Mr. Leahy is a partner in the Risk Management and Insurance Law Practice Group. His practice is devoted exclusively to insurance and risk management issues, including acting as national and supervisory counsel for insurers, drafting policies and wordings, and rendering opinions on insurance law issues. He has written policies for, and litigated matters involving, most kinds of insurances, including professional liability, D&O reinsurance, general liability and personal liability, EPL, property, inland marine and marine including aviation and miscellaneous lines such as product recall, electronic E&O, and major construction liquidated damages cover.
Mr. Leahy has handled varied and significant issues for the industry, including major environmental coverage claims, major product recall coverage claims, large financial instutition coverage claims, and most recently ha acted as national coverage counsel for an insurer with significant exposure to litgation involving sexual abuse by clergymen. His clients include Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's, London, HDI Gerling Insurance, The Premier Insurance Group, the XL Group, ACE Global Markets, the Fireman's Fund Insurance Companies, and OneBeacon Insurance.
He is a frequent speaker on insurance related topics for various organizations, including the State Bar of California/University of California Continuing Education of the Bar, and the British Insurance Law Association, and has spoken throughout the United States, England, Japan and the Republic of China. He has written extensively in insurance related topics and has served as an expert witness for insurers and insureds in extra-contractual litigation.
Mr. Leahy earned his B.A. from California State University, Northridge in 1973 and his J.D., cum laude, from the Loyola Law School in 1978. He is a member of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel (Insurance Coverage Committee and Reinsurance, Excess and Surplus Lines Committee), Defense Research Institute (Insurance Law Committee), the Professional Liability Underwriting Society, the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel and the International Association of Defense Counsel (Committee on Casualty Insurance and Committee on Excess and Reinsurance).
