.jpg)
.jpg)
.png)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Mr. Benck is a dual US/Luxembourg citizen who graduated from Birmingham-Southern College (BA- Economics, 1990). He obtained his Juris Doctorate from the University of Alabama School of Law (JD, 1993).
Professionally, he serves as the Vice President, General Counsel and Assistant Secretary for Hibbett Sporting Goods, Inc. (Nasdaq: HIBB), a billion dollar, full line sporting goods distributor headquartered in Alabama with over 1,050 retail locations in approximately 36 US states, and nearly 10,000 employees.
Reporting directly to the CEO and the Board of Directors, he oversees the Legal Department and its staff of attorneys, Governmental Affairs, Economic and Competitive Intelligence, Enterprise Risk Management, Enterprise-wide Compliance, and serves as the Chief Privacy Officer (CIPP/US certified).
In addition to his role as chief legal officer for Hibbett, Mr. Benck serves in the following capacities:
In the complex and ever-evolving realm of mass tort litigation, expertise and insight are paramount.
As someone deeply immersed in this dynamic field, Andy brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table. With a comprehensive understanding of the intricate legal landscape, a keen awareness of the latest trends, and a track record of successfully assisting firms on acquiring mass tort cases, he has established himself as a trusted authority in this specialized area.
As a partner in Barnes & Thornburg’s Los Angeles office, Kendra Lounsberry focuses on the resolution of products liability and mass tort litigation matters, from advising on pre-litigation strategies, to settlement of high-stakes one-off lawsuits, to managing global resolutions of thousands of coordinated cases.
Kendra specializes in the strategic resolution of complex litigation matters—whether it's a high-stakes mass tort case with thousands of plaintiffs or a difficult multi-defendant dispute, Kendra has the acumen and skill needed to achieve a favorable outcome for her clients. With a focus on negotiating and mediating cases to reach workable solutions, Kendra is dedicated to providing clients with personalized and effective legal representation.
Don Beshada is a litigator and entrepreneur with over two decades of experience in large-scale litigation and legal marketing, having served as a Partner at Drinker Biddle & Reath before founding boutique firm Beshada Farnese LLP. As CEO of Covalynt, he ensures that every methodology the platform produces is defensible where it matters most: in negotiations, in settlements, and with courts.
Jason Goldstein is Senior Litigation Counsel at Parker Waichman LLP, where he represents individuals harmed by defective pharmaceuticals and medical devices in complex litigation nationwide.
Mr. Goldstein currently serves as Co-Chair of the Executive Committee and Federal-State Court Liaison in In re: Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1 RAs) Non-Arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 3163, a coordinated federal proceeding involving allegations that GLP-1 receptor agonist medications caused non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) and permanent vision loss. In this leadership role, he helps oversee national discovery strategy, expert development, and coordinated case management on behalf of plaintiffs across the country.
He also serves as a Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee Member in In re: Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1 RAs) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 3094 and as a PSC Member in In re: Exactech Polyethylene Orthopedic Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 3044, where he assists in managing complex pharmaceutical and medical device litigation involving coordinated national discovery and strategy.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Goldstein was a member of the trial team in the landmark talc litigation, including Ingham v. Johnson & Johnson (2018, 22nd Judicial Circuit, City of St. Louis, Missouri), where a jury returned a multibillion-dollar verdict on behalf of women alleging that long-term talcum powder use caused ovarian cancer. He was also involved in the DePuy Pinnacle hip implant litigation, contributing to coordinated discovery efforts and trial preparation in a significant medical device proceeding. Mr. Goldstein has worked closely with leading national trial counsel, including The Lanier Law Firm and trial attorney Mark Lanier, in complex multidistrict and coordinated state court proceedings.
He earned his Juris Doctor from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and received his undergraduate degree from Syracuse University. Mr. Goldstein is admitted to practice law in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, as well as before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Eastern District of New York, and the District of New Jersey.
Mr. Goldstein has been recognized by his peers for his work in complex litigation and has been selected to Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers for his contributions in mass tort and product liability litigation.
Through his leadership appointments and litigation experience, Mr. Goldstein has established himself as a trusted advocate in national pharmaceutical and medical device litigation, representing individuals and families confronting life-altering injuries.
David Sneed is a nationally recognized trial lawyer specializing in high-stakes mass tort and product liability litigation. He represents leading companies in the technology, entertainment, consumer products, and pharmaceutical sectors.
David has particular expertise in cases involving complex scientific, medical, and technological issues. He has successfully argued motions, examined expert witnesses at Daubert hearings, and drafted winning appellate briefs in mass tort cases.
His courtroom successes have earned recognition from The American Lawyer, which named him Litigator of the Week (“Covington Team Gets a Directed Verdict in First Trial Over Heavy Metals in Baby Food”) and Litigator of the Week Runner-Up (Onglyza Litigation Summary Judgment). He has also been recognized as a Product Liability Rising Star by Law360 and the National Law Journal. In 2025, Chambers USA ranked him as “Up and Coming” in the product liability and mass torts category, highlighting his growing reputation defending complex product liability claims on behalf of clients across the pharmaceutical and technology sectors.
In addition to his litigation experience, David advises clients on regulatory and liability risks related to emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, robotics, and autonomous systems. He has conducted risk assessments and helped international technology companies develop policies and procedures to reduce litigation exposure.
Committed to access to justice, David maintains an active pro bono practice focused on criminal defense and civil rights litigation. He also serves as co-lead of Covington’s Black Lawyers Resource Group, supporting firmwide diversity and mentorship initiatives.
Troy Rafferty is a shareholder at Rafferty Domnick Cunningham & Yaffa and is widely regarded as one of the nation’s most accomplished trial lawyers. For nearly 30 years, Mr. Rafferty has delivered extraordinary results for clients injured or harmed by defective drugs and products.
In March 2025, he was appointed to the Plaintiffs’ Leadership Council of the Depo-Provera (Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate) products liability litigation as a member of the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee. In this leadership role, he works with a select group of litigators from around the country to coordinate and oversee plaintiffs’ counsel throughout pretrial proceedings.
Mr. Rafferty has secured landmark verdicts and settlements in complex mass tort cases. In the Testosterone Replacement Therapy litigation, he won jury verdicts of $150 million and $140 million, among the largest in the nation. His leadership also played a significant role in resolving high-stakes national litigation.
In the nationwide opioids litigation, Mr. Rafferty served as Plaintiffs’ Liaison Counsel and as a key member of the Settlement Committee, helping secure a historic $36 billion settlement from major distributors. He also led negotiations in the Benicar litigation, resulting in another significant national settlement. His experience spans all phases of mass tort litigation, including depositions, expert collaboration, and serving as lead trial counsel.
Mr. Rafferty is board certified in civil trial law by The Florida Bar. His honors include recognition as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers by the American Trial Lawyers Association, fellowship in the International Society of Barristers, and induction into the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, which limits membership to 500 U.S. attorneys. He is recognized in The Best Lawyers in America and Florida Super Lawyers, and holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell for outstanding legal ability and ethics.
