Anderson Kill & Olick, P.C., the high-profile insurance recovery law firm, which lost 55 attorneys last year, announced today it has expanded by merging its national practice with Ventura, Calif.-based Wood & Bender LLP.

The firm said the merger, which became effective Thursday, adds 14 attorneys to Anderson Kill's group of 79 lawyers and adds a California location to offices in New York; Newark, N.J.; Philadelphia; Greenwich, Conn.; and Washington.

Wood & Bender has represented Fortune 500 companies, construction companies and financial institutions in insurance recovery matters since 1995, said Anderson Kill.

Nationally, the combined firms will retain the name Anderson Kill & Olick, P.C., while the practice in California will be Anderson Kill Wood & Bender LLP. All of Wood & Bender's attorneys will continue to work for the new entity.

In January 2008 Anderson Kill announced that 55 of its attorneys, including 26 of 69 partners or “shareholders,” were leaving to join the giant global law firm Reed Smith. Among those who left were Lawrence Kill, a partner and co-chair of the antitrust/unfair competition group, and Jeffrey L. Glatzer, the firm-wide president and chief executive officer. Anderson Kill said at the time that it was an “amicable departure.”

A spokesman for Anderson Kill said the expansion shows the success of a firm focusing on policyholder recoveries and having no ties to insurance companies.

Founding partner Eugene Anderson pioneered insurance recovery as a discrete practice area in 1969. The firm has represented large corporations, governments, charities, major religious and not-for-profit organizations, small companies and individuals.

The firm said that in addition to securing millions in recoveries it has worked with the nonprofit United Policyholders, filing over 250 amicus briefs that have been cited by numerous courts nationwide, including the United States Supreme Court.

Robert M. Horkovich, Anderson Kill managing shareholder, said in a statement that the Wood & Bender merger is a strong marriage of skills and cultures.

“The Anderson Kill brand always has stood for zealous representation of policyholders in a world in which many insurance companies assume they always hold the upper hand,” said Mr. Horkovich. “We are thrilled to join forces with a firm with such a strong track record whose practice, philosophy and strategies mesh so thoroughly with our own.”

David P. Bender Jr., managing partner of Wood & Bender, commented, “Combining with Anderson Kill will give us the best of both worlds–extended reach and resources without any of the conflicts or encumbrances that joining a large firm often entails. We are joining the best of our peers, who share our focus and our commitment to policyholders' interests.”

Wood & Bender attorneys joining Anderson Kill Wood & Bender include four partners: Mr. Bender, David E. Wood, David A. Shaneyfelt and Caroline R. Hurtado.

The Wood & Bender magazine “Enforce,” the journal of insurance policy enforcement, will now be produced by Anderson Kill Wood & Bender, the firms announced.

Anderson Kill said Wood & Bender's tag line “Settle For Everything” will now be adopted by the combined firms.

In addition to insurance recovery, Anderson Kill & Olick, P.C., offers solutions in anti-counterfeiting, complex commercial litigation, corporate transactions and securities, labor and employment, taxation, trusts and estates, and bankruptcy.

Anderson Kill said the merger permits Wood & Bender to offer high-level service in these practice areas to its clients.

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