Media Mentions
2011
“Washington’s Best Lawyers”
Washingtonian, December 2011
Included in this assessment of “Washington’s very best legal talent” were McDermott DC office partners Margaret Warner (insurance litigation), Stephen Becker and Joel Freed (both intellectual property) and Blake Rubin (tax).
Stephen A. Becker PC, Joel M. Freed, Blake D. Rubin, Margaret H. Warner, Insurance, Intellectual Property, IP Litigation, Patent Prosecution, Tax
“9/11 Then & Now: Ten Years After the World Changed”
Washington Business Journal, September 9, 2011
Margaret Warner said that one important effect of the 9/11 terrorist attacks is that resulting litigation and arbitration over related insurance coverage set new precedents for handling liability insurance after a disaster. “Businesses have much, much better protocols in place to deal with disruptive events, and are much more attuned to risk management,” she stated.
“Judge Rejects Stay of Cases Opted Out of 9/11 Settlement”
New York Law Journal, March 28, 2011
Margaret Warner, counsel to the insurance fund for World Trade Center first responders and cleanup worker claims from the 9/11 terrorist attack, reported to a federal court status conference that the fund has paid out $27.9 million since a 2010 settlement was finalized. In addition, 8,663 plaintiffs have been enrolled and accepted in a MetLife policy provided for by the settlement and another 1,093 have applied for the policy.
Margaret H. Warner, Mass & Toxic Torts, Trial
“9/11 Plaintiffs Firm Is Ordered to Work with Conflicts Counsel”
New York Law Journal, March 15, 2011
“9/11 Plaintiffs’ Firm Must Work with Other Atty: Judge”
Law360, March 15, 2011
Margaret Warner and McDermott were noted for representing the WTC Captive Insurance Company established to pay claims related to the 9/11 World Trade Center attack, in stories about a controversy over whether a plaintiff law firm improperly removed litigants from the settlement of the over 10,000 World Trade Center worker litigation cases.
Margaret H. Warner, Mass & Toxic Torts, Trial
2010
“DC at Center of Large NY Case”
Legal Bisnow, December 13, 2010
Margaret Warner was profiled for her work as lead attorney for World Trade Center Captive Insurance Co. in the recent WTC claims settlement. The article noted that Ms. Warner and her team of core attorneys worked 80-hour weeks since the litigation began six years ago, and seven-day weeks every week for the past two years, adding that she is “no stranger to grueling cases … [that] are usually high-profile and involve tens or hundreds of millions …”
Margaret H. Warner, Insurance Disputes, Mass & Toxic Torts, Trial
“Over 95% of Plaintiffs Accept World Trade Center Settlement”
Economics Week, December 1, 2010
Margaret Warner said that the 95%-plus opt-in by plaintiffs in the 9/11 first responder/cleanup litigation settlement showed that they considered the settlement process “fair and transparent.” Ms. Warner observed of the settlement: “It was important that the compensation reflect the seriousness of the injuries claimed and the strength of the legal claim, while being transparent in all respects.”
Margaret H. Warner, Insurance Disputes, Mass & Toxic Torts, Trial
“World Trade Center Settlement Gets Backing Needed to Take Effect”
New York Law Journal, November 22, 2010
Margaret Warner, as lead lawyer for the federally funded World Trade Center Captive Insurance Co. that insures New York City and contractors against 9/11 illness and injury claims, said that crafting a settlement that more than 95 percent of claimants agreed to was “especially challenging given the emotional significance of the work done by all, plaintiffs and defendants, in aid of our country in those difficult days and months.” Ms. Warner called the settlement negotiation process “intense for all,” but added that “the numbers of people opting in show that the settlement we developed and the process to obtain compensation have been judged fair and transparent by those plaintiffs.”
Margaret H. Warner, Insurance Disputes, Mass & Toxic Torts, Trial
“Ground Zero Workers Drop Suits, Settle With City”
WNYW-TV, “FOX 5 News at 10,” November 19, 2010
Margaret Warner told FOX’s New York City affiliate about the difficult process of securing the agreement by World Trade Center first responders and cleanup workers to settle litigation against the city and its cleanup contractors. “We had heroes pitted against heroes in this very complex litigation,” Ms. Warner recalled, “the workers who came down and … handled the recovery against the city and contractors who answered the call and got New York up and running again.” Click here to view the full segment.
