O'Connor First

Who the firm represents

The firm works on the defense side of insurance and liability disputes. Its clients include insurance companies, claims managers, adjusters, self-insured businesses and licensed medical professionals. In each of these matters, the firm speaks for the party defending a claim or the carrier weighing whether a loss falls under a policy.

That client base shapes the entire firm. O'Connor First answers to insurers and the professionals they cover, so its lawyers spend their days testing claims, reading policy language and building defenses. Defense work asks a lawyer to control exposure and close matters on sound terms, and the firm organizes itself around that job. In my opinion, a roster built around defense work tells a reader more about a firm than any slogan would.

The defense work it handles

The firm covers a wide span of civil litigation defense. It handles insurance defense, insurance coverage disputes and personal injury defense. Its lawyers defend medical malpractice claims and professional negligence claims. They also take on product liability, toxic tort litigation, construction defects, class action defense, employment claims, commercial liability and property damage matters.

That breadth matters for the clients the firm serves. An insurer or a self-insured business can face several kinds of claim in a single year, and a firm that handles many of them keeps the defense in one place.

A defense matter tends to move through set stages. It opens with an investigation of the claim, moves into discovery where each side exchanges records, and turns on motions that can narrow or end the case before trial. Many claims settle once the facts are clear, and the rest go to a verdict. A firm that handles the full arc keeps a client with steady counsel through the life of the matter.

Coverage and bad faith claims

The firm names coverage litigation among its work, including extracontractual and bad faith claims. Coverage disputes usually turn on the wording of a policy and the facts behind a claim. A bad faith claim adds a second question: whether the insurer handled that claim reasonably. Matters like these often begin with a written coverage opinion, move into litigation when the parties disagree, and sometimes reach an appeal.

Bad faith law sets a high bar in most claims. A policyholder has to show more than a wrong call on coverage; the argument runs to how the insurer weighed the claim and communicated its decision. Defending that charge means laying out the claim file and the reasoning behind each step. The firm's place on the insurer side puts it on the answering end of these disputes.

Medical and professional defense

Medical malpractice defense sits next to professional negligence work for licensed practitioners. Professional discipline matters run on a track apart from a civil lawsuit. The New York Office of Professional Medical Conduct reviews complaints against physicians, and the Office of Professional Discipline handles other licensed professions. The firm's lawyers appear at hearings before both, where the procedures and the risk to a license differ from a jury trial.

Liability and exposure claims

Product liability, toxic tort and construction defect matters make up another band of the firm's work. These cases often hinge on technical proof. A product liability claim asks whether a design or a warning fell short. A toxic tort case traces an illness back to an exposure and its source. A construction defect claim sorts out which party on a build carried responsibility for a fault. Each type leans on technical witnesses and detailed records, and the defense turns on testing those links.

Coverage opinions and dispute resolution

Beyond litigation, the firm writes opinions on how policies respond to a loss. It reviews general liability, professional liability, homeowners, automobile, trucking, reinsurance, excess and umbrella policies. An insurer often wants that reading before it accepts or contests a claim, and a clear opinion can settle the question before a suit begins.

The firm also handles appeals, mediation and arbitration. Mediation brings in a neutral third party who helps the sides reach a deal. Arbitration puts the decision to a private arbitrator whom the parties agree on. An appeal carries a decided case to a higher court for review. Keeping all three under one roof lets a client stay with the same lawyers as a dispute changes shape.

Courts, hearings and bankruptcy work

The firm's lawyers appear in state and federal courts across its two states. Trial courts hear the facts of a case, and federal courts take matters that cross state lines or turn on federal law. That reach fits a client base whose claims can land in either system.

Administrative hearings are a second forum for the firm. It names appearances before the New York Office of Professional Medical Conduct and the Office of Professional Discipline, the bodies that judge a professional's conduct and licensing.

The site also lists consumer bankruptcy and debt relief, including Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 work. Consumer bankruptcy runs through federal court. Chapter 7 clears qualifying debts, and Chapter 13 sets up a repayment plan that runs for several years. That service gives the firm a consumer-facing option next to its insurer and business defense work.

How the team is built

The attorneys page names twelve lawyers. Nine hold the title of partner: Kathleen A. Barclay, Molly C. Casey, Michael P. Cavanagh, Carol E. Crummey, Aaron M. DePaolo, Dennis A. First, Jeanne M. Gonsalves Lloyd, Elizabeth J. Grogan and P. Baird Joslin Jr. Two associates, Curtis L.S. Carpenter and Abigail A. Dean, fill out the active roster, and Dianne C. Bresee is listed as retired.

The mix of nine partners and two associates points to a senior bench. In many firms a partner owns the strategy on a file while an associate carries the research and the drafting. With more partners than associates on the page, the lawyers who set direction also handle much of the day-to-day work.

As a reviewer, I find the clearest read on this group comes from the titles and the span of work it takes on, because the site keeps the biographies short. The firm's name draws on Dennis A. First, one of the listed partners.

Where the firm practices

O'Connor First serves clients across New York and Vermont. Working in two states carries its own demands. New York and Vermont keep separate courts, separate rules of procedure and separate bars, so a firm that works in both keeps lawyers versed in each system.

The firm runs offices in Albany, Burlington and Binghamton, which places lawyers near the courts where its cases sit. Albany is the firm's first listed location.