Law360 named Covington an Insurance Practice Group of the Year, and the accompanying profile included commentary from Anna Engh, Gretchen Hoff Varner, and Alexis Dyschkant about Covington’s insurance practice.
Anna noted that while litigation is a large part of the insurance recovery group's work, lawyers also focus on resolving disputes through negotiation and mediation, and advising clients on their insurance policies. Gretchen added that "Covington prioritizes collaboration between lawyers in all ways. It's built into the DNA of the firm and that is true of the coverage practice as well.”
Because insurance attorneys must have a "rich understanding of how the law works in a lot of different areas," Gretchen said, being able to join forces with attorneys from different practice groups is immensely helpful when it comes to insurance coverage litigation. "There's always somebody who knows the answer to a question," she said. "I think that all of that expertise on coverage and on the law really benefits our clients and, frankly, makes it more fun to do the work that we do."
Anna stated that Covington's reputation for being on the forefront of cutting-edge insurance issues and developing coverage law is also an advantage. For example, Anna discussed how the principles Covington developed in the asbestos coverage area have proved helpful in more recent coverage fights over exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and have also given the firm an "enormous store of credibility with insurers."
Alexis worked on a number of PFAS-related matters and said courts, mediators and insurers listen when Covington models a potential outcome or makes a prediction about how something might be resolved. PFAS is an issue that is going to continue to grow and evolve, Alexis said, adding that the firm is litigating PFAS-related coverage issues in several states and has a "real opportunity to make law in this area."
Gretchen also told Law360 about another novel dispute in which the firm prevented insurers for one of the world's largest aircraft lessors from escaping coverage for aircraft seized by the Russian government following the country's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. "I think that one of the bigger, significant impacts of that case is that it really reflects an increased interest in the war exclusion, and Covington, again, is at the forefront of this issue that is now being litigated more frequently," Gretchen added.
Alexis elaborated on the application of the war exclusion, pointing out that the war exclusion historically has not been litigated very frequently, and certainly not in the context of a
company's losses after a cyber event. "To say we were pleased with the result, I think, would be an understatement. To get the ruling that we got on summary judgment and then upheld on appeal was real validation to a hardworking team that had moved a big case along very quickly," she said.
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