Robert F. McCarthy

Robert F. McCarthy, a trial and appellate lawyer with over 25 years of experience, has represented individual litigants, business entities, and insurers in state and federal courts, arbitrations, and declaratory judgment actions, and has tried numerous cases to verdict in matters ranging from complex contractual disputes to multimillion-dollar first- and third-party litigation.

With experience in policy planning and enterprise risk management as well as oversight of litigation on a national scale, Bob maintains a particular focus on complex and high-exposure litigation involving commercial, excess and surplus, and specialty lines of insurance.

Equally adept as a lead trial attorney and tactician and as a high-volume litigation strategist, with a penchant for continuously improving processes and finding new efficiencies, Bob utilizes large-scale data collection and analysis and proven claims-handling procedures to deliver unexcelled service to his clients.

A Certified Litigation Management Professional and member of the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM), Bob is exceptionally sensitive to insurers’ needs and expectations, drawing on experience and insights earned over nearly two decades in-house at a Fortune 75 insurance company.

Bob started his tenure as a trial attorney in the company’s New York City office before taking on responsibility for regional oversight of all commercial lines litigation in New York and the Northeast.

He eventually assumed national responsibility for large-loss, complex commercial and construction defect litigation strategy, quality, and customer relationships in over 50 law offices in 26 states. Bob had oversight of several thousand lawsuits and was accountable for development, training, and maintenance of a national practice group of over 120 lawyers.

Bob earned his bachelor’s at St. John’s University and earned his J.D. at Fordham University School of Law. He began his career in private practice providing advocacy, counsel, and coverage opinions to the Lloyd’s of London insurance market, before spending three years as an Assistant District Attorney in Bronx County, where he primarily prosecuted felony offenses and conducted numerous jury trials and investigations.

Dedicated to the insurance industry and to improving the standards and practices of the attorneys and firms who serve it, Bob is very active in legal and professional organizations.

He is a member of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, CLM’s Construction Claims Committee, DRI’s Workers’ Compensation and Data Management and Security Committees, and the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) Trial Lawyers Section, and was a representative for consecutive terms in NYSBA’s House of Delegates.

Bob is also past chair of NYSBA’s 2,700-member Torts, Insurance, and Compensation Law (TICL) Section and currently serves on the Section’s Executive Committee. He frequently lectures on topics important to the legal and insurance communities. In 2016 he was the recipient of the NYSBA TICL John E. Leach Memorial Award for outstanding service and distinguished contributions to the legal profession.