Margaret H. Warner, Insurance Disputes, Mass & Toxic Torts, Trial
“9/11 Rescue Workers’ $713M Deal Clears Last Hurdle”
Law360, November 19, 2010
Margaret Warner pointed out that more than 98 percent of Tier Four plaintiffs (those claiming the most severe injuries from their World Trade Center exposure) agreed to the settlement of 9/11 claims, adding that such a high acceptance “is a sign that the settlement is a fair conclusion to a very complicated and emotional piece of litigation.”
Margaret H. Warner, Insurance Disputes, Mass & Toxic Torts, Trial
“Ground Zero Workers Settle Suits Over Toxic WTC Dust”
FOX News Channel, “The FOX Report with Shephard Smith,” November 19, 2010
Margaret Warner, who represented the indemnity liability fund set up to cover illness claims from 9/11 first responders and cleanup workers, spoke to FOX national news about the agreement of more than 95 percent of those individuals to accept payment from the settlement fund. “There’s no admission of liability at all by the City or by any of the contractors,” Ms. Warner noted, “and equally there’s no need now for these people to have to go through the grueling process of proving the causation scientifically and medically associated with their claims.” Click here to view full segment.
Margaret H. Warner, Insurance Disputes, Mass & Toxic Torts, Trial
“D.C. Lawyer Wraps Up 6-Year 9/11 Case”
Washington Business Journal, November 19, 2010
Margaret Warner summed up her work on the World Trade Center settlement by saying, “I've been practicing law for 30 years, and in the six years of engagement, I've had to call on everything I've ever learned as a lawyer, and had to bring that to bear to try to work with my client and the plaintiff's lawyers, the court, the special master, to come up with this solution.” She added, “We had to try to come up with a way to settle the case that would allow for a fair, and just, resolution for all involved. And we believed we achieved that.” Ms. Warner noted that she will now continue her practice as head of McDermott’s Controversies Business Unit.
Margaret H. Warner, Insurance Disputes, Mass & Toxic Torts, Trial
“In Resounding Endorsement of $700 Million Deal – and Vindication of Plaintiffs Lawyers Who Pushed It – More than 95 Percent of WTC First Responders Opt In to Settlement”
AmLaw Litigation Daily, November 19, 2010
Margaret Warner assessed the final settlement of 9/11 World Trade Center claims, calling it “an appropriate conclusion to one of the most complicated pieces of litigation.” She noted of the final claimant response, “We believe that this opt-in percentage is one of the highest, if not the highest ever, in mass tort litigation.”
Margaret H. Warner, Insurance Disputes, Mass & Toxic Torts, Trial
“Big Suits”
The American Lawyer, September 2010
Margaret Warner was cited and pictured in American Lawyer’s “Big Suits” column concerning her work In re WTC Disaster Site Litigation. Judge Alvin Hellerstein approved a renegotiated settlement of lawsuits filed by plaintiffs who suffered respiratory and other illnesses following the 9/11 World Trade Center terrorist attacks. Ms. Warner, Mark Collins, Ryan Smethurst and Andrew Genz represented defendant, The WTC Captive Insurance Company, Inc.
Mark A. Collins, Andrew J. Genz, Ryan S. Smethurst, Margaret H. Warner, Insurance Disputes, Trial
Margaret Warner was cited in a June 24 New York Law Journal story on federal judge Alvin Hellerstein’s hearing that approved a renegotiated settlement of lawsuits filed by plaintiffs who suffered respiratory and other illnesses following the 9/11 World Trade Center terrorist attacks. Judge Hellerstein praised Ms. Warner, who represented the captive insurance fund for the settlement, saying that her “indefatigable energy and intelligence really drove the settlement.” Ms. Warner explained that 50 percent of the 10,000 plaintiffs in the litigation had the most serious health problems and are expected to receive 94 percent of the cash in the settlement, which could be up to $716 million depending on the number of opt-ins and future claims.
Margaret H. Warner, Insurance Disputes, Trial
Margaret Warner was quoted by the New York Law Journal on June 11 in a story that discussed a federal judge's approval of a renegotiated settlement of lawsuits filed by plaintiffs who suffered respiratory and other illnesses following the 9/11 World Trade Center terrorist attacks. Ms. Warner, who represents the third-party insurance fund established to indemnify New York City and contractors, said that after the judge's rejection of an earlier settlement, "My client gave me the clear, albeit challenging, instruction: find a way to hold this settlement together." She noted that those challenges included the fund's requirement to maintain a 25-year shelf life, and the varying individual exposure and illness levels at the Ground Zero site. AmLaw Daily also included mention of Ms. Warner in its June 10 report on the settlement approval.
