Christopher B. Kende, Esq.
Christopher focuses his practice on international insurance, reinsurance, aviation, and marine matters.
Christopher has more than 30 years of experience in handling major complex multinational litigation in areas of insurance, reinsurance, environmental law, aviation and admiralty and maritime disputes. His experience includes virtually every aspect of pre-trial, trial and post-trial proceedings in state and federal courts around the country.
Christopher is a member in the Paris Maritime Arbitral Chamber. The Chamber is the premier maritime arbitral chamber in France. He is also a member of the Aeronautics Committee of the NYC Bar and a former member of the Foreign and Comparative Law Committee of that organization. He is past president of the Maritime Law Committee of New York County Lawyers Association and the Admiralty and Transportation Law Commission of the Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA). Christopher is the current President of the Insurance Law Commission of the UIA and is a member of the UIA Governing Board. He also serves on the International Organizations, Conventions and Standards Committee of the Maritime Law Association of the United States. He is on the Board of Directors of the French American Chamber of Commerce Serge Bellanger Foundation, and has served on the Foundation's jury for the past three years. The Foundation grants scholarships to deserving French and American business school students who have been admitted to the top business schools in the United States and France.
Christopher has provided reinsurance advice to the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, a federal agency, in connection with several major transactions involving political risk insurance, including assistance in the structuring of a worldwide facility offering political risk, currency conversion and expropriation cover based in Bermuda.
He has acted for several major carriers in asbestos and hazardous waste site coverage cases.
Christopher has acted for native regional and village corporations in Prince William Sound in the EXXON VALDEZ oil spill actions in state and federal court in Alaska.
He obtained a dismissal, after a seven-week bench trial, of a seven-figure claim brought against the French ship classification society by cargo owners due to the sinking of the STAR OF ALEXANDRIA. This result was affirmed on appeal.
He has acted for several large foreign reinsurers in connection with matters ranging from advice on treaty wording to litigation and arbitration involving first party property insurance, reinsurance of complex financial products, insurance-backed film financing, catastrophic business interruption losses, cargo and hull cover and health and medical reinsurance.
Christopher successfully represented the French government in the AMOCO CADIZ oil spill litigation which involved the largest shoreline pollution in history.
He successfully moved to dismiss a puntuative class action against an airline facing breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and a variety of other claims stemming from alleged false advertising regarding its enhanced economy class.
Christopher has a combined B.A. and M.A. degree from Brown University, Phi Beta Kappa, and a J.D. from New York University School of Law, Order of the Coif. He is fluent in French.
