WRF Expands Insurance Practice

October 9, 2002

Washington, DC—Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP is pleased to announce the continued expansion of its pre-eminent 40-lawyer Insurance Practice with the addition of two experienced attorneys, William E. Smith and David H. Topol, who join the firm as Of Counsel.

William E. Smith rejoins the firm following a three-year period as Associate Litigation Counsel at WorldCom’s Washington office where he handled domestic and international commercial litigation, consumer class actions, and government contract litigation. At WRF, he will concentrate his practice on representing clients in complex civil litigation matters. Mr. Smith has particular experience representing insurance carriers in coverage actions and telecommunications carriers in complex litigation and arbitration proceedings. Prior to working at WorldCom, Mr. Smith was an associate with WRF for six years. Mr. Smith graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School.

David H. Topol joins the firm with more than ten years of legal and management consultant experience. He most recently worked with McKinsey & Co. providing strategic counsel to major corporations. From 1997 to 2001, Mr. Topol served as a trial attorney in the Environmental Enforcement Section of the U.S. Department of Justice arguing cases under the Lead Hazard Reduction Act, the Clean Water Act and other environmental laws. In 1999, he received the Attorney General’s award for outstanding contributions by a new employee. Mr. Topol’s practice will focus on matters related to directors and officers liability insurance. After graduating from Yale Law School where he was Executive Editor of The Yale Law Journal, Mr. Topol served as a law clerk for Judge A. Raymond Randolph in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

According to Thomas W. Brunner, head of WRF’s Insurance Practice, "The addition of Bill and David increases the firm’s capacity to represent some of the top insurers in the nation. Our goal is to continually recruit attorneys that offer our clients extraordinary legal services."