Who

Ostrager is a partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, and heads up the prestigious firm's litigation department.

Backstory

After graduating from NYU law in 1972, Ostrager clerked in the U.S. Attorney's office before heading to Simpson Thacher in 1980. He's since built a reputation as a fearless litigator, doing battle on behalf of financial and insurance giants like Travelers, AIG, and, JP Morgan Chase. He's also worked with a number of big media and manufacturing companies: In the '90s, he represented Paramount after Barry Diller (who ran QVC at the time) tried to take control of the studio—Ostrager did battle with Herb Wachtell, a frequent sparring partner over the years; and Ostrager represented Matsushita, the parent company of Panasonic, before the Supreme Court. More recently, he represented Andersen Consulting in its split from Arthur Andersen. The accounting firm had asked for more than $14 billion to give up control of the unit but didn't get it, thanks to him.

Of note

Ostrager's most prominent case in recent years was his defense of the insurance giant Swiss Re in connection with Sept. 11th. The site's leaseholder, Larry Silverstein, claimed that the World Trade Center attacks were two separate events that entitled him to collect twice on his $3.55 billion insurance policy. Not surprisingly, the insurance company didn't quite see it that way and the case ultimately hinged on the definition of the word "occurrence." The case stretched on until 2007, when Governor Eliot Spitzer personally got involved and worked out a settlement that resulted in Swiss Re and six other insurance giants settling with Silverstein for some $2 billion.

On the job

Ostrager has a reputation around the office for his less-than-lovable demeanor. ("He doesn't suffer from the need to be loved," one fellow litigator memorably told Chambers.) He works with a number of other heavy-hitters at Simpson Thacher. In addition to the firm's chair, Richard Beattie, and Philip Ruegger, who chairs the executive committee, Ostrager's colleagues include Charles "Casey" Cogut, who heads up the global M&A group, and other hotshots like Wilson Neely, Michael Wolitzer, and Glenn Sarno.

Off hours

In his spare time, Ostrager looks after his half-dozen racehorses; he's also a principle owner of Questroyal Stud. He's currently the president of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders Association.

Personal

Barry's wife, Pamela Ostrager, is a former lawyer and they have a daughter, Janie, who is a student at Princeton. The Ostragers live on Fifth Avenue. (Ad lady Linda Kaplan Thaler lives in the same building.) They sold their home in North Salem, NY for $1.175 million in 2004.

True story

After daughter Janie was moved by the story of an under-funded hospital in Africa that was featured on Oprah, she teamed together with a few other Spence students to organize a mother-daughter fashion show to benefit the institution. The other kids who took part? Bee Shaffer (daughter of Anna Wintour), Hannah Bronfman (daughter of Edgar Bronfman Jr.), Haley Cohen (daughter of Paula Zahn), and Annabelle Dexter-Jones (daughter of Ann Dexter-Jones). They managed to get Liya Kebede and Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer to attend the event and raised $100,000.