The Legal 500

Within Insurance: advice to policyholders, Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP is a third tier firm,

Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP enters the ranking this year. Name partner Marc Kasowitz has been leading the firm’s efforts to expand the firm’s insurance coverage practice, and January 2010 saw thirteen lawyers join the team from Dickstein Shapiro’s New York office. Names include head of the coverage practice Robin Cohen (praised as ‘strategic’, ‘very impressive’ and ‘surgical in her approach’), and Randy Paar, who is leading a team representing the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey in coverage litigation relating to the World Trade Center bombing. The firm is also representing General Electric and GE Healthcare in obtaining coverage from current and legacy insurers, in relation to the highly publicized Omniscan claims. Kenneth Frenchman is lead counsel for GE in this matter, and is also very active in bankruptcy related cases involving the reduction of asbestos liabilities for other policyholders. Adam Ziffer is noted as ‘one to watch’. Robert Shulman also joined the firm, in September 2010.

Within Leading trial lawyers,

Marc Kasowitz, Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP: A new entry onto the list, Marc Kasowitz is the highly rated founder and managing partner of the New York litigation boutique. Kasowitz has a superb track record as a trial lawyer, particularly in highly complex disputes in the financial services, leveraged-buyout and corporate arenas. One of his largest trials is defending MBIA and its subsidiaries against four separate actions that followed its recent restructuring. Most notably the client is up against some of the world’s largest financial institutions, including JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, who are making claims in relation to financial products allegedly insured by MBIA’s structured finance subsidiary. Kasowitz is also representing Fairfax Financial Holdings, an insurance holding company, which is seeking $6bn in damages for the harm it suffered as a result of an alleged attack by a group of short-selling hedge funds.

Within Trade secrets, tier 4

As one of the larger firms specializing in general complex litigation, Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP has entered the ring with its boutique-sized trade secrets team and punched above its weight in one of the most prominent recent trade secret cases – Starwood Hotels v Hilton Hotels. Aaron Marks led Hilton’s representation in the civil case and was joined by Daniel Fetterman in the grand jury investigation of the leading hotel chain over claims of theft of Starwood’s most sensitive trade secrets and proprietary information. Both cases were settled. Marks was also instrumental in obtaining a settlement of $38m for chemical company Purolite in a case against Thermax relating to stolen formulae and processes for water purification resin. The firm also recently defeated Dell’s summary judgment and Daubert motions in a case against Dell for misappropriation of client Modern Creative Services’ product-advisor software tool, leading to a satisfactory settlement.