Miller Friel Picks Up Insurance Pro From DLA Piper

By Daphne Zhang
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Law360 (July 1, 2020, 10:33 PM EDT) -- Miller Friel PLLC is hiring away a partner from DLA Piper as part of a move to bolster its nationwide expansion of the firm's insurance recovery practice.

Partner Stephen R. Mysliwiec, 71, joined Miller Friel's Washington, D.C., office on Wednesday, ending his 36 years of practice at DLA Piper. Mysliwiec told Law360 on Wednesday that there was only "goodwill" in the course of his making this transition. Mysliwiec said his last firm made a decision to represent insurance companies and it posed conflicts to his representing policyholders.

"DLA Piper over the years came to represent many insurance companies. And there were so many conflicts that it was difficult for me to develop my policyholders' side practice," he explained.

Mysliwiec said practice conflicts exist in his last firm because a firm can't both represent carriers and then represent policyholders clients who are suing those same carriers. And when the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated those conflicts, he decided it was the right time to move on.

"With the current pandemic and all of the business interruption insurance claims that policyholders will be making, the conflicts were too difficult to navigate. So it was best for me to leave and join a firm that only represents policyholders," he said referring to Miller Friel.

Mysliwiec is currently representing a number of companies experiencing business revenue losses caused by COVID-19. His client base includes large and mid-range corporations in the real estate, banking, health care, life insurance, hospitality and food service industries, among others.

The partner said he joined Miller Friel because the firm has "high caliber lawyers" who are "high quality people" whom he has known for a few years.

"Everybody knows Miller Friel in the insurance world. And everybody knows what great lawyers they are on behalf of policyholders," he said.

Mark Miller, a founding partner of Miller Friel said in an interview with Law360 on Wednesday that he is "extremely pleased" to have Mysliwiec onboard, as the firm's goal is to bring in the "best and brightest" lawyers from preeminent law firms throughout the country.

"Steve is one of the best insurance lawyers in the country coming from a world-class law firm. We've known him for years and he's just an extremely smart fellow with a star reputation," Miller said. "We are very happy that he can join us in a setting where he can pursue insurance claims without conflicts."

Miller said he and his colleagues have heard from many policyholder-side insurance lawyers that their practice has been hampered as more and more law firms are transitioning to represent insurance companies only, especially during the pandemic era.

"COVID-19 makes it more prevalent that insurance companies are trying to make sure their law firms are with them, not against them," Miller said. "So as a result, we see a lot of lawyers on the policyholder practice side getting squeezed right now."

Firms getting business from insurers are making a strategic decision not to be adverse to insurance companies for business reasons, he added. Miller's firm sees the situation as a good opportunity and has been talking to other partners like Mysliwiec from large law firms to expand the team.

Miller Friel represents large corporations in insurance disputes such as D&O litigation or securities suits to get coverage from their carriers. The firm is currently pursuing a number of claims over COVID-19 losses on behalf of businesses that have been shut down due to the pandemic, according to Miller.

--Editing by Emily Kokoll.

For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.

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