Mary Beth Forshaw is a Partner in the Firm’s Litigation Department resident in its New York office.  She serves on the Firm’s Executive Committee and as Administrative Partner.  She represents clients in a wide range of commercial litigation with particular emphasis in the areas of bankruptcy, insurance, reinsurance, international arbitration and the financial industry.  Representative experience includes:

• Representation of Hanwha Group and ORIX Corporation in a billion dollar ICC arbitration arising out of the sale of Korea Life Insurance Company.  Following a ten day merits hearing, the Panel issued a unanimous award in Hanwha and ORIX’s favor, rejecting claims of fraud, misrepresentation and rescission.  
• Co-counsel in the defense of a national insurance company in a three-month trial relating to allocation issues conducted in New Jersey state court.  Ms. Forshaw’s client reached a favorable settlement after the close of testimony.
• Lead counsel in the defense of a national insurance company in a multi-billion dollar dispute against General Motors over coverage for several decades of asbestos and environmental claims.  Ms. Forshaw’s client was awarded summary judgment on all claims on the eve of trial.
• Representation of a Bermuda-based company in a several-week arbitration concerning automobile residual value accounting issues.  The arbitration panel entered a directed verdict in Ms. Forshaw’s client’s favor on several claims and the parties reached a settlement thereafter.
• Lead litigation counsel for Chapter 11 debtors and memory product manufacturer and distributor Qimonda North America and Qimonda Richmond in various adversary proceedings and evidentiary hearings matters relating to asset sales, fraudulent transfers and claims.
• Lead litigation counsel for Chapter 11 debtor Motor Coach Industries in various evidentiary proceedings concerning inter-creditor and supplier issues.
• Representation of a national bank in multiple litigations alleging fraud concerning municipal bond defaults.  Cases pending in various state courts in Alabama and New York.
• Representation of a national insurer in various asbestos-related bankruptcy proceedings, including In re ACandS, Inc., in which Ms. Forshaw’s client, as the sole objector, defeated ACandS’s proposed plan of reorganization.  The decision issued in this case is widely-cited and has become a roadmap for insurers contesting other reorganization plans.
• Representation of various insurers in CPR arbitrations arising under the Wellington Agreement, including a dispute over the availability of uncapped non-products coverage in which Ms. Forshaw’s client received a finding of no liability following a two-week hearing.

Ms. Forshaw has been named in The Best Lawyers in America, Legal 500, New York Super Lawyers and Euromoney’s Guide to the World’s Leading Insurance and Reinsurance Lawyers.

Ms. Forshaw received her B.A., magna cum laude, in 1984 from Barnard College, Columbia University, where she was elected Phi Beta Kappa.  She received her J.D. in 1989 from Yale Law School, where she was a member of the Yale Law & Policy Review and Director of the Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Project.  Ms. Forshaw sits on the Board of Directors of the Legal Action Center and serves on the Barnard College Athena Center Leadership Council.  Ms. Forshaw also sits on the editorial board of Insurance Law360. 