Mr. Rafferty has served in numerous leadership roles within the legal community. He was President of the Florida Justice Association (2014–2015) and received the organization’s highest honor, the Perry Nichols Award, for his dedication to civil justice. In 2018, he was awarded the Living the Dream HK Matthews Legacy Award for leadership and service advancing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision.
A dedicated philanthropist, Mr. Rafferty supports local charities, including a $1 million donation toward expanding youth education and sports programs at the Theophilus May Community Center in Pensacola. He also played a pivotal pro bono role in securing a $20 million allocation from the Florida Legislature on behalf of survivors of abuse at the Dozier School for Boys and Okeechobee School for Boys. After years of advocacy, the settlement was finalized in 2024.
Mr. Rafferty is a frequent lecturer, sharing his expertise with trial lawyers nationwide. He is licensed to practice before all Florida state courts, the United States District Courts for the Northern and Middle Districts of Florida, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
David Stellings represents consumers and small businesses from around the world in complex litigation in federal and state courts.
For the last 25+ years, Mr. Stellings has focused on product liability, consumer fraud, financial fraud, and breach of contract cases. His clients and class members have received more than
$17.5 billion as a result of his advocacy. Several of Mr. Stellings’ recent cases are described below.
Mr. Stellings is Court-appointed co-lead counsel in a large multidistrict class action litigation pending in federal court in Los Angeles. Plaintiffs allege certain auto part makers and automobile manufacturers – including ZF-TRW, Hyundai-Kia, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Honda, and Fiat Chrysler – caused consumers to buy and overpay for millions of cars that have defective airbag and seat belt systems. These defective safety systems have led to a number of deaths and serious injuries. In 2023 Plaintiffs and Toyota entered into a settlement valued at more than
$148 million, pending final approval of the Court. The litigation against the other defendants continues.
Mr. Stellings is Court-appointed co-lead counsel in another defective-airbag-related multidistrict class action litigation pending in federal court in Atlanta. Plaintiffs allege airbag manufacturer ARC, along with several other part suppliers and automakers, manufactured and sold more than 50 million vehicles with defective airbags that sometimes explode in a crash, and
send razor-sharp pieces of steel shrapnel into the faces, necks and bodies of drivers and passengers.
Mr. Stellings is co-lead counsel in a class action in federal court in Miami against truck manufacturer Hino. Plaintiffs allege Hino engaged in various types of emission cheating, and that as a result Hino purchasers paid too much for their trucks. The parties agreed to settle the case for $237.5 million plus valuable extended and additional warranties. The settlement is subject to Court approval.
Mr. Stellings is co-lead counsel in a case in federal court in Northern California against General Motors, in which plaintiffs allege the airbags in millions of GM trucks are calibrated improperly to fail to deploy in certain types of moderate and severe crashes, which can lead to serious injuries and/or death.
Mr. Stellings is a member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in a multidistrict litigation pending in federal court in Pittsburgh against Philips Respironics and its parent companies. Plaintiffs allege defendants manufactured and sold more than 10 million defective CPAP machines, which caused economic damage and physical injuries to the people who bought and used the machines.
Mr. Stellings is part of the leadership team in the historic Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” multidistrict litigation, in which plaintiffs alleged that Volkswagen intentionally and systematically cheated
its customers, lied to the government, and misled the public about the emissions of its diesel engine vehicles sold under the Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche brands. The Court approved a settlement relating to 2.0-Liter engines worth approximately $10 billion in cash, as well as a
3.0-Liter engine settlement with an estimated value between $1.2 and $4 billion. The Court also approved a separate $327.5 million settlement with Bosch for designing the “defeat device” software in the affected VW vehicle engines. Class members in these cases recovered 100% of their alleged economic damages.
Mr. Stellings is a member of the leadership team in the Takata exploding airbag multidistrict litigation. Plaintiffs in that case allege that more than 40 million class members were damaged when airbag manufacturer Takata and several major automobile manufacturers knowingly exposed them to the risk of being killed or injured by shrapnel from exploding airbags. Certain automaker defendants in the case have settled for a total of more than $1.5 billion, and the litigation continues against the remaining defendants.
Mr. Stellings was on the leadership team in a case against various automakers who allegedly cheated fuel economy tests for certain gasoline-powered vehicles, and as a result, represented to regulators and consumers that the vehicles obtained better fuel economy than they actually did. The litigation and intensive settlement negotiations resulted in a non-reversionary $96.5 million settlement that provides class members “full compensation”—i.e., 100¢ on the dollar— for their alleged losses.
Mr. Stellings led a similar class action against Porsche for fuel economy cheating. The case settled for more than $80 million, close to 100% of the economic damages class members experienced.
Mr. Stellings was part of the leadership team in the Fiat Chrysler “EcoDiesel” multidistrict litigation, in which plaintiffs alleged that Fiat Chrysler and Bosch designed and installed cheating emissions software in more than 100,000 vehicles. The Court approved a settlement that required Fiat Chrysler to fix the vehicles, and provided class members $307.5 million in cash plus a valuable extended warranty.
Product Liability, Consumer Protection, Financial Fraud, Breach of Contract
New York University School of Law, New York, New York
J.D. - 1993
Law Journal: Journal of International Law and Politics, Editor
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
B.A. (cum laude) - 1990
New York, Appellate Division, 1st Department, 1994
U.S. Court of Appeals, 1st Circuit, 2004
U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit, 2010
U.S. Court Of Appeals, 4th Circuit, 2013
U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit, 2009
U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit, 2017
U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit, 2007 Michigan Eastern District Court, 2015
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, 2012
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, 1996
U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York, 2022
Speaker, ABA National Class Action Institute, 2023
Speaker, Miami Law Class Action & Complex Litigation Forum, 2023
Speaker, “Trends in Class Action Litigation,” Trial Lawyers of Mass Torts Inaugural Conference, December 2022
Speaker, “MDL—Who Wants One? Plaintiff, Defense and Judicial Perspectives on MDL Pros and Cons,” University of Miami School of Law 2020 Class Action & Complex Litigation Forum, January, 2020
American Bar Association
Bar Association of the City of New York New Jersey State Bar Association
New York State Bar Association
“Super Lawyer for New York Metro,” Super Lawyers, 2012 - 2023
“Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers in America,” Lawdragon, 2023 “Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers in America,” Lawdragon, 2021-2023 “Consumer Attorney of the Year Finalist,” Consumer Attorneys of California, 2017
“Trial Lawyer of the Year Finalist,” Public Justice, 2012 “Lawdragon Finalist,” Lawdragon, 2009
Rami Fakhouri is an accomplished trial lawyer and litigator who deploys strong critical reasoning and communication skills for clients that include many of the world’s leading pharmaceutical and medical-device companies. Clients value his ability to establish credibility early and find creative solutions at every stage of litigation.
