Josh M Kantrow

JOSH M. KANTROW is a partner at Lewis Brisbois with a focus on computer and internet-related liabilities, including privacy, data security and technology litigation. He is an experienced litigator and savvy negotiator often retained by clients in crisis management situations. Josh also concentrates his practice in professional liability matters, with additional experience in bad faith and punitive damages matters. Clients frequently retain Josh on litigation throughout the United States involving high exposures and appreciate his ability to take over difficult cases and produce great results.

Josh’s previous experience managing claims enables him to view legal issues from the client’s perspective. Several years ago he was seconded to theLondoninsurance market where he worked directly with leading Lloyd’s claims and underwriting personnel to manage complex litigation, analyze claims, counsel on contract wordings, and assess risk. Josh also previously served for three years as outside counsel for a bedding manufacturer, managing claims and providing transactional advice.

Josh has been a featured speaker at approximately 35 seminars, including seminars conducted across the U.S.and in Europe. His recent presentations at major conferences have focused on data security and cyber liability issues, e-discovery and crisis management litigation strategies. Josh has been interviewed by Business Insurance and Metropolitan Corporate Counsel and also has published articles on cyber liability and litigation tactics.

Prior to moving to Chicago, Josh spent a semester in law school at the Université Aix-Marseille in Aix-en-Provence,France, in 1988; interned at the U.S. Claims Court inWashington,D.C., for a federal judge in 1989; and practiced in New Orleans for five years.

Practice Details

Cyber Liability

In the area of cyber liability, Josh has recently: (a) successfully defended a media network that provides interactive online advertisements in a high-exposure, high-profile cyber class action matter; (b) worked with counsel in Florida and Washington State to defeat the plaintiff's complaint against an online legal rating agency, upholding the client’s right to post its ratings of lawyers and doctors online; (c) negotiated the favorable resolution of a complex and highly publicized multimillion-dollar data theft claim against a technology service provider for slightly less than 20 percent of the value of the multi-million dollar claim, despite evidence demonstrating that the service provider was responsible for the loss. The claim, pursued by several major U.S. banks and credit card issuers, involved coordinated theft of data in transit from hundreds of automatic teller machines; and (d) won dismissal of claims brought by a putative class of 82,000 individuals against a health care service company alleging negligence and violation of the Stored Communication Act, Illinois Personal Information Protection Act, HIPAA and Illinois Consumer Fraud Act.  

Professional Liability

Josh handles a wide variety of professional liability coverage matters involving directors and officer’s (D&O) liability and fiduciary liability claims against professionals in the financial services, insurance, real estate, legal services and medical fields. As crisis management counsel, Josh defended foreign insurers in a complex professional liability coverage dispute against a involving a $25 million policy limit. Through aggressive litigation and savvy negotiations, Josh was able to attain a settlement at a significant discount off of the $25 million policy limits claim. He achieved a highly favorable settlement for another client in a D&O coverage dispute due to hisdiscovery of a policy defense that had been missed by the client’s former counsel. Josh also has a growing practice in professional liability defense.

Bad Faith and Punitive Damages

In the area of bad faith and punitive damages, Josh has: (a) first-chaired a first-party bad faithinsurance coverage trial for certain London market insurers in an unfavorable southern U.S. venue involving more than $25 million in claims. After trying the declaratory judgment phase of the case and obtaining significant rulings in his client’s favor, the case settled for a nominal amount; (b) assisted a Louisiana business association in convincing the Louisiana Supreme Court to reverse the award of punitive damages against a major refinery. This ruling has significant precedential value; and (c) as punitive damages counsel of record, worked with Kentucky counsel and two amicus organizations on briefs that convinced the Kentucky Supreme Court to overturn a $3.75 million punitive damages verdict against a hospital.