Goldberg Segalla is pleased to announce the law firm will expand internationally with the opening of an office in London led by leading reinsurance solicitor Clive O’Connell. The office will open in April 2012 and will be located in the heart of London’s finance and insurance district at No. 1 Cornhill across from the Royal Exchange. The London expansion and addition of Clive closely follows former New York State Superintendent of Insurance James J. Wrynn joining the firm as head of its Manhattan office and regulatory compliance practice.
Clive is the former head of the Commercial Risk and Reinsurance Department at Barlow Lyde & Gilbert LLP in London. He is recognized as one of the world’s leading insurance and reinsurance legal professionals in all major international legal ranking directories, including Chambers and Partners, Legal 500, Euromoney Expert Guides, Who’s Who Legal, The International Who’s Who of Insurance & Reinsurance Lawyers, and others. The Chambers and Partners directory has noted, “Clive O’Connell is deemed a formidable reinsurance lawyer by market sources.” In 2011, Legal 500 called him “one of the best reinsurance lawyers in London.”
“Adding Clive O’Connell to our Global Insurance Services team significantly enhances our Best Practices, client-driven service model,” said Daniel W. Gerber, Co-Chair of Goldberg Segalla’s Global Insurance Services Practice Group. “Our clients will greatly benefit from Clive’s talents, experience, and unparalleled understanding of the complex global insurance and reinsurance markets. We are thrilled to welcome him to a growing team.”
“I am excited to join the talented professionals at Goldberg Segalla,” Clive said. “This forward-thinking firm takes great pride not only in being a premier law firm serving international markets, but also in achieving that status through hard work and putting the needs of its clients above all else. Goldberg Segalla’s ethos is one of innovation, superior service, and collaboration amongst its lawyers and across its offices and practice groups. I look forward to contributing to the success of the firm and its international client base in the insurance and reinsurance industry.”
Clive’s experience includes representing clients in some of the world’s largest reinsurance disputes in recent years. He has acted for clients on wording both of their general programs as well as unique transactions. He has also been involved in every aspect of run-off and exit strategies for reinsurers and insurers.
Clive has acted for clients in disputes in a variety of forums including the Commercial Court and arbitration in England, the federal and state courts and arbitration in the United States, the Commercial Court and arbitration in France, as well as other jurisdictions such as Bermuda, Jamaica, Switzerland, Sweden, and Hong Kong. He is currently General Counsel of the International Insurance Society, and is a regular presenter at meetings of the International Association of Claims Professionals. Since 2005, he has been the Legal Correspondent of The Review – Worldwide Reinsurance magazine. Clive writes regularly for publications including Insurance Day, Reactions, and Global Reinsurance. He is a contributor to Reinsurance Practice and the Law and an author of a chapter on legal issues for Alternative Risk Strategies. He has served for several years on the panel deciding Reactions Magazine’s London Market Awards.
