The Legal 500

Dechert LLP has ‘an outstanding pharmaceuticals and medical devices practice’. Much of its work focuses on prescription drugs and biologics, and the team is well versed in handling cases involving latent injuries or illnesses and complex issues of medical causation. The group’s litigators have defeated putative class actions in more than 30 jurisdictions and often draw on the expertise of the firm’s European offices for claims with a transatlantic element or parallel European action. It is one of several firms representing AstraZeneca in more than 20,000 diabetes-related personal injury cases pending in federal and state courts across the US involving Seroquel, an atypical anti-psychotic medication for treating mental illness. The firm has played a key role in many of the defense victories to date, including the Baker case, the only Seroquel trial held so far, a case in which Princeton-based Diane Sullivan led the defense. The firm also acts as lead counsel for Merck & Co and Schering-Plough (now merged) in connection with more than 140 putative class actions relating to the marketing and sale of cholesterol-lowering drugs. Other recent highlights include representing Pfizer in a class action in Pennsylvania that asserted consumer fraud and breach of warranty claims relating to the promotion and sale of Neurontin for off-label indications not approved by the FDA. The team obtained a significant victory after persuading the court that the efficacy of the medicine was an issue that could not be resolved on a class-wide basis. The team represented Johnson & Johnson in multiple product liability lawsuits throughout the US relating to acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, which can cause liver injury and death when taken in large doses. The courts concluded that Tylenol is safe when used as indicated and that instructions and warnings on the product label are adequate. Ezra Rosenberg in Princeton, and Sean Wajert in Philadelphia co-chair the department. New York partners Kathleen O’Connor and Hope Freiwald are recommended for their expertise in crisis management for pharmaceutical and medical issues, respectively, while Philadelphia-based Ben Barnett is noted for his expertise on e-discovery issues.

Kaye Scholer LLP has an outstanding reputation as one of the premier product liability practices and its greatest strength lies in the life sciences sector. This is reflected in the large number of national counsel instructions it receives from clients including AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Boston Scientific and Allergan. The team continued to defend Pfizer in thousands of cases in the hormone replacement therapy (HRT) litigation, wherein the practice is acting alongside a number of firms and has a leadership role that includes overall litigation and trial strategy and tactics, legal briefing and settlement negotiations. It also represented Pfizer in Viagra product liability claims, defending it against various claims including heart attack, stroke, vision loss and priapism; the firm recently closed out the federal MDL, with the last of the cases being dismissed. For AstraZeneca, it is co-national counsel in thousands of lawsuits alleging that its anti-psychotic drug Seroquel causes diabetes and related injuries. For Boston Scientific, the firm acts as national counsel in connection with over 200 claims involving the Taxus Express Coronary Stent System (Taxus Stent), a medical device used by doctors to treat coronary disease. Plaintiffs allege that patients implanted with the Taxus Stent have an increased risk of experiencing late stent thrombosis. In 2010, the team successfully obtained dismissals of several cases on the grounds of federal preemption. James Herschlein was instrumental in the Boston Scientific litigation, and is ‘very bright and experienced’. Practice chair Steven Glickstein is ‘responsive and efficient’, and Arthur Brown is a ‘phenomenal lawyer’. Former general counsel of Pfizer Allen Waxman led the ‘tremendous team’ in the HRT litigation, which also included Lori Leskin, Los Angeles-based Pamela Yates and Washington DC-based William Hoffman, as well as Randolph Sherman. All recommended partners are based in New York except where stated otherwise.

Life sciences work lies at the core of Reed Smith LLP’s product liability group, which is staffed by ‘highly qualified attorneys with excellent knowledge’ and is admired by clients for its strategic planning and courtroom skills. The firm is national coordinating and trial counsel defending CR Bard in litigation concerning Kugel Mesh Patch, a surgical patch for hernia repairs recalled by the manufacturer, and secured a full defense verdict in Whitfield v Davol and CR Bard, the first of the cases to reach trial. The group also continues to serve as national counsel representing Organon USA, a pharmaceutical subsidiary of Merck & Co, in litigation relating to NuvaRing hormonal contraceptive. The team is responsible for the overall defense strategy and coordination for more than 700 cases, and in 2010 it obtained dismissal of all New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act (CFA) claims asserted in the NuvaRing mass tort in New Jersey. For Pfizer, the group has been serving as national and international coordinating and trial counsel in litigation alleging that Mirapex, a treatment used for Parkinson disease and Restless Legs Syndrome, causes certain impulse control disorders for which plaintiffs sought damages for personal injury, emotional distress and financial loss. The firm’s achievements to date include obtaining a summary judgment for Pfizer and Boehringer Ingelheim in a claim for $10m in economic losses relating to Mirapex. The team’s track record has also seen it pick up new instructions recently from JT Posey, a leader in hospital restraints and other medical devices, and Barrx Medical, which provides solutions for the pre-cancerous condition, Barrett’s esophagus. Michael Brown in Los Angeles is ‘exceptional and responsive’ and chairs the department. In 2010, the firm deepened its resources by recruiting Lawrence Stein, former general counsel of Wyeth, who joined the group as counsel and divides his time between Philadelphia and Washington DC. Michael Scott is also recommended.

