The Legal 500

At Jones Day, the ‘overall level of service is unsurpassed’ and the team ‘knows how to think about, prepare, and try cases; it always has ample depth for any contingency’. The firm has been representing Mattel in connection with federal, state and foreign lawsuits and regulatory actions arising out of voluntary recalls of certain Chinese-manufactured, lead-containing Mattel and Fisher-Price toys. The state court cases were consolidated as a federal MDL in the Central District of California and the practice was able to negotiate pretrial settlements with more than 40 state attorneys general, while the parties reached a negotiated global resolution of the MDL claims. The practice has also been advising Mattel on other issues relating to the recalls, including regulatory matters internationally and domestically. It is also defending Novo Industries and Plastibec in a case involving asphyxiation. Other clients include Colt, Sherwin-Williams and its subsidiary Mautz Paint. Clients recommend Michael Rice in Houston, Thomas Fennell in Dallas, Peter Biersteker in Washington DC, Theodore Grossman in Cleveland, Stephanie Parker in Atlanta and Elizabeth Kessler in Columbus. All of the recommended lawyers possess ‘the ability to see a case from beginning to end’ and provide ‘an outstanding service’.

Arnold & Porter LLP is renowned for its product liability defense expertise and is national tobacco counsel for Philip Morris, while other key clients include Atlantic Richfield and BP North America. The group has notable expertise in consumer product safety and California’s Proposition 65 legislation and advises a number of leading manufacturers, distributors and retailers on recalling consumer products, handling investigations and dealing with associated product liability and commercial disputes. Clients include Hasbro, Johnson & Johnson, Segway, TJX and Toys R Us. The firm has also been representing seven of the nation’s largest restaurant chains – including McDonald’s and TGI Friday’s – against allegations brought by animal rights activists that the companies failed to warn of the presence of the chemical PhIP, a suspected carcinogenic, in cooked chicken products. Other recent highlights include representing Applebee’s and its parent company, DineEquity, in six consumer class actions filed around the country challenging the accuracy of the nutritional information on the WeightWatchers portion of its menu. Some 100 lawyers operate within the practice, which is co-chaired by New York-based Philip Curtis and Washington DC-based Eric Rubel.

Chadbourne & Parke LLP is ‘a formidable force’, renowned for its ‘strong institutional knowledge coupled with great knowledge of the industry, risk trends and best practices for risk mitigation’. The team fields a number of high-caliber lawyers based in New York and Los Angeles, primarily focusing on tobacco and alcohol litigation while also picking up instructions from industries including cosmetics and other consumer products. The firm is the longstanding national product liability counsel for Jim Beam, which it defended in litigation brought against the alcoholic beverages industry alleging that beer and distilled spirits are improperly marketed to youths; defendants’ motions to dismiss were granted in each of the class actions filed in seven jurisdictions. The team also continues to serve as international product liability and regulatory counsel for British American Tobacco (BAT), and has been representing the client in the US government’s highly publicized lawsuit against several cigarette manufacturers for alleged civil racketeering under the RICO statute. Other recent work for BAT includes defending it in an action against various tobacco companies, in which around 40 public and non-profit hospitals in Missouri are seeking reimbursement for alleged smoking-related healthcare costs. Donald Strauber is ‘the dean of the US beverage alcohol product liability bar’, who ‘consistently provides pragmatic, balanced advice in the context of risk management and both proactive and defensive advice’. Thomas Riley is a ‘great long-term strategist’, while Phoebe Wilkinson and David Wallace are also recommended. All of the recommended lawyers are based in New York.

