Mendolera_Lauren

Lauren R. Mendolera

Senior Associate

Lauren’s zealous advocacy and experience in insurance-coverage and antitrust matters has led to excellent results for her clients at a national level. Lauren has developed a uniquely robust perspective through her time clerking for a federal judge, working in both state and federal government positions, and representing some of the nation’s largest insurers and sophisticated insureds in complex coverage issues. This has allowed her to bring a level of sophistication and creativity to her work in order to better serve her clients’ insurance-coverage needs.

In addition to her insurance experience, Lauren has also represented multi-national companies in antitrust matters, including headline-grabbing Department of Justice investigations, contract negotiations and evaluations, and participating as antitrust monitoring counsel for board and trade meetings. Her antitrust experience ranges from banking, to manufacturing, to technology companies, and members of various trade organizations. She also has experience with commercial, intellectual property, and government investigation matters.

During law school, Lauren was a law clerk for Senator Charles Schumer and the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C. and before joining Harter Secrest & Emery, Lauren worked in New York City for Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.

PROFESSIONAL & CIVIC AFFILIATIONS

  • Board Member, Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project, Inc. (VLP)
  • Member, New York State Bar Association, Antitrust Law Section
  • Member, American Bar Association, Antitrust Law Section

HONORS & AWARDS

  • Selected by peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America® for Insurance Law (2021-2024)
  • Selected to the Upstate New York Super Lawyers Rising Stars list, 2021
  • Recipient, “Up and Coming Attorneys” Award, The Daily Record, 2020
  • Recipient, 2019 Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project V.I.P. Award
  • Recipient, City Bar Justice Center’s Jeremy G. Epstein Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Service, 2016
  • New York University School of Law
    • Board Member and Senior Notes Editor, N.Y.U. Journal of Legislation and Public Policy
    • McKay Scholar
  • University at Albany
    • Presidential Scholar
    • New York State Assembly Stanley Fink Scholar

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

  • Represented national insurers as both plaintiffs and defendants in declaratory-judgment actions related to insurance-coverage issues and disputes.
  • Represented insurer in coverage litigation relating to the underwriting and claims-handling of multiple policies potentially responsive to diacetyl-exposure lawsuits, specifically involving the interpretation of manuscript endorsements and related limitations on coverage for chemical-exposure claims.
  • Litigated insurance-coverage dispute on behalf of insurer related to major power outage in New York, including novel legal issues involving downstream economic damages and loss of income.
  • Represented national insurers in brokering multi-million-dollar settlements.
  • Represented excess insurer throughout monitoring, settlement, and trial.
  • Engaged in successful motion practice resulting in the dismissal of claims from an insured homeowner following property damage.
  • Drafted and issued unchallenged coverage-position correspondence for national insurers.
  • Conducted an investigation of price-fixing allegations that included a technology-guided review of millions of documents and coordination with sources on three continents, culminating in two presentations to the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division.*
  • Represent shareholder in derivative suit asserting breach of fiduciary and unjust enrichment claims against a New York corporation and directors.
  • Represented national insurers as both plaintiffs and defendants in declaratory judgment actions related to insurance coverage issues.
  • Defended an out-of-state entrepreneur against fraud and other New York common-law claims, resulting in a favorable settlement.

* Worked on this matter prior to joining HSE.

NEWS

PRACTICE AREAS

ADMISSIONS

  • New York
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • U.S. District Courts for the Western, Southern, and Eastern Districts of New York

CLERKSHIP

  • Honorable Berle M. Schiller, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania

EDUCATION

  • New York University School of Law, J.D., cum laude
  • University at Albany, B.A., summa cum laude

Lauren’s zealous advocacy and experience in insurance-coverage and antitrust matters has led to excellent results for her clients at a national level. Lauren has developed a uniquely robust perspective through her time clerking for a federal judge, working in both state and federal government positions, and representing some of the nation’s largest insurers and sophisticated insureds in complex coverage issues. This has allowed her to bring a level of sophistication and creativity to her work in order to better serve her clients’ insurance-coverage needs.

In addition to her insurance experience, Lauren has also represented multi-national companies in antitrust matters, including headline-grabbing Department of Justice investigations, contract negotiations and evaluations, and participating as antitrust monitoring counsel for board and trade meetings. Her antitrust experience ranges from banking, to manufacturing, to technology companies, and members of various trade organizations. She also has experience with commercial, intellectual property, and government investigation matters.

During law school, Lauren was a law clerk for Senator Charles Schumer and the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C. and before joining Harter Secrest & Emery, Lauren worked in New York City for Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.

PROFESSIONAL & CIVIC AFFILIATIONS

  • Board Member, Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project, Inc. (VLP)
  • Member, New York State Bar Association, Antitrust Law Section
  • Member, American Bar Association, Antitrust Law Section

HONORS & AWARDS

  • Selected by peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America® for Insurance Law (2021-2024)
  • Selected to the Upstate New York Super Lawyers Rising Stars list, 2021
  • Recipient, “Up and Coming Attorneys” Award, The Daily Record, 2020
  • Recipient, 2019 Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project V.I.P. Award
  • Recipient, City Bar Justice Center’s Jeremy G. Epstein Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Service, 2016
  • New York University School of Law
    • Board Member and Senior Notes Editor, N.Y.U. Journal of Legislation and Public Policy
    • McKay Scholar
  • University at Albany
    • Presidential Scholar
    • New York State Assembly Stanley Fink Scholar

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

  • Represented national insurers as both plaintiffs and defendants in declaratory-judgment actions related to insurance-coverage issues and disputes.
  • Represented insurer in coverage litigation relating to the underwriting and claims-handling of multiple policies potentially responsive to diacetyl-exposure lawsuits, specifically involving the interpretation of manuscript endorsements and related limitations on coverage for chemical-exposure claims.
  • Litigated insurance-coverage dispute on behalf of insurer related to major power outage in New York, including novel legal issues involving downstream economic damages and loss of income.
  • Represented national insurers in brokering multi-million-dollar settlements.
  • Represented excess insurer throughout monitoring, settlement, and trial.
  • Engaged in successful motion practice resulting in the dismissal of claims from an insured homeowner following property damage.
  • Drafted and issued unchallenged coverage-position correspondence for national insurers.
  • Conducted an investigation of price-fixing allegations that included a technology-guided review of millions of documents and coordination with sources on three continents, culminating in two presentations to the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division.*
  • Represent shareholder in derivative suit asserting breach of fiduciary and unjust enrichment claims against a New York corporation and directors.
  • Represented national insurers as both plaintiffs and defendants in declaratory judgment actions related to insurance coverage issues.
  • Defended an out-of-state entrepreneur against fraud and other New York common-law claims, resulting in a favorable settlement.

* Worked on this matter prior to joining HSE.

NEWS

PRACTICE AREAS

ADMISSIONS

  • New York
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • U.S. District Courts for the Western, Southern, and Eastern Districts of New York

CLERKSHIP

  • Honorable Berle M. Schiller, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania

EDUCATION

  • New York University School of Law, J.D., cum laude
  • University at Albany, B.A., summa cum laude
Mendolera_Lauren
Lauren R. Mendolera