menu
Profile
Margarita Echevarria
vCard vCard
Personal Information
Credentials
  • Attorney:
    Yes
  • Education:
    Rutgers-State University of New Jersey, Law School, Newark: JD
    Rutgers-State University of New Jersey, Newark College of Arts & Sciences: BA
    Admitted to practice in New York & New Jersey.
  • Designations:
    Mediator Training Certification, New York City Bar Association
    Arbitrator Training, ARIAS-US, FINRA, AAA, CPR

    Arbitrator and Mediator, American Arbitration Association (AAA), Commercial Panel; Member of FINRA Commercial Arbitration Panel; Member of Arbitration Panel of International Institute for Conflict Prevention/Resolution (CPR); Member of Arbitration Panel for Resolute Systems; Certified ARIAS-U.S. Arbitrator. NY & NJ Courts Mediator, USDC-NJ Arbitrator, Member of National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals-NY Chapter.
  • Languages:
    Spanish
Work Experience
  • Insurance Company: 37 years.
    Legal Department: 37 years. Legal Departments: Counsel, VP, at Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company (MBL) and GE Financial Assurance (GEFA). Corporate Secretary at GEFA. Workers Compensation Manager at MBL. Compliance Departments: Chief Compliance Officer, VP or SVP, Prudential, HSBC & TIAA.
  • Independent/Other Relevant Experience: 25 years.
    Other : 5 years. Mediator
    Independent/Unaffiliated Arbitrator, Umpire and/or Mediator: 20 years. Umpire
Breakdown of Experience
  • Contract Wording
    15%
  • Regulatory/Licensing
    10%
  • Life
    10%
  • Commercial Liability
    10%
  • Commercial Property
    10%
  • Workers' Compensation
    5%
  • Disability
    5%
  • Professional Liability/Errors &, Omissions
    5%
  • Personal Lines
    5%
  • MGA/MGU
    5%
  • Excess/Surplus Lines
    5%
  • Employment Practices Liability
    5%
  • Commutations
    2%
  • Construction Defects
    2%
  • Political Risk
    1%
  • Insolvencies
    1%
  • Accident & Health
    1%
  • Asbestos
    1%
  • Captives/Risk Retention Groups
    1%
  • Automobile Liability/Property
    1%
Mediation Experience
  • Number of Mediations
    As Mediator: 30
Arbitration Experience

Number of Arbitrations

As an Umpire: 1

Umpire Experience
Number of Arbitrations
1
Acted as an umpire through an evidentiary hearing of at least three full days regarding the substantive merits of the parties' dispute.
Biography

Margarita has worked in the insurance industry since 1979 as either in-house counsel or a Chief Compliance Officer for major multi-line insurance carriers and a global bank. In addition to the broad exposure to various products and markets required in her capacity as an insurance executive for these firms, her roles required advising the different operational and administrative units such as Product Development, Underwriting, Marketing, Policyholder Service, Claims, Licensing, Sales and Actuarial on their legal, regulatory, and contractual concerns. Her experience as an advisor included offshore programs, captive insurance, and online sales. Her roles also required active membership on several risk committees concerned with investment policy, business strategy, and operational risks such as the Asset & Liability, Operations Risk and Executive Committees. Her in-depth knowledge of the legal and regulatory requirements for insurers and insurance products facilitated her role as an adjunct professor of US Insurance Law at Seton Hall Law School.

Margarita is active in the Section on Dispute Resolution, Arbitration Committee of the American Bar Association having served as Membership Co-Chair, Women in Dispute Resolution having served as Co-Chair of the Regional Chairs, and a member of the Section on Dispute Resolution of the NY State Bar Association, currently serving as Co-Chair of the Securities Arbitration Committee for the Commercial-Federal Litigation Section. She is Vice-President of the NJ Association of Professional Mediators.

Admitted to practice in New Jersey and New York.

Number of Arbitrations: 94. Have been a sole arbitrator, wing arbitrator, or umpire. I have been responsible for organizational meetings, the evidentiary hearing and drafting a final Award.