David A. Grossbaum

David Grossbaum concentrates his practice in the areas of professional liability defense and insurance coverage. He represents legal, real estate and insurance professionals, accountants and securities brokers/registered representatives in liability cases.

He has also handled personal injury, fidelity, products liability cases and contract surety matters.

Mr. Grossbaum's insurance coverage work has involved matters throughout the country, and he acts as national and regional coverage counsel for several clients.

Mr. Grossbaum joined Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP in July 2005 to open the firm's Boston and Providence offices. He is a past leader of the firm's Insurance Services Practice Group and is also a past member of Hinshaw's Executive Committee.

Upon graduation from law school in 1985, he clerked with the Superior Court for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Thereafter, he became an Assistant District Attorney for Essex County, Massachusetts, where he was assigned to both the trial and appellate divisions, arguing numerous cases in the Supreme Judicial Court and Appeals Court of Massachusetts and trying jury cases. He also held a position as a legal research and writing instructor at Boston University Law School.

• American Bar Association (ABA)
  • Tort Trial & Insurance Practices Section (TIPS)
    • Fidelity and Surety Law Committee
    • Professional Liability Insurance Committee, Past Chair; Past Vice-Chair
      • Newsletter Editor
    • Section of Litigation
      • Insurance Coverage Committee
        • Environmental Law Subcommittee, Co-Chair
• Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS)
  • New England Chapter, Past Chair
  • PLUS Journal, Editor-in-Chief
• Rhode Island Bar Association
  • Ethics and Professionalism Committee
  • Insurance Committee

• Selected as a "Top Lawyer" for Professional Malpractice Non Medical Defense by Boston Magazine, 2022
• Selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© for Insurance Law, 2018 – 2023; Product Liability – Defendants, 2018 – 2022
• Recognized on the Super Lawyers list by Massachusetts Super Lawyers magazine, 2005 – 2019, 2022
• Holds the AV® Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, its highest rating for ethics and legal ability

His reported cases include:

• Gathuru v. Credit Control Services Inc., 623 F.Supp.2d 113, (D.Mass. 2009)
• Gargano v. Liberty Intern. Underwriters, Inc., 575 F.Supp.2d 300, 2008 WL 4148254 (D.Mass. 2008), affirmed 572 F.3d 45 (1st Cir. 2009)
• Roberts v. Crowley, 538 F.Supp.2d 413, 2008 WL 618929 (D.Mass. 2008)
• Arruda v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 310 F.3d 13 (1st Cir. 2002)
• In re: Perrone, 284 B.R. 315 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2002)
• Ross v. Home Ins. Co., 146 N.H. 468, 773 A.2d 654 (2001)
• Home Ins. Co. v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 229 F.3d 56 (1st Cir.2000)
• Bianco Professional Ass'n v. Home Ins. Co., 144 N.H. 288, 740 A.2d 1051 (1999)
• Washington Elec. Co-op., Inc. v. Massachusetts Mun. Wholesale Elec. Co., 894 F.Supp. 777 (D.Vt.1995)
• Boston Co. Real Estate Counsel, Inc. v. Home Ins. Co., Inc., 887 F.Supp. 369 (D.Mass.1995)
• Cambridge Trust Co. v. Commercial Union, 32 Mass. App. Ct. 561, 591 N.E. 2d 1117 (1992).

