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Bryce J. Adams

Shareholder, Portland

503.499.4455
vCard | Email | PDF

Bryce J. Adams

Shareholder, Portland

503.499.4455
vCard | Email | PDF

PROTECTING INSURERS BY LEVERAGING POLICYHOLDER TACTICS

Bryce Adams represents multinational insurer clients primarily in a first party setting, with an emphasis on Oregon’s evolving bad faith law.  In doing so, he pursues strategies emphasizing dispositive motion practice on cutting edge issues like the standard of care set forth for carriers in the Oregon Insurance Code and the role of physical impacts in pleading non-economic damages.  Despite recent legislative and judicial setbacks for the industry, he delights in how much remains “unsettled” in Oregon insurance law, and all the opportunities that provides for smart defense attorneys to carve out protections for clients that frequently face unique challenges garnering public support for their legal rights.

As a former plaintiff’s attorney, Bryce appreciates the disparate strategies each party brings to coverage disputes. He specializes in identifying and anticipating issues that policyholder attorneys may exploit, particularly Oregon’s notorious “Hoffman” doctrine and the role ambiguity plays in creating a carrier’s scope of risk.

PRACTICE AREAS

ADMISSIONS

Bar Admissions

  • Oregon, 2013

EDUCATION

  • Lewis & Clark Law School – J.D., 2013
  • University of Michigan – M.A., Middle Eastern Studies, 2010
  • University of Oregon – B.A., Political Science, 2004

CLIENT WINS

  • Drafted a winning summary judgment argument on a statutory interpretation that secured $20 million in defense costs for a public entity client in CERCLA litigation using archival information and legislative records to defeat carrier interpretations of legacy policies.
  • Negotiated settlement up to policy limits in a wrongful death action where clients’ insured status was hotly disputed under homeowner’s policy that did not properly list site of death as an additional insured location.

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  • Provided critical environmental analysis to municipal authorities during the 2014 Port of Vancouver oil terminal controversy.
  • Negotiated a transfer of a $20 million service contract for Medicare eligibility automation for the state of Hawaii.
  • Acted as a specialist in archival research and deep analysis of legislative history to serve lobbying and litigation efforts.
  • Multnomah Bar Association (Member)
  • Project Management Institute International (Member)
  • Co-Presenter, “A Moody Update: The Supreme Court Decision”, Oregon Association of Defense Counsel (January 2024)
  • Co-Speaker, “Advising Clients on Handling COVID-19 Business Interruption Claims,” Oregon Association of Defense Counsel, May 2020
  • Co-Editor, “Extracontractual Claims and Bad Faith,” OSB Insurance Law: The Basics (2019)
  • Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch (2021-2024 — Insurance Law)
  • Lewis & Clark Dean’s Scholarship (2010-2013)
  • Defense Department Critical Language Scholar: Farsi (2008)
  • Department of Education Foreign Language/Area Study Fellow: Indonesian (2009-2010)

OUTSIDE THE FIRM

Bryce is a proud contributor to the Elephant Valley Project & Elie Foundation in Mondulkiri, Cambodia, and donates to the African Wildlife Foundation, Orangutan Republic, Veterans Empowered to Protect African Wildlife, and the Rainforest Action Network. It may come as no surprise, therefore, that Bryce builds his life outside the office around international travel—preferably in countries with heat, jungles, and ruins to explore.

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