A formidable defense trial firm, Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP’s ‘first-rate’ practice has a longstanding history of success in the product liability field where its deep bench of first-chair trial lawyers is highly renowned, having represented leading pharmaceutical companies in high-profile litigation. Recent highlights include acting for Bausch & Lomb, for which the firm serves as national counsel in litigation relating to the 2006 recall of ReNu with MoistureLoc contact lens solution, the subject of some 2,000 cases. It is defending Mylan in the 1,300-case litigation arising from its recall of Digitek (digoxin), including some 1,000 plaintiffs in 500 cases pending in MDL in federal court in West Virginia and in consolidated state court proceedings in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Texas. The firm also serves as national counsel for Sanofi-Aventis regarding Ambien, in which it obtained dismissal of a putative national class action by Ambien users. As national counsel for Covidien, the firm is defending it in the gadolinium contrast dye litigation, which has several hundred cases pending in an MDL in Ohio and in consolidated state court proceedings in California and New Jersey. Other noteworthy recent achievements include Schilf v Eli Lilly, in which the practice won summary judgment for Eli Lilly in a case brought by relatives of a teenager who allegedly committed suicide as a result of using Cymbalta. In Jodi McGookin v Guidant Corporation, the firm won a defense verdict for Guidant in a wrongful death case brought by the parents and grandparents of a baby who had been implanted with a pacemaker made by the company. Practice chair Harvey Kaplan is a prominent ‘veteran’ who is praised highly for his ‘outstanding trial and litigation skills’. In the Kansas City office alongside him, Marie Woodbury and Scott Sayler are also recommended. Houston-based Gene Williams, whose ‘scientific background is quite helpful’, is also appreciated.

Sidley Austin LLP’s wide-ranging product liability practice enjoys an outstanding reputation in a number of areas and has a strong body of work in the life sciences sector, leveraging the ‘deep knowledge of the pharmaceuticals industry’ within the wider healthcare practice group. The team provides ‘very business-focused advice’ and is based predominantly in Chicago but also has attorneys in New York, Washington DC and Los Angeles, providing good geographical coverage, and can also call on its international resources where necessary, such as when dealing with multinational clients. The firm’s healthcare practice group usually takes a national counsel role on complex litigation or acts in a risk management capacity. It has been representing AstraZeneca in litigation in which more than 20,000 plaintiffs have alleged that they developed diabetes and other diseases as a result of taking Seroquel, an atypical antipsychotic that has been used to treat millions of patients worldwide. The federal cases have been coordinated in an MDL in the Middle District of Florida with state court actions in several other states. The group also acts for AstraZeneca on the Crestor litigation, in which it recently secured a voluntary dismissal with prejudice prior to the deposition of the plaintiff’s prescribing physician. For Bayer, it played a co-lead counsel role in the Trasylol heart medication litigation, which has a 1,000-plaintiff MDL in Florida, along with personal injury actions in various state courts. The group also represents Bayer in litigation concerning Yaz/Yasmin contraceptive. GE Healthcare and Schering-Plough are also clients. Michael Davis chairs the products liability and mass torts group, and is recommended for his ‘strategic vision’. Sara Gourley is highly regarded for her ‘simple, efficient and excellent approach’ and Los Angeles-based Debra Pole is regarded as an excellent trial attorney. Rebecca Wood in Washington DC is an emerging talent with commendable brief-writing skills, and John Treece is a ‘shrewd and practical lawyer’. Eugene Schoon, Maja Eaton, Susan Weber and David Barlow are also recommended. All partners mentioned here are based in Chicago except where stated otherwise.

