Press Release 04.11.24
Pillsbury partner Alex Lathrop is an accomplished litigator and skilled negotiator who helps corporate policyholders facing large and complex losses recover from their insurers.
Alex strives to create solutions for policyholder clients that maximize the value of their insurance. Representing companies in a wide array of industries with claims under every major form of insurance, Alex handles all phases of policyholder-side insurance litigation, from pre-suit investigation through trial. When achieving the optimal solution does not involve a lawsuit, Alex employs a sophisticated process to negotiate omnibus settlements of multifaceted claims, frequently outside litigation.
Representative Experience
- Representing a national residential homebuilder to obtain recoveries from insurers for losses related to alleged construction defect claims against the company in Florida.
- Advising one of the world’s leading automobile airbag manufacturers regarding insurance coverage for products liability and other claims arising out of nationwide automotive recall and related civil actions and government criminal and civil investigations.
- Represented oil refiner in litigation against insurers to recover for environmental cleanup costs at one of the largest U.S. oil refineries. Second-chaired two-week trial, obtaining judgment establishing coverage under policies spanning 40 years.
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- Second-chaired a two-week arbitration, successfully obtaining coverage for a railroad company client under policies issued by certain London Market Insurers.
- Represented Wisconsin utility company in litigation against liability insurers, helping obtain first ruling in state requiring each successive insurer to reimburse policyholder for “all sums,” rather than a pro rata share of loss.
- Represented an oil and gas exploration company seeking recovery for property damage and business interruption losses arising out of damage to a subsea oil and gas flowline caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
- Pro bono work includes successful prosecution of a whistleblower claim for a civilian employee of the military before the Merit Systems Protection Board.
- Additionally, has represented a death row inmate challenging the constitutionality of his sentence in state and federal habeas corpus proceedings.
Professional Highlights
- Served on active duty as an infantry officer in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1991 – 1996.
- Member of the Insurance Recovery & Advisory practice, named by Law360 as a Practice Group of the Year in 2010, 2015, 2016, 2020 and 2022.
- Contributor to Pillsbury’s Policyholder Pulse insurance blog.
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- Honors & Awards
- Recognized by The Legal 500 U.S., Insurance: Advice to Policyholders (2018).
- Recognized by The Legal 500 U.S., Insurance: Advice to Policyholders (2018).
- External Publications
- “Does Traditional Coverage Apply When Cyber Attacks Cause Physical Damage?,” Claims Magazine, a PropertCasualty360 publication, December 1, 2016.
- “Hackers Are after More than Just Data: Will Your Company’s Property Policies Respond When Cyber Attacks Cause Physical Damage and Shut Down Operations?,” Environmental Claims Journal, June 22, 2016. Co-author.
- “When a Cyberattack Has a Physical Impact,” Law360, November 2015. Co-author.
- “Some Words Are More Equal than Others: BancInsure v. FDIC,” Law360, August 2015. Co-author.
- “From Katrina to Sandy: Lessons from the Whirlwind,” Westlaw Journal of Insurance Coverage, Vol. 23, Issue 25, March 2013.
- “Environmental Insurance Claims, ‘The Second Generation,’” New Appleman on Insurance, Spring 2010. Co-author.
- Speaking Engagements
- “The Emergence of Transactional Risk Insurance in M&A Deals,” Marsh/Pillsbury Joint Seminar, Washington, DC, September 12, 2017.
- “Emerging Trends,” Inland Marine Underwriting Association Annual Meeting – Educational Conference, Braselton, GA, May 23, 2017. Co-panelist.
- “Hackers Are after More than Just Data: Property Coverage for Physical Damage and Business Interruption,” RIMS 2017 Annual Conference, Pennsylvania, April 2017.
- “High Fidelity! Corporate Theft and Recovery,” RIMS 2014 Annual Conference, Denver, April 2014.
Education
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J.D., University of Virginia School of Law, 1999
B.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1991
Admissions
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District of Columbia
Virginia
Courts
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U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
Supreme Court of Virginia