Perkins Coie’s Selena Linde Selected by Business Insurance Magazine as one of 2012’s “Women to Watch”

Washington, D.C. Partner, One of Only Two Policyholder-side Law Firm Partners Recognized on Prestigious List

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Perkins Coie announced that Selena J. Linde, a Partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office and a member of the firm’s Insurance Coverage practice group, has been recognized by Business Insurance magazine as one of 2012’s “Women to Watch.” Each year since 2006, Business Insurance’s Women to Watch feature has recognized 25 women leaders doing outstanding work in risk and benefits management, commercial insurance and related fields. Business Insurance readers nominate candidates for Women to Watch and then the winners are selected by Business Insurance senior editors. Recipients are chosen based on recent professional achievements, influence on the marketplace, and contributions to the advancement of women in business. The list is open to women leaders worldwide. Linde is one of only two policy-side law firm partners recognized on the list this year.

“Selena is an outstanding member of our Insurance Coverage practice and is an incredible role model - not only for other women lawyers, but for all lawyers,” said Don Friedman, Chair of the firm’s Insurance Coverage practice group. “She is intensely committed to her clients and consistently goes ‘above and beyond’ to provide the level of client service for which Perkins Coie is known.”

“I’m very honored to join such an amazing group of industry professionals,” said Linde. “It’s extremely gratifying to be recognized for doing the work you love and working with clients that you respect. I hope that I can continue to ensure my clients get the advice and advocacy they need and to help pave the way for more women to succeed in the insurance industry.”

Linde is a nationally recognized leader in representing policyholders in insurance coverage disputes and a primary author and editor of the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Policyholder Primer on Insurance. Currently, Linde is representing Motors Liquidation Company (formerly General Motors [GM]) in a coverage case against more than two dozen of GM’s historical insurance carriers for environmental and asbestos liabilities. During her career, she has represented dozens of Fortune 500 companies and recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for her clients. Linde has been recognized by Benchmark Plaintiffs Litigation, the Definitive Guide to America’s Leading Litigation Firms & Attorneys as one of 11 National Litigation Insurance Stars (2012); named a “Local Litigation Star”, District of Columbia, Benchmark Plaintiffs Litigation, the Definitive Guide to America’s Leading Litigation Firms & Attorneys (2012); and was one of Diversity Journal’s “2012 Women Worth Watching.”

Linde received her J.D. from University of Virginia School of Law and her B.A., with highest distinction, from George Mason University. Prior to law school, Linde worked for Senator Edward Kennedy in his Judiciary Office, where she assisted with the nomination hearings of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Perkins Coie’s Insurance Coverage Litigation group is comprised of 45 attorneys who have helped shape pro-policyholder law in nearly every jurisdiction in the United States. This year alone, the group is handling three coverage cases for clients with losses of more than one billion dollars. Our attorneys have a broad range of experience and a record of success in enforcing policyholders’ rights to coverage under almost every type of commercial insurance policy for a wide spectrum of losses and liabilities. We have negotiated with, and litigated against, every major insurer in the domestic insurance market as well as in the London and Bermuda insurance markets. Our group has extensive experience with various major industry captives, such as O.I.L., AEGIS, ICI Mutual and Forest, among others. We have represented the leading companies in almost every industry, including Fortune 500 and Global 500 companies, as well as public sector policyholders.

About Business Insurance:
In print, online and in custom e-mail news alert products, Business Insurance reports on risk management, risk financing, employee benefits management and workers compensation. Business Insurance is read by corporate risk and benefit executives as well as financial and administrative executives. Its audience also includes insurance brokers, agents, consultants, insurers, reinsurers and others concerned with corporate insurance, risk management, alternative risk financing, employee benefits, workers compensation and reinsurance.

About Perkins Coie:
Founded in 1912 in Seattle, Perkins Coie has more than 850 lawyers in 19 offices across the United States and Asia. The firm is celebrating its 100th anniversary of representing great companies ranging in size from start-ups to FORTUNE 50 corporations.