David Spector

David M. Spector is Co­-Leader of Schiff Hardin’s Insurance and Reinsurance Group. For more than 30 years, ceding companies and reinsurers have entrusted David with their most complicated, highest exposure matters.

He has successfully litigated across the entire spectrum of the insurance and reinsurance industries, working in every arena, at every level, across the world. These matters have included contested company takeovers and insurer insolvencies, as well as trials and appeals of reinsurance and claim disputes before state and federal courts as well as domestic and international arbitration panels.

In addition to his comprehensive background in reinsurance litigation, David has broad experience in virtually every area of property and casualty insurance, disability benefits and life insurance.  Clients frequently seek his experience, turning to him for advice on mergers and acquisitions, regulatory matters, products issues and other business matters.

David has lectured widely on insurance issues at professional conferences and academic meetings. He has also written or been the principal editor of most of the primary resource texts on insurer insolvency.

According to Chambers USA, David “is unanimously celebrated for his skill as an insurance and reinsurance lawyer,” one who, in the words of a client, “carries the reputation as being the premier reinsurance trial lawyer in the United States.”

EXPERIENCE:

• In Catholic Mutual Relief Society of Am. v. Arrowood Indemnity Co., obtained a denial of the defendant’s motion to dismiss a claim by Catholic Mutual Relief Society of America for a declaratory judgment that the defendant was liable under its predecessor company’s policies and therefore must defend and indemnify the Diocese of St. Cloud against sexual abuse claims covered by both insurers.
• In Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co. v. Rotter, obtained dismissal of claims against American United Life Insurance Company for alleged tortious interference in a dispute related to general agents who terminated their agreements with the plaintiff.
• In Whalen v. Catholic Mut’l Relief Soc., David won partial summary judgment entered in favor of the insurer rejecting the policyholder’s argument that the “continuous trigger” doctrine activated policies in force after the abuse occurred but while the emotional distress was ongoing.

EDUCATION:

• University of Michigan Law School, J.D., 1971
• Northwestern University, B.A., 1968

BAR ADMISSIONS:

• Illinois
• New York
• U.S. Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Trial Bar)
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:

• AIDA Reinsurance and Insurance Arbitration Society, ARIAS U.S.
• American Bar Association, Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section
• Association of Insurance and Reinsurance Run-Off Companies (AIRROC)
• Federation of Regulatory Counsel (FORC)
• Insurance & Reinsurance Legacy Association Limited (IRLA)
• International Association of Insurance Receivers (IAIR)
• International Bar Association, Insurance Committee