Geoff works closely with corporate policyholders and their directors and officers to resolve high-stakes insurance disputes.

As a partner in Hunton’s top-ranked insurance coverage practice, he has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for clients across industries, including finance, energy, and retail. Deeply respected by his peers, he was chosen to serve as Co-Chair of the American Bar Association Business Law Section’s Director and Officer Liability Committee and Law360’s Insurance Authority Editorial Advisory Board. Geoff writes and speaks frequently on insurance and risk management topics and has received national recognition for his policyholder work from organizations like Legal 500 United States and Benchmark Litigation.

Geoff is especially valued for his experience in directors and officers (D&O) and management liability insurance, regularly advising boards of directors on D&O insurance and other issues related to executive protection. His D&O experience includes securing full defense and indemnity coverage for private equity executives and outside directors facing fiduciary liability in a disputed D&O claim and negotiating full recovery, including coverage counsel fees, under a financial institution bond for a banking client’s losses arising from employee-misdirected funds.

Geoff also counsels policyholders on a wide range of other insurance claims and issues, including professional liability and errors and omission (E&O), cybersecurity and data breaches, bankruptcy and insolvency, employee theft and fidelity claims, government investigations, environmental liabilities, business interruption, and property damage. He is an experienced trial and appellate advocate and also excels at resolving coverage disputes through settlement negotiation, mediation, and other alternative dispute resolution, without the need for litigation.

Geoff has particular experience advising private equity firms, banks, and other companies in the financial sector. He also works closely with in-house counsel and risk managers on insurance issues arising from corporate transactions, including structuring indemnity and insurance obligations, ensuring continuity of D&O and other critical coverages following asset sales, acquisitions, or other changes in control, and performing due diligence reviews.

He helps manage and contributes to the Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog. He has been selected as a Rising Star for Insurance Coverage in The Washington Post Magazine and was recommended as a leading lawyer in Lexology’s WWL: Professional Negligence, where testimonials note that he is “a great lawyer” who can “communicate complex subjects in an easy-to-understand manner” and “keep an open mind of the facts concerning matters being disputed.”

Geoff maintains an active pro bono practice and has assisted non-profits and other entities in resolving various insurance coverage and civil litigation claims. He is a member of the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation and has served on the DC Bar Foundation Young Lawyers Network Leadership Council and the Screening Committee of the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project.

Bar Admissions

Education
JD, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School, Editor-in-Chief, George Mason Law Review, 2011

BA, Davidson College, 2006

• Insurer Denies Coverage for Deal Litigation Despite Bank Purchasing Runoff Coverage for Pre-Acquisition Alleged Wrongful Acts

