Pillsbury’s Marquee Insurance Recovery & Advisory Practice Continues Expansion, Welcoming Renowned Policyholder Litigator Bob Gilbert

“Bob is a true force in policyholder litigation and adds even more firepower to Pillsbury’s leading Insurance Recovery & Advisory team,” said David Dekker, Chair and CEO of Pillsbury. “Widely regarded as one of the leading insurance lawyers in the country, his arrival further strengthens our market-leading insurance practice and reinforces our firm’s connection with the local Boston business and legal community.”

Gilbert, whose clients include notable Boston-area entities such as Harvard University, UniFirst Corporation and Northland Investment Corporation, represents policyholders and businesses in complex first-party property and business interruption claims, third-party liability matters, and high-stakes commercial and contractual disputes.

“Pillsbury is known for taking on the cases that matter most to our clients and delivering results when the stakes are highest, so Bob fits right in,” noted Pillsbury global head of litigation Deborah Baum. “His arrival adds to our deep bench of battle-tested trial lawyers, strengthens our preeminent insurance recovery practice, and further expands our broad-based litigation team.”

A go-to advisor for companies worldwide facing significant risk exposure, Gilbert has advised hundreds of clients on both pre-loss risk planning and post-loss recovery matters, helping recover billions of dollars in insurance proceeds. He is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, a Fellow of the American College of Coverage Counsel and an active civic leader, most recently serving as chair of the board of trustees of Lawrence General Hospital.

“Bob is the kind of insurance expert and problem solver clients seek out when the stakes are highest, with a reputation for tireless advocacy and a proven record of success in the most challenging insurance disputes,” said Peter Gillon, who co-leads Pillsbury’s Insurance Recovery and Advisory. “We are thrilled to welcome him to our team, and to continue adding expertise and depth to our exceptional capabilities.”

“Our clients have seen an unprecedented surge in insurance-related disputes in the past year, amid multiplying natural and man-made risks globally,” added Insurance Recovery and Advisory practice co-leader Robert Wallan. “Bob brings our clients the wisdom and savvy to navigate those risks and recover bet-the-company liability claims. We’re excited to have Bob aboard and look forward to integrating him into our large and growing team.”

Gilbert’s arrival coincides with the firm’s expansion into Boston, one of the nation’s leading growth and innovation centers. Along with Gilbert, the office launched this week with a team of five senior attorneys and additional associates, who bring diverse transactional and litigation backgrounds.

With 45 new partners arriving in the last 16 months, Pillsbury has seen rapid growth with a focus on practices and industries of strategic importance. In the Insurance Recovery & Advisory practice—which has among the largest contingents of Chambers USA nationally-ranked policyholder insurance practitioners—Pillsbury has over that time welcomed Gilbert’s former Latham & Watkins policyholder litigation colleague Kirsten Jackson in Los Angeles, partner Gerald “Jay” Konkel in Washington, DC from Morgan Lewis, and LA partner Jeff Kiburtz from Covington & Burling LLP.

 “Pillsbury’s entry into the Boston market is the natural next step for what I consider the country’s strongest policyholder-side trial practice,” Gilbert noted. “The top practitioners in this field have been moving to Pillsbury in recent years, and I am excited to be a part of that impressive trajectory. I have known and admired what they have built in the policyholder arena, and it is a career honor to open Pillsbury’s coverage practice in New England.”  

Nationally ranked in Chambers USA and a five-time winner of Law360’s Insurance Practice Group of the Year, Pillsbury’s Insurance Recovery & Advisory group is one of the country’s largest and most diverse insurance departments, with more than 70 dedicated lawyers in Washington, DC, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Houston, London and now Boston.