Mutual Fund Litigation and Insurance Practice Guide

Jeff Bowen is a Partner at Perkins Coie LLP in the firm's Madison, Wisconsin office. He represents a wide range of public and private companies, including investment advisors and investment companies, in disputes with their insurance carriers. Jeff also regularly counsels policyholders with respect to insurance coverage and indemnification issues and helps negotiate provisions during insurance renewals, particularly with respect to D&O and cyber policies. He also represents clients in general commercial litigation matters, and his pro bono practice focuses on immigration and asylum issues. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School and has a B.A. in History and a B.F.A. in Theater Studies from Boston University. After law school, Jeff clerked for Judge Sidney Thomas of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and Judge Rosemary Barkett of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and then joined Munger Tolls & Olson in Los Angeles. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School, and he speaks and writes regularly on insurance and commercial litigation issues.

Matthew Larrabee is a partner at Dechert LLP in the firm’s Asset Management Litigation/Enforcement Group and splits his time between the firm’s San Francisco and New York offices. Matt currently serves as Dechert’s Deputy Chair for Strategic Growth and is a seasoned trial lawyer with over 35 years representing leading financial institutions and other business in the financial services industry. His current practice focuses on the representation of leading mutual fund complexes, including advisers, officers and trustees, in class actions, derivative cases, investigations and enforcement matters. Matt was recently recognized by Chambers USA as a leading litigator who “knows his stuff” and he is a frequent speaker on litigation and enforcement risks to a wide range of financial services industry participants. Matt is a graduate of the University of California at Davis and Hastings College of the Law, where he served as Editor in Chief of the Hastings Law Journal. He is admitted to practice in California, as well as in numerous federal courts across the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court.

David Kotler is a partner at Dechert LLP in the firm’s Asset Management Litigation/Enforcement Group and is resident in the firm’s New York office. David advises and represents clients in a wide range of complex corporate and commercial litigation matters involving the financial markets, with a particular focus on investment advisers, hedge funds, and other financial services firms both within and outside the mutual fund industry. He was recognized as a promising professional in the New Jersey legal community by the New Jersey Law Journal’s “40 under 40” for 2008. David is a graduate of the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations and the New York University School of Law; he is admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey, as well as in numerous federal courts across the country, including the United States Supreme Court. David writes and speaks regularly on a variety of litigation issues relevant to the mutual fund industry.

Timothy W. Burns is a partner at Perkins Coie LLP. He is the former Co-chair of the Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee of the American Bar Association. He has developed a nationally prominent mutual fund insurance practice. He advises industry clients on all aspects of insurance, including assisting clients in the purchase of insurance, counseling them with respect to the insurance aspects of securities and derivative litigation and government investigations, and representing them in their disputes and litigation with their insurance carriers. Tim is favorably ranked in the 2006 (Illinois), 2007 (recommended in "Insurance" nationally), and 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 (Band 2 - nationally) editions of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business.

Eric Barber is a Partner at Michael Best & Friedrich LLP in the firm's Madison, Wisconsin office. He assists policyholders in navigating complicated and sensitive insurance issues. Eric has represented companies of all sizes and across a wide range of industries. Eric has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a "Rising Star" in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 for Wisconsin in the area of Insurance Coverage and speaks and writes regularly on insurance coverage issues impacting investment companies and investment advisors. He has a B.A. from the University of Denver, an M.A. from California State University, Los Angeles, and a J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Wisconsin Law School. After receiving his law degree, Eric clerked for the Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the Honorable Shirley S. Abrahamson, and then the Honorable Richard C. Wesley, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Prior to joining Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, Eric was an attorney at Perkins Coie LLP and Heller Ehrman LLP. Eric is admitted to practice law in California, Illinois and Wisconsin.