Washington DC-based Williams & Connolly LLP is ‘a terrific firm for product liability’. This ‘outstanding’ practice spent many years acting for Wyeth in high-profile litigation and retained the relationship following Wyeth’s acquisition by Pfizer. The group acted for Prempro HRT litigation and has been appointed as Pfizer’s co-national counsel for litigation concerning Chantix smoking cessation aid. Operating from one office, the firm routinely works alongside local counsel, making it an ideal partner as part of complex litigation, where it can bring to bear its top-tier trial talents, strategic skills and organizational ability, along with appellate expertise. For example, the group played a significant role as one of Merck & Co’s national coordinating co-counsel in the Vioxx MDL. It is also part of the trial counsel for AstraZeneca’s Seroquel litigation, including a recent cost recovery action by Kentucky’s attorney general. Bayer has also been a notable source of mandates, for example on the Yaz/Yasmin and Baycol litigation. Clients recommend Douglas Marvin as a top strategist and manager of multi-firm litigation teams, and Stephen Urbanczyk as a strategist with strong writing skills and an ability to build a rapport with juries. John Vardaman, Heidi Hubbard, F Lane Heard and Richard Cooper are also prominent team members.

Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott LLP’s ‘outstanding lawyers’ display top-end trial capability and have built a strong reputation in the product liability space following a succession of significant Vioxx cases for Merck & Co as well as matters for other leading multinationals such as AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Bayer. The practice also represented Bayer on the MDL centered in the Southern District of Illinois concerning the recall of Yaz and Yasmin birth control pills, following the emergence that the pills posed an increased risk of thrombosis. Unlike many of its counterparts, the firm eschews the full-service model and instead dedicates itself to winning trials, stepping into key cases and winning dismissals or jury verdicts with repeated success. It appears to have weathered the loss of several partners in 2009 – who went on to found Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP – and remains ‘a go-to firm’ for many in the industry. Philip Beck, ‘a phenomenal lawyer’, and senior statesman Fred Bartlit are particularly well renowned and widely viewed as trial lawyers at the top of their game. Younger partners such as Adam Hoeflich and Steven Derringer are also ‘very good’. All four are based in Chicago.

DLA Piper LLP’s deep team of skilled litigators has earned a reputation nationally and globally, particularly in the context of coordination and strategizing in MDLs and other complex litigation. The firm’s global presence is particularly useful to a life sciences client base that is top-heavy with multinationals, for which products may be subject to recalls and litigation in various jurisdictions. The product liability practice acted as counsel for Wyeth (now part of Pfizer) in disputes across the US concerning the HRT medications Premarin and Prempro, including involvement in various discovery and evidentiary motion practices. The firm also acted in defense of Wyeth against plaintiffs pursuing a general causation challenge alleging that Premarin caused breast cancer. New York partner Loren Brown, one of the lead partners in the case, successfully argued that there was a lack of reliable evidence to support the allegation. Heidi Levine, also in New York, was another key figure in this litigation. New York-based Heidi Levine and Baltimore-based Joel Dewey are lead partners as national litigation counsel for GE Healthcare in a mass tort relating to Omniscan, a gadolinium-based contrast agent used in MRI scanning procedures, which is alleged to cause nephrogenic systemic fibrosis in patients with severe renal impairment. The firm also represents Bayer in a number of significant One-A-Day and Yaz litigation cases.

Clients say that Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP is a ‘top-drawer small firm’ that is ‘strong’, ‘high quality’ and particularly adept at ‘developing strategies to put a case in the best position for trial’. The firm was founded in Chicago in April 2009 and has additional offices in Dallas and Santa Monica. The reputation of its founders, including three former Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott LLP partners, has served the firm well in quickly establishing its credibility. These include Chicago-based Tarek Ismail, ‘an outstanding trial lawyer’, and Andrew Goldman, who also receives glowing feedback from clients. In Dallas, Joe Tomaselli is also highly recommended: ‘one of the best trial lawyers I have worked with’. The firm served as lead counsel for Merck & Co in ongoing litigation over Vioxx, the pain reliever that was withdrawn from the market, obtaining a complete defense verdict. Merck & Co has also retained the firm to represent it in litigation concerning its osteoporosis medication, Fosamax, which allegedly causes atypical fractures. Other recent instructions include representing Bayer in nationwide product liability litigation relating to its gadolinium-based contrast agent, Magnevist, which is the subject of over 500 lawsuits. The group also acted for Medtronic to obtain a complete dismissal of product liability claims relating to Sprint Fidelis defibrillator leads.