Recognized as a “young star” by Legal 500, Rami has earned the trust and respect of clients, courts, and opposing counsel. He recently served as trial counsel for Teva Pharmaceuticals in the first Paragard IUD bellwether trial, securing a complete defense verdict alongside partner Shayna Cook. He also served as trial counsel for GSK in litigation involving the heartburn medication Zantac, obtaining two complete defense verdicts with partners Tarek Ismail and Shayna Cook. In addition, he served as co-lead coordinating counsel for approximately 500 consolidated Zantac cases.
In large products liability litigation involving Gilead Sciences’ HIV medications, Rami has deposed multiple plaintiffs and treating physicians, taken and defended depositions of retained experts, and served as co-lead trial counsel in two federal summary jury trials. He is slated to serve as trial counsel for Gilead in the first federal bellwether case to reach trial.
In 2025, Legal 500 ranked Rami as a Next Generation Partner in the U.S. category of Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action – Defense: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices. That same year, Bloomberg Law selected him as one of 40 young lawyers nationwide recognized as “They’ve Got Next: 40 Under 40.”
Rami maintains an active pro bono practice. He achieved a rare en banc reversal of summary judgment by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois awarded him its Excellence in Pro Bono and Public Interest Service Award in 2021 and 2025, and the Seventh Circuit Bar Association honored him with the John Paul Stevens Pro Bono and Public Service Award in 2018.
Rami regularly represents clients in asylum proceedings and negotiates settlements of civil rights cases. He also serves as chair of Goldman Ismail’s Pro Bono Committee.
Mark Dearman is a partner in Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP’s Boca Raton office, where his practice focuses on consumer fraud, securities fraud, mass torts, antitrust, and whistleblower litigation.
Mark, along with other Robbins Geller attorneys, is currently leading the effort on behalf of cities and counties around the country in In re National Prescription Opiate Litigation, No. 1:17-md-02804-DAP (N.D. Ohio). He was appointed to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in In re Insulin Pricing Litigation, No. 2:23-md-03080 (D.N.J.). Robbins Geller is working with a coalition of other nationally prominent law firms to investigate and bring cases on behalf of states, counties, cities, and other entities who maintain self-funded healthcare plans and who have been harmed as a result of their purchases of, or reimbursements for, overpriced insulin medication. Mark is currently on the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in In re ZF-TRW Airbag Control Units Products Liability Litigation, No. 2:19-ml-02905 (C.D. Cal.), involving an alleged defect in airbag control units found in more than 15 million vehicles nationwide. Plaintiffs allege the defendants misled consumers and caused them to overpay for vehicles with dangerously defective airbag and seat belt systems. The litigation team has secured over $290 million in settlement benefits from several of the automotive defendants and continue to litigate claims against the remaining defendants. Mark was also appointed to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in In re Zantac (Ranitidine) Products Liability Litigation, No. 9:20- md-02924-RLR (S.D. Fla.), and as Chair of the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in In re Apple Inc. Device Performance Litigation, No. 5:18-md-02827-EJD (N.D. Cal.), where Mark, along with co-counsel, obtained a $310 million settlement. His other recent representative cases include serving as class counsel in In re Juul Labs, Inc., Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation, No. 3:19-md-02913-WHO (N.D. Cal.); In re McKinsey & Co., Inc. National Prescription Opiate Consultant Litigation, No. 3:21-md-02996-CRB (N.D. Cal.); In re Facebook Biometric Information Privacy Litigation, No. 3:15-cv-03747-JD (N.D. Cal.) ($650 million recovery in a class action concerning Facebook’s alleged privacy violations through its collection of user’s biometric identifiers without informed consent); In re EpiPen (Epinephrine Injection, USP) Marketing, Sales Practices & Antitrust Litigation, No. 2:17-md-02785-DDC-TJJ (D. Kan.) ($609 million total recovery achieved weeks prior to trial in certified class action alleging antitrust claims involving the illegal reverse payment settlement to delay the generic EpiPen); Zimmerman v. The 3M Co. f/k/a Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co., No. 1:17-cv-1062 (W.D. Mich.) ($54 million settlement on behalf of class of Michigan homeowners whose property was allegedly contaminated with PFAS); In re FieldTurf Artificial Turf Sales & Marketing Practices Litigation, No. 3:17-md-02779-MAS- TJB (D.N.J.); In re Sony Gaming Networks & Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, 903 F. Supp. 2d 942 (S.D. Cal. 2012); In re Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” Marketing, Sales Practices, & Products Liability Litigation, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1357 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 5, 2016); In re Aluminum Warehousing Antitrust Litigation, 95 F. Supp. 3d 419 (S.D.N.Y. 2015); In re Liquid Aluminum Sulfate Antitrust Litigation, No. 2:16-md-2687-MCA-MAH (D.N.J.); In re Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. Shareholder Litigation, No. 16-2011-CA-010616 (Fla. 4th Jud. Cir. Ct., Duval Cnty.); Gemelas v. Dannon Co. Inc., No. 1:08-cv-00236- DAP (N.D. Ohio); and In re AuthenTec, Inc. Shareholder Litigation, No. 05-2012-CA- 57589 (Fla. 18th Jud. Cir. Ct., Brevard Cnty.).
Mark was a member of the faculty of the inaugural Mass Tort MDL Certificate Program at the Bolch Judicial Institute of Duke Law School in March 2019 and was also a member of the faculty of the Program in 2020. He also served as a faculty member of the Advanced Mass Tort MDL Certificate Program at the Bolch Judicial Institute of Duke Law School in May 2023. Before joining Robbins Geller, Mark spent several years defending Fortune 500 companies in all aspects of litigation, with an emphasis in complex commercial litigation, consumer claims, and mass torts (products liability and personal injury). He went on to found the firm of Dearman & Gerson, where he continued to defend many publicly traded corporations for over 12 years. Over the last 30 years of practice, Mark has obtained extensive jury trial experience on the plaintiffs’ side, protecting the rights of consumers throughout the United States.
Andre M. Mura represents plaintiffs in class actions and mass torts, including matters involving consumer protection, privacy, and products liability. Before joining Gibbs Mura, Andre was senior litigation counsel at the Center for Constitutional Litigation PC, where he represented plaintiffs in high-stakes appeals in state supreme courts and federal appellate courts.
Andre has twice been honored with a California Lawyer Attorney of the Year Award: in 2023 for his involvement and success at trial in Patz v. City of San Diego, and in 2019 for his work before the California Supreme Court in De La Torre v. CashCall. He serves on the Board of the Impact Fund and the Civil Justice Research Initiative of Berkeley Law. He is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a member of the Lawyers Committee of the National Center for State Courts, President of the National Civil Justice Institute, past Chair of the American Association for Justice’s LGBT Caucus, past Trustee of the National College of Advocacy, and a member of Williams College’s Latino/a and BiGLATA Alumni Network.
In re: Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation
Andre was court-appointed to Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee Leadership and has undertaken a wide range of responsibilities, including law and briefing and managing discovery related to the TikTok defendants. The firm also represents children and families in lawsuits in federal and state courts against Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snap, and YouTube.
