Michael Halsband joins lawfirm Drinker Biddle & Reath

Insurance-linked securities (ILS) and capital market / reinsurance convergence focused senior executive Michael Halsband is joining law firm Drinker Biddle & Reath as part of the firm’s Insurance Transactional and Regulatory Team.

“As an insurance-focused deal lawyer, Michael broadens the capabilities of our internationally recognized Insurance Transactional and Regulatory team. He brings significant knowledge and experience to help our clients capitalize on the influx of institutional capital into the insurance and reinsurance industries,” said Neil K. Haimm, Chair of the Corporate and Securities Practice Group.

“We are extremely pleased to add a lawyer of Michael’s caliber, who has held senior positions at some of the world’s foremost financial institutions.”

Halsband has 25 years of broad leadership experience in insurance, reinsurance, investment banking and the insurance-linked securities (ILS) space. His work on transactions has focused on complex structured reinsurance transactions, products and entities; insurance-linked securities (ILS); sidecar and cat convergence fund formation and management; as well as distressed portfolio run-off administration and strategies. Halsband also advises clients on corporate and regulatory matters.

Prior to this appointment, Halsband founded and acted as President of the capital markets and ILS convergence initiative at Sirius Group, Sirius Capital Markets. In this role he was responsible for development and launch of a reinsurance convergence strategy, design and the structuring of third-party institutional catastrophe risk platforms.

Before his time at Sirius, Halsband was the Director of Capital Markets and Treasury Solutions at Deutsche Bank, where he was involved in the origination, structuring, execution and marketing of a range of ILS and catastrophe bond transactions.

Before that, Halsband was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs, working on origination, structuring, execution and marketing some of the earliest syndicated sidecars, ILS and cat bond transactions.

Before his move to ILS and investment banking, Halsband worked in the legal sphere, as North America General Counsel at Alea Group and insurance and corporate regulatory counsel at Centre Group. So with this move to Drinker, Biddle & Reath Halsband moves back to a more legal and regulatory focus on ILS and reinsurance convergence.

Halsband will expand the ILS capabilities and experience at Drinker Biddle & Reath, a law firm which looks set to increase its involvement in ILS convergence business.