Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP > Chicago, United States > Firm Profile
Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP Offices
111 S. WACKER DR. FLOOR 51
CHICAGO IL 60606
ILLINOIS
United States
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Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP > The Legal 500 Rankings
Dispute resolution > E-discovery Tier 1
Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP‘s data and discovery strategies department includes, in addition to lawyers, analysts, project managers and technology experts which enables it to provide a full-service e-discovery and information governance product. Patrick Oot and Denise Talbert jointly lead the team from Washington DC and Kansas City respectively.Practice head(s):
Patrick Oot; Denise Talbert
Work highlights
Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: automotive/transport Tier 2
Benefiting from a deep understanding of the industry, as well as the legal and regulatory landscape, Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP is well-positioned to effectively represent many well-known entities in the automotive space, including Ford Motor and Kia America, in high-stakes litigation, as well as from a risk management perspective. Primarily centered out of the West Coast, the team, which is co-headed by Janet Hickson in Orange County, Amir Nassihi in San Francisco and Robert Adams in Kansas City, has expertise handling cases across a wide spectrum of disputes impacting not only automakers but also component suppliers and Original Equipment Manufacturers. Supported by more than 100 research analysts with advanced science and technical degrees, the firm is also at the vanguard of developments in the sector and is particularly adept at advising on litigation/regulatory matters relating to autonomous vehicles. Frank Kelly in San Francisco has formidable advocacy skills, representing clients across a range of product liability cases, including in high-stakes matters for automotive manufacturers accused of causing catastrophic injury and wrongful death.
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Key clients
Ford Motor Company
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
Tesla
U-Haul International, Inc.
Porsche Cars North America, Inc.
Mazda North American Operations
Kia America, Inc.
Hyundai Motor Company
American Honda Motor Co.
Ferrari North America, Inc.
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC
Volvo Car USA, LLC
Ducati North America, Inc.
Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: consumer products (including tobacco) Tier 2
Kansas-headquartered litigation powerhouse Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP represents manufacturers of consumer goods, food and beverages, and tobacco, among others, and is particularly well-suited to defending clients in large-scale class actions and MDLs. As well as bringing to bear pure legal expertise, it is also able to effectively draw upon the technical and scientific expertise of the firm’s in-house research analysts. San Francisco-based Amir Nassihi has developed a strong reputation in the market as a result of his successes for clients in class actions throughout the country, as well as his aptitude at handling appellate actions in California. Nassihi co-heads the overarching class action and appellate litigation group alongside Michael Mallow in Los Angeles and Kansas City-based Tristan Duncan. In Miami, Kenneth Reilly has vast experience in relation to high-profile tobacco litigation, and is particularly noted for his advocacy skills. Based out of the firm’s Kansas City headquarters, Jim Muehlberger ‘is creative and strategic in his approach to settlement’, ensuring that clients receive a ‘cost-effective’ and tailored service in the defense of consumer and third-party payor class actions.
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Testimonials
‘The solutions-oriented team provides pragmatic advice and don’t want to litigate for the sake of litigating.’
‘Jim Muehlberger is very pragmatic and easy to work with. He ensures efficient and cost-effective billing. He is creative and strategic in his approach to settlement.’
Key clients
DeLaval Inc.
Unilever
Simmons Foods, Inc.
Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc.
Barkman Honey, LLC
Shutterfly Lifetouch, LLC and Shutterfly, LLC
Tyson Foods, Inc.
Ford Motor Company
Tesla Inc.
American Honda Motor Co.
