Insurer Counsel in 2026: Four Firms on Both Insurance Deal Lists

A general counsel short-listing law firms for insurance companies can rank firms two ways: by every deal done for the insurance sector, or by deals that carry the insurance and reinsurance practice, whatever the client's sector. Sartori & Partners data show that four firms sit on both top-10 lists over the past 12 months. The sector list counts 802 insurer deals across every practice; the practice list counts 317 practice deals across every sector. A firm on both appears often on insurer work in general and on specialist insurance matters in particular. That is a narrower group than either list alone, and it is the first place to look when a mandate needs both.

The first list ranks firms by deals advised for the insurance sector, in any practice. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP & Affiliates heads it in the 41-60 band, followed by Debevoise & Plimpton and Sidley Austin, both in the 21-40 band.

The second list ranks firms by deals carrying the insurance and reinsurance practice, for clients in any sector. Debevoise & Plimpton heads it in the 11-20 band, with Wheeler Trigg O'Donnell and Clyde & Co next.

Counted name by name, the firms on both lists are Debevoise & Plimpton, Sidley Austin, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP & Affiliates and Willkie Farr & Gallagher. On the sector list they rank 2nd, 3rd, 1st and 6th. On the practice list they rank 1st, 6th, 5th and 4th. The other names on each list are firms that ranked in one count and not in the other over these 12 months; that says nothing about the work they do outside it. For an insurer, the overlap is a short list of firms that appear on both specialist and general insurer deals, which matters when one matter combines a coverage or regulatory question with a transaction.

The sector list opens in the 41-60 band and its last firm, Marshall Dennehey, sits in the 11-20 band. The practice list opens in the 11-20 band and closes with Reynolds Porter Chamberlain in the 6-10 band. The gap reflects the size of what each list counts, 802 sector deals against 317 practice deals, so a band on one list cannot be read against a band on the other. Counts are matters on record, including disputes drawn from public court records, and they measure activity, not fees.

Deal size separates the two pools as well. Values were disclosed on 20.4% of the sector's deals, with a median of US$750 million across all the sector's deals that disclose one. For the practice, 12.9% of deals disclosed a value and the median was US$400 million. The practice's deals are more often disputes, as the next section shows, and a dispute seldom carries a disclosed value. When a firm quotes its rank in insurance, ask which list it means: a place on the sector list and a place on the practice list measure different work.

In Sartori & Partners figures, 75.7% of the practice's deals, 240 of them, are insurance-sector deals. Seen from the sector, the practice appears on 29.9% of insurer deals. Capital markets lawyers appear on 27.1% and corporate and M&A lawyers on 25.2%. A deal can carry several practices and many carry none, so these shares overlap, are not added up and are not a ranking.

The type mix shows why. Disputes and investigations appear on 63.4% of the practice's deals against 30.2% of the sector's, and capital markets on 26.6% of the sector's deals. An insurer that buys only from the specialist bar is buying mostly dispute work, while its capital raises and acquisitions sit with other practices on the sector's deals. Staff a mixed mandate with both, and check who coordinates them.

The two deal readings move apart. In the Sartori & Partners deal records, insurance-sector deals held flat (+1.3%), at 793 in the settled 12 months against 783 the year before. Matters carrying the insurance and reinsurance practice rose 16.6%, from 259 to 302. All dated deals rose 10.6% over the same windows. There is no separate count for the practice's insurer deals alone, so these are two readings, not one.

Lateral hiring tells a quieter story. Moves recorded under the insurance practice held flat (+2.5%), 659 against 643, and partner moves held flat (+14.5%), 189 against 165, a gap inside the noise on counts this size. Lawyers whose own focus is the insurance sector changed firms less often: their moves fell 9.5%. For an insurer, the practical step is to ask a panel firm who will staff the matter and how many open insurance matters the proposed partner already runs.

40.2% of the insurance sector's deals were handled with lawyers in New York, and 22.9% with lawyers in London. Washington, DC follows at 13.6% and Chicago at 10.7%. One deal can involve lawyers in several cities, so the shares overlap and are never added.

London's 22.9% is the figure to note for a US insurer: that share of the sector's deals was handled with lawyers there, so a panel built only on US offices can miss it. Paris and Frankfurt each reach 3.9% and 3.6%. When a matter has a London or continental leg, ask the firm to name the lawyers in that office at the pitch.

Start from the overlap. The four firms on both lists, with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP & Affiliates heading the sector list and Debevoise & Plimpton heading the practice list, appear on both general insurer deals and specialist insurance matters. For a mandate that mixes the two, they are the first calls. For pure coverage or claims work, the practice list is the better guide, since 63.4% of the practice's deals are disputes. For capital raises and acquisitions, use the sector list. With practice matters up 16.6% and lateral hiring steady, confirm the team before signing: write named partners into the engagement and review the panel each year against both lists.