Six new partners enhance US corporate insurance and technology transactions practices

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright added six partners today to significantly strengthen its US offering in two of the firm's key sectors: Financial Institutions (including Insurance) and Technology.

Joining from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP), the six-partner group is made up of:

• a four-partner Transactional and Regulatory Insurance team consisting of Kevin Fischer and Bruce Baty, who served as the two co-leaders of BCLP's global Insurance practice, as well as Jodi Adolf and Michael Schwartz. Fischer and Schwartz are also highly regarded M&A and private equity lawyers with experience across a wide range of sectors. These arrivals will help to further leverage Norton Rose Fulbright's global insurance practice in the US and also continue the firm's notable expansion in the Midwest, with these four partners joining Norton Rose Fulbright's St. Louis office. Over the last year, Norton Rose Fulbright has more than doubled its Midwest presence by lawyer headcount, including the opening of a Chicago office, which now has 24 lawyers, and the onboarding of an 11-lawyer trial team in Minneapolis.
• a two-partner Technology Transactions team based in Atlanta that includes Sean Christy and Chuck Hollis, who served as the two United States co-leaders of BCLP's global Technology & Commercial Transactions practice. These arrivals continue Norton Rose Fulbright's expansion of its Technology Transactions practice in the United States and add Chambers-rated outsourcing and technology depth to its already well-recognized global Technology Transactions capabilities.

Jeff Cody, Norton Rose Fulbright's US Managing Partner, said:

"Adding these two leading teams demonstrates our commitment to our six key sectors, which include Financial Institutions and Technology. We are thrilled to bring in these talented lawyers with their knowledge, experience and client base in key practices, including insurance transactional and regulatory work, M&A and private equity, technology transactions and outsourcing. Growing these practices in the US has been a strategic priority for us, and we know that these new partners will be extremely well received by our clients globally. These partners further strengthen these practices after last year's recruitment of a four-person insurance transactional and regulatory team in New York and a 12-person tech transactions group in Chicago."

James Bateson, Norton Rose Fulbright's Global Head of Financial Institutions based in London, said:

"We are delighted to welcome these dynamic teams to our firm. Insurance Transactional and Technology are key areas for our Financial Institutions business and these new practices align with ours perfectly. These are important growth markets for us and I am very pleased that we have been able to expand our offering in this way."

Stacey Murphy, Norton Rose Fulbright's St. Louis office Partner-in-Charge, said:

"I believe that bringing in these lawyers and their teams is a transformational move for our Firm and for our St. Louis office. Their proven track record of success and leadership in the insurance, M&A and technology space, coupled with their dedication to their clients, perfectly complements Norton Rose Fulbright's commitment to providing preeminent legal services to the world's leading companies."

Fischer, who holds a Band 1 Chambers USA ranking along with Baty, said:

"Norton Rose Fulbright has a longstanding reputation as one of the top firms in the world, and the firm's key sectors align perfectly with our teams' practices. The combination of the firm's depth in key practice areas, global reach, focus on client service and team oriented culture will greatly benefit our clients and their businesses."

Hollis, who holds Chambers USA Nationwide and Chambers Global rankings along with Christy, said:

"We are excited to bring our team to Norton Rose Fulbright and to be a part of the expansion of the Technology Transactions capabilities in the United States that began with the opening of Norton Rose Fulbright's Chicago office in 2022. We look forward to working together to deliver a cohesive and truly global offering across all Technology Transactions disciplines for our clients."

