RJ is a member of the firm and also serves as the firm’s Chief Development Officer. Prior to joining MGC, he was a founding partner and, for nearly 20 years, the managing partner of an AmLaw 200 firm. In his role as Chief Development Officer of MGC, RJ brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to help guide the firm’s strategic initiatives and best practices. In his prior role, he was an instrumental leader in the development and implementation of his firm’s strategic vision, as well as its geographic expansion and evolution.

An AV preeminent-rated litigator with more than 30 years of experience, RJ is admitted to practice in state and federal courts in New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Connecticut and North Carolina, including the United States Courts of Appeals for the Second and Third Circuits, is admitted before the United States Supreme Court and is a former registered foreign lawyer in the United Kingdom. His practice primarily involves sophisticated insurance coverage and bad faith matters, reinsurance as well as D&O and E&O litigation. RJ is a highly-credentialed lawyer, having been named to Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers and Business First’s Legal Elite many times. He was also named annually as one of the most influential business leaders in the Western New York region, where he lived and worked prior to joining MGC. RJ is a former national co-chair of the DRI Insurance Company Relations Subcommittee, and has served on the steering committees of both the Insurance Law and Life, Health & Disability sections. He is also a former chair of the National Committee of CLM, and is a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel, the Professional Liability Underwriting Society and the Professional Liability Defense Federation. RJ has also been inducted into the American College of Coverage Counsel, is a longstanding Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a former lecturer and instructor with the CPCU Society. He was a featured speaker at the 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 CPCU Annual Meetings.

RJ is a former champion physique competitor. He can also juggle, walk on his hands, make balloon animals, ride a unicycle and draw, which makes him a hit at birthday parties for his nine kids.

Practice Areas

  • Insurance Coverage
  • Litigation
  • Professional Liability

Education

  • State University of New York at Buffalo Law School (JD, cum laude)
  • State University of New York at Buffalo School of Management (BS, with distinction)

Professional Memberships

  • Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (National Committee, Former Chair)
  • Defense Research Institute (Law Practice Management Committee and Co-Chair of Programming, 2013; Construction Law Committee - Construction Insurance Coverage Specialized Litigation Group Chair, 2008–2010; Insurance Company Relations Subcommittee Vice Chair, 2000–2004; Life, Health and Disability Insurance Committee Membership Chair, 2000–2002; Insurance Law Committee: Professional Liability Insurance Specialized Litigation Group)
  • American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel (Fellow)
  • International Association of Defense Counsel
  • American Bar Foundation (Fellow)
  • Professional Liability Underwriting Society

Bar Admissions

  • 2013 North Carolina
  • 2014 Illinois
  • 2013 Connecticut
  • 1991 New York
  • U.S. District Courts for the Western, Southern, Eastern and Northern Districts of New York
  • 1989 Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second and Third Circuits
  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • Registered Foreign Lawyer in England and Wales

Awards

  • Best Lawyers in America - Insurance Law (2014–2021 and 2023)
  • Business First‘s Legal Elite of Western New York - Legal Leader (2013–2020)
  • Upstate New York Super Lawyers (2007–2020)
  • Business First‘s Power 250 (2016–2019)
  • Business First‘s C-Level Executive Award (2017)
  • American Lawyer Media and Martindale-Hubbell - Top Rated Lawyer in Litigation (2014)
  • American Lawyer Media and Martindale-Hubbell - Top Rated Lawyer in Insurance Law (2013)
  • Super Lawyers - Corporate Counsel Edition
  • Business First‘s Legal Elite of Western New York - Insurance
  • Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating: AV Preeminent

Publications