Vincent J. Vitkowsky represents insurers and reinsurers in significant disputes. He serves as advocate and counselor in litigation, arbitration and mediation of reinsurance, insurance coverage, regulatory, and general commercial matters.

Mr. Vitkowsky has represented clients in successful mediations with dollar values in the millions and hundreds of millions. He served on the Advisory Committee for the CPR International Reinsurance Industry Dispute Resolution Protocol, which established a framework for voluntary dispute resolution and mediation. He and his firm serve as pro bono corporate counsel to ReMedi.

Mr. Vitkowsky has been recognized by clients and practitioners in the following: New York Superlawyers; The Best Lawyers In America; The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers (including him as one of four U.S. insurance and reinsurance attorneys on its list of the top 15 “Most Highly Regarded Individuals – Global,” and describing him as “having exceptional ability in the insurance market”); Chambers America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (describing him as “a well-prepared operator” and noting that “clients appreciate his intelligence and tactics, which make a tough case seem a lot more manageable”); Euromoney’s Guide to the World’s Leading Insurance and Reinsurance Lawyers, and Euromoney’s Best of the Best.

Since the 1980s, Mr. Vitkowsky has been among the core of lawyers most active in reinsurance disputes, and has appeared in well over 100 reinsurance arbitrations and litigations. His matters have addressed recurring issues such as follow-the-fortunes, utmost good faith, rescission, aggregation and allocation, as well as unique points of contract interpretation. They have involved property, casualty, life, health, finite, workers’ compensation carve-out and aviation business, and have arisen in contexts such as September 11, Enron, hurricanes and insurance company insolvencies.

Mr. Vitkowsky also represents direct insurers in novel or high-stakes coverage matters. For example, he represented the insurer on the highest and most exposed layer of coverage for a major telecommunications company, an engagement which encompassed securities and ERISA class actions, D&O, professional indemnity, international litigation and bankruptcy issues. He has also represented clients in disputes arising from theatrical abandonment, space tourism, oil refinery and group health policies.

Mr. Vitkowsky also represents insurers in general commercial litigation, including matters such as disputes with managing general agents, business torts, antitrust, breach of trade secrets and unfair competition, wrongful termination and other matters.

Mr. Vitkowsky also serves as counsel or arbitrator in international commercial arbitrations involving contracts in a broad range of industries. He is a member of the Panels of the AAA International Centre for Dispute Resolution and the London Court of International Arbitration, and accepts assignments to ad hoc tribunals.

Jim Shanman is partner-in-charge of the Stamford Office of Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP and a member of the firm’s Insurance and Reinsurance Department. He represents national and international clients in major insurance and reinsurance litigation and arbitration matters. He is an accomplished trial lawyer and has tried jury and non-jury cases in federal and state courts, administrative proceedings, and numerous arbitrations throughout the United States, including acting as one of the lead counsel in one of the largest reinsurance arbitrations of all time. He has also acted as counsel in a number of mediations. His practice includes representation and counseling in matters involving both property and casualty and life and health reinsurance, insolvencies, coverage issues, agents and brokers, surety issues, and life insurance, as well as a variety of other insurance matters. He has also represented clients in complex commercial litigation involving a wide range of substantive areas, including contract disputes, securities, creditors’ rights, real estate, employment discrimination, publishing, advertising, franchising, fraud, and other business torts.

Jim has a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce at the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from Yale Law School. He is listed in the Euromoney’s Legal Group’s Guide to the world’s leading insurance and reinsurance lawyers, Chambers’ America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Who’s Who in America, and Who’s Who in American Law.

Jim has spoken and written frequently on insurance and reinsurance topics, has served as an editor, reviewer, or final reader for two leading reinsurance texts, and has been a member of various bar committees that deal with insurance. He is also an ARIAS·US certified arbitrator and has served as an arbitrator in numerous commercial arbitrations.

Jim is a member of the New York and Connecticut bars and the bars of a number of federal courts.