People
Overview
John Black is a leading insurance law attorney, with over twenty-five years of experience in insurance law and regulation. He regularly counsels international and domestic insurers on liability and insurance issues arising from director and officer liability, professional liability, public official liability, insurance company liability, mutual fund and investment adviser liability, and media, technology and privacy insurance. John represents major insurers as coverage counsel in national programs affording insurance for such coverages, and advises corporations and associations on their legal exposures in these areas.A substantial part of John’s practice focuses on information security and privacy law, media liability and e-commerce and related insurance coverages. He assists insurers in drafting and interpreting insurance policies for first-party and third-party privacy risks, technology errors and omissions and media liability, and handling claims under these policies, including claims for data breach remediation and notification, data destruction, and civil litigation and regulatory investigations involving privacy breaches.
John speaks and writes frequently on legal and insurance issues concerning privacy and information security and directors’ and officers’ liability. John co-authored the chapter on information security in the Revised Internet Law for the Business Lawyer (2d ed. 2012), which was updated and re-published in RFID, Near Field Communications and Mobile Payments – A Guide for Lawyers (2013), by the ABA Business Law Section, Cyberspace Law Committee. John is the chairman of the ABA Cyberspace Law Committee's Current Law Task Force.
John conducts in-house training sessions for clients, and is often invited to speak before legal and insurance organizations including the Chicago Bar Association and the CPCU. He is a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals and holds a CIPP/US certification. John is a featured commentator for the Insurance Risk Management Institute on directors’ and officers’ liability and insurance.
John is a member of Skarzynski Marick's Executive Committee.
Honors
- Illinois Super Lawyers, 2018-2019
Professional Associations
- American Bar Association, Tort, Trial and Insurance Practice, Science &Technology Law and Business Law Sections and Cyberspace Law Committee, Member.
- Professional Liability Underwriter Society (PLUS), Co-Chair of the Chapter Development Committee, Midwest Chapter Steering Committee, Past Chairman.
- International Association of Privacy Professionals, Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP).
Results
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02/20/2019Skarzynski Marick successfully defended an employment practices liability insurer in litigation over coverage for police officer’s discrimination and retaliation lawsuit.
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12/03/2018Court enters judgment on the pleadings for Skarzynski Black client, ruling that claims were not made against CEO in his insured capacity and contract exclusion barred coverage for claims against company.
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08/18/2017Skarzynski Black prevailed in an appeal of a summary judgment ruling that a settlement by an insured defendant was unenforceable against its insurer.
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03/29/2017Skarzynski Black obtains a declaratory judgment ruling, on behalf of an insurer, holding that a D&O policy did not cover settlement payments in the nature of disgorgement.
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03/01/2016Skarzynski Black attorneys obtained two favorable rulings for their clients in an action for declaratory judgment and breach of contract, resulting in a final judgment and total victory.
Publications & PRESENTATIONS
- Cyber Liability, PLUS University (August 2018), Moderator and Panelist.
- Evolving Cyber Risk – An Insurance Perspective, Windy City Summit (May 23, 2018), Moderator and Panelist.
- Cyber Roundtable, PLUS Webinar (April 25, 2018), Moderator and Panelist.
- Privacy Developments: Private Litigation, Enforcement Actions, and Settlements, The Business Lawyer (Winter 2017-2018), Co-Author.
- Emerging Trends as Cyber Insurance Comes of Age, Cyber Security Practitioner (February 2017), Co-Author.
- CLE Presentation: Cyber Risk Insurance: Exposures and Claim Trends (2017), Co-Presenter.
- Privacy Developments: Private Litigation, Enforcement Actions, Legislation, and Administrative Actions, The Business Lawyer (Winter 2016-2017), Co-Author.
- The Sharing Economy: A New Frontier in Management Liability? (July 2016), available at https://www.irmi.com/articles/expert-commentary/sharing-economy-liability, Co-Author.
- “Who Am I Talking To?”— The Regulation of Voice Data Collected by Connected Consumer Products, Business Law Today, American Bar Association, May 2016, Co-Author.
- Panelist at the Midwest Plus Chapter: The Breaches are Getting Bigger; The Devices are Getting Smaller (2015), Panelist.
- Presentation at the CPCU West Suburban Chapter: Trends in Privacy and Insurance (2015), Presenter.
- Awake at Night: Cyberbreaches and the New Risk to Directors and Officers (October 2014), available at https://www.irmi.com/articles/expert-commentary/awake-at-night-cyberbreaches-and-the-new-risk-to-directors-and-officers, Co-Author.
- Presentation at the 2014 Las Vegas PLUS International Conference: Cyber Security & Data Breaches: The Big New Exposure for Ds & Os? (2014), Presenter.
- Developments in Data Security Breach Liability, 69 Bus. Law. 199-207 (November 2013), Author.
- Privacy Liability and Insurance Developments in 2012, J. Internet L. (March 2013), Author.
- D&O Litigation Trends in 2012 (February 2013), available at https://www.irmi.com/articles/expert-commentary/d-o-litigation-trends-in-2012, Author.
- Near Field Communications and Mobile Payments – A Guide for Lawyers, Information Security Chapter, A.B.A. (2013), Co-Author.
- Presentation at the CPCU West Suburban Chapter: Issues of Privacy Liability and Insurance for Small Businesses (2013), Presenter.
- Revised Internet Law for the Business Lawyer, Information Security Chapter, A.B.A. (2d ed. 2012), Co-Author.
- Panelist at the American Bar Association Webinar: Insuring for Data Security Threats: Everything a Business Lawyer Wants to Know But Is Afraid To Ask (2012), Panelist.
- Chinese D&O Claims-Has the Tide of Claims Crested? (December 2011), available at https://www.irmi.com/articles/expert-commentary/chinese-d-and-o-claims, Author.
- Non-Profit Director and Officer Liability, For Profit Director and Officer Liability and Employment Practices Liability Chapters, 2004 Executive Liability: D&O, Fiduciary, and EPL Insurance Text and Course Guide (4th ed. 2004), Author.
- Tightening the Reins on Corporate Governance: The Increasing Judicial Scrutiny of Director Care and Independence (August 2003), available at http://www.irmi.com/articles/expert-commentary/the-increasing-judicial-scrutiny-of-director-care-and-independence, Author.
- Presentation at the American Bar Association- Business Law Section Annual Meeting: Liabilities, Rights and Insurance Issues for Directors and Officers of Non-Profit Organizations (April 2003), Presenter.
- Presentation at the Annual Meeting of NBA Cares, Inc.: Employment Litigation Trends and Risk Management (2002), Presenter.
White Papers
- Developments in Privacy in the U.S. in 2011 (May 2012)
- Developments in Privacy in the U.S. in Early 2012 (May 2012)
- U.S. Developments in Privacy (September 2011)
- U.S. Legal Developments in Privacy (Early 2011)
Publications
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January 17, 2018John Black and James Steel co-authored a review of developments over the past year in privacy law, with a particular focus on civil litigation, enforcement actions, and settlements.
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February 24, 2017John Black and Michael Silvestro co-authored an article, “Emerging Trends as Cyber Insurance Comes of Age,” published in the February 24, 2017 edition of Cyber Security Practitioner. The article discusses the maturation of the cyber insurance market, the interplay between cyber and other traditional insurance policies, and innovative technological approaches to evaluating cyber risks.
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February 2, 2017John Black and James Steel co-authored a review of developments over the past year in privacy law, with a particular focus on civil litigation, enforcement actions, legislation, and administrative actions. The article was published as part of the ABA’s Cyberspace Law Committee’s annual survey of Cyberspace Law for The Business Lawyer.
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July 1, 2016John Black, Ted Carleton and Sarah Voutyras authored an article that explores the emerging liabilities faced by the directors and officers who lead sharing economy companies and the interesting new challenges for insurers who offer private company D&O liability insurance for those managers.
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May 19, 2016John Black and Michael Silvestro co-authored an article entitled “Who Am I Talking To?”— The Regulation of Voice Data Collected by Connected Consumer Products that was published in the May 2016 edition of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Business Law Today magazine.
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November 1, 2014John E. Black Jr., Sarah Voutyras and Rebecca Wolinsky co-authored an article about cyberattacks on businesses. Cyberattacks are now weekly news as breaches of personal information are announced regularly by brand name companies—Target, Neiman Marcus, Home Depot, Jimmy Johns, JP Morgan Chase, and others.
Firm Events
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08/21/2018John Black will moderate a panel on Cyber Liability at PLUS University in Chicago on Tuesday, August 21st.
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06/07/2018John Black is a panelist for the Duff & Phelps Cyber Security Summit on June 7, 2018.
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05/23/2018John Black will moderate a panel entitled “Evolving Cyber Risk – An Insurance Perspective” at the Windy City Summit on May 23, 2018.
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04/25/2018John Black is a panelist for a PLUS Webinar, Cyber Roundtable, on April 25, 2018.
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04/12/2018John Black will moderate a panel entitled “Cyber Insurance: Coverage, Claims, and Cross Border Concerns” at the ABA Spring Business Law Section meeting on April 12th in Orlando, Florida.
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03/30/2015John Black will participate in a panel discussion on emerging cyber trends and issues, Big Data: The Breaches are Getting Bigger; The Devices are getting Smaller, The panel discussion, which is being presented by the Midwest Chapter of Plus, will be held at 8:30 am on May 6, 2015, at the University of Chicago Gleacher.
PRACTICE AREAS
Education
- J.D., University of Illinois
- Moot Court Board of Editors
- University of Illinois Law Review
- B.A., Illinois College
BAR ADMISSIONS
- Illinois
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan