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Overview

Overview

Vincent (“Vince”) J. Vitkowsky represents clients in counseling, litigation, and arbitration. Vince has cutting edge knowledge of cyber risks, liabilities, and insurance. He represents clients in coverage evaluations and related dispute resolution across many lines of business, including cyber, CGL, tech E&O, professional liability, management and D&O, energy, entertainment, and life and group health insurance. Vince also assists in complex claim evaluations and, if necessary, the defense of insureds in complex claims. He represents cyber insurers in product development, policy drafting, review, and interpretation. In matters involving cyber risks, Vince combines his experience as a veteran insurance and reinsurance lawyer with a strong background in terrorism and national security law.

Vince also represents clients in reinsurance disputes, addressing commonly recurring issues, as well as unique points of contract interpretation. He also represents insurers, reinsurers, and brokers in commercial disputes such as post-acquisition purchase price disputes, alleged business torts, breach of trade secrets, matters involving runoff companies and managing general agents, and disputes with liquidators.

Vince has served as counsel in well over 100 arbitrations involving insurance and reinsurance. In addition, he has served as counsel or arbitrator in international commercial arbitrations involving agency, sales, distribution, licensing, technology development, employment, joint venture, shareholder and other contracts, in industries such as financial services, aviation, textile and apparel, telecommunications, entertainment, champagne and real estate development. He is a member of the Panel of Arbitrators of the AAA International Centre for Dispute Resolution.

Vince has been the lead and prevailing counsel in a dozen state, federal, and federal appellate decisions.  These have included subjects such as federal abstention, the interaction between the McCarran-Ferguson Act and the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (“UN Convention”), the interaction of the Federal Arbitration Act, the UN Convention, and Guernsey Law, functus officio, manifest disregard and evident partiality, the pollution exclusion under reinsurance contracts, follow-the-fortunes, and the interpretation of claims-made professional liability policies.

Vince’s practice is national and international. He has appeared pro hac vice in courts across the U.S. and has assisted in arbitrations in several countries.

Chambers America’s Leading Lawyers for Business has described Vince as “a well-prepared operator,” and noted that “clients appreciate his intelligence and tactics, which make a tough case seem a lot more manageable.” The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers described him as “renowned for his litigation and dispute resolution counsel.”

Experience

Experience

Representative Experience

  • Advises first-tier cyber insurers on contract language and coverage matters involving, for example, high-value ransomware attacks (including those with OFAC implications), allocation of partially or jointly covered claims, difference in conditions, extended reporting periods, GDPR coverage or exclusions, internet media liability, mass accumulation exposures, system failure and dependent system failure, social engineering, other insurance clauses, war and terrorism exclusions, prior knowledge exclusions, retroactive date exclusions, and many other issues of interpretation.
  • Defends insureds in third party cyber, tech, media, and business e-mail compromise matters.
  • Drafted a groundbreaking manuscript cyber policy addressing business interruption.
  • As lead counsel, has prevailed in 10 out of 11 reported decisions.
  • Has been the prevailing counsel in numerous multi-million-dollar arbitrations.

Honors

  • Euromoney’s Guide to the World’s Leading Insurance and Reinsurance Lawyers
  • The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers
  • New York Super Lawyers® 2006 – 2012, 2015 – 2019

Professional Affiliations

  • Claims & Litigation Management Alliance, Cyber, Management & Professional Liability Community (Fellow and Member)
  • National Security Institute at George Mason University Law School, Fellow
  • International Arbitration Club of New York, Founding Member
  • Center for Law and Counterterrorism, Former Adjunct Fellow
  • Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy, Chair Emeritus of International and National Security Law Practice Group
  • American Bar Association Insurance Section, Former Chair of Committee on Public Regulation of Insurance Law and International Committee
  • International Bar Association Committee on Insurance, Former Vice-Chair

