Robert A. Kole

Rob Kole co-chairs the firm’s Insurance & Reinsurance Group.  In April 2010, he was named one of 10 “Insurance Law Rising Legal Stars Under 40” by Law360, and he has been named a Massachusetts Super Lawyer in each of the past 6 years.  He is also recognized in The Legal 500 as a leading lawyer for Insurance.  Mr. Kole is currently co-chair of the ARIAS-US law committee. 

Practice Focus

Insurance & Reinsurance Litigation:  reinsurance arbitration, litigation and complex claim analysis on behalf of cedents and reinsurers, and insurance litigation, arbitration, alternative dispute resolution and coverage analyses on behalf of insurance companies, involving asbestos, hazardous waste, toxic tort, workers compensation, catastrophe bonds, D&O, E&O, property and hurricane-related losses.

Representative Engagements

• Lead counsel for joint defense groups in connection with multi-party, multi-million dollar lawsuits involving insurance coverage for asbestos claims.
• Lead counsel for insurance companies in connection with multi-million dollar lawsuits involving insurance coverage for environmental pollution claims.
• Tried confidential reinsurance arbitrations involving environmental liabilities on behalf of cedents and reinsurers.
• Tried confidential reinsurance arbitrations involving asbestos liabilities on behalf of cedents and reinsurers.
• Obtained summary judgment, affirmed by First Circuit Court of Appeals, on behalf of insurance company in matter of first impression involving scope of personal injury coverage.
• Tried confidential reinsurance arbitration involving World Trade Center losses on behalf of cedent.
• Tried confidential reinsurance arbitration on behalf of reinsurer involving Hurricane Katrina and Wilma losses.
• Successfully resolved, through settlement, a variety of asbestos and environmental coverage litigations and multi-claim arbitrations.

Publications and Presentations

• “Practical Solutions to the Umpire Selection Quagmire,” author, Insurance Law360, September 2012.
• “Arbitration v. Litigation: Discovery,” panelist, ARIAS-US Spring Conference, Palm Beach, FL, May 2012.
• “Select Reinsurance Case Law Developments,” panelist, ARIAS-US Spring Educational Seminar, New York, March 2012.
• “Applying Pro Rata Allocation to Defense Costs,” author, Insurance Law360, August 2011.
• “A Threat to Cedent/Reinsurer Communications,” co-author, Insurance Law360, May 2010.
• “Legal Issues Attendant to the 2009/2010 Recession,” moderator, Coming Out of the Recession: Insurance and Reinsurance Opportunities and Strategies, September 2009.
• "Climate Change And Its Impact On The Insurance Industry," panelist, Mealey's Global Warming Teleconference, September 2009.
• "Pre-Hearing Security," panelist, ARIAS-US Spring Conference, May 2008. 
• “Risk Management, Potential Liabilities and D&O Exposures,” speaker, Mealey’s Teleconference, February 2008.
• "Climate Change And The Insurance And Reinsurance Industry," presenter, Mealey's Global Warming Insurance Litigation Conference, San Francisco, CA, June 2007.
• "Understanding CGL Insurance," presenter, Mealey's Fundamentals of Insurance Coverage Law Conference, Chicago, IL, October 2003.

Professional and Community Involvement

Mr. Kole spent six months at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office as a special prosecutor for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, where he successfully tried (in both jury and bench trials) or plea bargained dozens of criminal matters.  He has been a group leader at ARIAS-US conferences on the subject of reinsurance arbitration, and has spoken at numerous insurance and reinsurance seminars on a variety of topics, including the implications of global warming on the insurance and reinsurance industry.  Mr. Kole also regularly performs training seminars for clients and prospective clients.  He has participated in a number of pro bono matters, including serving as counsel for the International Rescue Committee with respect to a contract dispute, which resulted in litigation.  Mr. Kole is currently a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association and the Boston Bar Association.

Mr. Kole is responsible for assignments for all senior associates in the firm’s Litigation Department, and he serves on the firm’s Professional Development Steering Committee.