In re: Meta Pixel Healthcare Data Privacy Litigation
Andre was court-appointed to the plaintiffs’ executive committee in this consolidated litigation representing millions of patients whose sensitive health data was allegedly collected and shared without their consent. In his appointment decision, Judge Orrick cited interim class counsel’s highly relevant experience and knowledge.
Brooks v. Thomson Reuters Corporation
Andre served as court-appointed class counsel in this data privacy case involving Thomson Reuters’ CLEAR product. After the court granted class certification, the parties reached a $27.5 million settlement providing substantial injunctive relief. Final approval of the settlement was granted on February 21, 2025.
San Diego and Otay Water District Tiered Water Rates Lawsuits
Lead trial counsel in a $79.5 million verdict on behalf of single-family customers against the City of San Diego for unconstitutional water rates. The case is currently on appeal. He was also a key member of the litigation team that achieved a $24 million verdict against the Otay Water District in a similar challenge. That case is also on appeal.
In re: 3M Combat Arms Earplug Products Liability Litigation
Andre was court-appointed to the plaintiffs’ law-and-briefing committee in this multidistrict litigation on behalf of servicemembers and veterans injured by defective 3M earplugs. He also served on several bellwether trial teams, securing multiple favorable jury verdicts.
In re: Taxotere (Docetaxel) Products Liability Litigation
Andre served on the trial team in a federal jury trial and is a member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee and co-chair of Law and Briefing in this multidistrict litigation on behalf of breast cancer survivors who suffered permanent hair loss. He obtained a unanimous appellate decision granting a bellwether plaintiff a new trial. See 26 F.4th 256 (5th Cir. 2022).
In re: Vizio, Inc., Consumer Privacy Litigation
Andre was co-lead counsel for the settlement class in this multidistrict lawsuit alleging improper collection and sale of consumer viewing data. He negotiated a settlement providing class-wide injunctive relief and a $17 million compensation fund.
De La Torre v. CashCall
Andre played a key role in briefing before the California Supreme Court, resulting in a unanimous decision in plaintiffs’ favor that changed long-standing assumptions about lender protections under California law.
In re: Lenovo Adware Litigation
Andre successfully briefed and argued motions to dismiss and for class certification. The parties moved for preliminary approval of an $8.3 million settlement resolving claims that Lenovo preinstalled software that caused performance, privacy, and security issues.
Beaver et al. v. Tarsadia Hotels, Inc.
Andre contributed to briefing before the Ninth Circuit, resulting in a unanimous decision affirming application of California’s Unfair Competition Law four-year statute of limitations to claims under the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act.
Watts v. Lester E. Cox Medical Centers, 376 S.W.3d 633 (Mo. 2012)
Andre successfully argued that a state law limiting compensatory damages in medical malpractice cases violated the constitutional right to trial by jury. The Missouri Supreme Court overturned a twenty-year-old precedent in ruling for his client.
At the firm’s New York office, Mildred Conroy is a partner in the Complex Litigation department. Since 2018, Mildred has been practicing law and fighting on behalf of clients who have been wronged by corporations. Mildred has considerable experience in Federal Court as an active and central member of several bellwether trial teams.
She is currently working on the opioid litigation, the Hair Relaxer MDL, the PFAS litigation and the class action for the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
“My goal is to ensure that those who have been harmed by corporate negligence receive justice,” says Mildred. “It’s about holding corporations accountable for the damage they have caused.”
Prior to joining Simmons Hanly Conroy, Mildred was an associate at Lanier Law Firm. At both firms, her clients were those who suffered injuries or harm by defective products and corporate negligence.
While at Lanier, Mildred worked on the Depuy Orthopaedics Pinnacle Hip Implant litigation, the Johnson & Johnson talc trial in St. Louis, and the National Prescription Opiate litigation MDL 2804.
As part of the nationwide opioid litigation, Mildred also served on the trial team in San Francisco that secured a landmark victory for the people of San Francisco. Mildred’s particular focus was creating the liability storylines used each day in court as well as the overall day-to-day case management. This case was also a significant factor in driving Walgreen’s multibillion-dollar, nationwide settlement.
In a milestone opinion, Judge Charles R. Breyer concluded that “the aggregate evidence that Plaintiff presented at trial was not only adequate to establish Walgreen’s culpability — it was devastating.”
Mildred received her bachelor’s in history from Washington College before going on to focus on maritime law at Roger Williams University School of Law.
Mildred is a frequent speaker at various Continuing Legal Education seminars and webinars, including Harris Martin Conferences, National Trial Lawyers and others discussing topics such as mass torts, class actions, and critical litigation management issues.
When she’s not passionately advocating for her clients, Mildred enjoys competitive sailboat racing, skiing and spending time with her family.
Chris T. Hellums earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in business from the University of Alabama in 1990 and graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1993.
Throughout his career, Chris has handled complex civil litigation across the country. His practice has included litigating individual, class action and mass action cases in the areas of antitrust, securities fraud, insurance fraud and bad faith, product liability, commercial disputes, and data privacy. Chris also represents and consults publicly traded companies in large-scale multijurisdictional litigation.
Chris has been appointed to various leadership positions in the following MDLs: MDL 1985, In re Total Body Formula Products Liability Litigation; MDL 2406, In re Blue Cross Blue Shield Antitrust Litigation; MDL 2441, In re Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG II Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation; MDL 2595, In re Community Health Systems, Inc., Customer Data Security Breach Litigation; MDL 2734, In re Abilify (Aripiprazole) Products Liability Litigation; and MDL 2885, In re 3M Combat Arms Earplug Products Liability Litigation.
Jennifer M. Hoekstra is a partner with Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, PLC. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Science from Columbia College, Columbia University in the City of New York. She relocated to Louisiana to attend Tulane Law School, where she earned her J.D. while also completing a certificate in Environmental Law.
Jennifer has been involved in complex litigation cases of all forms since 2007. Her passion and expertise lies in Electronically Stored Information and coordinating discovery across multiple defendant litigations. She has earned a solid reputation and plays an integral role in multiple complex litigation cases, practicing in the areas of Pharmaceutical Mass Torts, Defective Device Mass Torts, and other complex litigation.
Ms. Hoekstra is currently on the Plaintiffs Executive Committee for the MDL 3060 Hair Relaxer and MDL 2789 Proton-Pump Inhibitors Products Liability Litigations. Additionally, Jennifer is a passionate litigator and has been central to the successful outcome in dozens of MDL bellwether trials over the course of her career with more than $11 Billion in trial verdicts to her credit. Most recently in 2021 and 2022, she served as trial counsel and/or as an integral member of the trial team in all of the sixteen 3M Earplug trials securing more than $300 Million in compensatory damages for military veterans.
Jean Martin joined the firm in January 2026 to lead AWKO’s consumer class action practice. For more than 25 years, Ms. Martin has concentrated her practice on complex litigation, including consumer protection and defective products class actions. She brings a unique background having handled individual personal injury and mass tort cases as well as managing large-scale consumer class actions. Ms. Martin’s caseload spans multiple disciplines within the class action bar, including data privacy, consumer goods, medical products and environmental disasters.
