New York, NY and Ventura, CA (January 5, 2009) -- Anderson Kill & Olick, P.C., the nation's leading insurance recovery firm, continues to grow its national practice through its merger with Wood & Bender, L.L.P., announced today.

Based in southern California, Wood & Bender has represented Fortune 500 companies, construction companies and financial institutions in insurance recovery matters resulting in millions of dollars of recoveries since 1995.   The merger, which became effective January 1, 2009, adds Wood & Bender's 14 attorneys to Anderson Kill's 79 attorneys.  Through this merger, Anderson Kill adds a California presence to its complement of offices in New York, NY; Newark, NJ; Philadelphia, PA; Greenwich, CT; and Washington, D.C.Nationally, the combined firms will retain the name Anderson Kill & Olick, P.C., while the practice in California will be Anderson Kill Wood & Bender, P.C.  All of Wood & Bender’s attorneys will continue to work for the new entity.   Exclusive Dedication To Policyholders Nationwide The merger continues a long tradition of service to policyholders to the exclusion of insurance companies as such.  In 1969, Anderson Kill founding partner Eugene Anderson pioneered insurance recovery as a discrete practice area.  The first nationally-recognized expert on insurance devoted exclusively to policyholders, Anderson has been dubbed “the dean of policyholders’ attorneys” by BusinessWeek and is widely admired for his tireless devotion to policyholder advocacy.  The firm that bears his name is “a national giant in insurance law” according to Best’s Review. Anderson Kill received a No. 1 ranking from Chambers USA 2008: America's Leading Lawyers for Business for insurance nationwide, insurance dispute resolution in New York, and insurance litigation in New Jersey. The firm’s clients include many of the nation's largest corporate and industrial policyholders as well as utilities, municipalities, state governments, charities, major religious and not-for-profit organizations, small companies and individuals. Anderson Kill attorneys have recovered billions of dollars in settlements from insurance companies and have made insurance law in multiple states, winning landmark victories for clients including the State of California, HLTH Corporation/WebMD, Princeton University, Fuller Austin, Weyerhaeuser, and Keene Corporation. Victories include one of the top 10 jury verdicts in the United States in 2003 and the top insurance recovery jury verdict in the United States in 2005. Working in concert with the nonprofit United Policyholders, the firm has filed over 250 amicus briefs that have been cited by numerous courts nationwide, including the United States Supreme Court. According to Anderson Kill Managing Shareholder Robert M. Horkovich, the Wood & Bender merger is a strong marriage of skills and cultures.  "The Anderson Kill brand always has stood for zealous representation of policyholders in a world in which many insurance companies assume they always hold the upper hand," said Horkovich.  "We are thrilled to join forces with a firm with such a strong track record whose practice, philosophy and strategies mesh so thoroughly with our own." "Combining with Anderson Kill will give us the best of both worlds – extended reach and resources without any of the conflicts or encumbrances that joining a large firm often entails," said David P. Bender, Jr., managing partner of Wood & Bender.  "We are joining the best of our peers, who share our focus and our commitment to policyholders’ interests." Founded in 1995, Wood & Bender has represented corporate policyholders nationwide, and has a strong presence in the West.  The attorneys joining Anderson Kill Wood & Bender, P.C. include four partners: David E. Wood, David P. Bender, Jr., and Caroline R. Hurtado.  All have extensive experience representing public and private companies and municipalities in complex insurance coverage litigation.  The firm publishes the award-winning magazine Enforce, the journal of insurance policy enforcement, which will now be produced by Anderson Kill Wood & Bender, P.C.  Both partners were named Super Lawyers, David Wood in 2007 and David Bender in 2008.A Tradition Of No Conflicts And No Compromise Anderson Kill and Wood & Bender, P.C. share a commitment to represent policyholders only in insurance coverage disputes, with no ties to insurance companies, no conflicts of interest, and no compromises in its devotion to policyholder interests alone.  Wood & Bender’s unique tag line Settle For Everything®  will now be adopted by the combined firms as the ultimate expression of the combined firms’ policy enforcement practice philosophy: to demand and recover from insurance companies nothing less than the full extent of the obligations they owe.  In addition to insurance recovery, Anderson Kill & Olick, P.C. offers solutions in anti-counterfeiting, complex commercial litigation, corporate transactions and securities, labor and employment, real estate and construction, taxation, trusts and estates and bankruptcy.  The merger now permits Wood & Bender to offer high-level service in these practice areas to its clients. For more information, please contact:Robert M. Horkovichrhorkovich@andersonkill.com(212) 278-1322David E. Wooddew@wood-bender.com(805) 288-1300