Alan S. Gilbert has extensive experience in litigation and alternative dispute resolution before trial and appellate courts, arbitration tribunals and administrative agencies throughout the United States. He concentrates on complex commercial cases, with a particular emphasis on financial disputes and class actions. Mr. Gilbert’s litigation experience covers a wide range of areas, including con-tracts, securities, commodities, class actions, insurance, insolvency, real estate, construction, products liability, constitutional law, trade secrets, banking, lender liability, employee benefits, fiduciary responsibility, corporate control, and partnerships.
Current and recent representations:
• Successfully defended variable annuity issuer in damages only case tried to jury after court finding that insurer breached annuity contracts by imposing trading restrictions. Obtained jury verdict of less than 1% of nine-figure damages originally sought and re-versal of that verdict on appeal, leaving client with no damages liability
• Defending insurer in four week arbitration hearing over $150 million in residual value insurance coverage for auto leasing com-pany. Case settled before closing arguments on favorable terms
• Prosecuting nine-figure actions against accountants, lawyers and bankers of defunct student finance company
• Defending company and its cash balance pension plan in putative national class action challenging payments to participants
• Serving as national coordinating counsel for various insurers facing class actions in different jurisdictions, including defending Hur-ricane Katrina class actions in Louisiana and a putative national class action in Arkansas challenging use of claim adjusting soft-ware
Before coming to Sonnenschein in 1981, Mr. Gilbert served as law clerk to the Honorable William J. Bauer, formerly the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and spent four years representing the poor in individual and class actions with the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago, an affiliate of the federal Legal Services Corporation.
Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, LLP regularly handles high-risk and complex matters for financial and insurance industry clients. Staffed with seasoned litigators and former insurance regulators, Sonnenschein lawyers are relentless advocates for its clients’ interests.
For more than 70 years, Sonnenschein has partnered with insurance companies to understand their business and legal needs. Recent confirmation of Sonnenschein's outstanding insurance industry qualifications came in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. Sonnenschein won the 2008 Chambers Award for Excellence in Insurance. The award recognizes Sonnenschein's work in both the litigation and regulatory areas and further confirms its reputation as a world-class provider of legal services to insurance industry clients. The 2008 edition identifies Sonnenschein as one of the top firms in the country representing insurers on their most complex matters. The Chambers description speaks for itself:
Considered “a go-to resource,” Sonnenschein has a major practice in this field. Insurance has been a priority of the firm for many years, and its competitors accept that it has fashioned itself into “a major competitor and a worthy opponent for anyone.” Commentators declare that “there is no insurance issue that it doesn’t have a wealth of experience in,” and praise it for its depth and reach. Its experts are to be found in California, Illinois and New York, but the firm offers a nationally integrated service, drawing upon specialized expertise and knowledge in its various offices as and when required. The lawyers themselves are “passionate, enthusiastic and edgy, constantly sparking ideas off each other.” According to clients, “the group has enough talented and experienced lawyers to handle numerous complex and large matters at any one time.”
When products are attacked, when lawsuits go national, when regulators join the fray, when reputations are on the line, leading busi-nesses turn to Sonnenschein.