NAME: John M. Leonard
NEW JOB TITLE: New York-based shareholder, Anderson Kill P.C.
PREVIOUS POSITION: New York-based associate, Anderson Kill P.C.
INDUSTRY OUTLOOK: There will always be a need for insurance recovery attorneys. Policyholders deserve to receive the benefit of the policies that they purchase from insurance companies. They pay insurance companies good money for that. Disputes will always arise, whether on a micro level (does this particular policy insure this loss?) or macro level (do property policies insure business interruption losses from COVID-19?). As long as those disputes exist, policyholders will need insurance recovery attorneys like those at Anderson Kill to go to bat for them.
GOALS FOR NEW POSITION: To keep developing within this industry. Anderson Kill pioneered the insurance recovery industry, and has so many attorneys recognized as polestars in this practice area. My goal would be to join them soon.
CHALLENGES FACING THE INDUSTRY: There is always a certain amount of the unknown in insurance – thats really the whole point of insurance, dealing with uncertainty and risk. We know more about how the planet is changing, and how our connectedness plays into that. Were continuing to learn more about things like the pandemic and climate change. Whats still up in the air is how insurance can and will respond to those global issues. Its our job as policyholder attorneys to make sure that we anticipate and prepare to fight those battles on behalf of policyholders. Recoveries that help a business to stay open or help clean up the environment have ripple effects that go far beyond an individual policyholder.
FIRST EXPERIENCE IN THE INDUSTRY JOB MARKET: I worked at a small but excellent medical malpractice/nursing home negligence firm when I was in law school and for a short time after I graduated. But I did not begin practicing insurance recovery law until I joined Anderson Kill.
ADVICE: Find someone you respect and trust who is willing to mentor you as your career develops. I have been fortunate to have known several of those people at Anderson Kill. Their advice and their friendship have been and continue to be invaluable to me as my career has progressed.
OUTSIDE THE INDUSTRY, A DREAM JOB: GM of the New York Mets
COLLEGE MAJOR: English
LOOKING FORWARD TO: I am looking forward to continuing to work hard for my clients, particularly in these uncertain times. More specifically, I am looking forward to helping the next generation of Anderson Kill associates develop their skills and mentor them as more senior attorneys have done for me.
FAVOURITE MEAL: Chicken parm the perfect food
BOOK: A Tale of Two Cities
HOBBIES: I like to read, ride my Peloton, and watch the Knicks and Mets break my heart year in and year out.
TV SHOW: Seinfeld
ON A SATURDAY AFTERNOON: I like to spend my Saturday afternoons with my 5-month-old daughter, explaining to her at an early age why an insurance companys duty to defend is broader than its duty to indemnify.
