Hinshaw Bolsters National Insurance Practice with the Addition of Four Partners in Chicago & Minneapolis

The U.S. law firm of Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP today announced the addition of four seasoned partners in the firm's Global Insurance Services Practice Group in the Chicago and Minneapolis offices. Peter Kanaris, David Heiss and Cheryl Mondi, all previously with Kanaris, Stubenvoll & Heiss, joined the firm in Chicago. Joel T. Wiegert, formerly with Meagher & Geer, has joined in Minneapolis.

These partners are the latest expansion of Hinshaw's national insurance practice in key markets. On January 15, Judy Selby joined the firm in its New York office.

"Our insurance industry clients are facing increasingly complex and global risk vectors, including cyber, privacy, environmental, artificial intelligence among a host of issues," said Scott Seaman, co-chair of the Global Insurance Services Practice Group. "Hinshaw has always been a market leader in handling the entire spectrum of legal issues facing the insurance industry. This group of partners adds considerable depth to our national practice and will be an asset to the firm in growing in these substantial markets."

Peter Kanaris, founding member and co-managing director of Kanaris, Stubenvoll & Heiss, said Hinshaw's national footprint and strong presence in the Midwest offers the opportunity to provide expanded insurance capabilities to their clients, and their team offers additional bandwidth to the Hinshaw practice.

"Hinshaw is a law firm with insurance in its DNA," Kanaris said. "We have a number of overlapping clients, which makes the firm an excellent complement to our practice. In the last 10 years, there has been a tremendous amount of consolidation in the insurance industry. Insurers are looking for experienced lawyers in a firm with a national and international presence, and Hinshaw has the depth and breadth of practice that insurers require when they are seeking counsel."

Kanaris, Heiss, and Mondi, Chicago
With more than 30 years of experience in domestic and international markets, Kanaris focuses his practice on insurance coverage disputes, including first-party property and third-party insurance coverage, reinsurance, subrogation, and cyber and extra-contractual matters. An experienced litigator, he has tried numerous cases in state and federal courts nationwide, representing leading insurance companies in a wide range of matters including commercial, construction, and environmental matters. He received his J.D. from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis and his A.B. from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

Heiss has more than 20 years of experience, focusing his practice on commercial matters, tort, insurance, reinsurance, and corporate litigation. A seasoned litigator, he has handled large complex first-party coverage disputes, trying cases to verdict in state and federal jurisdictions across the country. He also advises insurers in a wide range of matters including bad faith, reinsurance, equipment breakdown, builder's risk, agent/broker matters, and represents insureds in defense of claims involving CGL and professional liability policies. He received his J.D. from The John Marshall Law School and a B.A. from DePauw University.

Mondi brings more than two decades of diverse litigation experience, with a particular focus on first-party insurance coverage, including builder's risk, fraud and misrepresentation, business interruption, and bad faith, and extra-contractual damages. She also provides legal opinions and litigates claims arising out of third-party liability policies. Mondi received her J.D. in 2000 with honors, from the Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology, and a B.A. from DePauw University.

Terra K. Gross, joins Hinshaw as an associate and practices in the areas of insurance coverage and construction litigation, focusing on providing legal advice to first-party carriers during the investigation and litigation of claims. Beginning in 2014, Gross spent three years as an Assistant Attorney General in the Illinois Attorney General's office. She joined Kanaris, Stubenvoll & Heiss after a judicial clerkship in the Chancery Division of Cook County Circuit Court. She earned her J.D. degree magna cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law in 2013.

Joel T. Wiegert, Minneapolis
With almost two decades of experience, Wiegert represents major national insurance companies on commercial crime insurance coverage issues, including cybercrime, embezzlement, forgery, and theft.

"Hinshaw has existing relationships with a number of my longstanding clients," Wiegert said. "With Minneapolis as my base, I can help expand the firm's reach into the upper Midwest, and my clients will benefit from Hinshaw's presence in a number of other major U.S. markets. My practice really complements the existing Hinshaw team, and the firm's national platform and full-service practice will allow me to provide additional depth and capabilities to my clients."

Wiegert also handles a wide array of first- and third-party commercial insurance coverage disputes ranging from basic coverage issues to complex coverage litigation, including commercial, financial institution bonds and miscellaneous bonds, commercial general liability, commercial property, surety, professional liability, Directors and Officers, environmental, reinsurance and subrogation. He earned his J.D., with high honors, from Drake University Law School and a B.A. from Concordia College. He also is an associate editor of The Fidelity Law Journal.

Hinshaw's Insurance Services Practice Group is comprised of 77 lawyers in 22 of the firm's offices across the country representing domestic and foreign insurance companies in a variety of matters across a broad range of industry sectors.

The addition of this group was covered by several media outlets, including:

• Law360, February 7, 2020 
• Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, January 31, 2020
• Bloomberg Big Law, January 30, 2020