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Ex-Insurance Dept. Chief Rejoins Duane Morris
By Zack Needles
October 17, 2011
The Legal Intelligencer
After more than a decade away that included nine years as in-house counsel to an insurance holding company, a brief stint at Ballard Spahr and three-and-a-half years in state government, longtime Duane Morris partner Robert L. Pratter has rejoined the firm as of counsel.
Pratter, who served as acting insurance commissioner from August 2010 to January 2011 and, before that, as executive deputy general counsel for litigation under former Gov. Edward G. Rendell, will maintain a full-time practice focused on insurance litigation, regulation and transactional matters.
According to Duane Morris Chairman John J. Soroko, Pratter spent the first nine months of this year helping to transition in the current insurance commissioner, former Saul Ewing partner Michael F. Consedine, but the "plan was always to return to the private practice of law and to do so here" at Duane Morris.
Pratter, husband of U.S. District Judge Gene E.K. Pratter of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, began his legal career at Duane Morris in 1969 and was a partner at the firm for more than 25 years before leaving in 1999 to become senior vice president, GC and secretary of insurance holding company PMA Capital Corp.
He left PMA Capital in 2008 to join Ballard Spahr as of counsel in the business and finance department, but stayed only a few months before being appointed to the executive deputy GC post that same year.
Pratter said that while he has a "very high regard" for Ballard Spahr, he considered Duane Morris to be a better fit for his return to private practice.
"For me, the principal attribute Duane Morris has is a very well established insurance regulatory and business practice," he said, adding that there are still a lot of familiar faces at the firm from his previous tenure.
As for why Duane Morris was ready to welcome him back into the fold, Soroko said Pratter is "really part of the fabric of the firm."
"When he was not at the firm, he was a very prominent alumnus," he said. "He's a very skilled corporate and litigation lawyer and client counselor."
Soroko said he anticipates Pratter's in-house and government experience will be an asset to the firm.
Pratter said he believes that experience has given him a "well-rounded appreciation" of how law firms, corporate legal departments and government agencies approach the practice of law.
"I've sat in three different chairs and I have a lot of perspective on how these three sectors interact," he said.
As in-house counsel, Pratter said, he learned how public companies implement corporate governance and business ethics policies, as well as how they go about selecting outside counsel.
On the other hand, he said, working for the state helped him to understand the role regulators play and how they interact with businesses.
"I have a familiarity with those moving pieces and can be a bridge between clients and the state," he said.
One thing Pratter doesn't bring with him to Duane Morris from his time spent in government is a book of business, and he admitted rebuilding a client base would be a "slow and steady process."
But Pratter said he's confident he'll have plenty to contribute to the firm in the meantime.
"I will bring some bench strength to Duane Morris and help them further cement relationships with existing clients," he said. "I think, frankly, I will be looking to speak with others in the insurance community and in the general business community and hopefully that will lead to more clients."
Soroko said the firm has existing work to keep Pratter busy while he expands his client book.
"He's going to be calling on his set of contacts and we also had some assignments here that I think are going to be very good ones for him," he said.
Soroko also said Pratter may be able to assist in the firm's government relations work, but noted that was far from the main reason the firm brought him aboard.
"I think he's going to have great insights for our clients on the functioning of state government, having been there at such a high level," he said.
Pratter had a similar take.
"I don't consider myself a lobbyist," he said. "There's a difference between lobbying and being an adviser. I think where I have insight is how to successfully deal with governmental entities that regulate clients as well as what kind of approaches are helpful and not helpful and I think that relates to both litigation with the state and regulation by the state."
This article originally appeared in The Legal Intelligencer and is republished here with permission from law.com.
