San Diego, CA, September 18, 2026 – National insurance defense trial firm Tyson & Mendes, LLP announced today that National Managing Partner Cayce E. Lynch is an inaugural recipient of the 2026 Women in Insurance Collective (WIIC) IGNITE Award. This award recognizes women who serve as catalysts for progress, equality, and community within the insurance industry. Lynch was honored alongside her fellow inaugural recipients at the ACORD Awards Ceremony held on September 17, 2026, at 2026 ACORD Connect.

Lynch was recognized as a result of her substantial efforts to redefine how the insurance industry addresses Nuclear Verdicts®, build initiatives which create career-changing opportunities for women across the board, and advance the insurance defense industry through innovation and a people-first focus.

The WIIC selection committee scored Lynch at the top across all three IGNITE pillars—innovation, advocacy, and leadership—citing a body of work which spans research, mentorship, and firm-wide impact. As Tyson & Mendes’ first-ever National Managing Partner, Lynch’s tenure has marked numerous “firsts” for the firm, including co-authoring the only data-backed, trial-tested framework for preventing Nuclear Verdicts®; co-founding the firm’s spinoff consulting company, Apex Defense Consulting; and founding both the Tyson & Mendes Women’s Initiative and TM Nurture & Navigate, a program supporting attorneys returning from parental leave.

“Being recognized with this award, by this group of incredible changemakers and women I admire, means so much to me,” said Lynch. “Initiatives that champion progress, equity, and opportunity help us envision, and then create, what we want the industry to be. I am grateful to WIIC for their meaningful work to advance women in insurance, and I am grateful for the people I am blessed to work alongside.”

About Tyson & Mendes LLP

Tyson & Mendes LLP is a nationwide, AV-rated litigation and trial firm specializing in insurance defense and protecting its clients from Nuclear Verdicts®. Founded in 2002 by Robert Tyson and Patrick Mendes, the firm has experienced tremendous growth, with offices across the United States. Tyson & Mendes is known for its expertise in defending corporations, insurance companies, and their clients against Nuclear Verdicts®.

Serving 22 states with 28 offices nationwide, Tyson & Mendes is one of the fastest-growing civil defense firms in the U.S. and is proud to offer one of the fastest and clearest paths to partnership for its attorneys of any mid-sized law firm in the U.S. The firm is honored to be recognized as a 2024 and 2025 Best Law Firm by Best Lawyers, named a 2026 Best Company to Work For: Law Firms edition by U.S. News & World Report, shortlisted for the PropertyCasualty360 2026 Insurance Luminaries Award, and have an extensive trial bench of attorneys recognized by Best Lawyers 2026, Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch 2026, and Super Lawyers. The firm has also developed a spinoff consulting firm, Apex Defense Consulting, aimed at equipping carriers and counsel with the education, collaboration, and expertise needed to stop Nuclear Verdicts® and slow social inflation.

For more information, visit www.tysonmendes.com.

About Apex Defense Consulting

Apex Defense Consulting is a specialized insurance defense consulting firm, offering educational, community, and consulting services via a slate of experienced trial lawyers and Nuclear Verdict® experts. Founded in 2025, Apex Defense Consulting is the first of its kind within the insurance defense industry and is poised to revolutionize the industry with The Apex℠, the first and only data-backed and trial-tested blueprint for the defense to stop outsized and unjust Nuclear Verdicts®.

For more information, visit www.apexdefenseconsulting.com.

For press inquiries, contact:

Debbie Caldwell
Plat4orm PR
debbie@plat4form.com

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