Michelle R. Migdon

In her national insurance litigation practice, Michelle Migdon represents policyholders in their most challenging recovery and coverage matters. Michelle’s cases generally contain a common denominator: clients have suffered a significant loss and enlist her to get back in their pockets money owed from the insurance company . With 20 years of experience in this area, she has a wealth of knowledge and rarely sees an issue she hasn’t encountered previously. Michelle’s long litigation and insurance background allows her to astutely help clients look ahead to avoid future disputes, but also to fight back when necessary.

Michelle represents clients in a full spectrum of matters, including claims relating to first party property and business interruption, commercial general liability, credit risk, builders risk, and fiduciary liability issues. She’s particularly adept at handling insurance disputes involving claims-made directors and officers, errors and omissions, and professional liability policies. Michelle also advocates in lawsuits seeking to obtain substantial insurance recoveries for losses arising out of multi-billion-dollar settlements of class action and other litigation involving alleged securities law violations, fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty claims.

In addition, Michelle addresses coverage issues of importance to policyholders, including the effect of settlements with underlying insurers on exhaustion of underlying coverage limits, the scope and application of a fraud exclusion, compliance with cooperation and consent to settle provisions, allocation of loss among covered and uncovered parties and claims, claims for rescission based on allegedly material misrepresentations, and the sufficiency of a notice of circumstances.

Pre-litigation advising on claims comprises a substantive part of Michelle’s practice. In this capacity she takes steps to convince insurance companies to agree to settlement, using methods such as letter-writing, negotiation, and mediation. She also ensures that clients are keeping their carriers properly informed about the settlement status throughout the process.

But at the same time, if an insurance company will not cave, Michelle is prepared to litigate through summary judgment and trial to help her clients achieve the insurance recoveries to which they are entitled. Accordingly, Michelle has litigated and secured victories in many precedent-setting insurance coverage cases in trial and appellate courts throughout the country.

Michelle enjoys helping organizations overcome their insurance-related financial challenges and finds it intellectually gratifying to put puzzle pieces together to solve their problems. As an attorney who possesses superb brief-writing skills and a keen ability to thoroughly master the facts of cases, she is highly effective in developing the arguments and strategies that best serve those she represents.