Margaret H. Warner, Insurance Disputes, Trial
Margaret Warner was mentioned in an April 9 New York Law Journal story about efforts to reframe a settlement for respiratory illness claims of police, firefighters and cleanup workers at the World Trade Center (WTC) after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The settlement was rejected by a federal judge, who in part contended that it did not pay enough to current claimants. The story noted that many WTC contractors feel the settlement sets the right balance between paying current claims and handling future liabilities, and added that Ms. Warner, who represents New York City’s indemnity liability fund, had hailed that balance when the settlement was first announced.
Margaret H. Warner, Insurance Disputes, Mass & Toxic Torts, Trial
Margaret Warner was cited in a March 25 Law.com story about a federal judge’s rejection of a settlement for respiratory illness claims of police, firefighters and cleanup workers at the World Trade Center after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Among other points, the judge said that the third-party insurance fund established to indemnify New York City and contractors should pay the plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees in addition to the city’s legal fees. However, Ms. Warner, who represented the fund, said that the lion’s share of the city’s legal fees to date have come, not from the fund, but instead have been recovered from lawsuits that the fund filed against companies that sold the city insurance in the wake of 9/11.
Margaret H. Warner, Insurance Disputes, Mass & Toxic Torts, Trial
Margaret Warner was quoted in a March 15 Law.com story about the settlement reached in the respiratory illness claims of police, firefighters and cleanup workers at the World Trade Center after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Ms. Warner, who was lead attorney for the entity created to help New York City and contractors manage liability claims, called the case “the largest, certainly the most emotionally wrenching, most medically and scientifically novel and legally complex mass tort litigation in the country.” Ms. Warner, who had brought a lawsuit to impress upon insurers their obligation to pay the city’s defense expenses, added that the settlement was fair to those people who “picked up the pieces to allow this city to move beyond ground zero.”
Margaret H. Warner, Insurance Disputes, Mass & Toxic Torts, Trial
Margaret (Peg) Warner discussed an expected modest increase in 2010 business litigation for Law360 on January 1. Anticipating “a return to more normal commercial litigation patterns,” Ms. Warner said that companies are “assessing cost in a manner that is more aligned to what their business interests are now, as opposed to the fall of 2008 to 2009, where you saw a very steep slowdown and even stoppage in the willingness of companies to litigate.” She added that IP litigation and securities investigation work involving financial and commodities markets will be particular litigation growth areas.
Margaret H. Warner, Securities, Trial
2009
Margaret H. Warner was quoted on February 4 by Law360 in an article regarding whether federal funding should be provided for national catastrophe funds. Ms. Warner noted that the idea of a fund draws from an age-old insurance concept. "Any insurance-related mechanism is about spreading the risk. By definition, there is always going to be some type of subset subsidizing some others. That is the very nature of spreading the risk," she said. She added that because catastrophes are unusual, they may require an unusual solution. "There certainly are many unique aspects of catastrophes, and absolutely the extent of the resources that are called upon in these situations make it important to do things outside the norm. We have to find a mechanism to handle these large catastrophe situations so that there can still be an incentive to do business in some of these prone locations," she said.
Margaret H. Warner, Insurance, Trial
2007
Margaret Warner was profiled in "Sources Revealed: Trying Cases" published in the September 21 issue of the Washington Business Journal.
Margaret H. Warner, Insurance, Trial
Margaret H. Warner was quoted in a July 17 article published by the U.S. Newswire regarding the filing of a lawsuit against Mayor Michael Bloomberg and WTC Captive Insurance Co., Inc for misusing assets. Ms. Warner emphasized that WTC Captive was created to pay the injured workers claims. "The fundamental purpose behind the creation and funding of [the Captive] is to conserve and disburse its assets in an equitable manner that maximizes compensation to those parties who suffered damage as a result of the WTC site debris removal program," Ms. Warner said.
Margaret H. Warner, Insurance Disputes, Trial
2002
Margaret Warner was mentioned in the December 18 issue of Legal Times in regard to being named head of the Firm's Washington, D.C. office trial practice.
