Veteran first-chair trial counsel handles high-value insurance and reinsurance litigation and arbitration, and complex transactional matters
New York - June 1, 2018 – In a significant addition to its leading insurance and reinsurance practice, Stroock welcomes Huhnsik Chung as a partner in the firm’s New York office. He arrives from Baker McKenzie, where he chaired the North America Insurance practice. Joining Mr. Chung is an associate, Nicholas Secara, also from Baker McKenzie.
Mr. Chung represents insurance-industry clients in complex, high-stakes disputes in domestic and international arbitrations and judicial proceedings. He has served as lead counsel in more than 70 such actions in the U.S. and abroad.
He also provides regulatory, licensing and structuring advice on matters such as insure-tech start-ups, captives, M&A, insurance-linked securities, wrap-up insurance and new product development. He handles the insurance component of M&A and regulatory matters and is regularly retained to resolve business of insurance disputes.
In the FinTech space, Mr. Chung has also been at the forefront of blockchain development and deployment in his representation of accelerators, exchanges and sponsors of initial coin offerings in offshore jurisdictions.
Fluent in Korean, Mr. Chung also maintains close ties with South Korean-focused companies and assists Korean clients in business and insurance matters globally.
At Stroock he joins a top insurance litigation team representing national and multinational insurers and reinsurers in a wide range of matters, including high-exposure reinsurance matters, complex coverage and bad faith disputes and consumer class actions. Stroock’s reinsurance representations span such diverse areas as life reinsurance; natural catastrophes; asbestos and environmental; aviation; financial guarantee; workers’ compensation; broker negligence and MGA disputes. The team’s complex insurance coverage expertise include CGL, excess/umbrella, professional liability, workers’ compensation, D&O and commercial property lines, among others. The firm’s trial and appellate attorneys have litigated substantial, high-exposure cases in state and federal courts and before arbitration panels across the country.
The Insurance Group, co-led by Robert Lewin and Michele Jacobson, also executes important transactional work, including insurance-industry M&A and sophisticated reinsurance transactions as well as regulatory matters. Late last year, a large Stroock deal team represented a consortium of investors led by Atlas Merchant Capital in the $2.05 billion acquisition of Talcott Resolution, the run-off life insurance and annuity division of The Hartford. The firm had previously advised on a $963 million acquisition of The Hartford’s variable annuity business in Japan.
Alan Klinger, Stroock’s co-managing partner, said: “Our insurance practice has always been powered by the triple threat of highly proficient litigation, transactional and regulatory teams. Through their work at the center of some of the most important and contentious recent litigation and arbitration cases, Stroock lawyers have earned a reputation for excellence. Huhnsik fits right in with that heritage, and we are happy to add him to our team.”
Mr. Lewin noted: “Clients know and respect the knowledge and skillset Huhnsik brings to any matter. His successful representations for a significant number of clients are a testament to his capabilities. He is a great addition to our practice.”
Mr. Chung said, “With a world-class group of litigators and transactional attorneys, Stroock has been a go-to firm for insurance industry players, particularly those with complex cases that can change the shape and destiny of companies. Joining Stroock is a welcome step and I look forward to growing my practice with my new colleagues.”
Mr. Chung received his J.D. from Cornell Law School and B.A. from Cornell University.