Bryce L. Friedman is a Partner in Simpson Thacher’s Litigation Department, Head of the Firm’s Insurance Litigation Practice and Co-Head of the Firm’s Business Litigation Practice. He concentrates on representing clients in trials and arbitrations and in responding to allegations of fraud. Bryce’s clients regularly call on him to assist in managing crises and unusual events pre-litigation. Such engagements often involve personnel issues, potential data breaches and theft of information, financial reporting, regulatory inquiries and unexpected product or business failures in the business and professional services, consumer products, financial services and transportation industries.
A Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, Bryce has represented a wide variety of businesses in commercial and business tort disputes as both claimant and defendant. He has successfully litigated disputes to conclusion in state and federal courts and arbitral forums across the United States. He is recognized by Chambers USA in New York Insurance (Band 1) and Nationwide Insurance, where sources describe him as “truly an exceptional” and “stand-out lawyer,” who is “very hard-working,” “very bright,” “well regarded” and “a great strategist who’s also great in court,” and “smart in his approach.” The Legal 500 U.S. recognizes Bryce in the “Hall of Fame” in Insurance and as a “Leading Lawyer” in General Commercial Disputes, where sources note he is “very sharp,” “has an impressive record in fraud and False Claims Act litigation,” “[his] strategic insights are unmatched” and “[h]e delivers results while also being fun to work with.” He is also recognized as a national “Litigation Star” by Euromoney’s Benchmark Litigation. Bryce was also recognized by Law360 as a 2020 “MVP” in Insurance.
Bryce’s dispute resolution experience is broad-based. Commentators say: “He is the complete package. He’s a great speaker, a great writer and has a superior strategic sense”; “[h]is work is exceptional and he provides top-notch written product.” Bryce has extensive experience representing insurers and reinsurers in disputes at the trial and appellate levels and in helping address regulatory inquiries. Commentators say Bryce is “super smart, savvy and understands coverage and litigation nuance.” He is noted for having a “broad insurer-side practice incorporating both long-tail liability litigation and emerging areas of coverage.”
Bryce also regularly represents clients in responding to whistleblowers’ allegations of fraud, including False Claims Act violations in the financial services and healthcare industries. He assists clients with investigations of such allegations and litigates False Claims Act (FCA) claims when necessary. Bryce has achieved dismissal with no payment of a series of FCA whistleblower litigations arising from federal and state health care, construction, insurance, mortgage and other financial services.
Bryce has litigated extensively in bankruptcy court and tried and prevailed in contested matters for both debtors and creditors.
Bryce received his B.A., cum laude, from Dartmouth College in 1994. He graduated from Columbia University School of Law in 1997, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. Prior to joining the Firm, he served as a law clerk for the late United States District Judge Shirley Wohl Kram in the Southern District of New York.
Bryce has served as a chair of the Firm’s Legal Personnel and Pro Bono Committees. Bryce is currently a member of the board of trustees of the off-Broadway theater company Playwrights Horizons.