Profile
Michael Goldstein
Credentials
  • Attorney:
    Yes
  • Education:
    B.A. Columbia College
    J. D. Fordham Law School
Breakdown of Experience
  • Asbestos
    20%
  • Environmental/Pollution
    10%
  • Accident & Health
    5%
  • Intellectual Property
    5%
  • Healthcare
    5%
  • Finite
    5%
  • Agricultural
    5%
  • Life
    5%
  • Directors &, Officers
    5%
  • Contract Wording
    5%
  • Construction Defects
    5%
  • MGA/MGU
    5%
  • Bad Faith/ECO
    5%
  • Ocean Marine
    5%
By Market
  • U.S. Market:
    70%
  • U.K. Market:
    20%
  • European Market:
    10%

Insurance vs. Reinsurance: 0/0%
Treaty vs. Facultative Reinsurance: 70/30%

Arbitration Experience

Number of Arbitrations

As Outside Counsel: 80

Lead Counsel Experience
Number of Arbitrations
30
Acted as Lead Counsel through the organizational meeting or the arbitration has only reached this stage and the resolution of significant pre-hearing motions.
20
Acted as Lead Counsel through to final award after completion of an evidentiary hearing of at least one full day and less than three full days regarding the substantive merits of the parties' dispute.
30
Acted as Lead Counsel through to final award after completion of an evidentiary hearing of at least three full days regarding the substantive merits of the parties' dispute.
Biography

Mr. Goldstein has been practicing law since 1980 in the insurance space and in reinsurance since 1985 at Mound Cotton where he worked closely with the late Gene Wollan in multiple arbitration hearings to award (and one very significant federal court trial and appeal); and then for over 20 years collaborated with Larry Greengrass as co-first chair at many hearings. Mr. Goldstein has been first chair/co-first chair in over 50 arbitration hearings to award and has argued multiple appeals in the federal circuit courts of appeal.

He has represented both cedants and reinsurers and has made law in many landmark decisions in the federal and state appellate courts. Those decisions involved: Statute of Limitations in reinsurance breach of contract disputes, the validity of pre-hearing security awards in arbitrations, compelling liquidators of insolvent insurers to arbitrate, late notice, expenses in addition to limits, and vacatur of arbitration awards. He also has obtained several recent significant discovery rulings in the federal courts concerning reinsurers' rights of access to cedants' claim files and cedants' reserving history.

Mr. Goldstein has handled complex reinsurance disputes involving all lines of business and types of claims including: asbestos bodily injury and property damage claims, long haul trucking claims, environmental claims, bail bond claims, accident, life, health, and workers’ compensation claims, accountants’ and broker’s malpractice claims, clergy molestation claims, directors and officers claims, finite risk reinsurance, ocean marine, title insurance, bankruptcy and insolvency issues, film financing, construction defect claims, and entertainment risks. These disputes have involved statutory and GAAP accounting, aggregation, late notice, LMX spirals, allocation, expenses in addition to limits, ex gratia payments, rescission, misrepresentations, and of course, follow the settlement issues, among many issues.

Mr. Goldstein also has authored multiple articles in insurance and reinsurance journals and has lectured on many insurance and reinsurance topics over the last 25 years.