Rachel E. Hudgins

Regarded by clients as their “chief contact for high-exposure work,” Rachel helps policyholders maximize their available insurance recoveries. Her deep curiosity and keen interest in her clients’ businesses drive her ability to find practical, actionable solutions that align with their goals. And she goes the distance—literally. When Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated the Virgin Islands in 2017, Rachel responded by obtaining her license to practice in the territory to better serve her clients.

Unflappable in the face of challenges, Rachel has litigated hundreds of insurance coverage and bad faith disputes in state and federal courts across the country and US territories. Yet, as a seasoned litigator, she also recognizes the strategic and financial value of pre-suit resolutions, helping clients navigate risk to maximize their recoveries.

• High-Value Insurance Disputes – Manages complex, open-market claims under insurance towers totaling up to $2 billion in insured value.
• Settling High-Value Cases – Advises policyholders on securing insurer participation and consent in high-exposure settlements, particularly in cases with the potential for nuclear verdicts. Helps clients navigate insurer objections and leverage coverage strategies to maximize recovery while mitigating financial risk.
• Advice Work – Advises clients on claims under a range of policies, including property, business interruption, commercial general liability (CGL), pollution legal liability (PLL), D&O, E&O, professional liability, employment practices liability (EPLI), cyber, crime, fidelity, and other specialized insurance products.
• Hurricanes Irma and Maria Coverage Litigation – Served as lead counsel in consolidated litigation and administrative proceedings before the Banking, Insurance & Financial Regulation Division of the U.S. Virgin Islands Lieutenant Governor’s Office related to hurricane insurance claims.
• Amicus Advocacy in the Montana Supreme Court – Represented a nonprofit advocacy organization as amicus curiae in National Indemnity Co. v. State of Montana, where the Montana Supreme Court upheld an insurer’s duty to defend and indemnify policyholder claims related to asbestos exposure. The court specifically cited amicus briefing in affirming the application of the “all sums” allocation doctrine.

• Named a Break Out Award winner, Business Insurance, 2024

• Selected as One to Watch for Insurance Law, The Best Lawyers in America, 2023-2024
• Selected as a Rising Star for Insurance Coverage, Atlanta Magazine and Georgia Super Lawyers Magazine, 2019-2025

• Volunteer Attorney, AILA/American Immigration Council's Immigration Justice Campaign, 2018 through present
• Barrister, The Logan E. Bleckley Inn of Court