King & Spalding LLP has one of the larger teams in this space, staffed by ‘first-rate lawyers who are dedicated and responsive’, and who display ‘excellent judgment’. Clients also value the firm’s efforts to be ‘cost effective and conscious of cost efficiencies’, mixing a strategic approach with a track record of taking complex cases to trial. Recent highlights include representing Baxter Healthcare in litigation brought by the actor Dennis Quaid relating to injuries allegedly resulting from the administration of Heparin to his newborn twins in Los Angeles. After removing the case to the District Court for the Central District of California, the firm successfully obtained a dismissal. It is also serving as national coordinating co-counsel and lead trial counsel to Purdue Pharma in litigation involving the pain medication OxyContin and related civil investigations. Over the course of this representation, the firm has obtained more than 400 dismissals and defeated 15 putative class actions. It also defended the company in a case filed by Kentucky’s attorney general seeking to recover Medicaid expenditure on OxyContin and in a putative nationwide class action filed by a consumer in California under its consumer protection laws. Chilton Varner, Andrew Bayman, Todd Davis and Robert Woo are ‘accessible and responsive, and will move heaven and earth to accommodate clients’ needs and requests’. Halli Cohn and W Ray Persons are also recommended. All of the recommended attorneys are based in Atlanta.

O’Melveny & Myers LLP is a ‘great firm’ with ‘uniformly excellent’ product liability lawyers located across the US, primarily Los Angeles and Washington DC. The firm typically acts on high-end cases and is representing Matrixx Initiatives before the US Supreme Court in a securities class action concerning the over-the-counter cold remedy Zicam. It was alleged that the company violated federal securities laws by failing to disclose that Zicam caused a loss of sense of smell in some users. The team recently argued that the appeals court used the wrong standard in allowing the case to proceed, a line of defense that could have significant implications for the industry more widely if upheld. It is also defending Amylin Pharmaceuticals in 53 personal injury cases brought by approximately 270 plaintiffs concerning Byetta, an injectable medication for type-2 diabetes, alleging that the client failed to adequately test or monitor side effects and failed to warn doctors or patients of the risk of developing pancreatitis. The departure of John Beisner, Stephen Harburg and Jessica Miller to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP was a significant loss that is still being felt. However, the expertise of highly respected product liability chair Richard Goetz in Los Angeles and Brian Anderson in Washington DC has ensured the practice remains busy and capable.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP’s product liability practice was boosted by the addition of John Beisner, who joined from O’Melveny & Myers LLP in what was a considerable coup for the firm. A hugely respected figure in the market, Beisner has been leading a team representing Merck & Co in Vioxx litigation. Other recent achievements include representing Pfizer and its subsidiary Wyeth in HRT class actions and product liability cases. The firm also secured a significant victory for Amgen in 2010, when a district court ruling dismissed claims that it allegedly engaged in a scheme to promote off-label uses of its anemia medicines, Epogen and Aranesp. DePuy Orthopaedics, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, retained the practice to represent it in relation to claims concerning ASR, its now-withdrawn hip replacement product. New York partners Sheila Birnbaum and Mark Cheffo lend considerable weight to the expertise and reputation of the group.

Baker Botts L.L.P. fields an ‘excellent’ practice for pharmaceuticals product liability defense, which is based in Houston and New York and is involved in many of the industry’s high-profile cases. It is co-national counsel for AstraZeneca on Seroquel litigation, for which the company has created a “virtual law firm” to handle the sprawling and complex caseload involving claims that the anti-psychotic drug causes diabetes. It has also been named as co-national counsel for Merck & Co on its Vioxx litigation, having initially represented it in Texas and Louisiana. Although this litigation is largely settled, the firm has continued to act for the client in cases brought by state attorneys general seeking to recoup money that state Medicaid programs spent on Vioxx. Other instructions from Merck & Co include a recently filed case pending in the Southern District of Texas in which plaintiffs allege liver injury as a result of taking a generic version of the company’s pioneer statin, Mevacor. The case has alarming significance for the industry due to its potential to spawn new precedents in Texas that could recognize that the pioneer manufacturer has a legal duty to warn regarding generic versions of the drug. Earl Austin heads the life sciences practice and co-chairs the pharmaceutical litigation practice in New York. Stephen Scheve in Houston is ‘an excellent trial attorney, not because of his superior court presence, but also his ability to strategize and adapt to ever-changing situations’. Kevin Jacobs and Travis Sales, also in Houston, are recommended.

