Blank Rome offices in Washington, D.C. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM
Blank Rome has recruited Chicago-based Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg partner Seth Lamden to its insurance recovery group, establishing the nationwide group's footprint in a major midwestern market and bringing the total number of insurance recovery practitioners to 35.
The Philadelphia-based firm has doubled its nationwide insurance recovery group by lawyer head count through gradual strategic lateral recruitment since absorbing 100 lawyers from the now-dissolved Dickstein Shapiro in 2016. Leaders at the firm said in a statement that Blank Rome's Chicago office, which opened in 2019, now has 10 attorneys with the addition of Lamden.
Practice group chair James Murray, who was part of the Dickstein Shapiro group, said recruiting a Chicago-based insurance practitioner was a high priority for the group, having already established the practice group's footprint in major geographic markets like Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C.
Lamden said he was attracted to Blank Rome because he had watched the firm establish a national reputation for creatively solving policyholder disputes.
Seth Lamden, with Blank Rome. Courtesy photo
"It's been exciting to watch the group grow," said Lamden, who rounded his 10th anniversary at Neal Gerber before starting at Blank Rome's Chicago office March 16. "They're really doing top-notch coverage litigation and coverage work. When I started talking to them last year, it was really an easy decision to join Blank Rome's practice."
Lamden has counseled policyholders in a broad array of industries—including construction, health care, finance and professional services—throughout all stages of the insurance life cycle, including policy procurement, the claim process and litigating cases when disputes arise.
Lamden said he's unsure how many of his clients will follow him to his new practice Blank Rome, having been unable to have those discussions with them due to his partnership agreement with his previous firm. But he said he's "hopeful" they will join him at his new practice.
"I look forward to starting those discussions, and it's my hope and expectation that I will be able to continue to serve them," he said.
Murray said Blank Rome has worked to grow its insurance recovery practice to compete with Jones Day and Covington & Burling, while preserving the collaborative culture of the former Dickstein Shapiro practice. Murray said firm leadership has allowed a great amount of autonomy in how the group manages and markets itself.
This has also been accomplished by recruiting attorneys who share deep relationships with prominent members of the group, according to practice group vice chair Linda Kornfeld, like insurance group partner Mary Calkins, who Kornfeld has known since she was a first-year associate and who joined Blank Rome in 2019.
"We are so strategic about who we bring into the group," Kornfeld said. "We want to know who's coming in and we want them to know us, so the relationship already exists before they join."
Having been acquainted with Lamden through his involvement in the insurance coverage litigation committee of the American Bar Association's tort, trial and insurance practice section, Murray described Lamden as a young and up-and-coming attorney whose career trajectory aligns with the practice group's succession plan.
Lamden said his new firm's broader geographic footprint and its full-service suite broadens the scope of legal services he can offer clients, such as bankruptcy and restructuring. With the pandemic pushing many companies into bankruptcy, Lamden said insurance is often an entity's most valuable asset and they need lawyers to help monetize it.
"I think there's going to be a lot of activity coming out of bankruptcy, and insurance will continue to play a role to help companies emerge through bankruptcy," he said.
Neal Gerber did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
