Elite 21-Lawyer Insurance Practice Departs Wiley to Launch Boutique Firm Tyka

A team of 21 insurance coverage specialists has departed Am Law 200 firm Wiley Rein LLP to launch Tyka, a Washington, D.C.-based boutique law firm. For carriers and reinsurers, this move consolidates a Band 1-ranked litigation powerhouse into a dedicated entity focused exclusively on high-stakes coverage disputes, including cyber, D&O, and emerging artificial intelligence liabilities.

What was announced

The launch of Tyka marks the transition of a decorated insurance practice into an independent boutique firm. The 21-lawyer group is led by 12 founding partners who previously spent over two decades at Wiley Rein LLP. The firm will focus exclusively on representing major insurance carriers across five core practice areas: D&O and financial institution liability; cyber, privacy, and technology; professional E&O; general liability; and artificial intelligence.

The founding partners include Managing Partner Ben Eggert and Kim Melvin, who previously co-chaired the insurance practice at Wiley. Joining them are founding partners Matt Beato, Ashley Criss, Jessica Gallinaro, Emily Hart, John Howell, Maggie Karchmer, Nate Lovett, Leslie Platt, Ken Ryan, and Gary Seligman. The team also includes counsel Elizabeth Jewell and nine associates, including Anna Schaffner, Mallory Meaney, Ysabelle Reyes, Andrea Martinez, Thomas Boley, Megan Hovious, Kelsey Hunt, and Augusta Nau.

The firm’s expertise covers high-value litigation and advisory work, ranging from securities class actions and derivative suits to complex ransomware incidents. Notably, the team brings experience from handling more than 500 ransomware cases and recently secured an industry-critical opinion from the Fourth Circuit regarding D&O insurance towers. The group has collectively earned 10 Law360 Insurance Group of the Year honors and maintained a Band 1 ranking by Chambers for 22 consecutive years.

"Our clients have trusted us with their most significant matters for more than 20 years. Tyka is where that work—and those relationships—will continue to grow."

Ben Eggert, Managing Partner at Tyka.

The companies involved

Tyka is a newly established insurance coverage boutique based in Washington, D.C. While the firm is a new entity, its leadership consists of a deeply integrated team that built its reputation at Wiley Rein LLP, a prominent Am Law 200 firm. Tyka positions itself as a specialist alternative to large, multi-practice law firms, catering specifically to the needs of major domestic and international carriers, including those in the U.S., London, and European markets.

The firm’s founding members have a long history of representing insurers in precedent-setting disputes. For instance, Nate Lovett specializes in rapidly evolving data breach and privacy exposures, while Emily Hart provides counsel on the intersection of insurance and corporate bankruptcy. Ashley Criss and Maggie Karchmer have both been recognized as Law360 Rising Stars for their work in professional liability and D&O claims. This collective experience allows Tyka to operate at the highest level of the insurance legal market, advising on emerging legislative developments and novel, high-exposure claims that test the fundamental promises of insurance contracts.

What this means from an insurtech perspective

The formation of Tyka signals a shift toward specialized legal boutiques capable of addressing the increasingly technical nature of insurance claims. For carriers and MGAs, the firm’s dedicated focus on cyber and artificial intelligence is particularly relevant as these sectors face heightened regulatory scrutiny and evolving loss patterns. As insurtech platforms continue to automate underwriting and claims, the demand for high-level human legal expertise in "grey area" disputes—such as those involving ransomware or AI-driven liability—remains critical. This move puts pressure on traditional multi-service law firms to retain specialized talent as the insurance value chain increasingly seeks agile, sector-specific counsel to manage loss ratios and protect capital.