Courses Recently Taught

• Evidence II

Biography

Christopher Leise focuses his practice on complex insurance and commercial litigation, including the representation of licensed insurance agents and brokers in professional liability claims and agency contract disputes.  He also has extensive experience litigating complex insurance coverage, insurance bad faith, RICO and insurance fraud claims, fire damage claims, and ERISA disputes.  Chris works with regional and national brokerage firms defending professional liability claims and handling disputes with insurance companies throughout the mid-Atlantic region, as well as with commercial insurance carriers defending allegations of bad faith.

Chris has published and lectured on the topics of insurance broker professional liability, fire litigation, insurance bad faith and insurance coverage for the American Bar Association, New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the Pennsylvania Defense Institute and the Practicing Law Institute.   

After graduating from law school, Chris served as a law clerk to the Honorable William Bishoff of the New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division.

Representative Matters

• Won jury verdict for property insurer voiding coverage for a multi-million dollar Pennsylvania fire loss due to policyholder’s material misrepresentations about the risk during the application process; verdict and judgment affirmed on appeal; see Hered, LLC v. Seneca Insurance Company, 2011 WL 1183212 (3rdCir. 2011)
• Secured jury verdict rejecting Federal RICO claims against an insurance broker arising from the sale of life insurance pursuant to an employee benefit plan 
• Lead counsel before the New Jersey Appellate Division wherein the Court vacated a $9 million trial court judgment and entered judgment for an insurance broker in suit arising from the sale of breach of warranty and hull policies to a commercial ferry operator; see Harbor Commuter Service, Inc. v. Frenkel & Co., Inc., et al., 401 N.J. Super 546 (N.J. App. Div. 2008)
• Secured multi-million dollar recovery on behalf of New Jersey insurance agents by proving that their agreements with an auto insurance carrier were terminated in bad faith and violation of New Jersey law; see Scheller v. Rutgers Casualty Insurance Co., 2008 WL 2121254 (N.J. App. Div. 2008)

Recognition & Involvement

Recognized as a certified civil trial attorney by the Supreme Court of New Jersey for the past 20 years, Chris was recently appointed an adjunct professor at Rutgers Camden School of Law, where he teaches a course in advanced trial evidence.  From 2005-2010, Chris was a member of the NJ Supreme Court District IV Ethics Committee.

Chris has been selected in a survey of his peers as a "Super Lawyer” in Pennsylvania by Law & Politics magazine in 2004, 2005, and every year since 2007.  He was also named a New Jersey "Super Lawyer” by Law & Politics magazine since 2005.  Chris has been AV® rated by the Martindale-Hubbell peer review rating system.

Chris is a member of the Board and a former President of the Heart of Camden, Inc., a community development housing organization.  He is an officer and Board member of the Markeim Art Center in Haddonfield, New Jersey.

News

Congratulations 2011 PA Super Lawyers and Rising Stars  May 25, 2011  

  Publications

Casualty Insurance Policy Requirements: Duty to Provide Notice of Loss, Duty to Cooperate and Insurable Interest  2011 NJ ICLE

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage: The Statutory Bar Against Step-Down Provisions and Retroactive Versus Prospective Application  2010 NJ ICLE

New Jersey Law On the Recovery of Extra- Contractual Damages In Insurance Coverage Litigation  2008 NJ ICLE

Comparison of the Law of Insurance Bad Faith in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York  2008 NJ ICLE

White and Williams Limits Reach of New Jersey's Consumer Fraud Act in Two Reported Appellate Decisions  July 2008  

Bad Faith Claims Against Insurance Carriers in New Jersey  2007 NJ ICLE

Review of New Jersey and Federal Summary Judgment Law and Procedure  2006 NJ ICLE

New Jersey Law of Causation and Compensatory Damages, Exemplary Damages and Attorneys Fees in Claims Against Insurance Brokers  2005 NJ ICLE

Hazards of the UM/UIM Step Down Provision  September 2003 Insurance Agents & Brokers of New Jersey Newsletter

Recent Developments in New Jersey Summary Judgment Law and Procedure  2002 NJ ICLE

Late Notice of Claim Under the Tort Claims Act  2002 NJ ICLE

Legal Issues Arising in Fire Loss Insurance Coverage Litigation  2001 NJ ICLE

Expert Testimony and Evidence Spoliation Issues Arising in Fire Loss Litigation  2001 NJ ICLE

  Practice areas

General Commercial Litigation 

Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith 

Professional Liability 

Bar and Court Admissions

New Jersey

Pennsylvania

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

Education

Rutgers University School of Law, JD, 1978 

Clark University, BA, 1974

Memberships

American Bar Association; Tort and Insurance Practice Section