The product liability practice at Dechert LLP ‘provides a wide range of litigation services at the highest level of quality’. The firm is representing Google in two putative class actions, which assert breach of warranty and deceptive advertising claims based on allegations that the Nexus One smartphone – marketed and sold by Google and manufactured by HTC – fails to maintain sufficient connectivity to T-Mobile’s 3G network. In 2010, the district court granted Google’s motion to dismiss all claims asserted with leave to amend. The group is defending Time Warner Cable in a putative class action asserting claims of allegedly unlawful business practices in connection with rental charges for cable converter boxes and remote control devices for customers in California. The group is also representing Sunoco in several putative class actions brought against gasoline companies in which plaintiffs claim violations of state consumer fraud laws and breach of contract. For Philip Morris, the firm is acting as lead trial counsel in a case brought by a group of over 30 hospitals seeking reimbursement for the cost of treating smokers who allegedly did not pay their hospital bills. The department is co-chaired by Ezra Rosenberg in Princeton and Philadelphia-based Sean Wajert. Also recommended is Diane Sullivan in Princeton, who has recently increased her presence in the broader consumer products field, having previously focused predominantly on pharmaceuticals.

Clients of Goodwin Procter LLP say that ‘the level of service and results obtained are consistently outstanding in all areas’. Boasting 26 partners across offices in Boston, New York, San Francisco and Washington DC, the firm is able to ensure strong partner-level attention to matters. It has a rich history in aggregated actions and regularly acts as company and insurer-appointed counsel on a national basis. For example, the group is lead industry counsel in a large lawsuit centered in St Louis involving 36 hospitals seeking to recover from major cigarette manufacturers hundreds of millions of dollars of allegedly smoking-related healthcare costs. The team is also international coordinating counsel for all of Philip Morris International’s Canadian litigation, which includes three multibillion-dollar smoker-led class actions and four multibillion-dollar lawsuits by Canadian provinces seeking to recover healthcare costs dating back more than half a century. Recent triumphs include settling a botulism poisoning case brought against Campbell Soup Company after discrediting plaintiffs’ position during a limited discovery phase. Boston-based Kenneth Parsigian chairs the practice and is highly rated, and William Hanlon in Washington DC is ‘an extremely competent litigator’. Richard Wyner, also in Washington DC, is ‘an outstanding brief writer and appellate lawyer who pays great attention to detail’. Forrest Hainline in San Francisco is also strongly recommended.

Morrison & Foerster LLP has an ‘outstanding’ product liability practice that is ‘excellent in every area’. The firm’s reputation is such that it is a trusted adviser to a number of major electronics clients and other household names such as Coca-Cola, Mattel, Costco and Target. Recent highlights have focused on issues of consumer fraud and potential liability, rather than cases involving actual harm. For example, it is representing Lucasfilm in a contractual dispute arising from a license agreement canceled due to product liability exposure issues caused by manufacturing defects that tested harmful for children. Other recent highlights include representing Unilever in successfully dismissing two class actions filed in the northern and central districts of California. Plaintiffs alleged that the organization’s advertising of its vegetable oil spread I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter was misleading and wanted Unilever to refund all revenue. The practice is headed by San Diego-based Don Rushing and Charles Kerr in New York. Also in San Diego, James Huston is highly rated and described as ‘the perfect trial lawyer’. In San Francisco, clients recommend Penny Preovolos and Andrew Muhlbach.

Product liability is one of Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP’s flagship practices and thus it has an extensive number of experts dedicated to this area. The firm is ‘home to some excellent trial attorneys’ and is perhaps best known within the tobacco litigation space, where it has long represented industry giants such as Philip Morris USA and Philip Morris International, as well as Lorillard. It has recently been representing Philip Morris USA and Lorillard in the Engle progeny litigation in Florida, California, Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri. The companies are defendants in more than 7,500 individual cases filed after the Florida Supreme Court decertified a statewide class action that had earlier been awarded a punitive damages verdict. The team is also coordinating and managing litigation brought against Lorillard in which plaintiffs are seeking damages relating to a filter that was used for a limited time during the 1950s in one brand of the company’s cigarettes. Cases have been filed across 24 states, but the firm has won verdicts for the client in 15 of the 19 cases that have been tried. Practice chair Gary Long is ‘a very good trial lawyer’ and Walter Cofer is hailed as a ‘fabulous attorney’; both are based in Kansas City. Clients also recommend Frank Kelly in San Francisco and Kenneth Reilly in Miami.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP’s focus on high-exposure cases necessarily means that it appears on relatively few matters in any single industry sector, but remains highly sought for its prowess. For example, the practice is lead counsel for RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company in a nationwide arbitration arising from the 1998 Tobacco Litigation Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). Other recent work includes representing Motorola in Farina v Nokia, a class action against 25 defendants from the wireless phone industry claiming that the phones cause cancer and other diseases. The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal on federal preemption grounds and the case was widely perceived as a major victory for the cell phone industry. David Bernick, who previously won victories for Apple in the iPod hearing loss cases, left a noticeable hole in the practice when he left the firm in January 2010 to accept a position as general counsel at Philip Morris International. Stephen Patton in Chicago and Michael Jones in Washington DC are among the firm’s most high-profile product liability litigators, while Chicago-based Terrence Dee was a key player in the Motorola litigation.