Ms. Martin is widely recognized for her considerable experience in data privacy cases, including appointments as co-lead class counsel in In Re: Perry Johnson & Associates Medical Transcription Data Security Breach Litigation, No. 24-md-3096-RPK-LG (E.D.N.Y.,) and co-lead counsel in In re HCA Healthcare Data Security Litigation, No. 3:23-cv-00684 (M.D. Tenn.), In re Morgan Stanley Data Security Litigation, 1:20-cv- 05914 (S.D.N.Y.), In Re: Ambry Genetics Data Breach Litigation, No. 20-cv-00791 (C.D. Cal), In re Brinker Data Incident Litigation, 18-cv-686 (M.D. Fla.), and a member of the Executive Committee in In Re: AT&T Inc Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, No. 24-cv-00757 (N.D. Tex.).
She is also a member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in In re: Allergan Biocell Textured Breast Implant Products Liability Litigation, No. 19-md-2921 (D. N.J) and was a member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in In re: Smith & Nephew Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR) Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, No. 17-md-2775 (D. Md.).
Ms. Martin serves as co-lead class counsel in consolidated litigation arising from a chemical plant fire in Conyers, GA in In re: Bio-Lab Class Actions, 1:24-CV-4407-SEG (N.D.G.A.). She also presently leads a class action against CSX for chemical exposures and property damage stemming from a train derailment in Webb et al. v. CSX Transportation, Inc., 23-cv-00211-REW (E.D. Ky.). She was on the expert discovery committee and trial team for a product mislabeling/false advertising class action in Hasemann v. Gerber Prods. Co., No. 1:15-cv-02995-EK-JAM (E.D.N.Y. Ms. Martin has been honored with the prestigious “AV” rating by Martindale-Hubbell. In 2016, she was selected by her peers as the foremost Litigation attorney in the State of North Carolina for Business North Carolina Magazine’s Legal Elite, gaining membership in the Legal Elite Hall of Fame. In 2022, she was recognized by Law360 as an MVP in the area of cybersecurity and data privacy. She was named as one of National Law Journal’s Class Action/ Mass Tort Litigation Trailblazers of 2023. In 2025 she was named as one of Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers and Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Cyber Lawyers.
Ms. Martin received her Juris Doctor degree from Wake Forest University School of Law, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Wake Forest Law Review and for which she serves on the Board of Visitors. She graduated from Wake Forest University with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematical Economics and earned a Master of International Business from the University of South Carolina.
Beyond her daily legal practice, Ms. Martin founded Class of Our Own, an invitation-only annual summit for female attorneys handling plaintiff class actions held in Nashville, Tennessee. This conference features two days of legal panels while also promoting female empowerment. The first three summits have been highlighted by the participation of the Hon. Jane Branstetter Stranch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the Hon. Karen Caldwell, Chair of the JPML, the Hon. Linda Lopez of the Southern District of California, and the Hon. Staci Yandle of the Southern District of Illinois.
Mr. Blood is a co-founding partner and the managing partner of Blood Hurst & O’Reardon LLP. For nearly thirty years, his practice has focused on complex litigation, including class actions. He has tried class action cases and is widely regarded for his expertise in consumer protection law, including California’s Unfair Competition Law and the Consumers Legal Remedies Act.
Prior to founding Blood Hurst & O’Reardon, Mr. Blood was a partner at Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach, LLP and a founding partner of the firm now known as Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP.
Over the course of his career, Mr. Blood has represented millions of purchasers of food, dietary supplements, and over-the-counter drugs in litigation involving deceptive advertising claims by manufacturers and retailers. He has also represented owners of motor vehicles in product liability cases, as well as consumer credit and mortgage borrowers in cases against major lending institutions including Bank of America, Washington Mutual, Countrywide, GMAC, and Wells Fargo.
Mr. Blood has extensive experience litigating against life, auto, and other insurance companies on behalf of consumers. His work includes representing owners, holders, and beneficiaries of industrial life insurance in race discrimination cases with class periods dating back to the late 1800s. He also represented policyholders in “vanishing premium” market conduct actions and was responsible for one of only two litigated cases in which a class was certified in the vanishing premium litigation series. Additionally, he was one of the few plaintiffs’ attorneys to secure class-wide recoveries in the “imitation parts” automobile insurance actions.
Beyond insurance-related matters, Mr. Blood has represented consumers in false advertising actions, negative-option sales practice litigation, and cases involving defective computer equipment and software.
Mr. Blood has testified before both the California State Assembly and State Senate Judiciary Committees, as well as the Assembly and Senate Committees on Banking, Finance & Insurance. He has worked extensively with lawmakers and government agencies at the state and federal levels to shape consumer protection legislation, including lobbying related to the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 and opposing a California ballot initiative aimed at weakening class action rights.
He practices in state and federal courts nationwide and has represented consumer interests before the Federal Trade Commission, the California Department of Justice, the California Legislative Analyst’s Office, and the California Department of Insurance.
His work with the Federal Trade Commission has resulted in record-setting recoveries for consumers. In In re Skechers Toning Shoes Products Liability Litigation (W.D. Ky.), his collaboration with the FTC helped secure the largest consumer recovery in FTC history for a false advertising action.
George Washington University, J.D. (1990)
Hobart College, B.A. in Economics, with honors (1987)
David Fuad is an accomplished trial lawyer and litigation advisor who serves as the firm’s Los Angeles Office Leader. David represents technology and other innovative companies on the cutting edge of litigation and trial trends around the country, including serving as court-appointed liaison counsel for a major video game platform in dozens of cases alleging mental health product liability claims. Through litigating and trying cases in federal and state courts around the country, David has a full perspective on Orrick’s dispute resolution platform and extensive insight into niche juror, jurisdictional, and case management strategies.
Market leaders rely on David to handle their business-critical disputes. Setting him apart, David excels at breaking down highly technical details for juries at trial, innovates in strategic, big-picture thinking as part of national counsel representations, and thrives under pressure, nimbly adapting to changing landscapes as contentious matters and client business goals evolve.
In trial, litigation, arbitration or mediation, David delivers efficient and favorable results aligned with clients’ business objectives. Whether managing a nationwide docket of litigation for a global luxury retailer, to prevailing in health and safety mass tort litigation for the NCAA, to winning dismissal of or favorably resolving data privacy and consumer protection class actions, to high-stakes, precedent-setting employment victories for Oracle, David handles a range of commercial disputes. David was named a “Litigator of the Week” by American Lawyer for achieving a complete defense verdict in a precedent-setting jury trial, and has been named a “Litigator of the Week” Runner-Up twice for securing defense verdicts, including in a $100 million negligence action. In addition to these recognitions from American Lawyer, David was also named to The Recorder's list of Lawyers on the Fast Track in California.
Not all disputes end up in court. David leverages his extensive courtroom and alternative dispute resolution knowledge to provide invaluable risk mitigation counseling to both established and emerging companies. David serves as a business partner and trusted advisor to ambitious start-ups and high-growth companies, helping these clients see around corners to avoid or reduce potential exposures.
