Troutman Pepper Locke has expanded two key practices by adding four partners, strengthening its insurance litigation capabilities in Philadelphia and its energy regulatory platform in Austin.
The firm added Jason Gosselin, Kate Villanueva, and Christopher Petillo to its Insurance and Reinsurance Litigation Practice Group in Philadelphia. The three lawyers join from Faegre Drinker, where they advised insurers nationwide in complex insurance, commercial, class action, coverage, and regulatory disputes.
The group adds depth to Troutman Pepper Locke’s Chambers-ranked insurance platform, particularly across life, disability, accidental death and dismemberment, and long-term care litigation. Their arrival also reflects the firm’s continued investment in insurance as a core industry, with Gosselin, Villanueva, and Petillo representing the fourth, fifth, and sixth lateral partners the firm announced in October.
Gosselin is a senior trial lawyer whose practice includes complex insurance, commercial, and constitutional disputes. He serves as lead counsel in jury trials, bench trials, and arbitrations nationwide, focusing on high-exposure coverage and sales-practices litigation involving life, health, disability, and property and casualty insurance. He also handles bad faith, ERISA, and class action matters.
Villanueva previously led Faegre Drinker’s life and disability insurance team. Her practice includes individual and class actions involving annuities and life, disability, AD&D, and long-term care insurance, along with policy administration matters involving lapse and contestability processes, underwriting, sales practices, claims handling, rescissions, and insurable interest.
Petillo represents clients in insurance litigation and regulatory matters across state and federal courts. His practice encompasses class action and extra-contractual disputes involving life, long-term care, annuity, and property and casualty policies, with particular experience in cost-of-insurance disputes, fraud and rescissions, broker misconduct, lapse and reinstatement matters, civil RICO, and claims disputes.
Troutman Pepper Locke has also added Texas energy lawyer Emily Jolly as a partner in its Energy Regulatory Practice Group in Austin. Jolly most recently served as senior vice president and chief regulatory and compliance officer at the Lower Colorado River Authority, a major wholesale power generation and transmission provider serving Central Texas.
Jolly brings nearly two decades of Texas-based legal experience focused on contested case proceedings, rulemakings, and advocacy before state administrative agencies. She has extensive experience in transmission and wholesale power policy at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and has served on the ERCOT Technical Advisory Committee and Wholesale Market Subcommittee.
At LCRA, Jolly led regulatory affairs and regulatory and market compliance teams and served as counsel on electric regulatory matters. Her responsibilities included directing advocacy before the Public Utility Commission of Texas and ERCOT, supporting legislative strategy, and overseeing rate and transmission line certification applications.
Her arrival is expected to strengthen Troutman Pepper Locke’s Texas utility regulation capabilities while supporting the firm’s broader energy transactional practice. The firm has held a Tier 1 national ranking in Energy Law from Best Law Firms every year since 2014 and holds multiple nationwide energy-related rankings in Chambers USA, including Band 1 for Energy: Electricity (Regulatory & Litigation).
Together, the four additions expand Troutman Pepper Locke’s capabilities across two sectors where the firm has significant existing depth. Troutman Pepper Locke has more than 1,600 attorneys across more than 30 offices and maintains particular industry concentrations in insurance and reinsurance, energy, financial services, health care and life sciences, private equity, and real estate.
KEY QUOTES:
“Jason, Kate, and Chris are highly regarded litigators with market-leading regulatory and trial practices, and lasting client relationships that speak to the trust they have earned with top industry stakeholders. Insurance is one of the firm’s core industries, and their arrival signals our continued deep commitment to this key sector. They expand our presence in life, disability, AD&D, and long-term care litigation, and strengthen our ability to serve insurers and policyholders in high-stakes disputes nationally.”
Steve Whitmer, Chair Of Troutman Pepper Locke’s Insurance And IP Department
“What stood out to us about Troutman Pepper Locke is how serious the firm is about elevating and building upon its already formidable insurance practice. Given the preeminence of its practice, consistent national recognition, and focus on market growth, we are thrilled to join a firm of this caliber.”
Jason Gosselin, Partner At Troutman Pepper Locke
“As the legal landscape continues to evolve for life and disability insurers, our team’s need for flexibility and increased resources is even greater. Troutman Pepper Locke’s unwavering commitment to the insurance industry puts us in a stronger position to meet client needs and gives us a much bigger platform to help them navigate the full range of challenges across the insurance sector.”
Kate Villanueva, Partner At Troutman Pepper Locke
“Joining Troutman Pepper Locke gives us a real opportunity to raise our profile in the marketplace while expanding existing work across Chicago, Florida, and the West Coast, where the firm already has a strong presence. Combined with its full breadth of resources and cross-practice support across ERISA, insurance transactional, and regulatory matters, this is a natural next step for our practices.”
Christopher Petillo, Partner At Troutman Pepper Locke
“We have known and respected Emily for years as a leading authority on electric utility regulation, administrative law, and wholesale market policy in Texas, and we are thrilled to add her to our team. Emily’s experience will strengthen our offerings on all manner of Texas energy regulation issues and support our busy energy transactional practice.”
Chris Jones, Leader Of Troutman Pepper Locke’s Energy Regulatory Practice Group
“Troutman Pepper Locke is a known leader in the energy space with deep Texas roots. The firm’s regulatory capabilities and client base are a natural fit for my background, and I’m excited to build and grow my practice alongside such a talented and collaborative team.”
Emily Jolly, Partner At Troutman Pepper Locke
