John E. Meagher

John E. Meagher is the Managing Partner of the Miami office of Shutts & Bowen LLP and Chair of the Insurance Practice Group.

A Martindale-Hubbell AV® rated trial lawyer, John has been recognized as one of the Best Lawyers in America® in insurance law and been named a “Top Lawyer” by South Florida Legal Guide. John primarily represents insurance companies and third-party administrators in trial and appellate actions throughout the state and federal court systems. John also is an active commercial litigator.

In the insurance context, John has over thirty-years’ experience in first, third party, and bad faith claims involving life, health, long term care, and disability insurance litigation. He has handled large, complex cases and numerous jury and non-jury trials for clients such as MetLife, Northwestern Mutual, Unum, and Davies Life & Health.  In one of his recent federal court cases, tried during the pandemic, John obtained a defense verdict in a $5 million “suicide” life insurance case where, for the first time in Florida, the Court, all the parties, and the jury appeared entirely by Zoom. 

As a result of his trial work, John frequently argues before both the state appellate courts and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. He has successfully argued before the Florida Supreme Court in a case involving far-reaching issues of attorney-client privilege in first-party bad faith claims andwas lead counsel in a precedent setting case before the Third District Court of Appeals on the issue of whether bad faith claims could be pursued simultaneously with an insured’s breach of contract claim, resulting in lower costs and exposure to insurers throughout the State.

John is a frequent speaker on insurance fraud, trial and deposition preparation, e-discovery, attorney-client privilege, and other litigation topics at meetings of the International Claims Association, the Defense Research Institute, the DI and LTC Insurer’s Forum, the Definitive Disability Conference, and the Eastern and New England Claims Conferences. He's a member of the Law Committee of the International Claims Association and the Defense Research Institute.