Deirdre Johnson is a partner in the Washington, DC office of Crowell & Moring LLP. Ms. Johnson has nearly two decades of experience handling disputes in the U.S., Bermuda, London and European markets in lawsuits and arbitration proceedings arising out of a broad range of claims and virtually all types of insurance and reinsurance agreements.
For example, Ms. Johnson has represented insurers and reinsurers in coverage disputes involving variable annuity, general liability, surety, product liability, employment discrimination and environmental matters. She has handled dozens of reinsurance arbitrations in both domestic and international proceedings, including many Bermuda and London arbitrations arising out of a broad range of claim types. Ms. Johnson also represents mono-line insurers in disputes concerning financial guaranty contracts covering mortgage-backed securities, collateralized debt obligations and other asset-backed securities. She also represents primary insurers and reinsurers in insolvency proceedings and has counseled insurers providing directors and officers/errors and omissions fidelity coverage to the mutual fund industry.
Ms. Johnson's practice also includes the defense of public corporations in class actions, derivative lawsuits, mergers and acquisitions litigation, and SEC enforcement actions. For example, Ms. Johnson represented an international life reinsurer in a class action alleging material misstatements in financials concerning certain valuation allowances on deferred tax assets and the company's Sarbanes-Oxley certifications. She has also led internal investigations of reserving practices employed by Health Maintenance Organizations and property/casualty reinsurers in response to shareholder demand letters.
Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Johnson was a partner at Dewey & LeBoeuf and prior to that she worked as a law clerk for the Office of Thrift Supervision, where she dealt in regulatory liability of professional advisers, such as attorneys and accountants, to thrifts and savings and loans. She is a frequent lecturer on reinsurance issues and has published a number of articles addressing insurance and reinsurance principles.
Representative Matters
· Trials and arbitrations. Ms. Johnson has extensive trial, arbitration and deposition experience, including numerous domestic and international reinsurance arbitrations, including those governed by the Bermuda International Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1993, and the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration; and
· London markets. Ms. Johnson represents various London market insurers and reinsurers in complex disputes including those relating to liability, surety, and property and casualty issues.
Selected Activities
· NCAA, Division I, All-American in Swimming
· Participant in the 1988 U.S. Swimming Olympic Trials
· Captain, University of Tennessee Womens Swimming Team
Professional Designations
· Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) Earned Credit:
- CPCU 500: Foundations of Risk Management & Insurance
- CPCU 530: Business Law for Insurance Professionals
- ARe 144: Reinsurance Principles and Practices
Honors
· Nominated and included in the International Who's Who of Insurance and Reinsurance Lawyers 2011.
Other Affiliations
Co-Chair, Reinsurance Subcommittee for ABA's Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee
Member, Association of Professional Insurance Women (APIW)
Alerts & Newsletters
· "OFAC Continues Focus on the Reinsurance Industry: General Re and Iran," Reinsurance Alert (June 30, 2011). Contacts: William C. O'Neill, Deirdre G. Johnson, Jeffrey L. Snyder.
· "OFAC Continues Iran Insurance Penalty Focus," Reinsurance Alert (April 29, 2011). Contacts: Jeffrey L. Snyder, William C. O'Neill, Deirdre G. Johnson.
· "Iran Sanctions Enforcement and Reinsurance," Reinsurance Alert (February 3, 2011). Contacts: Deirdre G. Johnson, William C. O'Neill, Jeffrey L. Snyder.
· "U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Overturn Decision Permitting International Arbitration Where State Law Prohibited Arbitration Provisions in Insurance Contracts," Reinsurance Alert (October 20, 2010). Contacts: Christa S. Thorpe, William C. O'Neill, Deirdre G. Johnson.
· "Oregon District Court Rules that Sharing of Privileged Documents with Reinsurers waives Protections Afforded by Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product Doctrine," Reinsurance Alert (March 4, 2010). Contacts: Jennifer R. Devery, Deirdre G. Johnson, Christa S. Thorpe.
· "Gard Marine: Another UK Decision Reiterates the Importance of Choice of Law," Reinsurance Alert (November 16, 2009). Contacts: William C. O'Neill, Deirdre G. Johnson, Michelle A. Jones.
· "U.S. House of Representatives Passes Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act, Encouraging Consistency in the Regulation of Surplus Lines Insurance and Reinsurance," Reinsurance Alert (September 17, 2009). Contacts: William C. O'Neill, Deirdre G. Johnson, Jennifer R. Devery, Michael T. Carolan, Harry P. Cohen.
· "Lexington v. Wasa: The House of Lords Redefines Concurrent Reinsurance Coverage," Reinsurance Alert (August 3, 2009). Contacts: Deirdre G. Johnson, Jennifer R. Devery, William C. O'Neill.
· "Names no longer need Nytol to sleep easy!," Financial Lines/Directors & Officers/Management Liability Alert (June 29, 2009). Contact: Deirdre G. Johnson.
Speaking Engagements
· PLUS D&O Symposium, New York, NY (February 8-9, 2012). Attendees: Deirdre Johnson, Jack Thomas, Patricia Connally, Christine Cwiertny, Christa Thorpe.
· "Stolt-Nielsen - The Future of Consolidation of Arbitrations," ARIAS-US Spring Conference, Miami, Florida (May 2011). Panelist: Deirdre G. Johnson.
· "The Stolt-Nielsen Decision - The Future of Consolidation in Arbitrations and Other Procedural Controls," ARIAS 2011 Spring Conference (May 2011). Presenter: Deirdre G. Johnson.
· "Reinsurance Contract Wordings and Disputes," Falconbury Conferences (October 2010). Presenter: Deirdre G. Johnson.
· "Team Players to Team Leaders," ACE Women's Forum (August 2010). Presenter and Panelist: Deirdre G. Johnson.
· "The Madoff Financial Fraud Tsunami: Impact on Financial Lines Insurers and Reinsurers," RAA Reinsurance Claims and Loss Management Seminar (September 2009). Presenter: Deirdre Johnson.
· 2009 ARIAS Spring Conference, Palm Beach, Florida (2009). Moderator: Deirdre G. Johnson.
· Insurance Coverage 2009: Claim Trends and Litigation (2009). Speaker: Deirdre G. Johnson.
· Understanding Insurance Law 2009, Practising Law Institute, New York, NY (2009). Speaker: Deirdre G. Johnson.
· "Building Airtight Access to Records Clauses While Maintaining Confidentiality," American Conference Institute's Fourth National Forum on Reinsurance Agreements (2008). Speaker: Deirdre G. Johnson.
· "Dispute Resolution Clauses in Contracts," Reinsurance Association of America's Re Contracts: The Art of Designing Reinsurance Contracts and Programs, New York, NY (2008). Speaker: Deirdre G. Johnson.
· The International Reinsurance Summit, Bermuda (2008). Co-chair: Deirdre G. Johnson.
· 2008 ARIAS U.S. Spring Conference, Amelia Island, FL (2008). Speaker: Deirdre G. Johnson.
· Understanding Insurance Law 2008, Practising Law Institute, New York, NY (2008). Speaker: Deirdre G. Johnson.
· 2007 ARIAS U.S. Fall Conference, New York, NY (2007). Co-chair: Deirdre G. Johnson.
· Reinsurance Association of America's Re Claims, Reinsurance Claims Management for Claims Professionals by Claims Professionals, Philadelphia, PA (2007). Speaker: Deirdre G. Johnson.
· Insurance Law 2007: Understanding the ABC's, Practising Law Institute, New York, NY (2007). Speaker: Deirdre G. Johnson.
· The International Reinsurance Summit, Bermuda (2007). Co-chair: Deirdre G. Johnson.