• Atlanta
• Boston
• Dallas
• Ft. Lauderdale
• London
• Minneapolis
• New York
• Oakland
• Philadelphia
• Washington, DC

Zelle LLP is pleased to announce that Peter Kelly Golfman, Katharina Kraatz-Dunkel, and Brandt R. Johnson have been elected to the partnership effective January 1, 2025. The new partners are based in the firm’s New York, NY, Boston, MA, and Dallas, TX offices, respectively.

“We are thrilled to welcome Peter, Katharina, and Brandt into the partnership,” said Liz Kniffen, the firm’s Managing Partner, and member of Zelle’s Executive Committee. “Each epitomizes the personal and professional qualities we strive for at Zelle, and we are thrilled to have them collaborating with their colleagues and serving our clients in their new roles.”

Peter Golfman (NYC)

Peter, who joined Zelle in 2018, provides a broad range of legal services as a coverage advisor and litigator in the global insurance market focused on the energy, builder’s risk, oil and gas, cyber, liability and commercial property sectors. Within these sectors, Peter specializes in resolution of issues related to business interruption loss, delay in completion, loss of capacity, cyber loss, defects and bad faith claims.

In addition to providing coverage advice, Peter represents clients in all aspects of litigation in federal and state courts as well as alternative dispute resolution proceedings throughout the country.

Katharina Kraatz-Dunkel (Boston)

Katharina, who joined Zelle in 2021, represents many of the world’s largest insurers in (re)insurance coverage, litigation, and dispute resolution, as well as complex commercial litigation and insurance defense. Her practice extends globally and covers multiple industries.

In addition to her practice in the U.S., she is an English solicitor, and fully qualified German lawyer, and a native German speaker.

Katharina began her career in the London insurance market, advising insurers and reinsurers in coverage, liability defense, and subrogation matters, as well as international arbitrations and mediations originating in common law and civil law jurisdictions, often involving cross-border elements.

Brandt Johnson (Dallas)

Brandt joined Zelle in 2021, and has nearly 30 years of experience in a variety of legal disciplines, including first-party insurance law (catastrophic weather, hail, and wind litigation), insurance bad faith law, general business law, business litigation, conflict resolution and risk/exposure analysis and reduction.

Brandt has an extensive breadth of legal experience both in private practice and in an in-house setting, having served as Senior Vice President of Claims for a regional insurance carrier, directing all aspects of the claims operation, including handling all escalated/contested claims as well as managing a team of inside desk adjusters and field adjusters, representing the company at mediations, and assisting trial attorneys with case preparation.