Jonathan Reid Reich is an insurance trial lawyer. He has represented clients in all stages of litigation. Among recent matters, he tried a two-week jury trial in federal court and obtained a judgment that was approximately 3 times higher than the highest settlement offer.  He has been counsel of record in several cases which have been recognized among the most important insurance cases in North Carolina between 2014 and 2023. He is the editor/co-author of Womble Bond Dickinson’s North Carolina Insurance Desk Reference e-book and was a co-founder and co-author of All Risks Covered, Womble’s blog regarding developments in corporate insurance, primarily in the Carolinas. He has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America in the fields of Insurance Law and Class Action defense for multiple years.

Jonathan's diverse litigation practice ranges from complex commercial and business litigation involving fraud and unfair business practices to defending products liability, wrongful death, and catastrophic personal injury cases. He defends class actions in state and federal court, and represents clients in North Carolina Business Court. Jonathan also represents financial planners and registered investment advisors in FINRA arbitrations.

A significant amount of Jonathan’s practice is devoted to insurance coverage and bad faith, insurance procurement, and subrogation matters. He has tried statutory bad faith claims to a jury. He has represented insurers' industry-specific unique commercial litigation matters (such as fraud investigations and post-merger litigation) and reinsurance brokers in commercial litigation. Jonathan is one of the few lawyers with experience litigating captive insurance matters, and served on the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Captive Insurance Association for five years. Jonathan also assists companies with insurance regulatory issues before the North Carolina Department of Insurance. He has been quoted, interviewed or cited by BloombergNorth Carolina Lawyer’s WeeklyInsurance Business AmericaInsurance JournalSelf-Insurer (the magazine of the Self Insurance Institute of America), the Triad Business Journal and The D&O Diary.

Publications and Presentations

Publications

  • "The Spectacular Fall of FTX: Considerations About Crypto Custody and Insurance," Insurance Journal (November 15, 2022)
  • "Coronavirus—Business Insurance Policies Which May Apply," Co-Author with Cal Adams and Lisa Bondurant (March 2020)
  • "Ancient Documents Exception Could be Ancient History," Law360 (May 2016)
  • "Business Judgment Rule Rebutted When Bank Officers Failed to Follow Procedures," Professional Liability Underwriting Society Journal, Vol. XXVIII, Number 12 (December 2015)
  • "A Rare Insurance Defendant Class Action in Ohio," Law360 (November 2015)
  • "North Carolina Studying Drug Formularies in Workers' Comp Claims," Insurance Journal (November 19, 2015)
  • "What is Portable Electronics Insurance and Who Needs It?" North Carolina Bar Association Insurance Law newsletter, Vol. 2, No. 2 (April 2015)
  • "The Federal Courts Jurisdiction and Venue Clarification Act of 2011," 59 The Federal Lawyer (magazine of the Federal Bar Association) 27 (July 2012)
  • "The Class Defense: Why Dispersed Intellectual Property Defendants Need Procedural Protections," Duke Law and Technology Review, 2010 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 009
  • "Builders Vs. Dragas- An Important Reminder for Insurers," Law360 (November 2012)

Presentations

Professional Activities

North Carolina Bar Association 

  • Appellate Rules Committee

Honors and Awards

  • Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America (BL Rankings) in the fields of Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants, Insurance Law, 2018 – Present
  • 2015 Winston<40 Leadership Award, Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce

Experience

Any result the lawyer or law firm may have achieved on behalf of clients in other matters does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients.

  • Representing London-market insurer in multi-million dollar litigation involving international expatriate medical insurance policy.
  • Representing technology and science companies in disputes with insurers.
  • Insurance fraud investigations and litigation on behalf of insurance companies.
  • North Carolina counsel for one of the largest insurance brokers in all significant errors and omissions claims.
  • Representation of firearms company in accidental discharge wrongful death and catastrophic personal injury and products liability litigation.