Publications

  • “Whither War and Cyber Operation Exclusions?,” Insurance Journal, 2023.
  • “Cyber Risks and Insurance Coverage Decisions in 2022,” Advisen Cyber FPN, January 2023.
  • “Why Insurers Need to Modernize Their War Exclusions,” Advisen Cyber FPN, June 2022.
  • “The Russian Invasion of Ukraine, Worldwide Cyberattacks, and War Exclusions in Property and Casualty Insurance Policies,” Insurance Journal, March 2022.
  • “Cyber Risks and Insurance Coverage Decisions in 2021,” Advisen Cyber FPN, January 2022. 
  • “New LMA War, Cyber War and Cyber Operation Exclusions for Cyber Insurance Policies,” Advisen Cyber FPN, January 2022.
  • “A Legal Guide to Insurance Coverage for Violent Protests, Terrorism, Insurrection and Revolution,” Journal of Reinsurance and Advisen Professional FPN, 2021.
  • “Insurance Coverage for Cyber Losses,” Chapter 14 in Data Security and Privacy Law, treatise by Thompson Reuters (co-author with Richard J. Bortnick and Richard Traub), 2021-2022 ed.
  • “A Primer on Insurance Coverage for Civil Unrest,” Claims Journal, 2021.
  • “Dark Patterns and Privacy Regulation,” Advisen Cyber FPN and Professional FPN, 2021.
  • “Cyber Risks and Insurance Coverage Decisions 2020,” Advisen Cyber FPN, 2021.
  • “Healthcare Cyber Risks and COVID-19,” Advisen Cyber FPN, 2020.
  • “Responding to China at the United Nations,” George Mason National Security Institute Law and Policy Paper, 2020.
  • “Cyber Risks and Insurance Coverage Decisions 2015-2019,” Advisen Cyber FPN, 2020.
  • “The Insurability of Cyber and Privacy Fines,” Advisen Cyber FPN, 2020.
  • “Cyber Risks and Insurance Coverage Decisions 2018,” Advisen Cyber FPN, 2019.
  • “War Exclusions and Cyber Threats from States and State-Sponsored Hackers,” Advisen Cyber FPN, 2017.
  • “2016 Showed Active Cyber and Privacy Coverage Litigation Landscape,” Advisen Cyber FPN, 2017.
  • “Will Emerging Weapons Change the Law of War?” A review of Jeremy Rabkin and John Yoo’s Striking Power: How Cyber, Robots, and Space Weapons Change the Rules of War (Encounter Books, 2017). Lawfare, 2017.
  •  “Cybersecurity and the Board of Directors,” Advisen Cyber FPN, 2016.
  •  “Insurance for Media Liability Risks,” Advisen Cyber FPN, 2016.
  •  “Cyber and Privacy Coverage Litigation 2015,” Advisen Cyber FPN, 2016.
  • “The Internet of Things:  A New Era of Cyber Liability and Insurance,” Declarations, 2015.
  • “War, Terrorism, and Hacktivism under Cyber Insurance Policies,” Advisen Cyber FPN, 2014.
  • “Key Takeaways in Newly Released Homeland Security Insurance Industry Report,” NetDiligence Junto, 2014.
  • “Snowden Affair Fuels the Conflict for Control of the Internet,” Advisen FPN, Cyber, 2013.
  • “Internal Appeals of Arbitration Awards in Reinsurance Disputes,” Mealey’s Litigation Report: Reinsurance, 2012.
  •  “The Cyber Threat Matrix to Energy and Utility Companies,” Advisen Cyber Liability Journal, Vol. 3, 2012.
  • “Industrial Cyber Attacks Generate Wide Range of Coverage Concerns,” Business Insurance, 2012.
  •  “The Insurance Industry’s Fight against Terrorism,” Business Insurance, 2011.
  • “Reinsurance Issues Arising from the 2005 Hurricane Season,” ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal, 2006.
  • “Not for the Faint of Heart – Directors and Officers Reinsurance Issues,” PLUS Journal, 2004.
  • “What Really Occurred – The World Trade Center Litigation,” The Review, 2003.
  • “Transnational Procedures and Transparency in International Commercial Arbitration,” Eurowatch, 2003.

Speaking Engagements

  • “The New War and State-Backed Cyber-Attack Exclusions,” ExecuSummit, 2023.
  • “Advanced Seminar on Cyber War and Terrorism,” NetDiligence Cyber Summit, 2022
  • “Policy Crafting for a Sustainable Future,” Advisen Cyber Risks Insights Conference, 2022
  • “Could NotPetya Case Outcomes Pressure Insurers to Reword War Exclusions?,” Insurance Journal Podcast, 2022.
  • “Peace in Cyberspace: How It Was Lost and How to Restore It,” Moderator, Federalist Society Podcast, 2022.
  • “Insurance Coverage for Violent Protests, Terrorism, Insurrection and Revolution,” Reinsurance Association of America Discussion Series, 2021.
  • “Cracking the Cyber Code on War and Terrorism,” Advisen Cyber Risks Conference, 2019.
  • “Cyber War and Terrorism,” NetDiligence Cyber Summit, 2018.
  • “The Urgency of Cyber Threats to U.S. and Global Critical Infrastructure,” HB Litigation Conferences, 2018.
  • “Legal and Regulatory Issues,” IRUA Cyber Coverage and Reinsurance Seminar, 2018.
  • “Cyber Masterclass:  The Cutting Edge of Regulatory, Coverage, and Claims Issues,” CLM Cyber Summit, 2017.
  • “Geopolitics, Cyber Risk and Insurance,” NetDiligence Cyber Summit, 2017.
  • “Communication and Confidentiality,” Advisen Cyber Risks Insights Conference London, 2017.
  •  “Cyber Case Law and Board Perspectives,” PCIAA Northeast General Counsel Seminar, 2016.
  • “The Internet of Things,” Cyber Liabilities Insurance ExecuSummit, 2016.
  • “Are You and Your Insurer Connecting on Cyber Risk?” HB Northeast Corporate Counsel Forum, 2016.
  • “Cyber Liability,” CPCU Society Reinsurance Symposium, 2016.
  • “Cyber Coverage Advanced,” NetDiligence Cyber Risk Forum, 2015.
  • “Conflict Resolution: Strategies for Resolving Disputes Quickly and Cost-Effectively,” ACI Forum on Run-Off and Commutations, 2015.
  • “Dispute Resolution – Arbitration, Mediation, Litigation,” Reinsurance Association of America Re Contracts, 2012.
  • “Litigation Under the Antiterrorism Act,” ABA Homeland Security Law Institute, 2012.
  •  “Cyber Risks – What Are They and Who Is Affected,” LMA Lloyd’s Market Academy Masterclass, 2012.
  • “Reinsurance, National Security and Terrorism,” Reinsurance Association of America Members Forum, 2011.
  • Counsel in Mock Reinsurance Mediation, British Insurance Law Association, 2010.
  • “Continuing Challenges in Commercial Arbitration,” CPR International Institute, 2005.
  • “The Reinsurance Market’s Perspective on September 11,” British Insurance Law Association, 2002.

Credentials

Credentials

Admitted to Practice

  • New York
  • United States District Court, Southern District of New York
  • United States District Court, Eastern District of New York

Education

  • Northwestern University, B.A.
  • Cornell Law School, J.D.

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