Mark A. Bradford

Partner

  • Mark A. Bradford
  • Phone: +1 312 499 0175

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  • Duane Morris LLP
    190 South LaSalle Street, Suite 3700
    Chicago, IL 60603-3433
    USA

Mark A. Bradford represents reinsurers, insurers, banks, and other affiliated entities in complex, often multidimensional, litigation and regulatory actions, with an emphasis on consumer and rate actions or matters involving insolvent counterparties or counterparties operating near the zone of insolvency. He also works hand in glove with acquisition and sales teams to advise on litigation, reinsurance, insurance, and regulatory aspects of transactions.

On the litigation side, Mr. Bradford has experience leading multi-person trial teams and has achieved successful results for clients in a first chair trial capacity that on more than one occasion included recoupment of attorneys’ fees and costs for his client. He has successfully handled disputes in state and federal courts throughout the country and the State of Illinois. He has represented parties in arbitration, litigated post-arbitration confirmation and vacatur disputes, and also has served as a court appointed arbitrator. 

On the advisory and transactional side, Mr. Bradford regularly counsels reinsurers, insurers, brokers, lenders, and acquiring and selling institutions including on matters involving counterparties who are in receivership or near the zone of insolvency. He also advises on commutations, financial technology, UDAAP; non-deceptive financial and insurance advertising, sales practices, professional liability matters, legal ethics, and regulations pertaining to personally identifiable information.

Mr. Bradford serves as one of Duane Morris’s Loss Prevention Partners. In this capacity, he counsels attorneys within the firm on ethical and professional liability issues. 

Mr. Bradford is a 2004 summa cum laude graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, where he was Symposium Editor for the University of Illinois Law Review and elected to the Order of the Coif, and a 2001 graduate of the University of Illinois.

Areas of Practice

  • Reinsurance
  • Insurance
  • Financial Services
  • Financial and Insurance Regulation
  • Commercial Litigation
  • Professional Liability Litigation
  • Class Action Litigation
  • Arbitration

Representative Matters

    Litigation

  • First chaired federal jury trial, obtained zero liability verdict and successfully petitioned for a post-trial award of fees on behalf of owner of privately held business.

  • First chaired federal jury trial, obtained favorable verdict which was substantially less than final pre-trial demand on behalf of non-insurance subsidiary of multinational insurer in its capacity as a consultant.

  • First chaired federal evidentiary hearing and obtained sanctions on behalf of client against lawyer who filed frivolous racketeering complaint.

  • Member of victorious trial team that obtained zero liability award against multi-million claim pursued by liquidator of insolvent entity.

  • Successful appellate counsel on claim against broker.

  • Represented reinsurer in defense and resolution of class actions regarding sales practices pertaining to insolvent counterparty.

  • Represented reinsurer in proceedings initiated by Office of the Special Deputy Receiver on behalf of insolvent cedant.

  • Represented and obtained recovery for a counterparty in lawsuit against a receiver of an insolvent entity and an independent valuation appraiser.

  • Defended directors, executives, and counterparties in lawsuits brought by receivers of companies in liquidation.

  • Pursued and resolved expulsion claim on behalf of minority interest holder in limited liability company against majority interest holders.

  • Represented assuming and ceding companies in arbitration proceedings and handled post-arbitration confirmation and vacatur proceedings.

  • Regulatory and Transactional

  • Advised on insurance and regulatory aspects, as member of Duane Morris team, that represented seller of healthcare company.

  • Represented a reinsurance company in disputed claims with state regulators in their capacity as receiver for multiple insolvent insurance companies.

  • Represented state and nationally chartered banks in shared-loss disputes adverse to receivers for multiple insolvent financial institutions.

  • Advised on regulatory aspects pertaining to rebranding, marketing and co-branding with subsidiary companies.

  • Delivered advisory memorandum on issues related to lender credit during regulatory examination under the Community Reinvestment Act.

  • Delivered advisory memorandum on anti-money laundering, FATCA and other compliance issues on behalf of foreign bank seeking correspondent relationship.

  • Advised on issues related to retail installment financing.

  • Advised on corporate structure and issues related to potential alter-ego liability.

  • Developed E-Sign Act disclosures and advised on related management procedures.

  • Advised clients on issues related to maintenance and utilization of personally identifiable information under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and Regulation P.

  • Advised client on Electronic Fund Transfer Act as amended by Dodd-Frank Act and implemented through Regulation E.

  • Prepared marketing disclosures for insurance brokers and registered investment advisors.

Admissions

  • Illinois
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

Education

  • University of Illinois College of Law, J.D., summa cum laude, 2004
    - Symposium Editor, University of Illinois Law Review
    - Order of the Coif
  • University of Illinois, B.S., 2001

Honors and Awards

  • Listed in Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Stars, 2016–2019

  • Selected as an Emerging Lawyer, Emerging Lawyers, 2015

Professional Activities

  • The Chicago Lincoln American Inn of Court

  • The Lawyers Club of Chicago
    - Immediate-Past President, 2015-2016
    - President, 2014-2015
    - Secretary-Treasurer, 2013-2014
    - Board of Directors, 2012-2017

Civic and Charitable Activities

  • Chicago Legal Prep Mentorship Program
    - Team Coordinator, 2012-2014
  • University of Illinois Law Alumni Association
    - President, 2007-2012

Selected Speaking Engagements

  • Presenter, "Climate Change Litigation and the Evolution of Corporate Governance Policies," Presentation to Renaissance Re Executive Management Team, September 26, 2019

  • “Regulatory Activism and its Impact on the Insurance Industry,” CLE Presentation to Swiss Re, Armonk, New York, April 18, 2018

  • Speaker, "The UDAAP Trap: Managing Compliance for the Financial Industry LIVE Webcast," The Knowledge Group, November 15, 2016