Brian Fryd

Brian Fryd specializes in matters relating to securities, valuation, financial institutions, and statistical analysis.

He has experience in all phases of litigation, including the discovery, class certification, motion practice, and merits phases, as well as at trial. He also has extensive experience in regulatory investigations. Mr. Fryd has assisted clients in achieving successful resolutions in a variety of settings, including motions for class certification and summary judgment and at trials and arbitration hearings.

Securities litigation

Mr. Fryd has consulted on dozens of securities class actions, including several high-profile matters notable for the size of the exposure or the litigation outcome. Representative cases include:

• Moody’s Securities Litigation, in which the court denied class certification and granted defendants’ summary judgment motion
• BP Securities Litigation, in which the court twice denied class certification on Comcast grounds
• Goldman Sachs Securities Litigation, in which, after a favorable ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals decertified the class, finding that defendants had rebutted the presumption of reliance

Mr. Fryd has extensive experience in class action and individual/opt-out securities litigation, both in the United States and internationally. He frequently analyzes issues related to market efficiency, price impact, loss causation, and damages. His work spans a variety of financial instruments, including equities, ADRs, corporate bonds, and mortgage-backed securities. Mr. Fryd has consulted to clients in a variety of industries, including finance, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, and energy.

Mr. Fryd frequently consults to companies facing securities litigation and parallel regulatory investigations, or parallel civil or criminal cases, which involve the same underlying alleged conduct. In addition, he has worked on securities cases proceeding simultaneously in multiple jurisdictions, such as in both federal and state court.

Valuation

In valuation-related matters, Mr. Fryd has assessed a variety of entities and instruments, including companies and individual assets. He has valued public and private companies, and has conducted valuations of various security types, including equities and ADRs, corporate bonds, and mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations, as well as investments in and management contracts for private equity vehicles and hedge funds.

Mr. Fryd has consulted to clients in numerous bankruptcy- and solvency-related disputes.  He also has experience in Delaware transaction litigation, including at trial in the Court of Chancery.

Financial institutions

Mr. Fryd has consulted on numerous matters involving financial institutions, notably global multinational financial services firms and alternative asset managers. He has consulted to these companies on various issues arising in the context of litigation and internal investigations, as well as investigations by various regulators, including the Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Representative projects include analyzing trade execution and issues relating to best execution; assessing a bank’s valuation methodologies for, and reserves associated with, mortgage-related products; evaluating investors and transaction prices in the distressed debt market; and assessing management fees for mutual funds and collateralized loan obligations. Mr. Fryd has also worked on several matters involving special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs).

Statistical analyses

In his more than fifteen years with Cornerstone Research, Mr. Fryd has performed statistical analyses to support clients and experts in a variety of contexts. Among other analyses, Mr. Fryd has designed, implemented, and analyzed statistical sampling methodologies, and has assessed the reliability and validity of performance assessment tools and selection procedures.

Mr. Fryd also has extensive experience with large proprietary datasets, and supports clients in identifying, producing, and analyzing internal data and records. He has, for example, analyzed proprietary datasets containing employee personnel and compensation data, consumer banking account activity, credit card transaction and usage records, and foreign exchange quotes, trades, and benchmarks.

Community engagement

Mr. Fryd is a member of Cornerstone Research’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council. He also serves on the Board of Access Justice Brooklyn, a nonprofit organization that provides civil legal services to low-income Brooklyn residents.