Locke Lord hires ILS lawyer J.P. Hong, targets ILS as strategic growth area
Full-service global law firm Locke Lord has announced the hiring of J.P Hong, an experienced insurance-linked securities (ILS) lawyer that previously worked at Sidley, seeing the ILS market as a strategic growth area for the company.
J.P. Hong has joined Locke Lord in the firm’s Chicago office as a Partner in the Regulatory and Transactional Insurance practice group.
J.P. Hong’s legal practice work is focused on corporate, securities and regulatory matters relating to the insurance, reinsurance and financial services industry.
In his career he has represented sponsors, issuers, underwriters and investors in connection with insurance-linked securities (ILS) offerings, such as catastrophe bonds.
He has also worked with corporates in connection with their captive insurance and reinsurance programs and financial institutions in connection with other stable value transactions.
Before going into private practice, Hong worked at the Seoul offices of two Big 4 accounting firms.
He spent some time working at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a legal clerk, before joining global law firm Sidley in 2011.
In his near 13 year time spent at Sidley, working out of its Chicago office, Hong has represented Japanese insurer Zenkyoren on the placement of a combined $3.575 billion of earthquake risk through its Nakama Re series of catastrophe bonds between 2014 and 2023.
He has also represented another Japanese cat bond sponsor, Tokio Marine in its US $200 million Umigame Re Japan typhoon and flood catastrophe bond and in its US $150 million Kizuna Re III Japan earthquake catastrophe bond.
Hong also worked with Gryphon Mutual on its first $50 million Wrigley Re California earthquake catastrophe bond; the World Bank on the US $150 million IBRD CAR Jamaica 2024 catastrophe bond; with re/insurer Ark in the formation of its third-party capital-backed $250 million Outrigger property catastrophe reinsurance sidecar; Premia Holdings in the formation of its US $265 million legacy sidecar Elevation Re; Munich Re in its Eden Re II and and Leo Re reinsurance sidecars; and AIG for its Tailwind Re Series 2022-1, Compass Re II 2015-1, Tradewynd Re 2014-1 and Tradewynd Re 2013-2 and Tradewynd Re 2013-1 cat bonds.
In addition, Hong has ILS fund legal experience gained from working with Validus’ AlphaCat Managers in connection with its insurance-linked securities funds and reinsurance sidecar transactions and with Markel in its acquisition of CATCo.
“J.P.’s vast international insurance-linked securities experience, which is a strategic growth area for us, will be an incredible asset to our current and prospective clients,” explained Jon Biasetti, Co-Chair of Locke Lord’s Regulatory and Transactional Insurance Practice Group.
“Locke Lord is well regarded for its substantial group of corporate lawyers with deep insurance regulatory knowledge and extensive transactional experience, and I am thrilled to join such an accomplished bench,” Hong added.
