James A. Skarzynski
Executive Principal
NEW YORK
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One Battery Park Plaza, 32nd Fl.
New York, NY 10004
Phone: (212) 820-7720
Fax: (212) 820-7740
Email: jskarzynski@bswb.com
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Since the firm's inception, Jim has been the Chairman
and a Managing Principal of BSWB. Prior to that time, Jim
was a member of Peterson & Ross, LLC. Jim is a
recognized expert in matters pertaining to directors and
officers liability insurance and other forms of professional
liability coverage. Jim has expertise in numerous areas of
exposure faced by insureds under these policies, including
securities class action, corporate governance and derivative
litigation and employment practices liability. Jim
currently has significant involvement with respect to some
of the largest scandals involving directors and officers
and financial and professional insurance including the
governmental investigations and civil litigation arising
from the mutual fund scandal and the Enron related
litigation.
Jim also spends a significant portion of his practice
providing advice pertaining to insurance underwriting and
new product development. Jim has assisted many clients in
drafting both specimen insurance policies as well as
specialized manuscript policies and endorsements for complex
underwriting situations. Jim also has aided clients in the
regulatory filing of insurance products.
Jim has authored a number of articles on the liability
exposures of corporate directors and officers and related
professional liability topics, and has spoken at numerous
legal conferences and seminars. Jim also was the co-chair
of the PLUS D&O Symposium held annually in New York City
from 2001-2004. Jim currently is the chair of the Director
and Officer Liability Sub-Committee of the Insurance
Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New
York. Jim has also served as an expert witness in directors
and officers liability coverage arbitrations.
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Practice Areas
Insurance Coverage
Litigation
Regulatory Insurance
Underwriting Consulting
Seriously Outstanding
only 5% selected each year
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Admissions
New York, 1995
Illinois, 1977
U.S. District Court, Southern and Eastern Districts of New
York, 1995
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 1977
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 1995
U.S. Court of Appeals, Third and Ninth Circuit, 1988, 1991
Education
J.D., Columbia University, 1977
Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar
Human Rights Law Review, Articles Editor
B.A., Grinnell College, 1974
Phi Beta Kappa
Honors / Associations
American Bar Association
Litigation, Tort and Insurance, and Business Law
sections
Association of the Bar of the City of New York
Current Co-Chair of the Subcommittee on Director
and Professional
Liability
AV Rating received from Martindale-Hubbell
Federal Bar Association
New York State Bar Association
Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS)
Co-Chairperson of the annual PLUS D&O Symposium
from 2001-
2004
New York Super Lawyers,
Insurance Coverage,
2006,
2007,
2008,
2009,
2010.
Speeches and Publications
Co-chair of the PLUS Director and Officer Liability Symposium
2001-2004 and moderator of the following panels:
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An Overview of the Mediation Process (PLUS D&O Symposium -February, 2002)
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Resolution of Complex D&O Coverage Matters in the Post-Enron Environment - (PLUS D&O Symposium - February, 2003)
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D&O Carrier Rescission Cases on the Rise: The Causes and Effects - (PLUS D&O Symposium - February, 2004)
Current chair of the D&O Sub-Committee
of the Insurance Committee of the Association of the Bar
of the City of New York and moderators or speaker in the
following presentations:
- Co-author, Hot
Topics in D&O Claims Handling and Coverage, Association
of the Bar of the City of New York, June 8, 2006.
- Handle Complex D&O Claims and Coverage Issues (Association
of the Bar of the City of New York - June 9, 2005)
- D&O Liability and Insurance and the Financial Institution
Crisis (Association of the Bar of the City of New York
- June 10, 2004)
- Corporate Management Liability Coverage: Riding the
Wave of Coverage Changes into the next Millennium (Association
of the Bar of the City of New York - June 18, 1999)
- Representing clients effectively in Court-Ordered and
other mediations (Association of the Bar of the City of
New York - October 1, 1999)
- Professional Liability Exposures and Insurance Coverage
for Y2K (Association of the Bar of the City of New York
- November 5, 1998)
Other Speeches and Publications
- Current Trends in Complex D&O Liability Claims
(Association of the Bar of the City of New York - June
9, 2005).
- An
Overview of Selected Director and Officer Liability Insurance
Issues that Arise in the Context of Insolvencies of the
Insured Companies (Insolvency Workshop, International
Association of Insurance Receivers, February, 2006)
- Current Trends in the Handling and Resolution of Complex
D&O Claims in a Post Sarbanes-Oxley World (PLUS D&O
Symposium - February, 2005)
- Heading off Shareholder/Derivative Litigation (Institute
for International Research - March 11 - 12, 1999 New York
City)
- Insuring Cost Containment in Employment Practices Liability
Insurance Litigation (Institute for International Research
- October 19-20, 1998, Chicago)
- A Mock Mediation of an Employment Practice Claim Against
a Corporate Officer (American Conference Institute, June
22 - 23, 1998, New York City)
- Coverage for Employment Exposures - American Conference
Institute - October 22-23, 1997, New York City )
- Claims Management and Settlement Strategies for Reducing
D&O Liability (Institute for International Research
- March 24, 1997, New York City)
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