Laura Evangelista joins firm’s Insurance Regulatory & Transactions and Financial Regulation & Compliance practices
NEW YORK – Jan. 22, 2020 – Laura E. Evangelista, formerly of the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS), has joined Greenberg Traurig, LLP as a Government Law & Policy shareholder. As Executive Deputy Superintendent for Insurance, she led the insurance division at the DFS. Evangelista focuses her practice on insurance and financial services matters, including regulatory and transactional issues. She will split her time between the global law firm’s New York City and Albany offices.
“The addition of Laura speaks to the firm’s commitment to proactively address the needs of our clients in this critical area of importance in state enforcement actions and regulatory investigations,” said Harold N. Iselin, managing shareholder of the firm's Albany office and Stephen L. Rabinowitz, managing shareholder of the firm’s New York City office, in a joint statement. “Laura joins a prominent team nationally and in New York, which includes Michael A. Berlin, who previously served as deputy attorney general for economic justice and special counsel.”
Evangelista has more than 25 years of diverse legal experience in the insurance industry. She joined DFS in 2016 as Deputy Superintendent for Insurance, moving to her most recent role in 2018. At DFS, Evangelista worked on policy initiatives, including formulation of regulations and industry guidance. She supervised all substantive insurance matters, including financial solvency examinations, market conduct examinations, and insurance company acquisitions. The insurance division regulates approximately 1,700 insurers with assets exceeding $4 trillion. Evangelista also served as a liaison to regulated entities, trade associations, and consumer groups on emerging issues and coordinated the department’s involvement with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
“Our collaborative culture and vision to work with clients in a variety of legal disciplines, serving as their one-stop shop of trusted advisors, is perfectly aligned with Laura’s wide range of experience,” said John L. Mascialino, who heads the firm's New York City Government Law & Policy Practice.
“Greenberg Traurig’s reputation in New York as well as in the world of insurance and financial regulation made this firm the right choice for me as I begin the next chapter of my career,” Evangelista said.
“Laura’s experience handling complex insurance regulatory and enforcement matters complements our growing team of insurance attorneys,” said Thomas J. Bond, co-chair of the firm's Government Law & Policy and Insurance Regulatory & Transactions practices, and a former Commissioner of Insurance for the State of Texas. Evangelista joins Fred E. Karlinsky in Florida, who co-chairs Greenberg Traurig’s Insurance Regulatory & Transactions Practice and Julie Mix McPeak in Tennessee, who is the former Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance and who also previously served as the Executive Director of the Kentucky Office of Insurance, among others.
Prior to her government work, Evangelista was a commercial litigator at national and regional law firms for 17 years, and served as legal counsel for a boutique international insurance broker and reinsurance intermediary for eight years.
Evangelista earned her J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law and a B.A. from Trinity College.
About Greenberg Traurig, LLP: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has approximately 2100 attorneys in 41 locations in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, diversity, and innovation, and is consistently among the largest firms in the U.S. on the Law360 400 and among the Top 20 on the Am Law Global 100. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law.
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