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
Bayer Corporation
Philip Morris USA
Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: pharmaceuticals and medical devices Tier 2
Appreciated for its willingness to ‘seamlessly collaborate with other law firms‘, Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP is a popular choice among pharmaceutical companies and medical devices manufacturers throughout the litigation continuum. Able to leverage significant in-house scientific strength and to tap into the expertise of product litigators spread throughout the country, the firm regularly takes on lead and co-ordinating counsel roles in MDLs and is particularly adept at trying cases, both at first instance and on appeal. With ‘a good sense of what is important and what is not‘, Jon Strongman in Kansas City is an ‘excellent trial lawyer‘, who offers strong advocacy skills and is able to effectively explain complex medical and scientific issues in a clear and understandable way to juries. San Francisco-based practitioner Alicia Donahue is a ‘zealous advocate‘ for healthcare clients and co-heads the team alongside Hildy Sastre in Miami.Practice head(s):
Hildy Sastre ; William Geraghty ; Katie Gates Calderon
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Testimonials
‘They are real experts in managing discovery.’
‘They provide a cost-effective approach and are willing to seamlessly collaborate with other firms.’
‘Alicia Donohue is such a zealous advocate; she lives and breathes my cases. I really appreciate her dedication.’
‘Jon Strongman is an excellent trial lawyer, who has a good sense of what is important and what is not.‘
Key clients
Sanofi U.S.
Cerner
Stryker Corporation
Roche / Genentech
Gilead Sciences
Zoetis Inc.
Perrigo, Inc.
Alkermes, Inc.
Atrium
Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: toxic tort Tier 2
Combining litigation, regulatory and counselling expertise, Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP‘s Kansas City-based team provides a one-stop-shop service to chemicals, petroleum, utilities, and pharmaceuticals clients across the gamut of their environmental needs. Truly national in scope, the team has deep knowledge across the panoply of federal and state environmental regulations, and is as effective on behalf of clients from a risk management perspective, as it is litigating individual, group and class action toxic tort disputes. The team is also well-versed in advising on Superfund-related matters, including in the context of cost recovery and contribution claims under CERCLA. Mark Anstoetter and David Erickson
co-head the team and both have vast experience across the spectrum of environmental litigation (including toxic tort), with expertise defending clients against private litigation, as well as government enforcement actions and citizen group lawsuits.
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Key clients
The Chemours Company
SPG (Passaic River Court Litigation) and SPLG (CERCLA Cost Recovery Litigation)
Huhtamaki Inc.
Mallinckrodt, Inc.
Zoetis Inc.
The Doe Run Company
Work highlights
Media, technology and telecoms > Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection) Tier 3
Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP is well known for its incident response, compliance and risk minimization practice, combines with strong capabilities in privacy litigation, whereby an emphasis is put on biometric privacy cases. Based in Miami, practice head Al Saikali is ‘particularly good with helping business, technology, and legal executives prepared to deal with cybersecurity incidents.’ Further team members in Chicago include Melissa Siebert and Matthew Wolfe, who is an expert on BIPA and ‘gives good, direct guidance in that space.’Practice head(s):
Al Saikali
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Testimonials
‘The lawyers at SHB are very, very cost conscious and drive great value for their clients. They are willing to think globally to try to reduce costs and drive efficiencies in litigation, when possible. Impressive knowledge in pending litigation matters and strategic advice. They keep up on industry trends and have good, broad knowledge on this substantive space. The advice they give is practical and straight-forward.’
‘Al Saikali is a perfect outside counsel to work with. He is funny, engaging and has a great ability to look at issues from the point of view of his clients. On billing issues, he is eminently fair. He is also very good at bringing in team members when it makes sense.’
‘Matthew Wolfe is great at executing against a task. He is good at keeping his client informed and making sure that work is getting done and addressed in a timely fashion. He knows a ton about BIPA and gives good, direct guidance in that space.’
‘Al Saikali and his team have deep expertise on data breach preparedness, mitigation, and response. He has outstanding relationships with his clients and partners – and we trust his and value his experience and expertise. Al is particularly good with helping business, technology, and legal executives prepared to deal with cybersecurity incidents.’
‘Al Saikali and his team of lawyers are pragmatic, experienced, and easy to work with.’
‘This is a firm that produces outstanding work product with competitive rates. They are proactive in keeping clients informed and do terrific work.’
Key clients
Crate&Barrel and CB2
Whirlpool
Biometric Privacy Class Action Lawsuits
Florida Justice Reform Institute
Appgate
GlobeNet
AMN Healthcare
Nextiva
Work highlights
- Represented Crate & Barrel/Whirlpool and achieved dismissals in the first three of more than 45 multimillion dollar class action lawsuits in Florida brought by visitors to websites of companies that use session replay technology.
- Advised Appgate on building a comprehensive privacy compliance program to meet the legal requirements in the multiple jurisdictions in which it operates.
- Advising the Florida Justice Reform Institute to provide background information and testimony to the Florida House of Representatives, Florida Senate, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis about the potential risks presented by a proposed privacy law.
Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP > Firm Profile
The firm: Shook, Hardy & Bacon has long been recognized as one of the premier litigation defense firms in the country. Shook has represented companies in the health, science and technology sectors in their most substantial national and international product liability, mass tort and complex litigation matters for more than 130 years. Shook’s success in these areas has captured the attention of many in the industry. In 2020, BTI Consulting named Shook a “Product Liability Powerhouse”; it is one of only two firms in the US to receive this ranking. For 17 years, Shook has also been named the ‘Product Liability Defense Law Firm of the Year’ by Who’s Who Legal: The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers; and The American Lawyer has twice recognised the firm for its Product Liability Litigation Department of the Year Award. The Global Legal Post recognized Shook as “the most active defendants’ firm for product liability cases between 2015 and 2019,” based on a report from Lex Machina. In 2021, Shook was ranked in the top 30 law firms in the US for client service, based on a client survey by BTI Consulting Group, a ranking that was achieved, in part, by Shook’s rapid shift to meeting new client demands with the sudden lockdown caused by the pandemic. Shook expanded services, rallied teams, communicated with clients and then seamlessly implemented new services and resources needed for clients to navigate the novel legal issues COVID-19 presented. Diversity and Inclusion are essential components of the firm’s identity, and women, minorities, LGBTQ+, veterans and differently abled attorneys are valued employees.
Main areas of practice: Shook is known for its abilities in litigation — more than 90 percent of its attorneys are litigators, and many have advanced degrees in health and sciences fields. The firm has represented leading international companies in a variety of industries, including pharmaceutical and medical device, technology, chemical, energy, food and beverage, and automotive. In the past three years alone, Shook lawyers have tried more than 30 cases to verdict in state and federal courts, successfully defending clients against claims involving product liability, environmental and toxic tort, patent infringement, labor and employment and other claims. Shook has represented the industry’s leading pharmaceutical manufacturers for more than 40 years. The firm has also represented US cigarette manufacturers in product liability litigation continuously since 1957, and currently represents the largest US tobacco company as lead trial counsel in its pending litigation. In recent years, the firm has leveraged its complex litigation expertise to build substantial national practices in intellectual property, environmental and toxic tort litigation, data security and privacy, employment litigation, commercial litigation, and public policy. While product liability remains a core strength and a growth area for the firm, practice diversification has allowed Shook to offer a variety of innovative solutions to regulatory and compliance challenges as well.
Value Innovations Champions: Some 35 to 40 percent of the firm’s work is covered by alternative fee arrangements. Shook was named a Value Champion by the Association of Corporate Counsel—the only firm to be so recognized by ACC four times—in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2020 for working with clients on innovative, collaborative and savings-driven approaches. The firm has achieved this recognition by continually focusing on creating close partnerships and tailoring its service offerings to align with the client’s definition of value for a particular engagement.
Clients: Shook has represented nearly three-quarters of the Fortune 100. The firm’s clients include global industry leaders who demand proven legal strategies. As a result, the firm has developed long-standing relationships with many of its clients. ‘There is no short list for national counsel of a major pharmaceutical company that doesn’t include Shook’, said the former general counsel of one of the nation’s leading pharmaceutical companies in an article on Shook. Another client added that Shook attorneys litigate like they’re going to trial, but not unnecessarily. ‘If a matter does end up going to trial, they’ll be in the best possible position to defend it’, the Shook client told the ABA Journal.
Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP > Firm Profile
Firm Overview:
Shook, Hardy & Bacon has long been recognized as one of the premier litigation defense firms in the country. Shook has represented companies in the health, science and technology sectors in their most substantial national and international product liability, mass tort and complex litigation matters for more than 130 years. Shook’s success in these areas has captured the attention of many in the industry. In 2020, BTI Consulting named Shook a “Product Liability Powerhouse”; it is one of only two firms in the US to receive this ranking. For 16 consecutive years, Shook has also been named the ‘Product Liability Defense Law Firm of the Year’ by Who’s Who Legal: The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers; and The American Lawyer has twice recognised the firm for its Product Liability Litigation Department of the Year Award. The Global Legal Post recognized Shook as “the most active defendants’ firm for product liability cases between 2015 and 2019,” based on a report from Lex Machina. In 2021, Shook was ranked in the top 30 law firms in the US for client service, based on a client survey by BTI Consulting Group, a ranking that was achieved, in part, by Shook’s rapid shift to meeting new client demands with the sudden lockdown caused by the pandemic. Shook expanded services, rallied teams, communicated with clients and then seamlessly implemented new services and resources needed for clients to navigate the novel legal issues COVID-19 presented. Diversity and Inclusion are essential components of the firm’s identity, and women, minorities, LGBTQ+, veterans and differently abled attorneys are valued employees.
Main Areas of Practice:
Shook is known for its abilities in litigation — more than 90 percent of its attorneys are litigators, and many have advanced degrees in health and sciences fields. The firm has represented leading international companies in a variety of industries, including pharmaceutical and medical device, technology, chemical, energy, food and beverage, and automotive. In the past three years alone, Shook lawyers have tried more than 30 cases to verdict in state and federal courts, successfully defending clients against claims involving product liability, environmental and toxic tort, patent infringement, labor and employment and other claims. Shook has represented the industry’s leading pharmaceutical manufacturers for more than 40 years. The firm has also represented US cigarette manufacturers in product liability litigation continuously since 1957, and currently represents the largest US tobacco company as lead trial counsel in its pending litigation. In recent years, the firm has leveraged its complex litigation expertise to build substantial national practices in intellectual property, environmental and toxic tort litigation, data security and privacy, employment litigation, commercial litigation, and public policy. While product liability remains a core strength and a growth area for the firm, practice diversification has allowed Shook to offer a variety of innovative solutions to regulatory and compliance challenges as well.
Innovation in Value Champions:
Some 35 to 40 percent of the firm’s work is covered by alternative fee arrangements. Shook was named a Value Champion by the Association of Corporate Counsel—the only firm to be so recognized by ACC five times—in 2012, 2013, 2015, 2020 and 2021 for working with clients on innovative, collaborative and savings-driven approaches. The firm has achieved this recognition by continually focusing on creating close partnerships and tailoring its service offerings to align with the client’s definition of value for a particular engagement.
Clients:
Shook has represented nearly three-quarters of the Fortune 100. The firm’s clients include global industry leaders who demand proven legal strategies. As a result, the firm has developed long-standing relationships with many of its clients. ‘There is no short list for national counsel of a major pharmaceutical company that doesn’t include Shook’, said the former general counsel of one of the nation’s leading pharmaceutical companies in an article on Shook. Another client added that Shook attorneys litigate like they’re going to trial, but not unnecessarily. ‘If a matter does end up going to trial, they’ll be in the best possible position to defend it’, the Shook client told the ABA Journal.
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chair | Madeleine McDonough | mmcdonough@shb.com |
- Dispute resolution > E-discovery
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: automotive/transport
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: consumer products (including tobacco)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: pharmaceuticals and medical devices
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: toxic tort