Gary is a partner in O’Melveny’s New York office. He is an accomplished litigator who has tried both jury and bench trials. He represents clients in all types of complex commercial cases with a special focus on disputes involving insurance coverage, distressed debt investments, and various sophisticated securities. He also has extensive experience at the intersection of bankruptcy and insurance law, and has been involved in most major mass-tort bankruptcies involving insurance over the last decade and a half.
He serves on the NYC Bar Insurance Law Committee and has published many articles on insurance and bankruptcy issues. Recently, his work has appeared in a law review, Crain’s New York Business, and the New York Law Journal. And he speaks regularly at national conferences on insurance as well as bankruptcy law.
Gary has consistently been recognized as a New York Metro Super Lawyer every year since 2016. Legal 500 lists Gary as a go-to member of O’Melveny’s nationally top-ranked insurance practice. And Chambers & Partners has recognized Gary as a leading practitioner in the insurance category, observing that he is “highly regarded in the insolvent carrier space and lauded for his courtroom abilities. Clients praise his ‘powerful intellect and ability to analyze complex circumstances and then explain it to non-lawyers.’” Clients also comment on his “notable expertise in sophisticated insurance litigation, particularly those involving securities and bankruptcy issues,” referring to him as “a very impressive lawyer who is incredibly smart.”
Languages
Honors & Awards
- Recommended by The Legal 500 US for Insurance: Advice to Insurers (2022)
- Leading Practitioner in Insurance, Chambers & Partners
- Recommended Lawyer in Finance and Insurance, The Legal 500 US (2019-2021)
- NY Metro Super Lawyers (2016, 2017, 2018)
Admissions
Bar Admissions
Court Admissions
- US District Court, Eastern and Southern Districts of New York
- US Court of Appeals, Second, Fifth, Sixth, and Ninth Circuits
- US Supreme Court
Education
- Columbia University, LL.M. (Stone Scholar; Bretzfelder Constitutional Law Fellow)
- Osgoode Hall Law School, LL.B.
- University of Toronto, M.A.
- University of Western Ontario, B.A. (S.F. Glass Gold Medal)
Professional Activities
Adjunct Professor
- Fordham University Law School, Legal Research and Writing
Clerkships
- Honorable John I. Laskin, Ontario Court of Appeal
- Honorable Rosalie Silberman Abella, Ontario Court of Appeal (now Supreme Court of Canada)
Committees
- Committee Member, NYC Bar Insurance Law Committee
Select Publications
- “Congress Must Set Up an Insurance Fund to Deal with the Pandemic,” Crain's New York Business (April 7, 2020 co-authored with Tancred Schiavoni)
- “Current Trends in Application of the Absolute Pollution Exclusion in CGL Policies: Cross-Border Comparison Between New York and Canadian Law,” University of Oregon School of Law Journal of Environmental Law & Litigation, Spring 2019.
- “A Classic Case of Regulatory Overreach,” Crain’s New York Business (October 16, 2018 co-authored with Janine Panchok-Berry and Tancred Schiavoni)
- “Supreme Court Annuls Agency Overreach In Title Insurance Regulations,” New York Law Journal (August 2018 co-authored with Tancred Schiavoni)
- “A Field Guide to Channeling Injunctions and Litigation Trusts,” New York Law Journal, July 13, 2018.
- “Bankruptcy Court Overrides CDO Indenture Provision Requiring Noteholder Consent to Liquidation After Accelerating Default,” Pratt’s Journal of Bankruptcy Law, January 2012 and Client Alert, October 31, 2011.
- “Victory for Insurers in Skinner Engine May Change Landscape for Asbestos Bankruptcies,”(co-author), Bloomberg Law Reports: Bankruptcy Law, June 29, 2009.
- “Bankruptcy Court Dismisses Congoleum Bankruptcy Proceeding,” Bloomberg Bankruptcy Reporter, March 30, 2009.
- “N.Y. Courts Won’t Allow Look at Policy Drafts in an Insurance Fight,: Andrews Asbestos Litigation Reporter, March 6, 2009.
Podcasts
- “Postponed Events, Cancelled Trips, Disrupted Business – Insurance and Coronavirus Collide,” New York City Bar Association, April 14, 2020