Publications

•	Insurance Law Alert, January 2012
•	Insurance Law Alert, December 2011
•	Insurance Law Alert, November 2011
•	Insurance Law Alert, October 2011
•	Insurance Law Alert, September 2011
•	Insurance Law Alert, July/August 2011
•	Global Warming Alert: United States Supreme Court Issues Ruling in Connecticut v. American Electric Power Company, Inc.
•	Insurance Law Alert, June 2011
•	Insurance Law Alert, May 2011
•	Supreme Court Finds the Discover Bank Rule Preempted by FAA
•	Insurance Law Alert, April 2011
•	The Japan Quake: How Should Insurers Respond When Cracks In The Supply Chain Lead To Contingent Business Interruption Claims?
•	Insurance Law Alert, March 2011
•	Insurance Law Alert, February 2011
•	Insurance Law Alert, January 2011
•	Insurance Law Alert, December 2010
•	The Supreme Court Considers Whether the FAA Preempts State Court Decision Holding Class Arbitration Waiver Unenforceable
•	Insurance Law Alert, November 2010
•	Insurance Law Alert, October 2010
•	Insurance Law Alert, September 2010
•	Delaware Court of Chancery Arbitration Provides Option for Delaware Parties to Resolve Disputes with Foreign Counterparties
•	Insurance Law Alert, July/August 2010
•	The Supreme Court Holds That Arbitrators, Not Courts, May Decide Challenges To The Enforceability Of Stand-Alone Arbitration Agreements
•	Insurance Law Alert, June 2010
•	Business Interruption Insurance in the Wake of the Gulf Oil Spill – What Insurers Can Do to Keep Slippery Claims at Bay
•	A Recall Wake Up Call
•	Insurance Law Alert, May 2010
•	The Supreme Court Vacates Arbitrators' Decision Allowing Class Arbitration Based Solely On Arbitrators' Own Policy Views
•	The Supreme Court Examines Whether Courts Must Decide the Enforceability of Arbitration Clauses Challenged as Unconscionable
•	Insurance Law Alert, April 2010
•	Insurance Law Alert, March 2010
•	Insurance Law Alert, February 2010
•	Insurance Law Alert, January 2010
•	The Supreme Court Considers Whether Class Arbitration is Permitted When the Arbitration Clause is Silent on the Issue
•	Insurance Law Alert, December 2009
•	Three Federal Courts Issue Back-to-Back Decisions Addressing the Viability of Global Warming Tort Actions
•	Corban v. USAA: Reinterpreting the Anti-Concurrent Causation Clause
•	The Supreme Court Allows Non-Signatories to Arbitration Agreements to Seek to Stay Claims under the Federal Arbitration Act
•	The Supreme Court Adopts Broader View of Federal Jurisdiction to Hear Motions to Compel Arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act
•	The Supreme Court Hears Argument Concerning the Ability of Non-Signatories to Arbitration Agreements to Stay Claims under the Federal Arbitration Act
•	The Supreme Court Considers the Extent of Federal Subject Matter Jurisdiction Under the FAA
•	Developments In New York Insurance Law: New York Joins States That Require Prejudice To Insurers For Disclaimer of Coverage Based on Late Notice; Allows Direct Actions Against Insurers
•	MDL Capital Management, Inc. v. Federal Insurance Company: Third Circuit Decision Highlights Significance of Professional Services Exclusion in D&O Insurance Policy
•	The Supreme Court Rules Against TV’s “Judge Alex,” Finding That an Agreement to Arbitrate Trumps State Administrative Process
•	Supreme Court Hears Argument in its Second Significant Arbitration Case this Term
•	Safeco Insurance Co. of America v. Burr: U.S. Supreme Court Clarifies Standard of Liability Under Fair Credit Reporting Act
•	Continental Casualty Company v. Employers Insurance Company of Wausau: New York Court Decides Significant Asbestos Coverage Issues Against Insurer
•	Global Warming Litigation and Insurance Coverage: Emerging Issues
•	Is Your D&O Policy What It Should Be?
•	Lost Policy Chapter, Insurance Coverage Litigation, West Publishing
•	Getting Maximum Protection From Your D&O Insurance
•	A Look at Directors and Officers Insurance Post-Enron
•	Landmark New York Court of Appeals Decision Limits Scope of Duty of Care in Negligence Actions and Application of Market Share Theory
•	Insurance Chapter, General Practice in New York (co-author), West Publishing
•	Modern Reinsurance Law and Practice (Contributor), Glasser LegalWorks

Speaking Engagements

•	Mary Beth Forshaw Speaks At Defense Research Institute’s Insurance Coverage and Claims Institute April 1, 2011

Admissions

•	Connecticut 1989
•	New York 1990
•	U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York 1990
•	U.S. District Court Southern District of New York 1990
•	U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit 1998
•	U.S. Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit
•	U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit 1998
•	U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit 1998
•	U.S. Court of Appeals, DC Circuit 1997

Education

•	Yale Law School, 1989 J.D. Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Project, Director; Yale Law & Policy Review (1986-1987)
•	Barnard College, Columbia University, 1984 B.A. magna cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa