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PRACTICE AREAS

BAR ADMISSIONS

  • Illinois
  • New York
  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

News

David M. Spector

Partner

For more than 25 years, David M. Spector has been one of the preeminent attorneys in the insurance field.

His expertise encompasses a variety of complex matters, including:

  • Insurer insolvency
  • Insurance regulation
  • Reinsurance litigation and arbitration
  • Business counseling
  • Coverage litigation

His governmental service has included:

  • Member of the Illinois Department of Insurance Committee to Review Article XIII (Insolvency) of the Illinois Insurance Code in 1990/1991
  • Consultant to General Accounting Office on the following:
    • GAO Reports: The Insurance Regulatory Information System Needs Improvement (November 1990)
    • State Reinsurance Oversight Increased, But Problems Remain (May 1990)
    • Problems in the State Monitoring of Property/Casualty Insurer Insolvency (September 1989)

He is a prominent member of the American Bar Association (ABA), having served as chair of several committees in the ABA's Section on Torts and Insurance Practice.

Experience

  • Guarantee Trust Life Ins. Co. v. American United Life Ins. Co., 2003 WL 23518661(N.D. Ill. 2003), in which the court granted Schiff Hardin's contested motion to compel arbitration.
  • Houston General Insurance Co. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's London, U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19516 (S.D.N.Y. 2003), in which the court affirmed entry of a $39 million arbitration award in favor of Mr. Spector's client over respondents' vigorous objection.
  • The American Bar Endowment v. Mutual of Omaha Ins. Co., 2002 WL 480960 (N.D. Ill. 2002), in which Mr. Spector's litigation team obtained a substantial judgment in favor of the American Bar Endowment in a case involving the rights and obligations of the parties to a terminated group disability insurance program.
  • CNA Reins. Co., Ltd. v. Trustmark Ins. Co., 2001 WL 648948 (N.D. Ill. 2001), in which Mr. Spector successfully invoked the doctrine of forum non conveniens to obtain dismissal of a suit to compel arbitration, filed in Chicago, in favor of a suit filed in London.
  • Suter v. Munich Reins. Co., 223 F.3d 150 (3d Cir. 2000), in which Mr. Spector persuaded the Third Circuit that his client did not, by including a "service of suit" clause in its reinsurance treaty, waive its right to remove a case to federal court pursuant to the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.
  • Commissioner of Ins. v. Munich Am. Reins. Co., 429 Mass. 140, 706 N.E.2d 694 (1999), in which the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld the right of Mr. Spector's client, a reinsurer, to offset amounts owed it by insolvent ceding companies.

Publications

Mr. Spector is the author of several books and numerous articles on insurance.

"Arbitration and Unauthorized Practice of Law," ARIAS Quarterly (First Quarter, 2006)

Law and Practice of Life Insurance Company Insolvency, (editor) American Bar Association (1993)

Law and Practice of Reinsurance Collections and Insolvency, (co-editor) American Bar Association (1989)

Law and Practice of Insurer Insolvency, (co-editor) American Bar Association (1986)

Speeches and Presentations

Mr. Spector regularly speaks on reinsurance and insolvency issues at conferences worldwide.

"Are Reinsurers Losing the Battle Against Receivers?" Mealey's 13th Annual Insurance Insolvency and Reinsurance Roundtable, Scottsdale, Ariz. (April 7, 2006)

International Reinsurance Congress, Bermuda

Mealey's Insurance Insolvency and Reinsurance Roundtable, (chair) Scottsdale, Ariz. (1996, 1997)

Awards and Honors

Best Lawyers in America, Insurance Law
Euromoney Guide to the World's Leading Insurance and Reinsurance Lawyers
Euromoney Guide to the Best of the Best
Illinois Super Lawyers, Insurance Coverage
Law Dragon Leading Lawyers in America
Leading Lawyer - Insurance, Insurance Coverage and Reinsurance Law; Personal Injury Defense Law, Illinois Leading Lawyers Network
Leading Lawyer - Insurance: Reinsurance Litigation, Chambers USA - America's Leading Lawyers for Business
Martindale-Hubbell — A/V Rated
National Law Journal Leading Insurance Regulatory and Appellate Lawyer
Who's Who Legal - International Who's Who of Business Lawyers, Insurance & Reinsurance
Who's Who Legal - Illinois, Insurance & Reinsurance

Education

University of Michigan Law School(J.D., magna cum laude, 1971) 
Order of the Coif
Notes Editor, Michigan Law Review
Northwestern University(B.A., 1968)

Professional Memberships

American Bar Association
Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section
Federation of Regulatory Counsel (FORC)
U.S. Reinsurance and Insurance Arbitration Society (ARIAS)
International Bar Association
Insurance Committee
International Association of Insurance Receivers (IAIR)
Insurance & Reinsurance Legacy Association Limited (IRLA)
Association of Insurance & Reinsurance Run-Off Companies (AIRROC) - U.S.