Top Lawyers: Steven Bazil of The Bazil Group On The 5 Things You Need To Become A Top Lawyer In Your Specific Field of Law

An Interview With Chere Estrin

Try to always exceed your clients’ expectations. When discussing a matter with a prospective client ask them what outcome they would consider a ‘win’. Then, do everything possible to exceed it. We have been able to recover costs, attorneys’ fees and interest from opposing parties.

The legal field is known to be extremely competitive. Lawyers are often smart, ambitious, and highly educated. That being said, what does it take to stand out and become a “Top Lawyer” in your specific field of law? In this interview series called “5 Things You Need To Become A Top Lawyer In Your Specific Field of Law”, we are talking to top lawyers who share what it takes to excel and stand out in your industry.

As a part of this interview series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Steven Bazil.

Steven Bazil is the founding Principal of The Bazil Group, a Glenmoore, Pennsylvania based reinsurance law firm that represents reinsurers of all sizes in the United States, the London Market and around the globe. The company also handles debt purchases and run-off acquisitions. Steven has represented insurers and reinsurers for almost three decades; his recoveries have involved clients and adversaries from over 100 countries and to date, his efforts have yielded recoveries in excess of $400 million for his clients.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dig in, our readers would love to get to know you a bit more. What is the “backstory” that brought you to this particular career path in Law? Did you want to be an attorney “when you grew up”?

I never planned on becoming an attorney. I enjoyed undergraduate school a great deal — being in a fraternity, parties and social events every weekend, etc. I didn’t want the fun to end. So, my options were medical school or law school. The medical field didn’t interest me and I could build on my undergraduate degree in Communications by going to law school. What an eye-opener — I had to work really hard to graduate cum laude. No parties, very limited social life and A LOT of reading, studying and hard work.

I got my dream Summer Internship opportunity working at the FCC. It was part of my plan on becoming a Communications Law attorney. I hated it. However, I had a brilliant professor teaching Bankruptcy Law and was then able to secure a Summer Intern position with a Federal Judge, Jude Scholl, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. I loved the work.

After graduating from Law School, I was able to land a position working at an insolvent insurance company, The Mutual Fire, Marine and Inland Insurance Company (in Rehabilitation). I was part of the legal team that took a $500 million dollar insolvency and turned it around to a solvent insurer with over $100 million dollars in surplus. While working there I was responsible for negotiating transactions with our reinsurers. I gained extensive experience in reinsurance law which I utilized when I went into private practice.

Can you tell us a bit about the nature of your practice and what you focus on?

My practice is limited to handling reinsurance disputes/transactions.

You are a successful attorney. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? What unique qualities do you have that others may not? Can you please share a story or example for each?

1. PERSEVERANCE.

I’ve seen so many attorneys who when confronted with a major obstacle, they give up or walk away. My mentors drilled into me a need to continue pushing forward and come up with different approaches to obtain the desired result.

EXAMPLE: We represented a U.S. company against a Brazilian reinsurer. We obtained a large arbitration award against the Brazilian company which they refused to honor. Many attorneys would have stopped at this point. The process to transfer and enforce an arbitral award in Brazil can take many years and be prohibitively expensive. Having dealt previously with many foreign reinsurers, I knew some had assets in the United States. We identified a New York branch of a Brazilian bank and based upon my suspicion that the reinsurer may have had accounts at the New York bank, we commenced execution proceedings in New York. (I am licensed in New York and Pennsylvania.) Apparently being served with a Writ of Execution by the U.S. Marshalls was enough to prompt the reinsurer to pay my client the funds awarded to it in the arbitration.

We have had similar success when seeking to enforce a Judgment against a Ghanian reinsurer.

Never, ever, give up.

2. FLEXIBILITY.

When we take on a new matter, we discuss what a client’s ideal outcome would be. We then put together a plan to achieve that objective. But every situation is different — different jurisdictions, counter parties, the strength of our case, etc. So, in attempting to reach the objective, we never apply a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. Some matters can be resolved amicably, some cannot. A counter party may not be able to pay our client due to currency controls, cash flow issues, etc. We need to be flexible and work around these issues to meet our objective.

EXAMPLE 1: A reinsurer in the Ivory Coast owed our client a substantial amount of money. All attempts to collect failed. We were retained to commence proceedings against the reinsurer. We engaged them in discussions and found out they were having cash flow issues. Commencing proceedings against them could be counter- productive — we may have forced them into insolvency. So, we put them on a 36-month payment plan and carefully monitored their financial condition. Result? Our client was paid in full plus a premium for being flexible by offering payment terms.

EXAMPLE 2: We are currently recovering funds owed a client by a Belizean reinsurer. Due to the COVID pandemic, Belize’s tourism industry has been hard hit resulting in a shortage of U.S. Dollars coming into the country. We had to put the reinsurer on a payment plan. They were in the process of making the final installment and payment when their bank was sold. Their bank had a relationship with a U.S. bank as intermediary that helped them secure U.S. dollars. We are now contacting several U.S. banks with whom we have relationships in order to find one that can help the Belizean company secure U.S. dollars. BE FLEXIBLE.

3. ALWAYS LOOK FOR NEW OPPORTUNITIES.

EXAMPLE 1: Clients frequently present us with issues that are new to us. We had a Danish client approach us to assist it in recovering collateral it had posted with a U.S. bank. We worked with the bank for several months navigating the regulatory requirements that needed to be met in order to secure the release of the collateral. Having completed that exercise, we have offered to provide this service to our entire client base.

