Barry Ostrager of New York’s Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, and co-head of the firm’s litigation department is reputed not to have lost a trial in over 20 years. Already a LawFuel nominee in 2005, Ostrager handles the difficult cases, favoring the hard cases that are reputed to make good law.
Take the arbitration involving his client Andersen Consulting in its split from Andersen Worldwide. The dispute involved $14.5 billion in alleged debts but the arbitration panel accepted Ostrager’s argument the A.W. had breached their agreement and no payment was necessary.
He was also was lead lawyer for a group of insurers against Shell Oil in an environmental insurance coverage case. With $2.5 billion at stake in the 16-month trial, a jury agreed with the defense and denied coverage.
And so on. In over 50 trials over his three-decade career he’s been a winner.
