One of the nation’s most decorated and longest-standing insurance coverage practices has left its Am Law 200 home to launch Tyka, a boutique law firm focused exclusively on representing insurers in litigation and other high-value coverage matters. The 21-lawyer firm was founded by 12 partners who built their careers together at Wiley Rein LLP, where they developed lasting relationships with major insurers, won 10 Law360 Insurance Group of the Year honors, and carried a Band 1 ranking by Chambers for 22 years.

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Kim Melvin, founding partner of Tyka

Kim Melvin, founding partner of Tyka

Tyka launches in Washington, D.C., representing major 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 firm’s name is adapted from tyche, a word ancient Greeks used for chance and its effects. Insurance rests on the promise that inevitable risk can be managed. Insurers turn to Tyka attorneys when that promise is tested.

“Our clients have trusted us with their most significant matters for more than 20 years,” said Ben Eggert, who will serve as managing partner of Tyka, and whose work has earned him recognition from Chambers USA as “one of the best coverage lawyers in the country.” “Tyka is where that work—and those relationships—will continue to grow.”

Kim Melvin, who co-chaired the insurance practice at Wiley alongside Ben and is described by clients as “top of my list of all the carrier-side lawyers,” reflected: “We built something exceptional at Wiley, and we built it together. Tyka is the natural next step—a law firm dedicated entirely to insurance coverage work, to our insurer clients, and to performing at the highest level.”

In February, the group headed by Ben and Kim was named one of Law360’s Insurance Groups of the Year for the 10th time. The publication noted, among other standout work, the group’s victory in a mergers and acquisitions case involving a “changes in exposure” provision.

Joining Ben and Kim as founding partners are:

  • Matt Beato, who represents insurers in precedent-setting coverage disputes involving D&O, financial institution, and professional liability claims and is known for his strategic advocacy and results-driven approach;

  • Ashley Criss, an experienced litigator recently named a Law360 Rising Star (2025) and Business Insurance Break Out Award winner (2026), who represents insurers in complex professional and general liability disputes nationwide and is known for her sharp advocacy in mass tort and lawyer-liability matters;

  • Jessica Gallinaro, who represents insurers in first- and third-party coverage disputes under professional liability, media and technology, and cyber risk policies, and litigates coverage and bad faith actions at the trial and appellate levels in state and federal courts nationwide;

  • Emily Hart, who represents insurers in D&O, professional liability, and transactional liability coverage litigation and brings deep experience at the intersection of bankruptcy and insurance, advising carriers on corporate bankruptcies and receiverships of every size;

  • John Howell, a Harvard Law graduate with a record of significant wins for insurer clients in trial and appellate courts across the country, who is known for his sophisticated, commercially minded counsel;

  • Maggie Karchmer, a former Law360 Rising Star who represents U.S. and European insurers in D&O, cyber, and professional liability claims and whose numerous litigation victories include a recent industry-critical opinion from the Fourth Circuit limiting coverage for related claims to a single D&O insurance tower;

  • Nate Lovett, who represents insurers in rapidly evolving data breach, ransomware, and privacy-related exposures and is known for unparalleled hands-on experience spanning more than 500 ransomware incidents;

  • Leslie Platt, who represents U.S., London, and European insurers in complex cyber, technology, and professional liability matters and is known for decades of experience guiding insurers through novel, high-exposure claims;

  • Ken Ryan, who represents insurers across general liability, D&O, professional liability, and bankruptcy-related coverage matters, and is known for advising insurers on emerging legislative and regulatory developments, from the latest artificial intelligence developments to environmental and cyber-related exposures; and

  • Gary Seligman, a Chambers-ranked lawyer who represents insurers in their most complex professional and general liability disputes and whose clients call him simply “the best.”

The partners will be joined by nine other accomplished lawyers, all of whom practiced together at Wiley: counsel Elizabeth Jewell and associates Anna Schaffner, Mallory Meaney, Ysabelle Reyes, Andrea Martinez, Thomas Boley, Megan Hovious, Kelsey Hunt, and Augusta Nau.

The firm’s practice covers the full scope of high-stakes coverage disputes, from securities class actions, derivative suits, and government investigations to ransomware incidents and professional liability claims across dozens of industries.

“This is not a pivot or a reinvention,” said Kim. “Tyka is a continuation of the exceptional work we have always done together for over 20 years, now within a firm built entirely around representing insurers.”

About Tyka

Based in Washington, D.C., Tyka is an insurance coverage boutique representing major carriers in their most significant and complex coverage disputes. The firm’s founding partners built their practices together over more than two decades, developing deep expertise across D&O and financial institution liability, cyber, privacy, and technology, professional E&O, general liability, and artificial intelligence. They bring to Tyka enduring relationships with leading insurers across the country. Learn more at tykalaw.com.

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