October 29, 2013, Washington, D.C. – Reed Smith LLP today announced the addition of two partners to its nationally ranked Insurance Recovery Group in Washington, D.C. John W. Schryber, a nationally renowned insurance litigator, and Andrew M. Weiner, named a 2013 “Rising Star” by Washington DC Super Lawyers, were formerly partners in the insurance practice of Dickstein Shapiro LLP.
“John and Andy are a powerful team with a very strong client following and stellar reputation,” said Douglas Cameron, firmwide head of Reed Smith’s 85-plus member Insurance Recovery Group. “The skills and experience they bring to Reed Smith further cement our position as an insurance recovery market leader.”
Schryber and Weiner handle highly complex and sophisticated coverage disputes for Fortune 500 companies worldwide. The team represents clients across a broad range of industries in every type of loss a business can experience in the course of conducting business.
“We look forward to working with Reed Smith in D.C. where the firm is focused on growth, not only in the insurance coverage area, but most importantly in the practices that support and are essential to growing a prosperous insurance recovery practice,” said Schryber. “In addition, the firm’s leading presence in London, with more than 300 lawyers in that international arbitration and insurance center, will provide us with a broader platform to represent clients and resolve coverage disputes in the international arena.”
Prior to joining Dickstein, Schryber was a long-time partner at Patton Boggs in D.C., where he founded that firm’s Indemnification and Cost Recovery Practice. A 1983 magna cum laude graduate of New York University School of Law, he launched his legal career at Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays & Handler. In a distinguished 30-year career, Schryber has won precedent-setting decisions for insurance policyholders in trial and appellate courts nationwide.
Recognized by Legal 500 as “outstanding” among “recommended” attorneys, Schryber has prosecuted the rights of beneficiaries of private indemnity agreements and policyholders in a broad range of coverage disputes. Earlier this month, Schryber's success was profiled in a telecast aired by Scripps-Howard stations nationally. He does a significant amount of recovery work for private equity clients, which will be an added benefit to Reed Smith’s already strong client relationships in the PE sector.
In 2004, he established the John W. Schryber Endowment at the University of Florida to support graduate assistants pursuing degrees in communications or law. Schryber graduated from the University of Florida with a B.S. in 1979. Schryber also served as co-chair for policyholders of the American Bar Association’s commercial liability section, for which he co-chaired the commercial liability section.
Weiner was former head of Dickstein’s Fidelity/Crime Insurance Practice. His practice focus is representing corporate policyholders in insurance coverage disputes across all phases of litigation and arbitration, including trial and negotiations. He also advises on insurance policy audits in connection with corporate transactions and policy renewals.
“Reed Smith’s team management approach to client service, its commitment to the policyholder side, and its strong international reputation in insurance recovery is an ideal combination for expanding and enhancing our client relationships,” said Weiner. “We are impressed by the energy and enthusiasm we’ve seen in the D.C. office, and look forward to helping grow the firm’s presence in the district.”
A 1999 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, Weiner has experience that extends to aviation liability, professional liability, directors' and officers' liability, business interruption, first-party property damage, environmental liabilities, asbestos bodily injury, pharmaceutical and other products liability, employment liability, and advertising injury.
Reed Smith’s award-winning Insurance Recovery Group includes attorneys in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Houston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., London, Singapore and Paris, providing coverage for clients from coast-to-coast in the United States and internationally. The firm has more dedicated insurance recovery attorneys in the world's major business centers than any other international firm. Alongside their U.S. counterparts, the group’s European and Asian insurance recovery members are situated to handle international arbitrations in the UK, EU, Singapore, Bermuda and elsewhere.
The group has a well-deserved reputation for helping the world’s largest corporate policyholders maximize insurance recovery for the broadest range of business claims. Its extensive experience includes every type of property and liability policy.
The group has been recognized as one of the best policyholder coverage practices in the United States by Chambers USA. On the strength of its success in representing policyholders in high-profile coverage claims and obtaining favorable recent verdicts in several cases, it was shortlisted for the Chambers USA Award for Excellence (2010 – 2013), as the top insurance policyholder practice in the nation. The firm’s Insurance Recovery Group is ranked in National Tier 1 for Insurance Law in the US News – Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms" rankings, and is ranked by Legal 500 US (2010 - 2013) as one of the top 10 leading policyholder coverage practices.
“The addition of two outstanding, high-profile attorneys like John and Andy to this office is most welcome,” said A. Scott Bolden, Reed Smith’s Washington, D.C., Managing Partner. “The infusion of their talents, energy and experience ensures Reed Smith will remain a go-to firm for corporations and other organizations of every size, and across every sector, seeking effective legal representation at the intersection of quality and value.”
About Reed Smith
Reed Smith is a global relationship law firm with more than 1,800 lawyers in 25 offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Founded in 1877, the firm represents leading international businesses, from Fortune 100 corporations to mid-market and emerging enterprises. Its lawyers provide litigation and other dispute-resolution services in multi-jurisdictional and other high-stakes matters; deliver regulatory counsel; and execute the full range of strategic domestic and cross-border transactions. Reed Smith is a preeminent advisor to industries including financial services, life sciences, health care, advertising, technology and media, shipping, energy and natural resources, real estate, manufacturing, and education. For more information, visit reedsmith.com.
U.S.: New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Houston, Princeton, Northern Virginia, Wilmington, Silicon Valley, Century City, Richmond
Europe: London, Paris, Munich, Greece
Middle East: Abu Dhabi, Dubai
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