Work Department

Litigation

Position

Commercial litigator with deep experience representing insurers and reinsurers in coverage and business practice litigation and arbitration in the US and globally. Representations include Royal in multi-billion dollar case against GM; Travelers in complex cases against Northrop Grumman, Lincoln Electric, Goodyear, WR Grace, and ACandS; various Berkshire Hathaway insurers in high profile cases including against Coca Cola and Colgate; Hanwha in merger-related arbitration against Korea Life; and captive insurer in multiple reinsurance arbitrations involving flooding-related property damage.

Education

Yale Law School (J.D., 1989); Barnard College (B.A., magna cum laude, 1984).

Lawyer Rankings

United States > Industry focus > Insurance: advice to insurers

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP‘s practice focuses on both primary coverage and excess insurance matters, including terrorism-related coverage, cybersecurity, business practice issues, bad faith allegations, residual value policies and natural disasters. Bryce Friedman in New York represented Travelers in its complaint and motion for preliminary injunction against Old Mutual’s attempt to shed its indemnification liability to the client via a reorganization. New York-based practice lead Mary Beth Forshaw acted for National Union Fire Insurance Company in a coverage dispute aimed to recover the amounts it paid to fund a Master Settlement Agreement between insured Fresenius Medical Care and the plaintiffs who brought the underlying injury lawsuits against Fresenius. Commercial litigator Susannah Geltman, who is also based in New York, represents national insurers in coverage disputes. Deborah Stein joined Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP‘s Los Angeles office in 2019.

United States > Dispute resolution > International arbitration

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP has expertise in complex, high-value arbitration and is able to seamlessly utilize its international network in cross-border proceedings. The team represented Danone in UNCITRAL arbitration and ancillary proceedings following a product contamination caused by supplier Fonterra. Key contacts are Washington DC-based practice head Peter Thomas and Tyler Robinson in London; the latter in particular is ‘a master at collating highly complex and technical elements cohesively’. New York-based Mary Beth Forshaw is also a noted practitioner.