Thursday, November 13th
Our special guest this week, Jim Murray, Chair, Insurance Recovery Group, Blank Rome LLP will Present on:
Mediation of National Complex Insurance Coverage Cases
When corporate survival is on the line, insurance coverage becomes more than a contract dispute—it becomes a high-stakes battle over risk transfer, financial exposure, and long-term business continuity. In these “bet-the-company” insurance coverage cases, mediation can serve as a powerful tool—but only when used at the right time and in the right way.
Drawing on decades of experience negotiating with the world’s largest insurers, Jim Murray will explore how sophisticated parties leverage mediation strategically in large-scale coverage disputes
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Our presenter:
Jim Murray leads Blank Rome’s policyholder-only insurance recovery practice, formerly the insurance practice of Dickstein Shapiro LLP. Jim is the only policyholder trial lawyer in the country who is a Fellow of both the American College of Trial Lawyers (“ACTL”) and the American College of Coverage Counsel (“ACCC”). He has litigated cases in 24 states for top-tier corporate clients and has represented individuals and an array of religious institutions and government entities.
Chambers USA ranks Jim in Band 1 nationally in insurance as well as in Washington, D.C. Best Lawyers named him its 2020 “Lawyer of the Year” for Insurance Litigation in Washington, D.C. BTI Consulting Group designated him a 2019 “Client Service All-Star.” The National Law Journal named Jim a “D.C. Trailblazer” in 2020 and, in 2017, a “Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Trailblazer” (one of 15 nationally in all practices areas). In both 2020 and 2017, the National Law Journal named Blank Rome as the D.C. Litigation Department of the Year for Insurance. Law360 has twice named him an MVP in Insurance Coverage. For 2022 through 2024, Lexology, Inc. named him the “Exclusive Winner of the Client Choice Award for Insurance & Reinsurance for the USA” (finalists can only be nominated by corporate counsel).
Jim served on the District of Columbia State Committee of the ACTL as well as its standing Committee on Evidence. He is presently a member of its standing Jury Committee. Membership in the ACTL is extended only by invitation, after extensive investigation, to those trial lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility, and collegiality. He is also listed in the National Trial Lawyers’ “Top 100 Trial Lawyers” for the District of Columbia (Civil) and was selected as a member of the Nation’s Top One Percent by the National Association of Distinguished Counsel (“NADC”) in 2022. Jim taught Trial Advocacy at the University of Washington School of Law for more than 10 years.
Jim was formerly a leader of the insurance coverage practice at an Am Law 200 firm and a partner in the litigation and insurance practices of an Am Law 100 firm where he served on the firm’s Partnership Evaluation and Business Development Committees. From 1996 to 2007, he was a founding and managing partner of a trial practice boutique in Seattle, Washington.
He clerked for the Honorable James Hunter III of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit from 1981 to 1982 and was special assistant to William H. Webster, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, from 1983 to 1985. He is a Rhodes Scholar.
Outside the Firm
Jim is married to Lynne Bivona and has a son and a daughter. He was raised on a farm and ranch on the Fort Peck Reservation in Eastern Montana. He plays folk and country music when he has time, and for many years has caught the occasional gig with his brother in their Northwest band, Smoke Creek.
Offered by Will Work For Food, founded by Natalie Armstrong-Motin (www.HowToMarketMyMediationPractice.com, moderated by Jeff Kichaven (www.JeffKichaven.com ) and Jean Lawler (www.LawlerADR.com), LatAM moderator, Mixhael Schwimmer (www.SchwimmerMediation.com and Program Coordinator, David Shraga (www.DavidShraga.com).
This worldwide conversation will be like nothing else. Join in! Share, learn, have fun, and raise money for food banks.