Hildy Sastre > Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP > Miami, United States > Lawyer Profile

Hildy Sastre

305.358.5171 hsastre@shb.com View profile

Work Department

Product Liability Litigation

Position

Partner and Co-Chair of Shook’s Product Liability Litigation Practice Group

Career

Hildy is co-chair of Shook’s Product Liability Litigation Practice Group and is a nationally recognized trial lawyer who has first-chaired high-stakes cases for product manufacturers throughout the United States. Hildy has obtained numerous defense verdicts in cases where tens to hundreds of millions of dollars were at stake. She is often called upon to act as trial counsel in bellwether cases and cases of first impression. Hildy also has extensive experience defending Fortune 100 corporations in national multidistrict litigation, consolidated proceedings and mass tort claims.

Hildy was recognized as 2019’s “Most Effective Attorney” in the area of complex litigation by The Daily Business Review. This distinction was due, in large part, to the bellwether defense verdict she obtained for Sanofi in the Taxotere MDL. She also obtained a defense verdict in a nine-week trial in which the plaintiff sought $28 million plus punitive damages. The trial was selected as the top defense verdict in the United States in 2016 by Courtroom View Network.

Clients, judges, co-counsel and colleagues have praised Hildy’s skills in both the development and execution of litigation strategy. Said one interviewed and quoted about Hildy by Chambers USA, “I think very highly of her—she is a very creative lawyer who looks at things with a critical eye.” Others interviewed and quoted by Chambers USA stated, “She’s a very fine trial lawyer,” and she is a “really terrific lawyer,” and another added that Hildy is “an excellent trial lawyer; her quality is very high. She’s very good.” One judge noted that, “Hildy is always mindful of her corporate clients’ business interests in skillfully navigating the serious allegations of plaintiffs claiming harm from her clients’ products.” In the courtroom, Hildy is known for being engaging and relatable; she “bonds very well with juries and is very adept at handling difficult witnesses on cross,” according to a client. “She has that unique ability—one that is simply not teachable—to relate to all people from all walks of life whether they are judges, juries, other counsel or people encountered in hotels or courts,” says an attorney who has represented co-defendants at trial with Hildy.

Hildy has been awarded Band 1 recognition in Nationwide Products Liability by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. Hildy is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation and of the Litigation Counsel of America. She has been recognized in The Legal 500 United States, and was named to the top 25 “Influential Business Women” of 2017 by the South Florida Business Journal. Hildy was featured in The American Lawyer’s Product Liability Litigation Department of the Year and in Attorney at Law Magazine’s “Attorneys to Watch.” She has also been selected to serve on the 2022 Trials Editorial Board and the 2021 Product Liability Editorial Board for Law360 and is an active member of DRI’s Drug and Medical Device Steering Committee. Hildy serves as the state committee chair for the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) and is a member of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel. She also serves on Shook’s Executive Committee (governing body) and the Women’s Management Council.

Hildy’s ability to connect meaningfully with her peers and juries includes junior attorneys as well. She regularly mentors attorneys newer to the profession during cases and at organized mentoring events. As a member of the Defense Research Institute (DRI), Hildy served terms as the chair of the Women’s Mentoring Committee and the Young Lawyers Diversity Committee. A partner observed that while representing a co-defendant at trial, Hildy “never seemed too busy—even though she was—to explain something, provide input and guide with her combination of a firm hand and patience.”

Memberships

• American Bar Foundation, Fellow
• Litigation Counsel of America, Fellow
• International Association of Defense Counsel
  • State Committee, Chair
• Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel
• Law360, Trials Editorial Advisory Board (2022)
• Law360, Product Liability Editorial Advisory Board (2021)
• Defense Research Institute
  • Drug and Medical Device Steering Committee Member
  • Women’s Mentoring Committee, Former Chair
  • Young Lawyers Diversity Committee, Former Chair
• Florida Defense Lawyers Association
• American Bar Association, Litigation Section
• Dade County Bar Association

Education

J.D., Georgetown University Law Center, 1994
B.A., Florida State University, 1991

Personal

Firm Management