Michael I. Verde

Qualifications and Career Profile

Michael I. Verde serves as Head of the Insurance and Risk Management Practice. Mr. Verde concentrates his practice in the areas of insurance, risk management and fraud.

On the insurance side, Mr. Verde has experience in large, complex coverage and defense litigations for both insurers and policyholders. These matters have involved business and contingent business interruption claims, police civil liability, directors’ and officers’ liability, mass tort, catastrophic property loss, airline liability and technology claims. Mr. Verde also has headed other types of litigation related to the insurance industry, including reinsurance disputes, broker disputes, broker E&O claims and broker employment contract disputes. He regularly reviews clients’ insurance policies in order to make sure businesses are receiving appropriate comprehensive coverage for the risks they are likely to face.

On the fraud and risk management side, Mr. Verde has handled complex international and domestic fraud claims for both domestic and foreign clients, initiating both criminal prosecutions and civil recoveries. Mr. Verde took leave from Katten for a few years to head the New York office of a London-based private investigation group, and uses those contacts as well as his own law enforcement connections (before becoming a lawyer, Mr. Verde was a sergeant in the New York City Police Department) to provide investigative support and advice to clients who have either been victimized by fraud or want to put effective safeguards in place. 

As a result of his work in both areas, Mr. Verde has trial and appellate experience in state and federal courts in a variety of jurisdictions.

Lectures and Articles

Mr. Verde has spoken on insurance issues at ABA and Mealey’s conferences, as well as at an International Bar Association meeting in Berlin and at a forum on U.S. Law in Johannesburg. He speaks regularly on risk management and terrorism insurance issues. In November 2009, Mr. Verde participated in a panel on “Reassessing Insurance Strategies in a New Era of Risk & Uncertainty,” presented by InsureHedge, and in August 2010 authored “13 Characteristics of a Great Chief Compliance Officer” for Corporate Compliance Insights.

Education

Mr. Verde earned his undergraduate degree from Columbia University, cum laude (B.A., 1980). He earned his law degree from New York Law School, magna cum laude (J.D., 1988), where he was an editor and contributor to the New York Law Review.