David S. Osborne

Mr. Osborne focuses his practice on the representation of insurance companies. He has developed specialized skills in resolving complex coverage disputes, navigating the laws of many different jurisdictions and lines of coverage through careful case selection, counseling, negotiation, and litigation when initial measures fail to accomplish the client’s goals.

He has also briefed and argued numerous appellate matters outside the coverage context, principally focused on the defense of professionals and governmental entities. His broader appellate practice complements his concentration in insurance coverage litigation, because every phase of a coverage dispute, from the initial opinion forward, must be designed with a view to how the case will ultimately be framed and decided by a court of review. Mr. Osborne’s substantial and varied experience in this area is an invaluable resource for the firm’s clients in managing risk and plotting long-term strategic objectives.

Mr. Osborne is experienced in interpreting, litigating and drafting a wide range of insurance products, from commercial general liability and personal and commercial auto to excess, reinsurance, directors and officers, professional errors and omissions, trucking, maritime, personal and advertising injury coverage, additional insured endorsements, employment coverage, life insurance, employee dishonesty coverage, title insurance and private contractual indemnity agreements.

He has handled coverage disputes arising out of every imaginable type of litigated matter, from business torts and construction defect claims to mass tort, real estate, environmental liability, intellectual property, environmental and asbestos claims, and professional liability of physicians, psychiatrists, attorneys, insurance producers and title agents. He has advised clients regarding their rights and obligations under policies controlled by the substantive laws of California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin and the United Kingdom. Mr. Osborne also has specialized experience in bad faith, conflicts of interest and independent counsel issues, and is frequently called upon to advise the firm’s clients in avoidance of extra-contractual liability arising from such doctrines.

Mr. Osborne has handled more than 60 appeals in the state and federal courts of Illinois, involving primarily insurance coverage, but also subjects as wide-ranging as appellate legal malpractice, class certification and litigation, product liability, spoliation of evidence, paramedic liability, wage-and-hour claims and federal jurisdiction. His clients enjoy a very high rate of success on appeal. For each of the many outright victories won on behalf of his clients mentioned below, however, Mr. Osborne has resolved numerous disputes well short of full litigation, by convincing insureds and putative insureds to withdraw their tenders and avoid wasteful conflict. By presenting the best possible articulation of the client’s position at the outset and backing up his position statements with a long line of objective results, Mr. Osborne maximizes the possibility that the claim can be resolved fairly and favorably to the client without unnecessary delay and expense.

Mr. Osborne graduated cum laude from Washington University-St. Louis in 1993, majoring in economics and history. He attended law school at Northwestern University School of Law, graduating in 1996. He is admitted in the Illinois Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and the United States District Courts for the Northern, Central and Southern Districts of Illinois. He has also been admitted pro hac vice in a number of courts across the country. When he finds a break from his active litigation practice, he enjoys long-distance backpacking in the Rocky Mountains and the mountains of southern Appalachia, mountain biking, hunting and other outdoor pursuits.