Latham & Watkins LLP has a long history of handling consumer class actions, often across multiple jurisdictions, and its greatest expertise lies in defending clients in high-stakes, complex litigation. Serving as national and trial counsel to a number of major corporations, the wide-ranging product liability practice spans industries including heavy machinery, consumer electronics, sporting equipment, tobacco, food products, toys and furniture. The team is regularly called on to defend against consumer class actions including breach of contract, fraud and breach of warranty and recently represented Aurora Organic Dairy, winning a complete dismissal in a case where plaintiffs alleged it had falsely labeled its milk products as organic. Other high-profile work included acting for Playtex Products in multiple class actions that were filed around the country pertaining to use of polycarbonate plastic baby bottles made with bisphenol A, but the common law and statutory fraud claims were dismissed in 2010. And the firm is acting for mobile marketing and advertising agency ipsh!net in a putative class action brought under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) claiming damages for almost $90m. Peter Winik is ‘intelligent, strategic and communicates exceptionally well’. Also recommended are Robert Howard in San Diego, Mark Mester and Mary Rose Alexander in Chicago, and Christine Rolph in Washington DC.

Sidley Austin LLP’s large product liability practice has long enjoyed an excellent reputation for advising major clients across a range of industry sectors. Its attorneys’ expertise is such that the firm is well versed in trials, appeals, multi-district litigation proceedings and class actions in personal injury and consumer fraud litigation. The practice has recently received new mandates from American Electric Power (AEP), Duke Power and others. It has also been defending KFC in class actions challenging its Grilled Chicken promotion and acting for Kimberly-Clark as national coordinating counsel to defend it against claims that its children’s bath products were contaminated. The firm is representing Costco in defending a putative class action filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York challenging the labeling and marketing of the client’s shrimp trays. The plaintiffs’ application for a preliminary injunction was denied and the district court dismissed the complaint with prejudice. Chicago-based practice chair Michael Davis holds enormous respect across the market.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP ‘does terrific product liability work’ and fields some ‘outstanding people’. The recent addition of John Beisner to the Washington DC office as co-head of the mass tort and insurance group further deepened an already thriving practice. Highlights in 2010 included defending Bausch & Lomb in a nationwide class action concerning an allegedly defective contact lens solution and representing Electrolux in defending class actions alleging that its front-loading washing machines had a design defect. Nextel also instructed the firm to defend it against claims that its cell phones were unsafe due to exposure to allegedly dangerous amounts of radio frequency radiation. The team is also active in tobacco litigation and serves as co-lead counsel for Philip Morris in multi-district litigation concerning allegations that its “Lights” cigarettes were actually no less toxic than regular products. Chicago-based Edward Crane and New York-based Sheila Birnbaum are thoroughly recommended.

The attorneys at Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell LLP are ‘leaders in class action defense’ and are ‘a cut above when it comes to product liability litigation’. The one-office Denver firm represents good value for clients and has grown steadily from a civil litigation boutique to a fuller-service model that is attracting and expanding its work for major clients. Clients include Crocs, for which it is national counsel relating to its footwear, and Sears, which has hired the firm as regional trial counsel for class action and product liability litigation. The firm is also national trial counsel for Whirlpool, and recently acted for the company in a putative nationwide class action involving top-loading washing machines wherein the US District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed all claims against the client. The firm also acts for PepsiCo on a regional basis. Malcolm Wheeler is ‘a Renaissance man in the law who has no equals – he fully understands business and what businesses need’. Michael Williams is ‘a brilliant legal mind and a great trial strategist’. John Trigg and Michael O’Donnell are also thoroughly recommended.

