- United States
- Offices
- New York
RPC is opening its first US office in New York with Scott Schechter, an insurance coverage partner hired from US firm Kaufman Borgeest & Ryan, according to Legal Business. The firm said the launch responds to "growing client demand for cross-border advice on high-value, multi-jurisdictional claims involving US exposures."
Schechter will help build a New York insurance team that works with colleagues in the UK, Singapore and Hong Kong, PR Newswire reported. Simon Laird, RPC's global head of insurance, said Schechter's "depth of expertise and understanding of the US market" would help the firm provide consistent advice across jurisdictions. Managing partner Antony Sassi called the office "an exciting development for our global insurance practice, developed in response to client demand."
DAC Beachcroft, Clyde & Co and Kennedys built US bases first
RPC follows several London-rooted insurance firms into the US market. DAC Beachcroft opened offices in New York and Los Angeles on 1 January 2025, with 30 professionals, including four partners, joining from two US firms to meet demand for its insurance work, Insurance Business reported. Clyde & Co merged with Dallas firm Tillman Batchelor to expand its North American insurance practice after hiring partners in New York and Chicago, according to Reinsurance News. Kennedys added more than 40 US attorneys in the first half of 2025 after North American revenue rose 22% year on year, per Insurance Business. Broadfield opened its first US office in New York on 30 July 2025, Broadfield said. These openings sit alongside other US legal market news.
RPC had handled US work through referrals. In 2021, it launched the Global Access Lawyers network with US member Hinshaw & Culbertson, The Lawyer reported. The New York office takes RPC from referring US work to competing directly for instructions from US insurers.
RPC's insurance platform spans London, Singapore and Hong Kong
The US move follows a period of expansion under Antony Sassi, a Hong Kong and England and Wales litigator who succeeded James Miller as global managing partner on 1 May 2025 after the firm shifted its regional focus toward Asia and insurance, Law.asia reported. RPC's Singapore office has grown nearly ten-fold to 31 people. Hong Kong is its largest regional office, with 65 people, RPC said.
The firm has been adding lawyers in the same practice areas in London. It hired Tom Mungovan as a financial lines and D&O partner from DWF, Law Society Gazette reported. It also hired cyber specialist Ed Lewis from Weightmans with two associates, per Global Legal Post. In Singapore, it appointed Sumyutha Sivamani to lead cyber insurance growth across Asia, Australasian Lawyer reported. Schechter brings the same focus to New York.
Financial lines and cyber coverage anchor the New York office
The launch focuses on insurance coverage, financial lines and cyber, PR Newswire reported. These are the areas where the firm sees most US-exposed cross-border claims. The US private D&O market remains soft, with low rates and ample capacity. Carriers are tightening underwriting with bankruptcy and insolvency exclusions because of financial-stress risk, Ryan Specialty reported. That continues to generate coverage disputes. US cyber rates are rising modestly as AI makes threats more complex, Amwins reported. New York also issued cybersecurity guidance addressing AI threats in 2026, per Louis Law Group, adding regulatory complexity and increasing demand for breach-response and coverage work.
RPC joins DAC Beachcroft, Clyde & Co and Kennedys in building New York insurance teams by hiring US-admitted coverage partners, mainly from established US insurance firms such as Kaufman Borgeest & Ryan. Across these firms, the pattern is similar: a US referral relationship gives way to an owned New York office focused on financial lines and cyber coverage.