Butler, Snow, O’Mara, Stevens and Cannada, PLLC has developed a significant product liability practice and acts for a range of clients from the pharmaceuticals and medical devices sectors. It serves as national coordinating counsel for all prosthetic heart valve litigation for a medical device manufacturer and is regional counsel in cases involving blood product litigation; it serves as trial counsel in multi-state vaccine and breast implant litigation. The practice, based in Ridgeland, Mississippi, attracted significant attention because of its important role in several bellwether Vioxx trials as part of Merck & Co’s “virtual law firm” defense model. Other clients include Baxter Healthcare, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer. A combination of reasonable billing rates and respected practitioners such as Christy Jones – an ‘excellent pharmaceuticals lawyer’ and a ‘very able trial attorney’ – and Lee Davis Thames make the firm an attractive option for clients.

Greenberg Traurig LLP’s pharmaceutical, medical device and healthcare litigation group is led by ‘outstanding lawyer’ Lori Cohen, whose national practice focuses on product liability litigation. A significant factor in the practice’s reputation is its expertise in the medical devices sector, primarily through its work as a regular adviser to Medtronic. It is national counsel for the client in numerous federal and state court cases relating to the recall of certain of its implantable defibrillators involving over 2,800 plaintiffs’ claims that the batteries of certain models were defective. The firm also represented I-Flow Corporation as trial counsel in defending product liability lawsuits across the US relating to its elastomeric pain pump medical devices. It is also acting for Synthes and its subsidiary, Spine Solutions, in a pending case involving ProDisc artificial lumbar disc replacement device. In addition to Cohen, the practice’s other recommended individuals are Sara Thompson and Phoenix-based Pamela Overton, and Atlanta-based Victoria Lockhard, who recently joined from Alston & Bird LLP.

Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP’s ‘talented and client-driven’ team earned respect across the industry for its impressive performances in Vioxx cases for Merck & Co. It has also been acting for the same client in the Vytorin class action. Other recent highlights include serving as New Jersey trial counsel to Novartis in the ongoing Zelnorm litigation, in which the firm thwarted plaintiffs’ attempts to have the litigation designated as a mass tort and moved successfully to exclude plaintiffs’ key causation experts, leading to a favorable global settlement. Charles Cohen in New York was instrumental in the Vioxx litigation and is ‘the preeminent discovery and privilege strategist’. James Fitzpatrick is ‘incredibly bright and on the cusp of becoming a superstar’. Practice co-chairs Robb Patryk and Diane Lifton are also recommended, along with managing partner Ted Mayer.

Jones Day provides a ‘quality service’ at ‘affordable and reasonable’ rates. Recent mandates include defending Santarus against claims that it fraudulently misrepresented and suppressed material medical and scientific information about a phospho-soda product. The firm is also national coordinating counsel for LabCorp’s professional negligence litigation related to its pap smear and drug screening testing. It also acted for Mentor, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, in a product liability lawsuit involving ObTape, a surgically implanted mesh sling used for treatment of stress urinary incontinence. The team as a whole is commended for its ‘promptness’ and ‘wonderful business acumen’, with Theodore Grossman in Cleveland singled out as ‘the consummate litigator, who is always gracious but steadfast for his clients’. Paul Pohl in Pittsburgh heads the product liability practice and is highly recommended, along with the ‘thorough and dependable’ John Lewis in Cleveland and the ‘very competent’ Carol Hogan in Chicago.

Morrison & Foerster LLP regularly serves as national trial counsel for major pharmaceuticals companies, and clients say that its ‘excellent’ service is ‘expensive but worth it’. Key recent instructions include acting for APP Pharmaceuticals and Abraxis Bioscience in litigation relating to local anaesthetic products used in pain pumps which allegedly contribute to the development of post-surgical chondrolysis, a degenerative condition of the shoulder. The firm is also representing APP Pharmaceuticals in its heparin litigation and advising it regarding possible claims and issues arising out of Baxter’s recall of similar products. Other clients include Iovate Health Sciences, Novartis, Daiichi and Bayer. Trial practice group chairs James Huston and Erin Bosman in San Diego are highly recommended. In San Francisco, of counsel William Tarantino is ‘an excellent lawyer with great insight and attention to detail’, while Arturo Gonzaléz is ‘great on his feet; and at strategy and the big picture’.

