Donna Welch > Kirkland & Ellis LLP > Chicago, United States > Lawyer Profile

Kirkland & Ellis LLP
300 NORTH LASALLE
CHICAGO, IL 60654
ILLINOIS
United States
Donna Welch photo

Career

Donna Welch is a litigation partner whose practice is focused on the preparation and trial of complex civil cases involving a broad range of business and commercial issues, before federal and state courts. Her practice includes public nuisance claims, breach of fiduciary duty, pharmaceutical litigation, government investigations, and litigation involving fraud and civil RICO. She has litigated a wide variety of cases including complex shareholder and partnership disputes. Donna has also litigated class action employment claims, including under the FLSA, Title VII, the ADEA and ERISA.

Donna has served as lead and co-lead counsel in federal and state courts across the country, and in arbitration. Donna also serves as pro bono coordinator for Kirkland’s Chicago office.

Lawyer Rankings

United States > Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: pharmaceuticals and medical devices

Noted for its ‘highly strategic approach’, which combines first-chair trial skills, alongside deep subject knowledge and procedural expertise, Kirkland & Ellis LLP is a popular choice among life sciences and pharma companies facing down high-stakes, bet-the-company litigation. Jennifer Levy in Washington DC and Chicago-based Donna Welch have been pivotal to the firm’s success in the area, most notably for their ‘outstanding’ work on behalf of Allergan, as one of the defendants accused in private and government-led litigation for its role in fuelling the opioid epidemic in the US. ‘Well-respected’ Washington-DC-based trial lawyer Mike Brock is also a key member of the team and has notched up numerous successes for pharma and life sciences companies, particularly in product liability and mass tort cases.