The governors of West Virginia and Illinois have appointed individuals to lead their state insurance departments.
In West Virginia, Governor Jim Justice appointed James A. Dodrill as insurance commissioner.
Mr. Dodrill succeeded Allen McVey, who was appointed earlier this year as secretary of the Department of Administration.
A graduate of the West Virginia University College of Law, Mr. Dodrill received his B.A. in political science from Marshall University. For the past two decades he has worked as corporate claims counsel for Progressive Group of Insurance Companies. Prior to that he worked as a lawyer in private practice.
Mr. Dodrill is a colonel in the Civil Air Patrol and is retired from the West Virginia Air National Guard. Mr. Dodrill and his wife reside in Hurricane, in Putnam County.
In Illinois, Governor JB Pritzker named Robert Muriel as director of the Illinois Department of Insurance.
Mr. Muriel is a civil and commercial lawyer with more than 20 years of experience representing small businesses and professionals in trials, appeals, and arbitrations in state and federal courts. His core practice was civil and commercial litigation, including insurance coverage and bad faith claims, financial fraud claims, legal malpractice cases. and consumer class action cases, including actions brought under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
Mr. Muriel previously served as president of the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois and as president of the Alumni Board of Governors for Loyola University Chicago School of Law. He also has served on the board of directors for the AIDS Legal Council of Chicago and Almost Home Kids and on the executive committee for the Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening.
Mr. Muriel received his J.D. from the Loyola University School of Law and bachelor's degrees in accounting and finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Steven A. Meyerowitz
Steven A. Meyerowitz, a Harvard Law School graduate, is the founder and president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. He may be contacted at [email protected].