Verified profile

Kimberly A. Cereijo

Partner at Wiley Rein LLP

Kimberly A. Cereijo's profile photo
LocationWashington DCDistrict of Columbia, United States
Current rolePartnerWiley Rein LLP · since Sep 2008
Government service1yrU.S. District Court

About

Kim represents insurers in complex professional liability matters in myriad industries. She offers a breadth of experience, routinely advising insurers on issues of insurance coverage and underlying liability exposure in connection with claims against lawyers, health care institutions and providers, architects, engineers, insurance agents, and real estate agents and brokers. Kim serves as coverage and monitoring counsel, and litigates coverage issues nationwide. Kim also serves as defense counsel for professionals in high-exposure professional liability claims.

Roles

Sep 2008–Present
Current role

Partner

Wiley Rein LLP

Washington, District of Columbia

Civil LitigationLegal InvestigatorLitigation Support SpecialistLegal Instruments Examining
Oct 2006–Sep 2008
Former role

Attorney

Ross Dixon & Bell

Attorney
Jan 2005–Jan 2006
Former role

Law Clerk

U.S. District Court

(appointed)Maryland

Law ClerkResearchLegal Assistant

Law Clerk for the Honorable Deborah K. Chasanow, Researching and drafting opinions, orders, and bench memoranda.

Oct 1999–Jan 2002
Former role

HR Consultant

Aon Consulting

Consulting

Representative matters

Experience

May 2025

Helped to secure a favorable outcome in June 2016 in a jury trial relating to rescission of an accountants’ policy. Cont’l Cas. Co. v. Marshall Granger & Co., 921 F. Supp. 2d 111 (S.D.N.Y. 2013), 6 F. Supp. 3d 380 (S.D.N.Y. 2014). The Second Circuit affirmed the judgment for the insurer. Cont’l Cas. Co. v. Marshall Granger & Co., No. 16-2384, 2017 WL 2416902 (2d Cir. June 5, 2017). Set important Fourth Circuit precedent regarding the operation of so-called “innocent insured” provisions in a case holding that a professional liability policy’s innocent insured provision did not save coverage where the policy’s prior knowledge condition to coverage had not been satisfied. Bryan Bros., Inc. v. Cont’l Cas. Co., 660 F.3d 827 (4th Cir. 2011) and 704 F. Supp. 2d 537 (E.D. Va. 2010). Cont’l Cas. Co. v. Battery Wealth, 474 F. App’x 898 (4th Cir. 2012). Obtained summary judgment for her client in a case addressing the critical issue of the scope of insured “professional services” under an accountants professional liability policy. Navigators Ins. Co. v. Hamlin, No. 6:14-cv-196-MC, 2015 WL 1084825 (D. Or. Mar. 10, 2015). Achieved a significant favorable decision from the Fifth Circuit clarifying the line between when an insurer can control the defense of a case and when an insured must have independent counsel. Coats, Rose, Yale, Ryman & Lee, P.C. v. Navigators Specialty Ins. Co., 489 F. App’x 769 (5th Cir. 2012). Managed a portfolio-wide project for an insurance client regarding review and audit of more than 1,000 health care claims. Advised an insurance client on a potential multimillion-dollar global A&E exposure. Assisted in the defense of a prominent District of Columbia lawyer in a closely watched legal malpractice case brought by a Nobel Prize laureate, obtaining a defense jury verdict following a nine-day trial (2011). Negotiated a confidential favorable resolution of a claim against a real estate professional and related coverage litigation. Served as lead counsel in a confidential arbitration involving insurance coverage and allocation issues. Served as lead counsel in a confidential arbitration involving insurance coverage and allocation issues.

Recognition

Honors

Named

Law360’s Insurance Authority Editorial Advisory Board

January 2024

Named to Law360’s Insurance Authority Editorial Advisory Board (2018, 2024)

“Break Out” Award

Business Insurance magazine

January 2017

Received a Business Insurance magazine “Break Out” Award (2017)

“Super Lawyers” and “Rising Stars”

Super Lawyers magazine

January 2015

Named one of DC’s “Super Lawyers” (2016-2020) and “Rising Stars” (2014-2015) for Insurance Coverage by Super Lawyers magazine

Recommended lawyer

The Legal 500 US

January 2018

Named by The Legal 500 US a “recommended lawyer” in Insurance Law (2015, 2018)

Included

The Best Lawyers of America

May 2025

Included in The Best Lawyers of America directory for Insurance Law (2024-2025)

Publications & speeches

The Devil Is in the Details: Navigating Policy Limit Demands to Avoid Malpractice Exposure

In Practice...With CNA

January 2022

Co-Author

Link

Late is Enough – Or Not: Analyzing the Notice-Prejudice Rule

ABA's 2016 Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee CLE Seminar

March 2016

Author

Link

Do Consecutive Claims-Made Policies Create a Multi-Year Period of Seamless Coverage?

PLUS Journal

July 2015

Over the past twenty years, courts have debated whether an insurer that issues consecutive claims-made insurance policies to the same insured effectively provides the insured with a multi-year period of seamless coverage. The correct answer based on the plain language of the policies is “no,” but some courts have used creative logic to reach a contrary result to further their view ofequity. The recent trend in the case law is to reject or limit “seamless coverage” arguments, but insurers should be aware of the issue and prepared to address it proactively.

Link

No Coverage In NY For 'Hybrid Role' Malpractice Claims

Law360

June 2015

In April 2015, the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court ruled that a business enterprise exclusion bars coverage for a legal malpractice claim that is based partly on the insured attorney’s law practice and partly on the attorney’s activities on behalf of a business enterprise he controlled. The ruling in Lee & Amtzis LLP v. Am. Guarantee & Liab. Ins. Co.[1] confirms that courts will enforce business enterprise exclusions in accordance with their plain and broad meaning to bar coverage for claims arising out of an attorney’s business pursuits — even where the claim also alleges legal malpractice.

Link

Effectiveness of the Business Enterprise Exclusion for Limiting Risk

ABA's Insurance Coverage Journal

March 2014

Author

Link

The Lion in Winter: How Firms Proactively and Humanely Can Address Cognitive Impairment in an Aging Lawyer Population

Professional Liability Underwriting Society Journal, Vol. 26, No. 6

June 2013

America’s lawyer population is aging. Data from the American Bar Association reveals that the percentage of lawyers aged 45 and older increased from 38% in 1991 to 62% in 2005, while the median age of American lawyers increased from 39 to 49 years old between 1980 and 2005. This aging trend is likely to continue as the American population as a whole ages. Indeed, the U.S. Census Bureau expects the number of Americans age 65 and older to double over the next 20 years, and elderly Americans are living longer than ever thanks to medical advances and healthier lifestyles. Of course, lawyers are also getting older, and senior attorneys are continuing to work later in life due in part to improvements in healthcare and, in some cases, unexpectedly diminished retirement funds.

Link

Beyond Cognition: The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Effective Claim Management and Resolution

2017 PLUS International Conference — Atlanta, GA

November 2017

Speaker

Link

How Could I Have Known? Prior Knowledge Coverage Issues in Lawyers Professional Liability Cases

American Bar Association's 2016 National Legal Malpractice Conference — Chicago, IL

September 2016

Speaker

In the Interests of Time: Exploring Critical Timing Issues Under Claims Made Policies

ABA's 2016 Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee CLE Seminar — Tucson, AZ

March 2016

Moderator

Timing is Everything: Notice, Priors, and Tails

ABA National Legal Malpractice Conference — Washington, DC

January 2015

Moderator