© 2014 The Texas Lawbook.
By Brooks Igo
Staff Writer for The Texas Lawbook
(March 24) – Life does not always go as expected. And for Dallas-based Wick Phillips’ most recent addition, that is a very good thing.
Insurance law expert Erika Bright lateraled over to the ten-year-old full-service firm in late February after 17 “rewarding” years at Haynes and Boone, where she said she thought she would begin and end her career. It wasn’t until she got an itch to be more entrepreneurial that she considered moving elsewhere.
“I think many lawyers experience that same sense after a decade or more of practicing, but they become too comfortable and too afraid to act on it,” she said. “I did not want that to be my story.”
Bright, who also has a commercial litigation practice, said she saw something unique about Wick Phillips.
“The partners run the firm like a client-driven business, not a bureaucracy,“ said Bright, who will lead the firm’s insurance coverage practice. “In my view, firms that have energy, top-notch talent, lower overhead and a desire to compete are the current and future success model for the legal profession.“
The new Wick Phillips partner was recently lead counsel for a plaintiff in an international fraud case where she litigated and won a venue issue in six different courts, including the Texas Supreme Court and the U.S. District Court for the Second Circuit in New York. The case, originally venued in state court in Hereford, Texas, involved a failed $300 million ethanol plan that Bright says would have provided substantial benefits to the community had it been successfully completed.
“Because we were dealing with the complexities of discovery involving a German company (and trying to steer clear of German anti-spying legislation), we conducted depositions in Austria, London, Amsterdam, the U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt, and all across the U.S.,” she said. “The case resolved in 2013, leaving the trial team with incredible experiences and many frequent flyer miles.”
Bright said she expects construction insurance coverage and cyber-risks to be hot issues for corporate in-house counsel and risk managers in her practice area in 2014. She predicts there will be a significant need for counseling on drafting effective indemnities and insurance requirements as more and more companies try to manage risk on the front-end.
In addition to her private practice, Bright said she has had many rewarding pro bono experiences in recent years – including drafting wills for Veterans and handling uncontested divorces for people who cannot afford legal services.
“Pro bono works has allowed me to give back to the community, meet great people and learn a few new tricks,” she said.
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