Syed serves as the head of the firm’s insurance coverage practice. He has been admitted to the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, US District Court for the District of Columbia and US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. 

Relevant Experience

• Represented cedent in eight-day jury trial involving facultative reinsurance and disputes over allocation, primary policy limits, and umbrella policy coverage for defense costs.
• Advised clients on COVID-19 insurance claims for business interruption, contingent business income (CBI), extra expense, civil authority, ingress/egress, D&O, and general liability coverages.
• Represents clients in connection with disputes involving general liability, errors and omissions, and directors and officers policies, including coverage issues arising out of multi-district litigation related to claims from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
• Advises clients in connection with product recall incidents, including claim submission, claim adjustment inquiries, indemnity payments, settlement negotiations, and coverage disputes.
• Counsels clients in connection with commercial property claims and litigation, including claims arising from the World Trade Center Attack and claims related to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
• Represents clients in matters involving coverage for professional liability claims, including in litigation involving large nursing home care provider and several other insurers.
• Counsels clients concerning allocation of coverage among excess and primary carriers, including the availability of coverage for tens of thousands of asbestos lawsuits for multiple insureds and related entities.
• Advises clients seeking product contamination and food recall insurance, and manuscripts endorsements.

• Represents clients in multi-million dollar reinsurance disputes in litigation and arbitrations involving follow the fortunes and follow the settlement doctrines, allocation disputes, rescission claims, and notice obligations.
• Secured anti-suit injunction for client in litigation arising from contamination and FDA recall incidents.
• Counsels clients in reinsurance recovery efforts under facultative and treaty business.
• Advises clients in connection with bad faith and extra-contractual claims related to insurance and reinsurance claims.
• Represents clients in various business matters, including tortious interference claim and contractual disputes.
• Represented client in insurance dispute in successful appeal to Ohio Supreme Court, which resulted in decision clarifying Ohio law on application of statute of limitations for professional liability claims.
• Advised manufacturer on resolving disputes related to recall insurance policies governed by New York law.
• Obtained summary judgment in client’s favor in dispute involving late notice issues under liability policy based on Georgia law.
• Successfully resolved claim involving additional insured coverage under liability policy governed by New York law.

Bar Admissions

• Virginia
• District of Columbia

Education
BS, George Mason University, 2000

• Represents clients in connection with disputes involving general liability, errors and omissions, and directors and officers policies, including coverage issues arising out of multi-district litigation related to claims from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
• Counsels clients in connection with commercial property claims and litigation, including claims arising from the World Trade Center Attack and claims related to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
• Represents clients in matters involving coverage for professional liability claims, including in litigation involving large nursing home care provider and several other insurers.
• Counsels clients concerning allocation of coverage among excess and primary carriers, including the availability of coverage for tens of thousands of asbestos lawsuits for multiple insureds and related entities.
• Represents clients in multi-million dollar reinsurance disputes, including in litigation and arbitrations.

• Member, Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee, Section of Litigation, American Bar Association
• Member, Section of Torts, Trial, and Insurance Practice, American Bar Association
• Member, Continuing Legal Education Committee, District of Columbia Bar

• Named to “Under 40 Hot List” by Benchmark Litigation, 2017

• Year in Review: Top Insurance Cases of 2020

  By Syed Ahmad |January 2021

• Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog: Updates, Analysis and Breaking News for Commercial Policyholders

  By Syed Ahmad |December 2020

• Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog: Updates, Analysis and Breaking News for Commercial Policyholders

