Omid Safa

Biography

Omid Safa is a partner at Blank Rome and a rising star in the firm’s “policyholder-only” Insurance Recovery practice. He has been recognized as a “top 40 under 40” by Washington Business Journal, Law360, and National Law Journal, and has successfully represented policyholders in a broad range of disputes across the United States. In the last five years alone, Omid has helped clients secure insurance recoveries and judgments worth nearly $500 million.

Omid has represented policyholders in the financial services, manufacturing, technology, food and beverage, healthcare, defense, and sports/entertainment industries and dealt with claims under a wide array of insurance policies, including:

  • Directors & Officers Liability Insurance

  • Employment Practices Liability Insurance

  • Cyber Insurance

  • Errors & Omissions Liability Insurance

  • Professional Liability Insurance

  • General Liability Insurance

  • Product Recall Insurance

  • Crime / Fidelity Insurance

  • Commercial Property Insurance  

  • Loss of Value Insurance for Athletes

  • Aviation Insurance  

Omid routinely counsels some of the largest Fortune 500 companies on cyber-related insurance and risk management issues. He advises policyholders on the insurance implications of emerging cyber risks, evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of their current insurance programs, and provides counseling to clients considering new cyber insurance offerings from insurers. He has played a leading role in evaluating, negotiating, and drafting several custom cyber insurance programs in recent years, including one of the largest programs assembled to date.

Omid also provides advice and counseling in connection with M&A transactions, including insurance due diligence, drafting insurance and indemnity provisions for key deal documents, and negotiating “Rep & Warranty” insurance for such transactions. Collective value of deals has exceeded $10 billion in the last three years.

While in law school, Omid was a member of the William & Mary Law Review and received the Gambrell Professionalism Award honoring “professionalism, public service, integrity, and dedication to the improvement of lawyering skills.”

During the summer of 2007, he interned with the Honorable Adalberto Jordan, formerly of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida (now of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit).

Before beginning his legal career, Omid served as a tax consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, where he assisted manufacturing and engineering firms in calculating and supporting multimillion dollar research and development tax credits.

Experience

  • Secured a multimillion-dollar settlement for a component manufacturer seeking coverage for losses resulting from a catastrophic fire to its facilities.
  • Obtained a bad faith jury verdict and various declaratory judgments on behalf of a pressure vessel fabricator in Missouri state court. As a result, the client secured $14.6 million in damages and access to more than $400 million dollars of future coverage from various excess insurers.
  • Obtained a bad faith jury verdict against three insurers in Idaho state court, while serving as second-chair trial counsel. The jury awarded $2.41 million in compensatory damages and $7.2 million in punitive damages to the policyholder.
  • Obtained a unanimous arbitration award from a three-judge panel, while serving as second-chair arbitration counsel. The panel ordered the general liability insurer to pay more than $1.7 million in damages for unreimbursed asbestos bodily injury claims.
  • Secured over $80 million in professional liability coverage for defense costs and liabilities incurred in connection with a False Claims Act suit, through negotiations and mediations with several primary and excess insurers.
  • Secured a multimillion-dollar settlement for an investment management firm seeking professional indemnity coverage for losses incurred in connection with a bond revaluation.
  • Secured a multimillion-dollar settlement for a lender seeking lienholder coverage for the loss of loan collateral.
  • Assisted a Fortune 500 company in evaluating and negotiating custom cyber coverage terms for its main insurance program. The coverage involved numerous excess insurance carriers and required several months of intense negotiation.

News & Views

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Recognitions

  • 2023–2024, Insurance Law in Washington, D.C., listed in Best Lawyers in America©
  • 2024, “Insurance Litigator of the Year,” listed in Benchmark Litigation
  • 2023–2024, “Future Star,” listed in Benchmark Litigation
  • 2018–2023, listed in The Legal 500 United States
  • 2021–2023, “Next Generation Partner,” listed in The Legal 500’s Guide to Up-and-Coming Lawyers Nationwide
  • 2022, Insurance: Policyholder Law (D.C.), listed in Chambers USA
  • 2018–2020, “Next Generation Lawyer,” listed in The Legal 500’s Guide to Up-and-Coming Lawyers Nationwide
  • 2018–2021, “40 & Under Hot List,” listed in Benchmark Litigation
  • 2017–2020, Washington, D.C., “Rising Star” in Insurance Coverage, listed by Super Lawyers
  • 2019, “40 under 40,” listed by Washington Business Journal
  • 2018, “Rising Star,” listed by Law360
  • 2017, “D.C. Rising Star,” listed by The National Law Journal

Credentials

Admissions

  • District of Columbia
  • Maryland
  • U.S. District Court - District of Columbia
  • U.S. District Court - Maryland
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

Education

  • University of Maryland, BS
  • College of William & Mary, Marshall-Wythe School of Law, JD