In addition to his legal practice, David is committed to challenging inequities through his pro bono work. David has overseen successful immigration asylum applications, and for Equal Justice Under Law he helped secure a favorable judgment in a federal civil rights class action, barring indigent criminal defendants unable to pay court-imposed fines and fees from being jailed in a system that was described as a “modern-day debtors’ prison.”
While attending law school, David served as an extern for two Los Angeles Superior Court judges and was a member of the Loyola Entertainment Law Review.
Born in Chicago, IL, Mr. Freese is a graduate of Auburn University (B.A. 1982). Mr. Freese graduated from Cumberland School of Law (J.D. 1985), where he served as the Articles Editor of the Cumberland Law Review (1984-1985). Mr. Freese is licensed to practice in Alabama (1985) and Mississippi (2000). He is admitted to the following courts: Alabama Supreme Court; Mississippi Supreme Court; United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth, Seventh, Ninth and Eleventh Circuits; United States District Courts for the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Alabama and the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi.
Mr. Freese has 34 years of courtroom experience as a trial lawyer. Mr. Freese represents clients in several cases each year that result in multi-million-dollar jury verdicts and settlements. His practice takes him throughout the United States. Mr. Freese regularly practices in multiple state and federal courts. Mr. Freese has always focused his practice on catastrophic injury, wrongful death, and mass tort litigation. Mr. Freese has for two decades handled complex medical device and pharmaceutical litigation.
He currently focuses on product liability, mass torts, pharmaceutical litigation, environmental litigation, consumer and commercial fraud, and class actions. In the past, Mr. Freese has obtained many multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements in medical, commercial, environmental, and personal injury cases.
Amir is the National Co-Chair of Shook’s Class Action Practice Group and co-leads Shook’s Automotive Industry Group. Amir's practice is primarily dedicated to defending companies in class actions and aggregated litigation.
Amir has led the defense of class actions of all types, including automotive, food, beverage, pet food, cosmetics, personal care products, and insurance. He has also defended companies in regional and specialty class action roles.
Beyond traditional class actions, Amir has served in lead roles in mass and aggregated litigation, including JCCP and MDL proceedings, and in managing class opt-out litigation and mass arbitrations.
Mr. Lynch is a partner in the law firm of Lynch Carpenter LLP, a national law firm with offices in Pittsburgh, Chicago and San Diego, which focuses upon plaintiff class actions and complex litigation. Mr. Lynch has been engaged in the practice of law for the last thirty-six years and has developed a nationally recognized plaintiffs’ class action practice in the areas of employee rights, consumer protection, and data breach and privacy litigation. Mr. Lynch and his firm have handled hundreds of class actions in federal and state courts throughout the country. He has been appointed as class counsel in cases brought against many of the country’s largest business organizations and has achieved many substantial recoveries on behalf of plaintiff classes. He has an “AV” rating from Martindale Hubbell and a Band 1 rating from Chambers and Partners, and is a frequent local and national Continuing Legal Education speaker.
Matt Francis is the CEO and co-founder of Pattern Data, an innovative provider of AI-powered software solutions for the legal industry. Pattern Data's technology supports law firms and third-party administrators in navigating complex litigation, specializing in case development, claims evaluation, settlement analytics, and data management with a particular focus on mass tort cases. Pattern Data's software has been successfully deployed in high-profile litigations, such as the 3M Combat Arms Earplug Litigation and the Philips CPAP Litigation.
Prior to founding Pattern Data, Matt served as Vice President of Product, Class Action & Mass Torts at Epiq, following his role as Vice President of Healthcare Resolutions at The Garretson Group.
Judge Herndon currently serves as Special Master in the 3M CAE MDL 2885, Special Master in the Depo Provera MDL 3140, Fee Arbiter in the Opiate MDL 2804 and Trustee of the DII LLC Personal Injury Asbestos Trust. He gained considerable experience during his twenty plus years as a federal judge in mass tort litigation presiding over MDL cases and mass actions. He served in the Southern District of Illinois, Chief Judge from 2007 through 2014. He also served as Chair of the Judicial Conference Committee for Judicial Security by appointment of Chief Justice John Roberts. Prior to his federal tenure he served as a judge in Madison County, Illinois, where he was also a personal injury trial lawyer for fourteen years. He was inducted into the National Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame in 2017. He has served on the faculty for conferences and continuing legal education programs more than sixty-five times.
Rosemary Rivas has dedicated her legal career to representing consumers in complex class action litigation, covering claims from false advertising and defective products to privacy violations. She is deeply committed to securing justice for consumers, achieving billions of dollars in recoveries for her clients and the classes they represent.
Rosemary serves in leadership roles in various high-profile class action cases and multi-district litigations. In a competitive appointment process, Judge Charles R. Breyer appointed her to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in the Volkswagen Clean Diesel Litigation, which culminated in a landmark $14 billion settlement. The Recorder recognized the lawyers selected by Judge Breyer as a class action “dream team.” For her contributions to the Volkswagen case, Rosemary was honored with the 2018 California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award.
Throughout her career, Rosemary has received numerous accolades, including the Bay Area Legal Aid Guardian of Justice Award for her work in directing cy pres settlement funds to promote equal access to justice. She has been recognized as a Northern California Super Lawyer since 2019 and was previously named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers Magazine. Currently, she serves as a Lawyer Representative for the Northern District of California and the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference.
A fluent Spanish-speaker, Rosemary has been actively involved in diversity initiatives, previously serving on the Board and as Diversity Director of the Barristers Club of the San Francisco Bar Association. She frequently speaks at conferences on developments in consumer protection and class action litigation.
Loren Brown has an extensive litigation practice with a concentration in multi-district litigation. It often involves large-scale mass tort and class action matters, as well as parallel regulatory and government enforcement proceedings.
Loren's business litigation practice includes commercial tort and contract, trade secret, intellectual property, and securities class action matters. He has significant experience in a range of internal investigation, compliance, and regulatory matters as well, particularly in the life sciences sector.
Loren speaks and writes frequently on the subjects of multi-district litigation, expert evidence, mass tort and product liability litigation, risk mitigation and prevention, pharmaceutical and medical device litigation, and civil trial practice. He has served as national coordinating counsel, tried jury cases, argued appeals and successfully resolved many notable multi-district litigation matters throughout the US.
At DLA Piper, Loren serves as US Vice-Chairman, Chair of the Disputes practice, and is a member of the Global Board and US Executive Committee.
Kelly Curtis is a senior counsel in the Litigation Department and a member of the Antitrust, Mass Torts & Product Liability and Trials Groups. She has experience in a variety of commercial litigation matters, advancing client interests in product liability, antitrust, class action, trade secret misappropriation, false advertising, sports, environmental remediation and contract disputes. Kelly has prepared witnesses for trial and depositions, prepared direct and cross examinations at trial, taken expert and fact witness depositions, written dispositive and appellate motions, and argued trial motions.