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP’s relatively small practice is highly respected, not least because of the international reputation of its ‘extremely able’ managing partner David Dukes, who divides his time between Columbia and Washington DC. Recent high-profile instructions for the team include serving as lead counsel for Wyeth (now part of Pfizer) in a Prempro case. While the firm tends to take on local or regional counsel roles, it has proven its national scope by representing CR Bard in litigation relating to various urological products and in lawsuits relating to certain vascular devices. It is co-counsel to Eli Lilly for an action brought by South Carolina’s attorney general seeking restitution for state expenditure on Zyprexa. Michael Cole in Charleston is ‘great for multi-district litigation’. Stephen Morrison in Columbia is also highly recommended.

Pepper Hamilton LLP’s Philadelphia-based practice has a strong track record of success in health effects litigation and is regularly instructed by pharmaceutical, medical device and biotech companies. One of its strengths is the ability to adapt different strategies to meet client needs, whether through settlement, pre-trial dismissals or courtroom victories. The firm serves as national counsel to Eli Lilly and represented it in a Congressional hearing on the Zyprexa cases. The team negotiated a $1.4bn settlement with Pennsylvania state attorneys and Medicaid lawyers, among a number of other settlements reached with state attorneys general and, overall, the firm has settled or dismissed before trial more than 31,000 Zyprexa cases. Other successes for the same client included obtaining a significant judgment in federal court in the Eastern District of New York pertaining to Mississippi’s case seeking restitution for Medicaid expenses relating to Zyprexa, which was dismissed on summary judgment although plaintiffs appealed against one aspect of the verdict. The firm is also a trusted adviser to GlaxoSmithKline, for which it serves as national counsel for litigation relating to Avandia diabetes treatment, a 15,000-case MDL with coordinated actions in California. Other clients include the American Red Cross, CB Fleet and Medtronic. Practice head Nina Gussack is highly recommended.

Tucker Ellis & West displays ‘flexibility and creativity’ and offers ‘high quality, experienced attorneys’ at affordable rates. The firm is national coordinating counsel for Johnson & Johnson in litigation relating to Ortho Evra contraceptive and has recently been asked to serve as one of the coordinating firms in the ASR hip replacement product litigation following a product recall. It also represented Actavis in the Digitek MDL, involving allegations that double-strength tablets were erroneously distributed. Other mandates in 2010 included acting for Pfizer on litigation alleging cutaneous injury as a result of serious adverse reactions caused by the use of certain medications. It also defended the client in litigation relating to epilepsy medication. Los Angeles-based Mollie Benedict co-chairs the group with Cleveland-based Rita Maimbourg, while name partner Robert Tucker garners ‘huge respect’ across the market.

Denver-based Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell LLP undertakes ‘a lot of high-quality work in the pharmaceuticals arena’ as part of its wider product liability practice. In 2010, the firm was added to Pfizer’s Legal Alliance, a select group of firms that handle the company’s product liability litigation. Part of its remit has been acting as national trial counsel for cases relating to Zoloft and Neurontin. Other recent work includes representing Advanced Bionics in litigation relating to cochlear implants, and GE Healthcare in relation to gadolinium-based contrast agents. The group also has regional roles for Abbott Laboratories and for Merck & Co in the Vioxx litigation. Malcolm Wheeler is an ‘excellent lawyer’, with James Hooper, Michael O’Donnell and Craig May also recommended.

Winston & Strawn LLP’s well-respected product liability practice acts for clients across a range of sectors, including some major life sciences companies. Notable recent highlights include acting as one of the trial counsel firms representing Pfizer – and its Wyeth and Pharmacia & Upjohn subsidiaries – in HRT litigation concerning Prempro, Premarin and Provera, a number of which pending cases involve claims for personal injury including breast cancer and other health conditions. It also defended Pfizer and obtained settlements in litigation regarding its two prescription pain relievers, Celebrex and Bextra. In Chicago, litigation chair Thomas Frederick and firm chairman Dan Webb are thoroughly recommended, along with Los Angeles-based Neal Marder.