Phil Strunk

Compliance and Clarity

Since joining BrownGreer in 2002, Phil has dedicated his time to the implementation and administration of mass claim resolution programs. His work has focused primarily on developing efficient protocols for the evaluation of thousands of claims and the distribution of benefits to eligible claimants.

Currently, Phil acts as a team lead for BrownGreer’s work on the Fire Victim Trust, a $13.5 billion bankruptcy trust created to resolve claims arising from the 2015 Butte Fire, 2017 North Bay Fires, and the 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California. In this capacity, Phil works with the Trustee, Claims Administrator, and other Trust professionals to evaluate and pay claims for wrongful death, emotional distress, property destruction, and income loss. The work on the Fire Victim Trust is particularly meaningful because of the urgency needed in issuing payments that will help rebuild lives.  

“Ultimately, in every one of the Fire Victim Trust claims I’m able to see the human element of how we are helping someone find resolution.”

In the past, Phil has also played a key role in the ASR Hip Settlement, the Olmesartan (Benicar) Resolution Program, and other similar engagements. In the ASR Program, Phil worked directly with the Claims Administrator, Special Masters, Settlement Oversight Committee, and others to evaluate claims in accordance with the Settlement Agreement. In that program, BrownGreer assessed approximately 10,000 individual claims totaling nearly $3 billion in awards. Phil’s role in the Olmesartan Resolution Program was similar, as he oversaw the evaluation and payment of more than 8,000 claims against a $385 million fund.

Phil also served the Claims Administrator of the nation-wide class action settlement In re: Sulzer Hip Prosthesis and Knee Prosthesis Product Liability Litigation. He managed a team of analysts, claim specialists and computer programmers that evaluated settlement claims for eligibility and made determinations about payment. In the past, Phil supported the Liaison Counsel for Wyeth in the $4 billion diet drug settlement.  He also led the team of BrownGreer attorneys who evaluated claims in In Re Black Farmers Discrimination Litigation Settlement, which was a program designed to compensate claimants for racial discrimination by agents of the USDA. Through his work on these programs, Phil has gained the experience required to oversee the claims processing, database design, and the disbursement of benefits in mass claim settlements of all types and sizes.

Phil believes that the most rewarding part of his job is the knowledge that the work done by BrownGreer helps real people rebuild their lives.  He carries this spirit and enthusiasm into each new engagement.