Dan Brown has joined Eversheds Sutherland as a partner in its newly opened San Francisco office. Courtesy photo
Eversheds Sutherland has brought on an insurance partner from McDermott Will & Emery, Dan Brown, to continue building the firm's new San Francisco office.
Eversheds launched the office in March with two partners who focus on transactions and technology. Now Brown, who advises insurance clients on regulatory and corporate issues, will add another practice to the office mix.
In an interview, Brown said that while he can't address specifics yet, he does expect others from his team at McDermott to join him and expects all of his clients to make the switch. "I'm optimistic that my team will join there," he said, adding, "with the complementary assets and growth in California, it's nice to be on the ground floor of that."
While he could not name the number of clients he has, Brown said his book of business is "typically around $3 million."
His insurance connections will likely complement other corporate practices in the office, with Brown noting the emerging trend of the increase in investment from private equity firms into insurance companies.
"Regulators have put a lot of emphasis on that this year, in terms of trying to figure out how they're going to regulate private equity perhaps differently from other ultimate controlling parents of insurance companies, primarily in the life space, but also in property-casualty," Brown said. "Those have been things that have driven change in the industry and for my clients."
Brown said one of his primary reasons to join Eversheds Sutherland, which formed in 2017 through the combination of U.K.-based firm Eversheds and U.S.-based Am Law 100 firm Sutherland, was to be a part of a "truly global firm with a large London footprint."
He said he was attracted to the international ability to help clients expand their insurance programs. "I was looking around about what's best for my clients," Brown said in an interview. "The footprint and the really deep expertise that the Eversheds Sutherland team has is going to be great."
A McDermott representative did not immediately return a message seeking comment on his exit.
Christine Simmons
Christine Simmons writes about the New York legal community and the business of law. Email her at [email protected]