Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP > Chicago, United States > Firm Profile

Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP > The Legal 500 Rankings

Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: pharmaceuticals and medical devices Tier 1

With Midwestern roots and a national reach, dispute resolution boutique Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP has developed a market-leading reputation for litigating large aggregated product liability cases in state and federal courts throughout the country. Much of this work takes place in the pharmaceutical/life sciences space, where with four MD/JDs in its ranks, the firm is particularly adept at handling matters with complex and technical issues at their core. Although it does handle work throughout the litigation continuum, the team, under the leadership of  ‘incredibly smart’ Chicago-based Tarek Ismail is best-known for its trial-ready capabilities, where it excels in explaining often highly complex matters in a persuasive and simplified way to juries. A ‘top-notch strategist and excellent first-chair trial lawyer’, Shayna Cook, who is also based in Chicago, has gained a number of notable victories over the years, both in bellwether trials and in Daubert challenges, as well as other dispositive motions. Leveraging his science and medical background, Santa Monica-based Ken Baum  is also a key member of the firm’s teams in relation to large MDLs, regularly gaining early dismissals of cases through very effective depositions of key expert and treating physician witnesses. Noted for his ‘brilliant science mind’, Dallas-based Joe Tomaselli co-heads the science and experts group alongside Baum and focuses on developing and implementing winning scientific theories of the case for medical drug and device manufacturers. With ‘a poise and confidence that judges and juries both appreciate’, Chicago-based Jennifer Greenblatt is ‘laser focused on winning’, be it in a final trial or through briefing and arguing dispositive motions.  

Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes Tier 4

Boutique national litigation firm Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP handles commercial disputes for a stand-out roster of Fortune 500 clients, including Apple, Major League Baseball and Johnson & Johnson, among many others. In 2023, seasoned litigator and founding partner Tarek Ismail spearheaded the firm’s defense of AbbVie in litigation brought by a hedge fund alleging that AbbVie made fraudulent statements in connection with a potential merger. Shayna Cook is a key contact for multidistrict litigation and regularly handles high-profile IP and product liability cases in the medical and life sciences sectors

Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers Tier 4

Tarek Ismail, founder of Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP and based in Chicago, is described by one client as ‘one of the best first-chair trial lawyers in the country‘ in commercial matters. Ismail is extremely active in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries and led on a mass tort case in both state and federal courts for Gilead Sciences, Inc. Ismail also excels in the healthcare and product liability space.