Experience
Perry is an accomplished insurance and government law attorney, whose practice also includes strategic litigation and corporate-finance. He is uniquely qualified to provide value-added legal services and consultation, having been a general counsel and operational executive for 14 years. He has the distinction of serving as first inside general counsel at Florida's Citizens Property Insurance Corporation and as general counsel at Travelers of Florida.
Over a 25-year career in-house and in private practice, Perry has participated in challenging regulatory and compliance matters, billion-dollar financings, and cutting-edge litigation. As a member of senior management, he has had operational responsibility for corporate law departments, litigation and disputed claims, staff counsel, compliance, quality assurance, training, processing and underwriting.
Among his achievements at Citizens, Perry built an in-house law department from scratch, guided the successful restructuring of the litigation and disputed claims units and their process improvement, and oversaw a combined legal and claims staff of 80. He also provided counsel in $12 billion of public and private debt financing, a $400 million bulk insurance transaction, and legal issues that confront state government - such as immunity, public records, procurement, and government ethics.
Perry is nationally known for his achievements in leading Florida legislative reforms in property insurance and automobile insurance. Benefiting from leadership training at Travelers and Citigroup, he has coached and mentored in-house counsel, executives and other business leaders.
Perry holds an "AV" rating by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest peer-review rating awarded.
Perry also maintains two blogs. TallyInsLaw.com is a Florida insurance law & compliance resource for in-house counsel and insurance leaders. LeadingInHouse.com is a leadership and coaching blog for in-house counsel.
Background
Perry grew up in Coral Gables, Florida. He attended Deerborne School, a college preparatory founded by his parents, and graduated from Coral Gables Senior High. After receiving his B.A. at Urbana College in Ohio, Perry returned to Deerborne School, where he worked as an administrator, counselor and teacher and during which time he earned a masters degree in education. He later attended law school at the University of Miami, where he graduated 6th in his class and served as Articles Editor on the University of Miami Law Review.
Entering private practice with a large national law firm, Perry also was a partner at a boutique firm with heavy emphasis in complex litigation and the financial services industry. His broad practice covered insurance regulation, ERISA fiduciary responsibility and plan administration, class actions and complex litigation, insurance coverage, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and securities.
He left private practice for a progressive career in-house at three distinctive organizations: Miami-based and privately held AIB Financial Group, where he was General Counsel and Vice President for Regulatory & Public Affairs; Tampa-based Travelers of Florida, a subsidiary of Citigroup and St. Paul Travelers, where he was General Counsel, Senior Vice President, and Compliance Officer; and Tallahassee-based Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, a Florida state government entity and third largest U.S. property writer with $3.6 billion in premiums and $11 billion in assets, where he was General Counsel and Senior Vice President. Perry joined GrayRobinson following his public service at Citizens.
Professional
· The Florida Bar
· "AV" Martindale-Hubbell Rating
· Association of Corporate Counsel, Member, 1997-2009
· General Counsel Association, Tallahassee, 2007-2009
· Inns of Court, Tallahassee Chapter, Master Lawyer, 2007- 2009
Civic
· The University of Tampa, member, Board of Trustees, 2003-2005
· The University of Tampa, Center for Ethics, Advisory Board, Chairs, 2003-2005; Member, 2001-2006
Government and Industry Relations
· Representative legislative achievements:
- Co-led landmark reforms to sinkhole insurance laws (2003-2005)
- Co-led state & national insurance trades in passage of no-fault reforms (1998, 2001 & 2003)
- Simplified Citizens' assessment over-collection and clarified public record exemptions (2008)
- Secured modifications to premium finance statute (2002)
· Florida Insurance Council
- Property Committee, co-chair (2004-2005)
- Auto Committee, chair or vice-chair (1995-1999, 2001-2004)
- Legal Reform Committee, co-chair (1999-2001)
- Wade Holland Distinguished Service Award (2006)
- Chairman's Award (2003)
- General Session speaker, Annual Conference (2003)
· Florida Bankers Association
- Insurance Division - President, President-Elect (2000-2003)
- General Session speaker, Annual Conference (2002)
- Program coordinator & speaker, "Bank Sales of Insurance, A Local Perspective" (2002)
· Property Insurance Plans Service Office, Inc
- General Session speaker (2009)
· Counsel on Litigation Management
- Florida Presentation, Speaker (2009)
· Professional Insurance Agents of Florida
- Broadcast panelist (2005).
· Latin American Association of Insurance Agencies
- Program speaker (2004)
· American Insurance Association
- Florida resource (2001-2005)
- Speaker, Law and Regulation Committee (2006)
· Florida Windstorm Underwriting Association
- Board of Governors alternate (1997, 2000)
· National Association of Independent Insurers
- Law Committee member (1999)
· Florida "PIP Think Tank"
- Co-founder and co-chair (1998)
· Florida Property & Casualty Association
- Director, Vice-President (1997-1999)
Publications/Co-Author
· "Adjuster Do's and Don'ts," Wind Conference Faculty (2010).
· "Fiduciary Liability," in Handbook on ERISA Litigation, Prentice Hall (1992)
· "Insurance Contract Litigation Under ERISA," Southern Insurance Conference (1990).
· "Are Insurers' General Accounts Subject to Fiduciary Standards?" National Law Journal (1990).
· "The Day Union Mutual Went Public," Best's Review, Life/Health Ed. (1987).
Speaking Engagements
· PIP Gets a Makeover Webinar, National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC), March 29, 2012
· The Unexpected Hazards of Antitrust Law, Insurance Executives Conference, Tampa, Florida, May 20, 2010
· Antitrust Law for Insurance SIU & Claims, Florida Property Insurance Fraud Task Force, September 22, 2010