  By Syed Ahmad |November 2020

• Insureds Find Place to Roost in Foster Poultry Contamination Case, Westlaw Journal
• Fear of the Unknown Cause of Contamination, Food Safety Magazine
• Insurance Coverage for Employee’s Claims, Lodging Magazine
• Cosby’s Coverage Dispute Has Ramifications for Many Policyholders, Corporate Counsel
• The Privilege of Cooperation: What Insurers and Insureds Need to Know About Preserving the Privilege, FC&S Legal
• Court Resolves Reinsurance Limits Dispute Based on Contract’s Unique Terms, Law360
• Protecting Company Assets With Cyber Liability Insurance, Mealey’s Data Privacy Law Report
• How Your CGL Policy May Help with Trademark Infringement Litigation, Risk Management Magazine
• The Bad Faith Exception to the Prejudice Requirement Does Not Represent New York Law, ARIAS – U.S. Quarterly
• Guest Post: Court Requires Insurers to Advance Insureds’ Defense Costs, The D&O Diary
• Now You See It (Now You Don’t?) – Recent Insurer Efforts to Void Coverage Based on New York Rescission Law, FC&S Legal
• A Primer On Insurance Coverage For Food Contamination Losses, Food Logistics
• Collateral Estoppel as an Offensive Litigation Tool, Corporate Counsel
• Hearsay: An Expanded Residual Exception or More of the Same?, Daily Business Review
• As good as new? Rule 407 and subsequent policy modifications, Westlaw Today
• To Offset or Not to Offset: The Interaction between CARES Act Payments/PPP Loans and Insurance Recoveries Due to COVID-19, Business Law Today
• Ensuring Equity in Private Equity Insurance Coverage: The Top 5 Coverage Issues Private Equity Investors Should Consider, Bloomberg BNA Securities Regulation & Law Report
• The Importance of Insurance Coverage for Commercial Drone Operations, Unmanned Aerial
• Insurance for Product Recall Expenses, American Bar Association, Section of Litigation
• My Insurance Company Is Bankrupt, But Is Reinsured. Can I Make A Claim Directly Against The Reinsurer?, Insurance Coverage Law Report
• Assessing USF&G’s ‘Objective Reasonableness’ Standard: An Alternative View, AIDA Reinsurance and Insurance Arbitration Society (ARIAS)
• Considering Disclosure Risks In Sensitive Product Recalls, Law360
• Arbitration Of Insurance Disputes: Functus Officio and The Clarification Exception
• Lessons from 'Deflategate': Drafting the right arbitrator picks, InsideCounsel
• The Rescission Trap: Don’t Let Product Recalls Contaminate Your Coverage, Corporate Counsel
• Delaware Court Weighs In on the CID Coverage Debate
• On the Record: The Importance of Issue Preservation Throughout Litigation, Virginia Lawyer Magazine
• Direct Evidence Of Loss Or Damage May Be Unnecessary To Obtain Coverage For Losses Due To COVID-19, Mealey’s Litigation Report: Insurance
• If Information Is Available Online and No One Accesses It, Was It a “Publication” for the Purpose of Insurance Coverage for Cybersecurity Loss?, Bloomberg BNA Privacy and Security Law Report
• Outside Counsel Statements and the Party Exception to Hearsay, ABA Litigation - Pretrial Practice & Discovery
• Long-Term Professional Liability Cases: Who Is Responsible For Nursing Home Claims?, Casualty Insurance Committee Newsletter, No. 5
• Representations and Warranties Insurance Claims & COVID-19, Insurance Coverage Law Center
• New York High Court Accepts 2nd Circuit’s Certified Question on Important Reinsurance Limits Issue, Westlaw Journal Insurance Coverage
• Protecting Company Assets With Cyber Liability Insurance, LexisNexis Legal News, Mealey's Emerging Insurance Disputes, Volume 22, Issue 07
• Guest Post: Del. TIAA Case May Reshape Disgorgement Claims Coverage, Law360
• For Big-Number Settlement Negotiations, Excess Insurers Cannot Take a Back Seat FC&S Legal
• Second Circuit Reminds Consumer Product Companies That Insurance Options Exist For Big Data Blunders and Privacy Faux Pas, FC&S Legal
• Running Out the Clock: The Period of Limitation in COVID-19 Insurance Lawsuits May Soon Come to an End, Insurance Coverage Law Center
• Let’s Make a Deal: Four D&O Coverage Issues to Consider in M&A Transactions, Business Law Today
• Court Refuses to Dismiss Claims in RWI Lawsuit, Business Law Today
• Courts Continue To Assess Insurance Policies’ Unique Terms, Law360
• “Insurance Law in the District of Columbia,” The District of Columbia Practice Manual 2018 Update
• “Insurance Law in the District of Columbia,” The District of Columbia Practice Manual 2020 Update
• No Mask, No Service – Evolving COVID-19 Orders May Support Insurance Coverage for Retailers’ Losses, HarrisMartin
• When communications with public relations firms are privileged, Westlaw Journal
• Just Because? COVID-19 Coverage under General Liability Insuring Agreements, Insurance Coverage Law Center
• Practical Advice for a Successful Legal Hold Program, American Bar Association Technology for the Litigator Newsletter
• Ensuring Equity in Private Equity Insurance Coverage: The Top 5 Coverage Issues Private Equity Investors Should Consider, Bloomberg BNA Mergers & Acquisitions Law Report
• The Myth of Bellefonte No More, Mealey's Litigation Report: Reinsurance
• When Worried About Collusion, Insist on Independent Counsel, Originally published in Texas Lawyer, also published in Corporate Counsel
• Managing evolving risks through liability insurance, Financier Worldwide
• The Disparagement Dilemma: Insurance Coverage for the Defense and Indemnity of Product Disparagement Claims, Corporate Counsel
• Priority Of Coverage Lessons From 2nd Circ. Insurance Ruling, Law360
• Representation and Warranty Insurance and the Collateral Source Rule, Insurance Coverage Law Center
• Policy Provisions Bolster State Biz Interruption Laws, Law360
• Examining the Restatement of the Law, Liability Insurance, Risk Management Magazine
• Bellefonte: The Tide Continues to Turn, Westlaw Journal Insurance Coverage
• The Duty to Settle and Its Variations, Insurance Coverage Litigation Newsletter, ABA Section of Litigation
• NY’s Highest Court Rejects Expansion of Common Interest Doctrine and Upholds Narrow Privilege Rule, Corporate Counsel
• Exploring all available sources of insurance coverage, Financier Worldwide
• 2016 Retail Industry Year in Review
• Hurricanes Highlight Need for Contingent Business Interruption Insurance, Risk Management
• Understanding Coverage Options for Cyber Threats, ABA Banking Journal
• The USF&G (Western MacArthur) Case: Key Takeaways, Westlaw Journal Insurance Coverage
• How Retailers Can Protect Themselves Against Mobile Payments Risks, Internet Retailer
• Calif. Ruling Creates Uncertainty For Long-Tail Claims, Law360
• Considerations In Structuring Private Equity D&O Coverage, Law360
• Key Questions for Financial Institutions Seeking to Maximize Insurance for “Cyber” Risks, FC&S Legal
• Representations & Warranties Insurance and Privilege, FC&S Legal
• Recall Roundup: October, National Law Review
• Novolex Case Brings Lessons On R&W Insurance, Law360
• Navigating through proof of loss requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic, NU Property Casualty
• Preserving insurance assets in M&A deals: South Carolina high court validates post-loss assignment of rights under insurance policies, Westlaw Today
• Del. Solera D&O Decision May Have Limited Impact, Law360
• Protecting Against Product Recall and Food Contamination Losses Through Insurance, Food Manufacturing
• NY Cedents Enjoy More Protection And Authority, Insurance Law360
• Three Key Things in Health Care
• 2019 Retail Industry Year in Review
• 2020 Retail Industry Year in Review