they co-led that firm’s Policyholder Insurance Coverage Group for more than 15 years.
“Representing policyholders is an increasingly significant practice focus in Texas, particularly in the energy sector, and Stephen and Jim are two of the best insurance recovery lawyers in the state,” said Douglas E. Cameron, firmwide head of Reed Smith’s Insurance Recovery Group. “Both are experienced and knowledgeable practitioners with longstanding corporate relationships and a robust record of litigation wins. We are delighted to welcome both of them to the firm.”
A 1983 graduate of Vanderbilt University and a 1990 graduate of the Houston Law Center, Moll represents corporate policyholders in complex insurance coverage litigation in Texas and around the world. His principal focus for his commercial clients is handling major coverage disputes against insurance carriers involving bad faith and insurance code violations. He is renowned for his successes in large property and business interruption claims, recovering hundreds of millions of dollars for his clients.
“Reed Smith’s extensive national and international platform and its reputation for excellence in insurance recovery for policyholders are second to none,” said Moll. “Jim and I see tremendous growth opportunities heading up Reed Smith’s Insurance Recovery Group in Texas, and look forward to playing key roles in what we see as the nation’s top insurance recovery team.”
Moll’s clients span diverse industries, including energy, chemical, oil and gas, heavy equipment, waste disposal, financial services and food processing. He also handles other commercial litigation matters, representing clients both domestically and internationally.
With a storied career of successfully negotiating with and litigating against the nation’s major insurers, Moll often lectures to professional audiences on insurance issues. He is the former editor-in-chief of the LexisNexis Texas Annotated Insurance Code. Before attending law school, Moll held a senior claims position with one of the nation’s largest insurance carriers.
Both Moll and Cooper handle policyholder coverage issues in diverse insurance matters, including disputes involving property, comprehensive general liability, directors and officers, errors and omissions, employment practices liability, professional liability, business interruption, product recall, construction, builder’s risk, pollution, and energy.
Cooper, a 1984 graduate of Tulane University Law School, is also the current chair of the Insurance Law Section of the Texas State Bar. His practice focus is the resolution of multimillion-dollar insurance coverage disputes through litigation or arbitration, many involving the construction, energy or chemical sectors. Additionally, Cooper advises clients on commercial maritime law and maritime liens. He also handles complex commercial litigation, including trade secret disputes, breach of contract cases and litigation arising out of damage to international shipments of cargo. His maritime work often extends to the representation of Asian or European banks and owners with an interest in vessels docked in Houston. He has considerable experience with both sides of disputes in complex shipping cases.
“Insurance recovery is a marquee practice at Reed Smith and we are thrilled to bring on board two top-of-the-market attorneys in that area to lead those efforts in Texas,” said Kenneth Broughton, Reed Smith’s Houston Managing Partner. “Stephen’s strength in first-party disputes is second to none, and Jim’s strong history handling third-party coverage matters is well known across the state. His maritime background will benefit our shipping clients who are doing business in the Port of Houston, one of the nation’s most vibrant ports.”
Reed Smith has more than 80 lawyers in 11 offices around the world committed exclusively to representing policyholders. In 2014 and 2015, U.S. News-Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” named Reed Smith its “National Law Firm of the Year” in Insurance Law. In addition, the group has earned honors for its policyholder practice from Chambers USA, Chambers UK, Legal 500 US and Legal 500 UK.
Source: www.reedsmith.com
