Christopher Pizzo

A partner in Goodwin’s Financial Services group, Chris Pizzo maintains an insurance-focused corporate, transactional and regulatory practice serving the nation’s leading carriers, brokers, and industry investors. With significant experience in multistate and international insurance transactions and regulation, Chris combines a practical and business-oriented approach with in-depth knowledge of the insurance and reinsurance markets.

Insurance

Regularly representing clients in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and regulatory compliance, Chris handles a broad array of industry related engagements and counsels large and complex organizations including professional sports leagues, Fortune 100 companies, and hospital systems on their unique risk management challenges.

Chris’s practice also includes advising clients on significant reinsurance transactions, the formation and operation of alternative risk transfer entities including captives, all major lines of insurance (both P&C and Life/Health), and the special considerations applicable to Insurtech developers.

Federal Government Contracts

In addition to his insurance work, Chris also has extensive experience in the federal government contracting industry, where he counsels federal contractors on corporate, organizational and transactional matters to ensure these efforts comply with Federal Acquisition Regulations.

Frequently acting as outside general counsel to these entities, Chris assists government contracting clients through the complete corporate life cycle, beginning with early-stage financing, operational legal issues, security clearances, contract negotiation and ultimately purchase and sale transactions.

Insurance Regulatory & Transactions 

• Advise large hospital system in the $650 million sale of a medical malpractice insurer* 
• Representation of leading insurance brokers in dozens of agency acquisitions across the country with transaction value exceeding $500 million* 
• Outside general counsel to several multistate P&C insurance entities handling operational legal, capital raise, regulatory compliance, holding company and board matters* 
• Advisor to national and regional banks and investment advisers on life and annuity agency regulatory compliance and captive insurance matters* 
• Representation of one of the nation’s oldest insurers in successful defense of market conduct examination*  
• Counsel to a private-equity ownership of large online auto insurance marketplace in agency licensing and compliance matters*
• Representation of major producer groups in business portfolio transfers including counsel in related dispute resolution with legacy brokerages* 

Captive Insurance 

• Counsel to Fortune 100 manufacturer in the formation of the first Delaware D&O insurance captive, including authorship of now industry-standard claims handling and regulatory guidelines for such entities*  
• Advise top automaker in reinsurance transactions for and re-domestication of captive insurance entities* 
• Represent nation’s largest sport’s league in the formation and ongoing operations of a captive insurer, related policy drafting and regulatory compliance matters* 
• Captive insurance counsel to largest independent soft-drink bottler and distributor in the United States* 
• Advise family office ownership of major global winery operation on risk management and captive insurer formation* 
• Counsel to largest off-price department store retailer in captive compliance and regulatory matters* 
• Counsel to a Roman Catholic Diocese in the formation of the domicile’s first nonprofit captive*
• Negotiate liquidation and run-off arrangement for captive insuring properties with underground storage tanks across the industrial Northeast* 

*Denotes experience prior to joining Goodwin 

Prior to joining Goodwin, Chris was a partner at Fox Rothschild where he served as Chair of the firm’s Insurance practice. Previously, he was a partner in the corporate practice of a national firm and a senior executive in the legal department of a publicly traded brokerage and insurance services provider.

During law school, Chris was the senior editor of a Law Journal, President of the Moot Court Board and a member of the Order of the Barristers.

• Selected to the list of recipients of the 2021 Break Out Award by Business Insurance