EXAMPLE 2: We were collecting funds owed a client for a U.K. company in a Scheme of Arrangement (form of running off a business). During this exercise we became aware of a number of companies who were owed money, but had failed to timely file Proofs of Claim. We contacted them and were retained by several dozen to help perfect their claims and receive payments.

Do you think you have had luck in your success? Can you explain what you mean?

I’m not superstitious, but I do believe luck can be a factor.

For instance, I was at a bar during a conference swapping war stories with some colleagues. I was explaining how recently we had succeeded in collecting funds from a notorious non-paying reinsurer in Uruguay. One of the other conference attendees was nearby and overheard us exchanging stories. I got an email the next day requesting a meeting with the representative of a large U.S. insurance company. Apparently, they were owed a significant amount of money from the Uruguayan reinsurer and their go-to law firm had not been able to collect from them. We were retained during the meeting and collected the funds owed our new client. We were lucky he happened to be nearby at the right time to overhear my story about the Uruguayan reinsurer.

Do you think where you went to school has any bearing on your success? How important is it for a lawyer to go to a top-tier school?

Going to a top tier law school is a huge help when starting your career. Many law firms only hire from top tier law schools. I went to a middle tier law school. Although I graduated with honors, it was challenging to secure my first job. Later in your career it is far more important to demonstrate your skills and proficiency than point to where you went to school.

Based on the lessons you have learned from your experience, if you could go back in time and speak to your twenty-year-old self, what would you say? Would you do anything differently?

Buy Microsoft stock and Bitcoin…lots and lots of Bitcoin!!

This is not easy work. What is your primary motivation and drive behind the work that you do?

My primary motivation is to help clients navigate challenges. I thrive on being able to do what others say can’t be done. And the money can be really good too.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

As mentioned previously, our services have expanded over the years. We are now trying to help clients looking to sell, or buy, companies or lines of business. Loosely, it’s kind of like a match making service:)

Where do you go from here? Where do you aim to be in the next chapter of your career?

Retired.

Without sharing anything confidential, can you please share your most successful “war story”? Can you share the funniest?

Successful War Story: We had been retained by a client to help them collect balances from a Mexican reinsurer. We met with the reinsurer and were able to reach a great outcome for our client. The real win was that due to the courtesy and professionalism we showed the Mexican company, they retained us to help them with a broad range of matters.

Funny Story: We had been retained to recover funds owed a U.S. company by a Uruguayan company. They were sending their U.K. based representatives to meet with us for what we thought would be a protracted, intense settlement negotiation. We’d had a very busy month and I was exhausted and not looking forward to the hours of posturing, arguing and jockeying. When the U.K. representatives arrived, I made introductions and welcomed them. I then said, “We can sit here and fight for the next few hours or I can take you to Del Frisco’s Steakhouse for a great dinner if you agree to pay my client (a significant amount of money), this figure is not subject to negotiation.” We settled in about 10 minutes and enjoyed a fantastic steak dinner!

Ok, fantastic. Let’s now shift to discussing some advice for aspiring lawyers. Do you work remotely? Onsite? Or Hybrid? What do you think will be the future of how law offices operate? What do you prefer? Can you please explain what you mean?

Hybrid. We work from home and our office but rarely travel any longer due to COVID. Everyone seems to have adjusted to remote/hybrid working and I think that will continue.

How has the legal world changed since COVID? How do you think it might change in the near future? Can you explain what you mean?

The method of working has changed since COVID. Exchanging documents electronically, using Zoom or Teams etc. has made working remotely much easier and frankly is a huge cost savings regarding office space.

We often hear about the importance of networking and getting referrals. Is this still true today? Has the nature of networking changed or has its importance changed? Can you explain what you mean?

Networking and referrals are still important. Writing articles, speaking at events/conferences is also quite important.

Based on your experience, how can attorneys effectively leverage social media to build their practice?

No opinion on this aspect.

Excellent. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Become A Top Lawyer In Your Specific Field of Law?” Please share a story or an example for each.

1. Continue learning and stay abreast of developments in your field of expertise. I attend industry conferences and CLE programs that focus on reinsurance. I received my Post Graduate Certificate of Laws in International Business from the University of London in 2012.
2. Obtain non-legal designations, if available, evidencing your depth of knowledge in your field of work. I will receive my ReScholar Certification from the Reinsurance Association of America next month.
3. Try to always exceed your clients’ expectations. When discussing a matter with a prospective client ask them what outcome they would consider a ‘win’. Then, do everything possible to exceed it. We have been able to recover costs, attorneys’ fees and interest from opposing parties.
4. Our field is relationship driven. Always treat opposing parties and their counsel in a courteous, professional fashion. The opponent today could be a client tomorrow. You can build relationships with opposing counsel that makes it much easier to resolve disputes unless, of course, they are from New York or Paris…then it’s ‘Gloves off, Game on’!
5. Never be afraid to ask questions when appropriate. In discussing a case with a client, if they use terminology, facts or a concept unfamiliar to me, I ask for an explanation and/or clarification. Rather than act as if I know everything, which I most certainly do not, clients appreciate when I make clear I want to be as well prepared as possible to represent them.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might see this. :-)

WARREN BUFFET. Berkshire Hathaway is one of the biggest, most respected players in reinsurance. They are a client and I have dealt with senior level employees. They are always very polite, professional and courteous. Warren runs a great operation and I’d love to take him to lunch in Omaha.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success and good health!