Kelly has played a pivotal role in trial teams across both state and federal courts in recent years. In 2021, she was part of the team defending Monsanto in a product liability case related to the company's weedkiller, Roundup, and its alleged link to non- Hodgkin's lymphoma. After a five-month trial, the California jury returned a full defense verdict on all claims. The following year, Kelly helped secure another complete defense verdict for Monsanto in a multi-plaintiff trial in Missouri. She also played a key role in securing a unanimous defense verdict for the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), defeating a breach of contract claim in which a purported agent sought tens of millions of dollars in claimed commissions relating to retransmission royalties. Subsequently, Kelly and the team successfully defended against the appeal of the jury verdict to the Ninth Circuit.
Kelly maintains an active pro bono practice, with an emphasis on immigration. She has successfully represented multiple clients, both children and adults, from the initial filing of their application for relief to the securement of a Green Card. Kelly has secured asylum for several clients, including individuals who were attacked, tortured and/or imprisoned by the state police apparatus due to their political affiliations as well as a man fleeing persecution based on his membership in the LGBTQ+ community. While earning her J.D. from the UCLA School of Law, she worked for the Alliance for Children’s Rights, representing caregivers in foster care, guardianship and adoption benefits matters.
Chris Chorba is co-chair of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s Class Actions Practice Group. He specializes in defending class actions and complex litigation, and he has been recognized in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business and in The Best Lawyers in America for Commercial Litigation. Law360 also named Mr. Chorba a “Class Action MVP,” which profiles attorneys who have “distinguished themselves from their peers by securing hard-earned successes in high-stakes litigation, complex global matters and record-breaking deals.” The National Law Journal also recognized him as a “Trailblazer” for his work defending consumer class actions.
Mr. Chorba has had substantial experience litigating a broad range of complex commercial matters at the trial and appellate level in California and throughout the country, and in multi-district litigation (MDLs). His litigation and counseling experience includes work for companies in every industry, including automotive, beauty / cosmetic, consumer products, education, entertainment, financial services, food and beverage, health care, insurance, life sciences, retail, social media, sports and gaming, technology, telecommunications, and utility / energy.
Hon. Vivian L. Medinilla (Ret.) FCIArb, a former Judge of the Delaware Superior Court, now focuses on alternative dispute resolution and litigation at Weiss, Saville, Medinilla & Houser, PA. Appointed in 2013 as the Court’s first Latina judge, she brings over 30 years of legal experience in both private practice and the judiciary. She presided over hundreds of jury and non-jury trials involving mass torts, asbestos, product liability, medical negligence, and complex commercial disputes. Bilingual in English and Spanish, she holds ADR certifications from Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, the National Judicial College, and Duke Law’s Bolch Judicial Institute focused on Mas Tort litigation. She is a member of AAA/ICDR, and a Fellow of both the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), and the Academy of Court-Appointed Neutrals (ACAN). Her career also includes senior executive leadership in Delaware’s child welfare system, founding a multilingual civil litigation firm, and serving in national roles with ABA and NAWJ.
Norman E. Siegel litigates high-stakes cases for companies and individuals. He has earned a reputation locally and nationally for his ability to strategize, negotiate and deliver results. He was recently named by Best Lawyers as a 2020 “Lawyer of the Year” and by Law360 as a “Titan of the Plaintiff’s Bar” for his work in class action litigation following big wins against some of the largest corporations in America.
Norm has successfully tried to verdict a wide range of cases, obtaining several multimillion-dollar jury verdicts, and has obtained billions in settlements for his clients.
Norm concentrates his practice in three principal areas:
Business Litigation. Norm successfully deploys the firm’s contingency fee business litigation model in bet-the-company and “David vs. Goliath” matters involving intellectual property, breach of contract, fraud, misrepresentation and more. In one such matter, he prosecuted a groundbreaking antitrust case on behalf of Heartland Surgical Specialty Hospital, which claimed the region’s dominant hospital systems conspired to prevent it from obtaining in-network provider contracts. After Norm secured a key admission from a defense witness, Heartland settled with all defendants.
Data Breach and Privacy. Named one of Law360's “MVPs of the Year” for Cybersecurity and Privacy, Norm has served as lead counsel in several of the largest data breach cases litigated to date, including the sprawling multidistrict litigation alleging Equifax compromised the personal information of more than 148 million Americans in a 2017 data breach. More than 250 cases were filed against Equifax, and Norm was selected lead counsel over scores of other applicants. A leader in this burgeoning field of law, Norm has prosecuted data breach claims against Capital One, Quest Diagnostics, Target Corp., The Home Depot Inc., Marriott, the Office of Personnel Management, and the National Board of Examiners in Optometry, and he is the co-founder of the American Association for Justice’s data breach and privacy group.
Class Actions. Norm’s recent work includes multimillion-dollar jury verdicts and settlements on behalf of consumers who were overcharged for life insurance policies. In Vogt v. State Farm Insurance Co., Norm delivered the closing argument to the jury that returned a $34 million verdict for Missouri owners of State Farm life insurance. Norm also served as lead counsel in Larson v. John Hancock Life Insurance Co., a nationwide class action that ultimately settled for $59.75 million just before trial. For his work in the field, Best Lawyers recently named Norm “Lawyer of the Year” for class action litigation.
Norm began his career as an Assistant Attorney General at the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, where he gained a broad range of experience in complex litigation. He was later named partner at the firm now known as Dentons before starting Stueve Siegel Hanson in 2001.
Norm was recognized as a 2020 Missouri Lawyers Awards Influential Lawyer by Missouri Lawyers Weekly; has been named among the “500 Leading Plaintiffs’ Lawyers in America” by Lawdragon; and is listed among Best Lawyers in America and Kansas City Business Journal’s “Best of the Bar.” He has been honored several times as a Top 100 Missouri/Kansas “Super Lawyer” and a Benchmark Plaintiffs “Local Litigation Star.”
Norm has served on the boards of the Healthcare Foundation of Greater Kansas City, the Kansas City Bar Foundation and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Outside the office, he enjoys tennis, collecting art, and spending time with his family and his dog, a Whoodle named Lucky.
Brian A. Glasser, founding partner of Bailey & Glasser, LLP, is a Rhodes scholar and Harvard Law graduate. He has over 31 years of experience, during which he has tried cases in 18 states, including two mass actions and six class actions. In 2025, he obtained as co-lead trial counsel for the Coalition of Counsel for Justice for Talc Claimants dismissal of another “Texas Two-Step” attempt by Johnson & Johnson to discharge liabilities arising from people alleging its baby powder causes cancer.
This year Brian was also lead trial counsel in a class action win against State Farm where a jury rendered a verdict in favor of approximately 37,000 Arkansas State Farm customers who suffered a “total loss” of their vehicle. The jury found that the insurance company breached the contract of insurance when its computer program applied a “typical negotiation adjustment” to comparable vehicles used to determine the “actual cash value” of the wrecked vehicle.
Learn more about the cases and matters mentioned below on the firm website: baileyglasser.com/lawyers-brian-a-glasser
Mikal C. Watts is a nationally recognized mass tort and trial lawyer and the founder of Watts Law Firm LLP. His work is guided by a simple principle - good lawyers using good laws to help good people. Every case he takes on is driven by results that matter, accountability that forces change, and justice for people whose lives have been devastated by corporate negligence and large-scale disasters.