DLA Piper LLP handles major litigation for a number of blue-chip consumer product clients, particularly from the food and pet food industries. The group represented Menu Foods in litigation following the recall of some of its dog and cat food products and negotiated a comprehensive settlement to resolve all claims. The team also represented the client in achieving voluntary dismissals with prejudice in two unrelated nationwide class actions alleging false advertising and violations of consumer protection statutes in the marketing of pet food. Other recent successes include representing Husqvarna and other manufacturers in settling a matter involving catastrophic personal injuries as a result of alleged product design defects. Other clients include Kraft and Deere & Company. The group is co-chaired by Loren Brown in New York, William Kiniry in Philadelphia and Christopher Young in San Diego.

Greenberg Traurig LLP’s consumer products practice serves as national and regional counsel to a number of clients from the telecoms and tobacco sectors. Employing the group’s deep bench of trial lawyers, the group has partaken of several high-profile cases. For example, it is representing Lorillard in the much-publicized litigation relating to the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), which placed advertising restrictions on tobacco companies. It also represents the same client in the Florida’s “Engle progeny” litigation – the thousands of individual follow-on cases arising from the original Engle class action filed in 1994 on behalf of injured and deceased smokers. Other mandates include representing TI and Sensata in a product liability case alleging that refrigerator components were defective. The group’s co-chairs are Francis Citera in Chicago and David Ross in Miami. Denver-based Brian Duffy heads the nationwide litigation department.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is often at the forefront of major cases involving alcohol and tobacco litigation. The group focuses predominantly on high-end work and is increasingly being retained to represent defendants in class actions and other nationwide aggregate litigation, often in the role of national coordinating counsel. Recent examples include acting for Seagram and Heineken in litigation relating to the marketing of alcoholic beverages and its influence on underage consumers in which the firm successfully obtained dismissals of nine putative class actions. It also defended Pinnacle in a high-profile case involving claims that it failed to take appropriate steps to ensure the safety of pot pies it manufactured and sold but the district court granted a motion to dismiss the claims. Other highlights included acting as national coordinating counsel for British American Tobacco (BAT) in tobacco litigation across the US, including serving as trial counsel for the client in key cases and securing BAT’s dismissal from a number of cases. The firm’s most prominent product liability lawyers are Roy Reardon, who is widely admired in the market, and ‘results-focused’ and ‘service-oriented’ practice chair David Ichel. Also recommended are Mary Elizabeth McGarry, Joseph Wayland and head of litigation Barry Ostrager. Each is based in New York.

Winston & Strawn LLP’s product liability practice is relatively small in terms of headcount, but demonstrably has the capability to represent household-name clients on a national basis. The group’s consumer product experience extends across tobacco products, appliances, toys, electronics, food and beverages. The firm is national trial counsel to Philip Morris USA and its parent company Altria Group for tobacco litigation, which has included a number of individual product liability claims, class actions and attorney general actions. These cases included general healthcare-cost recoupment actions as well as class actions and individual cases brought by smokers alleging personal injury. Other clients include LG Electronics and its subsidiary Zenith Electronics, which the group advised on multiple high-exposure product liability matters filed in state and federal courts relating to the companies’ electronic products and home appliances. It also advised Abbott Laboratories in a multimillion-dollar nationwide consumer class action lawsuit alleging that its liquid infant formula products were packaged in metal cans lined with epoxy resins containing Bisphenol A. The firm’s chairman Dan Webb is widely regarded as a ‘go-to lawyer for difficult, high-stakes cases’. Thomas Frederick and George Lombardi are also highly talented courtroom lawyers. All three are based in Chicago.