• Panelist, "Papering the Deal: Getting the Best Settlement Agreement You Can," LMRM Conference, Virtual Event, March 2, 2021
• Moderator, "Successful Mediation Strategies," LMRM Conference, Chicago, Illinois, March 4, 2020
• "Insurance Coverage Update," LMRM Conference, Chicago, Illinois, March 2016
• "Insurance Law Update," LMRM Conference, Chicago, Illinois, February 2015
• "Insurance Law Update," LMRM Conference, Chicago, Illinois, March 2014
• "Recent Legal Malpractice Insurance Coverage Decisions and How You Can Avoid Losing Your Coverage," live webcast, West LegalEdcenter, January 2014
• "Insurance Law: Significant Decisions of the Past Year," LMRM Conference, Chicago, Illinois, March 2013
• "Insurance Law: Significant Decisions of the Past Year," Hinshaw's annual LMRM Conference, Chicago, Illinois, February 2012
• "It Never Hurts to Ask and May Hurt Not to Ask: The Use of Special Questions to Resolve Coverage Issues," American Bar Association 2012 Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee CLE seminar, Tucson, Arizona, March 2012
• "Getting Clients Through Cyberspace: Risk Management and Ethical Considerations," National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys' National Aging & Law Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, November 2011
• "Electronic and Personal Connections: Risk Management and Ethical Obligations in Starting and Ending an Attorney-Client Relationship," Rhode Island Bar Association Annual Meeting, Providence, Rhode Island, June 2011
• "Insurance Law," Hinshaw's annual LMRM Conference, Chicago, Illinois, February 2011
• "From the Outside Looking In: Effective Management of Underlying Litigation Where Coverage is Disputed," Hinshaw's Annual Insurance Services Symposium, Chicago, Illinois, October 2010
• "Death of a Salesman? Ethical Rules do not Prevent Lawyers from Marketing," Rhode Island Bar Association Annual Meeting, Providence, Rhode Island, June 2010
• "Insurance Coverage Update: The Year in Review – Prior Knowledge Redux and the Definition of Professional Services," Hinshaw's annual LMRM Conference, Chicago, Illinois, March 2010
• "The Reasonable Insured has Left the Building," Hinshaw's 2009 Insurance Services Symposium, Chicago, Illinois, October 2009
• "Risk Spotting in the New Law Firm Landscape: Liability and Coverage Issues," American Bar Association annual National Legal Malpractice Conference, Chicago, Illinois, September 2009
• "Handling Other People's Funds: The Current Rules, Best Practices and the Consequences for Not Following Them," Rhode Island Bar Association Annual Meeting, Providence, Rhode Island, June 2009
• "Insurance Law—Prior Knowledge and Additional Negligence Claims," Hinshaw's annual LMRM Conference, Chicago, Illinois, March 2009
• "Avoiding Pitfalls in Real Estate Transactions," Rhode Island Bar Association Food for Thought seminar, Providence and Middletown, Rhode Island, February 2009
• "Managing Your Law Firm Part Two—Law Practice Management Series," Rhode Island Bar Association, Providence, Rhode Island, December 2008
• "Fraud Prevention and the Rules of Professional Conduct in Real Estate Transactions," Stewart Title Insurance and Bank of America, Warwick, Rhode Island, October 2008
• "Placing Blame: the Effect of Adverse Economic Conditions on Liability Claims—Subprime and Beyond—Who Will Get Sued and for What?" Hinshaw's 2008 Insurance Services Symposium "The Industry Responds to the Economic Storm," Chicago, Illinois, October 2008
• "Legal Malpractice Claims and the Risk Management Lessons We Can Learn from Them," Rhode Island Bar Association Annual Meeting, Providence, Rhode Island, June 2008
• "The Art of Risk Management for Lawyers Representing Lawyers," American Bar Association annual National Legal Malpractice Conference, Boston, Massachusetts, April 2008
• "Aiding and Abetting a Breach of Fiduciary Duty," Boston Bar Association, Boston, Massachusetts, February 2008
• "Understanding Your Legal Malpractice Insurance Policy," West LegalEdcenter live webcast, January 2008
• "Document and Calendar Management," "Billing Systems and Controls," "Fee Actions," "Associate Training" and "Practice Group Management," Professionals', Officers' & Directors' Liability Committee of the American Bar Association and the City Bar Association of New York seminar, "LMRM," New York, New York, December 2007
• "Anatomy of the Evolving Lawyers' Professional Liability Policy," Hinshaw's 2007 Insurance Services Symposium, Chicago, Illinois, October 2007
• "Basic Principles: All Insurance Coverage Disputes," "Interpreting Coverage Under the Insurance Contract," "Pre-Litigation Options" and "The Duty to Defend and Duty to Indemnify," National Business Institute seminar, "Insurance Coverage Litigation," Warwick, Rhode Island, December 2007
• "Privilege, Estoppel, Judgmental Immunity and Other Special Defenses," Hinshaw's annual LMRM conference, Chicago, Illinois, March 2007
• "How to Present Your Case at Trial," National Business Institute seminar, "Building Your Civil Trial Skills," Providence, Rhode Island, February 2007
• "Understanding Your Legal Malpractice Policy," Rhode Island Bar Association, Providence, Rhode Island, February 2007
• "Discussion of Hypotheticals," Hinshaw's Boston Roundtable, Boston, Massachusetts, September 2006
• "How to Get the Help of Technology and Avoid the Hurt of Malpractice," American Bar Association annual National Legal Malpractice Conference, Chicago, Illinois, September 2006
• "Emerging Issues and Current Laws," "Consider the Ethical Consequences: It's Legal, But is it Right?," and "Successful Courtroom Strategies," National Business Institute seminar, "Bad Faith Insurance Claims in Rhode Island," Providence, Rhode Island, June 2006
• "Understanding your Legal Malpractice Policy," Rhode Island Bar Association Annual Meeting, Providence, Rhode Island, June 2006
• "Defending Depositions," and "Deposing the Lay Witness," Lorman Education Services seminar, "Taking and Defending Effective Depositions," Providence, Rhode Island, March 2006
• "Aiding and Abetting a Breach of Fiduciary Duty – New Worry for Lawyers?" Hinshaw's annual LMRM Conference, Chicago, Illinois, March 2006

Mr. Grossbaum writes and presents extensively on the topics of professional liability, risk management, and insurance coverage. His publications include:

• Chapter Co-Author, "Rhode Island," 50-State Survey of Legal Malpractice Law, a collection of state-by-state articles on legal malpractice and related torts, American Bar Association, 2012
• Co-Author, "First Circuit Raises Troubling Questions: Rosciti v. Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania," The Bankruptcy Strategist, Volume 29, No. 7, May 2012
• "'Close' Might be Good Enough in Horseshoes, but Not in Notice Provisions: Courts Have Lately Required Strict Compliance With Notice Requirements," Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) Journal, February 2012
• Co-Author, "Protecting the Innocent: Wrongdoing by one lawyer can affect insurance coverage for others," ABA Journal, February 2012
• "Getting Clients Through the Internet: Understanding and Complying with the Ethical Rules that Apply," editor, The Quarter Hour®, a publication of Aon Affinity Insurance Services, Inc., September 2011
• "Insurance Coverage for Internet Scams Against Lawyers," Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) Journal, Issue XXIV, Volume 9, September 2011
• "The Before and After: Insurance Coverage Problems Created when New Hires or Former Lawyers Fail to Disclose Problems to the Firm," The Quarter Hour®, a publication of Aon Affinity Insurance Services, Inc., September 2011
• "Claims Made Coverage Is Not Always What It Says," Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) Journal, Issue XXIV, Volume 4, April 2011
• "It Never Hurts to Ask and May Hurt Not to Ask: Insurers Must Ask Special Jury Questions in the Underlying Case to Avoid Losing Coverage Defenses," American Bar Association's Coverage, March/April 2011
• "What to Do (and What Not to Do) When you Receive a Disciplinary Complaint," The Quarter Hour®, a publication of Aon Affinity Insurance Services, Inc., March 2011
• "When the Judge Rules Against You, Think About Telling Your Insurance Company," The Quarter Hour®, a publication of Aon Affinity Insurance Services, Inc., August 2010
• "Cashing Checks for Clients is Risky: They Could be Scammers and Your Insurance will not Likely Cover the Losses," The Quarter Hour®, a publication of Aon Affinity Insurance Services, Inc., March 2010
• "Adverse Ruling on Dispositive Motion Constitutes ‘Prior Knowledge," American Bar Association's lpl eAdvisory, February 2010
• "No Coverage Where Claim Was Made Against Former Partner After He Left and He Did Not Immediately Disclose It to His Prior Firm," American Bar Association's lpl eAdvisory, December 2009
• Co-Author, "Arbitration Clauses in Engagement Letters: Be Careful What You Wish For," The Quarter Hour®, a publication of Aon Affinity Insurance Services, Inc., September 2009
• "The Prior Knowledge Coverage Defense: Is the Subjective Standard Gaining Momentum?" Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) Journal, Volume XXII, July 2009
• "New York Federal Court Adopts Objective Test in ‘Prior Knowledge' Case, But Uses Subjective Factors," American Bar Association's lpl eAdvisory, May 2009
• Federal Court Orders Professional Liability Insurer to Defend Lawyer in Sanctions Motion," American Bar Association's lpl eAdvisory, February 2009
• "Other People's Money: A Lawyer's Obligation to Safeguard Property Belonging to Others," The Quarter Hour®, a publication of Aon Affinity Insurance Services, Inc., Volume IV, 2008
• "Important Decisions You Need to Make When Purchasing a Legal Malpractice Policy," The Quarter Hour®, a publication of Aon Affinity Insurance Services, Inc., Volume III, 2008
• "Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals Holds that Approval of Class Action Settlement Bars Subsequent Malpractice Claim Against Plaintiff's Class Counsel," American Bar Association's lpl eAdvisory, May 2007
• "New Jersey Ethics Panel Strikes Down Provisions of Restrictive Covenant for Departing In-House Counsel," American Bar Association's lpl eAdvisory, September 2006
• "Can You Keep a Secret? The Ethical and Practical Issues of Confidential Settlement Agreements," The Quarter Hour®, a publication of Aon Affinity Insurance Services, Inc., Volume II, 2006
• "Claim that Law Firm Employee's Negligence Assisted Partner in Committing Fraud is Excluded by the Firm's Insurance Policy and No Innocent Insured Protection Applies," American Bar Association's lpl eAdvisory, July 2006
• "Anti-SLAPP Statutes: A Defense for Lawyers in Liability Cases," Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) Journal, February 2006