  By Geoffrey Fehling |April 2021

• Delaware Issues Landmark Decision Supporting D&O Coverage for Fraud

  By Geoffrey Fehling |April 2021

• Year in Review: Top Insurance Cases of 2020

  By Geoffrey Fehling |January 2021

• Del. Solera D&O Decision May Have Limited Impact, Law360
• Key Considerations For D&O Policy Related-Claims Clauses, Law360
• Maximizing insurance coverage and managing risks for educational institutions, CEP Magazine
• Victory for policyholders as Texas court interprets contract exclusion narrowly in favor of coverage, Westlaw Today
• FTX Proceedings Highlight D&O Issues Amid Bankruptcy, Law360
• Maximizing executive protection under D&O policies: Common disputes and lessons learned from recent case law, Thomson Reuters Westlaw
• Insurer Denies Coverage for Deal Litigation Despite Bank Purchasing Runoff Coverage for Pre-Acquisition Alleged Wrongful Acts, The Banking Law Journal
• Lessons From Calif. Liability Claim Recoupment Ruling, Law360
• Del. Ruling Could Affect D&O Claims Beyond SPACs, Law360
• Ensuring Insurability of Management Liability Claims, The Banking Law Journal
• What’s in a Name? Avoiding Insurability Pitfalls with Name Changes and Other Corporate Transactions, Business Law Today
• Guest Post: Insurance Implications of SEC and CFTC’s New Form PF Requirements, The D&O Diary
• Protecting Delaware Insureds: Recent Decisions Highlight Importance of State Law, D&O Policy Provisions Governing Coverage, Forum, and Applicable Law, Business Law Today
• Policyholder Win Highlights Key Issues to Maximize Coverage for False Claims Act Settlements, Insurance Coverage Law Center
• Recent Rulings May Support False Claims Act Coverage, Law360
• Considerations In Structuring Private Equity D&O Coverage, Law360
• Insurance Insights From 5th Circ. Blue Bell Coverage Ruling, Law360
• Insurance Insights From 5th Circ. Blue Bell Coverage Ruling, Law360
• Summary of 2014 Case Law Developments Under D&O and E&O Policies, FC&S Legal
• Bankruptcy and D&O Insurance: 10 Issues to Consider One Year into the COVID-19 Pandemic, Business Law Today
• Recent decisions underscore the importance of ‘capacity’ issues in accessing D&O insurance coverage, Westlaw Today
• Training for Tomorrow: 2021 Checklist for Entity Counsel Supervising the Creation or Renewal of an Executive Protection Program in the Age of “Cooperation”, Business Law Today
• 5th Circ.: D&O Insurer Must Cover Firm for Social Engineering Losses Despite Professional Services Exclusion, The D&O Diary
• How To Negotiate Better D&O Coverage For Antitrust Matters, Law360
• Structure, Benefits, and Potential Pitfalls of Captive Insurance, Insurance Coverage Law Center
• Bank Failure Highlights Related Claim Issues, State Law Considerations, In Directors and Officers Insurance Claims, Journal of Bankruptcy Law
• Compliance, crimes, and coverage: Mitigating risk through employee theft coverage, CEP Magazine
• False Claims Act Settlements, Property Casualty 360
• D&O Coverage Considerations for M&A and Government Investigations, Business Law Today
• Preserving insurance assets in M&A deals: South Carolina high court validates post-loss assignment of rights under insurance policies, Westlaw Today
• Insurer’s ‘Unfair Competition’ Exclusion Defense to Product Liability Suit Overcooked, For Now, As Pressure Cooker Manufacturer's Insurance Claim Proceeds, Insurance Coverage Law Center
• Unauthorized Insurers Face Unwelcome Fines and Expenses, American Bar Association
• Common issues, tips for navigating related insurance claims (Part 1), PropertyCasualty360
• Common issues, tips to navigate related-claims insurance issues (Part 2), PropertyCasualty360
• Subpoena Defense Cost Ruling Gets Insurance Law Wrong, Law360
• Considering Disclosure Risks In Sensitive Product Recalls, Law360
• D&O Insurance Issues Arising from the COVID-19 Crisis, The D & O Diary
• Are Courts Ignoring Policy Interpretation Rules in COVID Decisions?, Insurance Coverage Law Center
• Insured Directors Not ‘Necessary’ for Complete Adjudication of Insurer’s Coverage Obligations, Insurance Coverage Law Center
• The Importance of Insurance Coverage for Commercial Drone Operations, Unmanned Aerial
• Are You Covered? Insurance Practice Pointers for Fund Managers Facing Increased Regulatory Scrutiny, Private Equity Law Report
• Oehninger and Fehling: A Primer on Insurance Coverage for FCPA Claims and Investigations, The FCPA Blog
• The American Law Institute’s Restatement of the Law, Liability Insurance: Scholarship and Controversy, Connecticut Insurance Law Journal
• Uber’s CISO conviction underscores the importance of directors and officers insurance protection, SC Media Magazine
• Boardroom Cryptonite: Assessing Coverage for Crypto-Related Exposures, The Journal of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence & Law
• A Great River of LLCs: The Eighth Circuit’s Take on Properly Assessing Diversity Jurisdiction, American Bar Association
• Cannabis coverage conundrum: Was this property claim doomed? Property Casualty 360°
• Let’s Make a Deal: Four D&O Coverage Issues to Consider in M&A Transactions, Business Law Today
• Preventing Both Smoke and Fire: D&O Insurance for Cannabis Risks, Cannabis Business Executive
• How Cyber, D&O Insurance Can Mitigate Risk to C-Suite and Board Following a Cyber Attack, Corporate Counsel
• Insurance Tips For Mitigating DOJ Cyber Initiative Risks, Law360
• Insurance Mitigates Cyber-Related Risk, The American Oil & Gas Reporter
• Risky Business: Insuring Damage Awards through Judgment Preservation Insurance, Business Law Today
• Insurers Win Series Against Lakers in TCPA D&O Shootout, Law360
• Cyber and D&O insurance: maximizing coverage for companies and executives from cyber incidents, Westlaw Today
• Year in Review: Notable Insurance Coverage Developments of 2017!, Thomson Reuters Westlaw® 
• Recall Roundup: October, National Law Review
• Reducing Risks from Cyber Incidents with Cyber and D&O Insurance, The National Law Review
• Policy Misrepresentations Carry Insurance Rescission Risks, Law360
• 3 D&O Questions Regarding Event-Driven Securities Litigation, Law360