Goldberg Segalla added partner Lawrence D. Mason to the law firm’s Chicago office, where he will join the Global Insurance Services, Environmental, and Toxic Torts Practice Groups.

Mr. Mason is a renowned trial and appellate litigator and counselor to many national and international businesses across diverse industries. Based in Chicago but with experience litigating and counseling clients through complicated and high-profile matters across the U.S. and internationally, he dedicates most of his practice to property and casualty insurance coverage, products liability, professional liability for clients in construction and related fields, environmental law and toxic torts, identifying emerging risks (especially cybersecurity and new technologies), and complex commercial litigation.

For nearly three decades, Mr. Mason has been a thought leader in the insurance law community. He has been a pioneer inside the courtroom, litigating many cases of first impression advancing new interpretations of law and new defenses, as well as outside the courtroom, writing and speaking about the most pressing issues in insurance and related fields.  Mr. Mason has also served as an expert witness or arbitrator in complex, multi-issue cases. His experience includes commercial litigation involving insurance and reinsurance coverage, first- and third-party liability, product liability, contracts, bad faith, toxic torts, and technology and cybersecurity; professional liability defense for construction and environmental companies and their executives, architects, engineers, and contractors; and complicated cross-discipline cases arising from environmental, structural, or other catastrophic damages, including business interruption and lost revenue.

Widely known as “The Problem Solver,” Mr. Mason’s practice encompasses a broad spectrum of first-party and third-party coverage, reinsurance, and defense issues, protecting the interests of insurers and reinsurers in complex insurance coverage disputes and defending their insureds in a variety of third-party liability issues. He has applied his extensive experience in the handling of large catastrophe losses and the complex cross-discipline problems that arise from these claims to a wide array of business interests. Mr. Mason’s experience with product liability-related insurance and reinsurance coverage challenges, including product recall, contamination, and liability risks, includes the successful defense of manufacturers against claims of negligent product design, failure to warn, and breach of warranties. He has additionally counseled clients in litigation liability prevention, product recall campaigns, and the development of product package warnings and owner/operator manuals. Mr. Mason routinely represents architects, engineers, contractors, and owners in a number of complex cases including breach of contract, failure of duty, environmental, and building design issues.

Formidable and respected as a trial and appellate litigator, Mr. Mason also regularly provides assistance to underwriters concerning policy and endorsement drafting, market strategy, and the development of new insurance products. Mr. Mason’s risk and litigation avoidance practice helps his business clients to avoid litigation by working with business leaders, risk managers, and underwriters to identify risks in developing fields (like cyber liability), devise risk management strategies and solutions, and offer general counsel to top-level executives.