About the new partners

Kevin Fischer, who co-led BCLP's global transactional and regulatory insurance group, counsels insurance sector clients on a range of corporate, transactional and regulatory matters, including M&A transactions, reinsurance agreements, sales and purchases of blocks of business, renewal rights transactions and InsurTech investments and initiatives. He also advises private equity funds and public and privately held companies across a range of sectors, including financial services, real estate, hospitality, food, beverage and nutritional products, life sciences, industrials, energy and technology, on corporate and transactional matters, possessing significant experience with multinational and domestic mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, leveraged buyouts, corporate restructurings, joint ventures, public and private offerings of securities, commercial transactions and corporate governance matters. Licensed in Missouri and Oklahoma, Fischer earned his law degree from Vanderbilt University and his bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

Bruce Baty, who co-led BCLP's global transactional and regulatory insurance group with Fischer, advises insurance sector clients on corporate, reinsurance and regulatory matters, with a particular a focus on insurance M&A transactions, sales and purchases of blocks of business, reinsurance program design and implementation, reinsurance advice and regulatory compliance issues. His clients include leading property and casualty insurance companies, life, accident and health insurance companies, reinsurance companies, state insurance departments and other insurance sector participants. He has extensive experience navigating the complex insurance regulatory landscape, providing guidance on product development and approvals, licensing, financial and market conduct examinations, holding company act compliance and Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA) and Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) filings. Licensed in Missouri, Baty received both his law degree and bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame.

Michael Schwartz focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances, venture capital investments and corporate restructurings. He regularly advises private equity funds, insurers, brokers, InsurTech innovators and other insurance sector clients on insurance M&A transactions and on a range of corporate and transactional matters. Schwartz also represents private equity funds, public and privately held companies and startup enterprises in M&A and other transactional matters across a range of sectors, including life sciences, industrials, retail, food and agribusiness and technology. He has counseled clients on cross-border transactions and restructurings in Europe, Asia, South America and the Middle East. Schwartz is licensed in both Missouri and Illinois. He received his law degree from American University and his bachelor's degree from Tulane University.

Jodi Adolf focuses on insurance regulatory, InsurTech and insurance insolvency matters. She regularly advises leading life, accident and health as well as property and casualty insurers on a range of insurance regulatory and compliance issues. Adolf also has significant experience with the formation and licensing of insurance companies, third-party administrators, Knox Keene entities and Discount Medical Service Organization. She advises clients on insurance data security requirements, including compliance with New York Part 500 requirements and the Insurance Data Security Model laws, and works with clients in reporting cyber events to insurance departments as well as responding to governmental investigations and enforcement actions. Adolf is licensed in both Missouri and Kansas. She earned her law degree from Washburn University and her bachelor's degree from Southern Connecticut State University.

Sean Christy, who co-led the Technology & Commercial Transactions practice at BCLP, advises on a broad range of traditional and digital outsourcing, digital transformation, ERP, XaaS/cloud, AI/ML, emerging- and broader technology and strategic commercial transactions across a number of sectors, including financial services, hospitality, consumer products, retail, manufacturing and healthcare. He advises on both direct engagements in these areas and in transactions that are incidental to acquisitions, carveouts, joint ventures and divestitures. He is known for providing guidance on strategic direction, analyzing client operations, supplier selection, scope/pricing/quality, counseling on governance and disputes (including software and subscription audit defense), and other key commercial issues his clients face throughout the lifecycle of their deals. Licensed in Georgia, Christy received his law degree from Georgia State University and his bachelor's degree from Mercer University.

Chuck Hollis, who co-led the Technology & Commercial Transactions practice at BCLP with Christy, provides not only transactional legal advice, but also negotiation business strategy, vendor selection and consultative advice. His broad technology, sourcing and commercial transactions experience includes global support across a variety of industries and sectors for the purchase, sale and implementation of cloud services, cloud operations, broad scale implementation of ERP, SaaS, XaaS, AI/ML and other technology and software platforms, and also includes support for the more traditional outsourcing arrangements (ITO, BPO, ADM) and strategic commercial transactions. In many cases, these arrangements are associated with corporate transactions, carveouts, joint ventures and divestitures. His practice also includes support for software audits, disputes, realignment and workouts related to outsourcing and technology arrangements. Licensed in Georgia, the District of Columbia and South Carolina, Hollis received his law degree from the University of South Carolina and his bachelor's degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology.