Abby J. Sher

Member

Abby Sher practices in the firm's Global Insurance Department. Abby advises clients on issues arising under claims-made insurance policies, with a particular emphasis on managed care liability policies, medical malpractice policies, and life sciences policies. Abby's representative cases involve sexual misconduct claims, opioid litigation, bad faith considerations, and risk retention mechanisms under professional liability and general liability insurance policies. 

Abby also has experience counseling clients in the first-party context, providing advice to clients on arson and fraud claims and providing analyses of claims handling obligations in the wake of catastrophic losses, including Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Irene.

Abby has authored articles and alerts on SIRs and large deductibles, bad faith litigation, and D&O coverage. She also speaks on these topics and related coverage issues on webinars and at industry events and in-house client seminars. Abby regularly conducts training for her clients' claims handlers on topics such as the proper processing of errors and omissions claims. 

Abby earned her law degree, cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania Law School where she was senior editor for the Journal of Constitutional Law. While in law school, she served as a summer intern for the Honorable Susan Peikes Gantman of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania and as an intern for the Montgomery Child Advocacy Project. Upon graduating, Abby received the Distinguished Pro Bono Service Award for her work with the Anti-Defamation League and the Innocence Project. She earned her undergraduate degree, cum laude, from Brandeis University. Prior to joining the firm, Abby participated in the Cozen O’Connor Summer Associate Program.
 

Experience

Publications

PA Supreme Court Addresses Level of Proof Required Under Statutory Bad Faith Claim [Avoiding Insurance Bad Faith Blog]

September 29, 2017

In an opinion dated September 28, 2017, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Western District, considered as an issue of first impression the level of proof required to prevail in a bad faith claim, examining the elements of a bad faith insurance claim under the PA bad faith statute, 42 Pa.C.S. Section...

Large Deductibles and Self-Insured Retentions – Potential Bad Faith Exposures [Avoiding Insurance Bad Faith Blog]

March 29, 2017

As the economy recovers from the Great Recession, the insurance industry is experiencing an increase in the need to evaluate risk retention and risk transfer mechanisms tailored to the commercial policyholders’ risk management goals as applied to its policy provisions and obligations owed to its...

New Appleman on Insurance Law Library Edition

December 01, 2016

Deborah Minkoff and Abby Sher Author chapter 1A: Self-Insured Retentions Versus Large or Matching Deductibles in the 2016 New Appleman on Insurance Law Library Edition.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules Statutory Bad Faith Claims are Assignable [Global Insurance Alert]

December 23, 2014

On December 15, 2014, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that bad faith claims brought pursuant to 42 Pa. C.S. § 8371 may be assigned by an insured to an injured third party under Pennsylvania law. See Allstate Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co. v. Wolfe, No. 39 MAP 2014 (Pa. Dec. 15, 2014).

Third Circuit Holds Insurer’s Interpretation of Employer’s Liability Exclusion is Fairly Debatable [Global Insurance Alert]

August 05, 2014

A recent 3rd Circuit decision, ArcelorMittal Plate, LLC v. Joulé Technical Services, Inc., 558 Fed.Appx. 205 (3d Cir. 2014) reiterates that under New Jersey law, an insurer does not act in bad faith when denying a claim that is “fairly debatable.” Although the court disagreed with the insurer’s application of the policy’s employer’s liability exclusion to preclude coverage, it also held that there was no basis to impose bad faith liability on the insurer.

Events & Seminars

Past Events

2023 Professional Liability Seminar

September 28, 2023 - New York, NY

2022 Professional Liability Seminar

September 15, 2022 - New York, NY

Webinar: Bad Faith on the Acela Corridor

October 24, 2018 - Webinar

PLRB 2014 Claims Conference & Insurance Services Expo

March 18, 2014 - Indianapolis, IN

Industry Sectors

Education

  • University of Pennsylvania Law School, J.D., cum laude, 2010
  • Brandeis University, B.A., cum laude, 2007

Awards & Honors

Pennsylvania Super Lawyer Rising Star 2015-2020. This award is conferred by Super Lawyers. A description of the selection methodology can be found here. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

  • New Jersey
  • Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court -- Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court -- New Jersey
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM)
  • Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS)
  • Louis D. Brandeis Law Society