Veach, James

For more than twenty years, Mr. Veach has concentrated his practice on reinsurance and insurance regulation, litigation, and arbitration. He began his legal career with Kreindler & Kreindler, an aviation products-liability firm located in New York City,  and then joined the New York County District Attorney's Office.   He served under Robert M. Morgenthau in the Office's Appeals Bureau where he argued appeals in both intermediate appellate courts and the New York Court of Appeals.  He later moved to a trial bureau and tried many felony and homicide cases.

In 1983, Mr. Veach joined what was then Rein, Mound & Cotton. He has since handled a variety of insurance and reinsurance disputes arising from property, general liability, surety, political risk, health, errors and omissions policies, and various reinsurance arrangements that reinsured these lines of business.  For the past fifteen years, he has concentrated his practice on insurance and reinsurance regulation and arbitration, as well as insolvency-related matters affecting primary carriers and their reinsurers.  He is a certified ARIAS-U.S. arbitrator.  

Mr. Veach has represented reinsurance intermediaries and brokers.  He has tried disputes between intermediaries over reinsurance brokerage.  He represented a state insurance department in its efforts to recover commissions and brokerage from agents and brokers of an insolvent insurer. He represented other state insurance department in successfully recovering reinsurance balances due an insolvent estate.  He has also advised insurers and reinsurers on licensing issues concerning reinsurance intermediaries, brokers, and agents.

Over the past twenty years, Mr. Veach has represented insurers, reinsurers, brokers, intermediaries, and others in dozens of insurance insolvencies, including those arising from the rehabilitation or liquidation or Frontier (in rehabilitation), Transit Casualty, Executive Life, Delta America Re, P-I-E Insurance Company, the Mission Companies, Millers National, Midland Insurance Company, MCA,  Mutual Fire & Marine, Ambassador,  various syndicates at the New York Insurance Exchange, and other failed entities in Bermuda and London.  See, e.g.,  Corcoran v. Ardra, 156 A.D. 2d 70, 553 NYS 2d 695(1st Dept 1990) aff'd, 77 N.Y. 2d 225 (1990) cert. denied, Ardra Insurance Co. v Curiale, 500 U.S. 953 (1991).   He is a member of the International Association of Insurance Receivers.

Mr. Veach has represented two New York domiciled companies in their efforts to eliminate capital impairments and avoid insolvency pursuant to NYIL 1321 and Regulation 141.  For a short synopsis of regulation 141 and how it operates, see J. Veach, Viewpoint: Recovery Plan, JTW News (July/August 2005).  He has also been involved in the drafting of disclosure notices and endorsements relating to the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act and its recent Extension.  He has commented on and reviewed proposed wording for both primary policies and reinsurance treaties and certificates.  

Mr. Veach is a frequent speaker at insurance and reinsurance conferences and seminars sponsored by Mealey's, American Conference Institute,  IRU,  Executive Enterprises,  the Independent Research Institute.  and the Practicing Law Institute (PLI).  For the past five years he has co-chaired the PLI's Reinsurance Law and Practice Seminar in New York City.

Mr. Veach has represented companies in run-off, as well as run-off managers.  For more than fifteen years he has overseen the run-off of an association of property insurers.  In October 2005, he spoke on the topic of U.S. alternatives to schemes of arrangement at the first Association of Insurance and Reinsurance Run-Off Companies (AIRROC) Conference.  He serves on AIRROC's publications committee.

Mr.Veach contributes to many reinsurance and insurance publications. His articles have appeared in Best's Review, Mealey's Litigation Reports,  JTW News,  Insurance Advocate,  ReActions,  Global Reinsurance, and the Environmental Claims Journal.  

He is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and New York University School of Law.  He earned a Masters Degree in International Legal Studies from NYU Law School while serving in the New York District Attorney's Office. He is admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey, as well as the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York and the United States Supreme Court.  

Mr. Veach is a member of the New York and New Jersey Bar Associations, the New York County Lawyers' Association, the New York State Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the International Insurance Society, the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of New Jersey, and the National Peace Corps Association.

MEMBERSHIPS/HONORS

• New York Bar Association
• New Jersey Bar Association
• New York County Lawyers' Association
• American Bar Association
• International Association of Insurance Receivers
• International Insurance Society
• International Trumpet Guild
• AV Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell

PUBLICATIONS

• Author, “Checklist for the Careful Commuter,” JTW News, March 2003.
• Author, “The Arbitration Clause: Insert in Haste, Repent in Litigation,” Reinsurance Law & Practice 2002.
• Author, “In the Event of Insolvency,” Global Reinsurance, November, 2000.
• Author, “The Law and Practices on the Confidentiality of Reinsurance Arbitration Awards” – “How Courts View Applications to Seal,” Insurance Advocate, June 10, 2000.
• Author, “Confirming Confidential Arbitration Awards in ‘Open Court’”, Mealey’s Litigation Report: Reinsurance, December 30, 1999.
• “Delta v. Transnational, Round II: Winding Up, Drawing Down, and the ‘Hotch-Pot Rule’”, Mealey’s Litigation Report: Insurance Insolvency, July 15, 1998.
• Author, “A Bumpy Ride On Bankruptcy Code §304’s Coattails,” Mealey’s Litigation Report: Insurance Insolvency, April 22, 1998.
• Author, “Courts, Legislatures, and Reinsurers Struggle With Receiver’s Refusal to Arbitrate,” Mealey’s Litigation Report: Insurance Insolvency, March 18, 1998.
• Author, “Union Indemnity And ‘Utmost Good Faith’”. Mealey’s Litigation Report: Insurance Insolvency, February 19, 1998.
• Author, “Reinsuring Environmental Claims: A Snapshot,” Environmental Claims Journal, Spring, 1998.
• Author, “Delta America Re’s Dividend Plan: Why (Almost) No One Objected,” Mealey’s Litigation Report: Insurance Insolvency, November 13, 1996.  

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

• Lecturer, "The GRID: National Association of Insurance Receivers' (NAIC) Database Project," ARC Legacy's Insurance and Reinsurance Breakfast Forum," London, England, June 22, 2011.
• Presenter, "Outline of a Commutation Agreement: Setting the Stage for Panel 5 Discussion," International Association of Insurance Receivers Technical Development Conference - Reinsurance, June 11, 2011.
• Panelist, "Considerations for Access to Records - Clauses, Confidentiality, and Privilege," 6th Annual Advanced Forum on Reinsurance Agreements, American Conference Institute, April 2010.
• Speaker, "Restructuring Mechanisms, Solvent Schemes & NAIC White Paper. What This All Means For NALC Members," 2010 Spring Conference, National Alliance of Life Companies, April 2010.
• Panelist, "Solvent Schemes in the US - Key Points," Solvent Schemes - Latest Developments in the UK and US and the Impact on Policyholders and Insurers, HB Litigation Conferences, January 2010.
• Moderator, "Commutations: Buyers and Sellers Views - Before, During and After Acquisition," AIRROC/Cavell Commutations Event, October 19, 2009.
• Moderator, "Run-Off Transactions Around the World," ABA TIPS Insurer Receivership & Run-Off Conference, June 5, 2009.
• Speaker, "Using Arbitration/Dispute Resolution Clauses That Anticipate Disputes - and Facilitate Resolutions Later," Reinsurance Agreements Conference, American Conference Institute, May 1, 2009.
• Speaker, "The New Three R's: Run-Off, Regulation & Reinsurance," Spring 2009 Conference, National Alliance of Life Companies, April 24, 2009.
• Panelist, "Identifying Emerging Run-Off Opportunities: Determining Which Policies or Lines of Business are Ripe for Run-Off and Charting the Best Course of Action," The 7th International Advanced Forum on Run-Off and Commutation, American Conference Institute, March 25, 2009.
• Moderator, "The Reinsurance Dispute Hypothetical: A Closer Look at Settling Disputes Around the Boardroom Table," Reinsurance Claims & Arbitration, An American Conference Institute's Forum, September 2008.
• Panelist, "Emerging Issues in Reinsurance: Pandemics, Global Warming, and Other "Hot" Topics," Reinsurance Law 2008, A Practicing Law Institute Conference, September 17, 2008.
• Speaker, American Conference Institute's Reinsurance Agreements Conference, April 29, 2008.
• Speaker, Contract Wording Discussion Group, November 15, 2006.
• Panelist, "Commutation Philosophies & Methodologies in The Run-Off Arena," AIRROC Rendez-Vous, October 2006.
• Lecturer, insurance and reinsurance industry seminars, including those given by Executive Enterprises, Inc., Mealey's, the Independent Research Institute and the American Conference Institute.
• Conference Co-Chair: Mealey’s Environmental Reinsurance Conference, November, 1999. 
• Speech: “Suits and Disputes Over Intermediaries’ Brokerage – A Proposed Solution,” C.W.D.G. (Contract Wording Discussion Group 10th Anniversary Symposium, June 8, 1999).

ADMISSIONS
New York, 1975
New Jersey, 1992

EDUCATION
B.A., Vanderbilt University, 1969
J.D., New York University School of Law, 1974
LL.M., New York University School of Law, 1981