Nilam Sharma is a lawyer who specialises in liability insurance and insurance policy coverage disputes relating to Directors & Officers; Warranty & Indemnity; Financial Institutions; Commercial Crime; Professional Negligence; Life Insurance, and General Liability insurance policies.
Nilam is a dual US/UK qualified active practising US attorney and is one of a small number of dual-qualified lawyers based in the UK that can advise on US/UK litigation having lived and practised US law in the US prior to returning to the UK. Nilam has also lived and worked in Asia, the Middle East, South America and Europe and is known to be able to bridge the cultural gap which often arises when working on multijurisdictional liability insurance disputes.
Expertise
- Directors & Officers Insurance
- Employment Practices
- Financial Institutions/Commercial Crime
- General Liability
- Life Insurance
- Professional Indemnity
- Warranty & Indemnity Insurance
Experience
Directors & Officers Insurance
- Advised insurers/directors and corporates on policy issues relating to breaches of fiduciary and misfeasance duties following insolvency proceedings; restructuring; regulatory investigations; misrepresentations in IPO prospectus and mis-selling of investments.
- Advised administrators following the insolvency of a multinational travel company on policy coverage issues.
- Advised insurers of an exporter being sued by European and Asian regulators for breach of relevant regulations.
- Advised European and US directors on insurance issues relating to allegations of wrongful trading and unauthorised payments.
Employment Practices
- Advised directors and corporates on allegations of wrongdoing in relation to litigation and investigations arising from previous employment.
- Advised insurers on whether the policy operates for employment claims as a result of Covid redundancies.
Financial Institutions/Commercial Crime
- Advised insurers and insureds on policy issues arising from theft of funds/irregular transfer of bank account proceeds; breaches of anti-money laundering laws; breaches of bribery laws; allegations of anti-money laundering legislation; and allegations of negligence against boards of directors.
- Advised a US/European bank seeking indemnity for erroneous transfer of litigation settlement monies.
- Advised insurers of European and US banks sued by families of military personnel for breach of relevant money laundering and bribery laws.
General Liability
- Advised a manufacturing company sued in several class shareholder actions in the US for breaches of US securities laws relating to an acquisition of a subsidiary in Europe.
- Advised a steel production company sued in several jurisdictions re quality of steel provided to suppliers.
- Advised insurers of an environmental liability policy on issues relating to whether an enforcement undertaking is a covered loss under the policy.
Life Insurance
- Advised insurers on payment of monies following the death of the insured, to include policy issues relating to timing of disclosure of medical condition and whether a Free Cover Limit should be paid.
- Advised insurers on whether a senior individual is a “Key-Person” and issues of ambiguity relating to when the policy could be triggered.
Professional Indemnity
- Advised a law firm on advices provided to investment funds.
- Advised law firms and auditors on investigations by regulatory authorities.
- Advised insurers on investigations by the Law Society relating to professional obligations and duties when undertaking relevant Know Your Client checks.
Warranty & Indemnity Insurance
- Advised buyers and sellers on warranties and indemnities set out in the sale and purchase agreement and whether the risk can be transferred via a W&I policy wording.
- Conducted due diligence of potential litigation of mis-selling of investment funds and drafting policy wording on behalf of insurers.
Please note: The experience list above may include examples of work completed prior to joining Keystone Law.
Recognition
Listed as a Leading Practitioner in Who’s Who Leading Insurance and Reinsurance Lawyers Guide for 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022
Recognised in the Legal 500 2018 for Commercial Litigation
Recognised in the Legal 500 2017 for Commercial Litigation and Insurance & Reinsurance Litigation.
Recommended by Clients and Peers for the ABA “Achievement in Legal Excellence Award 2016”
Nominated by clients and peers for Advisen’s Directors and Officers Lawyer of the Year Award for Europe 2015
Listed as “Leading Financial Institutions Lawyer”; “astute”; “excellent” and “offers clients excellent legal support” in Legal 500 2013, 2014, and 2016
European Editor and UK Author of the Global Directors and Officers Book October 2014
Career
Nilam qualified as a solicitor in 1992. Prior to joining Keystone Law in 2015, she worked at the following firms:
- Ince & Co
- Crowell & Moring
- Hammonds
- Cameron Markby Hewitt