Attached files

file filename
EX-1.1 - UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT - BERKLEY W R CORPwr40497532b.htm
8-K - FORM 8K - BERKLEY W R CORPwr40497532a.htm
Exhibit 8.1

 
787 Seventh Avenue
New York, NY 10019-6099
Tel:  212 728 8000
Fax: 212 728 8111
 


February 4, 2021

W. R. Berkley Corporation
475 Steamboat Road
Greenwich, Connecticut 06830



Re:  W. R. Berkley Corporation – 4.125% Subordinated Debentures due 2061
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as tax counsel to W. R. Berkley Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), in connection with the issuance and sale of $300 million in aggregate principal amount of its 4.125% Subordinated Debentures due 2061 (the “Securities”), as described in the prospectus supplement, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 4, 2021 (the “Prospectus Supplement”), to the prospectus included in the Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-249950) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), dated November 6, 2020.
We hereby confirm to you our opinion as set forth under the heading “Material United States Federal Income Tax Considerations” in the Prospectus Supplement, subject to the limitations set forth therein.
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 8-K to be filed in connection with the issuance and sale of the Securities, and to the reference to us under the heading “Material United States Federal Income Tax Considerations” in the Prospectus Supplement.  In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act.
Very truly yours,

/s/ Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP





New York    Washington    Houston    Palo Alto    San francisco    Chicago    Paris    London    Frankfurt    Brussels    Milan    Rome