Over the course of his career, Mikal has represented more than 200,000 clients and recovered billions of dollars in cases involving wildfires, toxic exposure, automobile manufacturers, catastrophic personal injury, and mass disasters. His work consistently targets industries that place profit over safety, using the law to drive systemic reform and protect future communities.
Mikal has represented more wildfire survivors than any lawyer in the nation and played a central role in negotiating the historic $13.5 billion settlement with Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) on behalf of families who lost homes, livelihoods, and loved ones. Today, Mikal is at the forefront of high-stakes litigation nationwide and abroad, representing Ukrainian civilians harmed by missiles and drones containing U.S. technology, fighting for communities poisoned by PFAS “forever chemicals,” and pursuing justice for families impacted by acetaminophen exposure linked to autism and ADHD. Each case reflects an unwavering focus on accountability, results, and lasting change.
Michael is a highly experienced trial lawyer who has represented clients in class action and complex litigation matters, including cases related to economic product defects, unfair competition, false and deceptive advertising, business torts, privacy, entertainment and intellectual property. He has defended consumer protection actions and investigation initiated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the U.S. Department of Justice, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Federal Communications Commission, as well as numerous state enforcement agencies. A client states that Michael is “a very smart lawyer and a very good strategist; he’s really excellent.”
For more than 20 years, Michael has been at the forefront of representing clients in significant consumer protection matters, including:
He regularly counsels clients on marketing and advertising issues, and has substantial experience in the automotive, fashion retail, dietary supplement, telemarketing, electronic mail marketing, consumer products and payment processing industries.
He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including recognition by Chambers USA in the categories of California Litigation: General Commercial, and Product Liability: Consumer Class Action, and The Legal 500 United States in Dispute Resolution – Product Liability, mass torts and class actions: automotive/transport and consumer products. Law360 named him one of the “Transportation MVPs of the Year” in 2018, and a “Privacy & Consumer Protection MVP” in 2012. BTI Consulting Group recognized him as a “BTI Client Service All-Star” in 2012. Southern California Super Lawyers has honored him for Class Action/Mass Torts, Business Litigation and Civil Litigation Defense. Michael also has received the President’s Volunteer Service Award from the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation.
Michael also has served as outside counsel to the State Bar of California on issues related to its member programs. Before joining Shook, he was a partner with Sidley Austin, where he was the co-leader of the firm’s Consumer Class Action Defense practice. He also is an avid marathoner, triathlete and four-time Ironman, completing competitions in Maryland (2018), Vineman (Sonoma County, California, 2016), Cozumel (2015) and Boulder (2014).
Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín began serving as a United States district judge for the Northern District of California in March 2023. Prior to her appointment to the federal bench, she was an impact litigator working for the National Immigration Law Center, from 2018 to 2023. Judge Martínez-Olguín served as the managing attorney at the Immigrants’ Rights Project at Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto from 2017 to 2018, and as an attorney for the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights from 2016 to 2017. She also worked at the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project and Women’s Rights Project from 2013 to 2015 and from 2006 to 2010, respectively. Judge Martínez-Olguín was a staff attorney for Legal Aid at Work (formerly Legal Aid Society – Employment Law Center) from 2010 to 2013.
Judge Martínez-Olguín received her A.B. from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs in 1999 and her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 2004. Following law school, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable David Briones of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas from 2004 to 2006. Judge Martínez-Olguín is a Mexican immigrant and taught Spanish for Lawyers as an adjunct professor at Berkeley Law School in 2012, 2013 and 2016. She is also an elected member of the American Law Institute.
Many consider Jason Itkin to be the nation’s top trial lawyer. He has won several of the largest jury verdicts in United States history, including an $8 billion record-breaking verdict against Johnson & Johnson, a record-setting $2.25 billion verdict against Monsanto, and a historic $860 million wrongful death verdict in Texas, a $175 million product liability verdict, a $117 million verdict in Louisiana, and a $100 million personal injury verdict.
Jason is the rare lawyer whose success in front of juries translates into success negotiating settlements against large corporations. Jason has been the architect of several settlements where the amounts paid to Arnold & Itkin’s clients each exceeded $1 billion. In the last 12 months alone, Jason has won more than $3.5 billion in verdicts and settlements for his clients. Jason Itkin is known nationwide for winning record-breaking verdicts and settlements. Jason is one of only a handful of lawyers in the country who have won more than one jury verdict for a single person in excess of one billion dollars. He has also won several verdicts and settlements for more than $100 million, dozens of verdicts and settlements of more than $10 million, and hundreds of verdicts and settlements for more than $1 million. Jason won these victories in courtrooms across the country—having represented clients in all 50 states.
Jason is routinely asked to work on the country’s highest-profile cases. He has won verdicts for children in jury trials against major pharmaceutical companies. He has also won game-changing victories for cancer victims against some of the world’s most powerful companies. After the BP Oil Spill, more of the workers injured in the explosion trusted Jason over any other lawyer to handle their cases.
Jason’s success in the courtroom has helped him negotiate massive settlements for his clients. Jason has been the lead negotiator on several settlements where the companies paid Arnold & Itkin’s clients more than $1 billion. Jason also works on important cases that don’t always grab headlines. For example, he achieved a $72 million voluntary settlement for an injured worker. At the time, that victory was the largest pretrial settlement for a single person in Texas history. Less than one year later, Jason broke his own record when he secured an $86 million voluntary settlement for a different client who suffered devastating injuries while working. Since then, Jason and the firm have broken the $86 million record multiple times. In just the last year, Jason has settled cases for single individuals in the amounts of $211 million, $209 million, $160 million, and $140 million. Jason has won more than $3.5 billion in verdicts and settlements for his clients over the last 12 months.
Jason is able to achieve these record-breaking settlements because sophisticated companies realize that their results at trial could be much worse. For example, Jason tried a case where an insurance company refused to make a fair settlement offer to his client. The company’s short-sighted settlement position changed after Jason finished cross-examining the company’s “star witness.” After the cross-examination, the company fired its long-time lawyer in the middle of the trial. The next day, the company settled the case for nearly double what Jason’s client would have settled for pretrial. The company also formally apologized to Jason’s client for injuring him.
Results like these are why other law firms frequently ask Jason to work on their cases. More than 200 different law firms have hired Jason as trial counsel. Lawyers across the nation know that having Jason Itkin on their team increases the likelihood of winning a large verdict or settlement.
Building upon his experience in complex asbestos cases, the historic tobacco lawsuits, and the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks litigation, Don Migliori is a multifaceted litigator who can navigate both the courtroom and the negotiating table. He represents victims of defective medical devices and drugs, occupational diseases, terrorism, aviation disasters, antitrust, and securities and consumer fraud in mass torts and other cutting-edge litigation that spans the country.
Don serves in leadership roles for a number of multidistrict litigations, including being a key member of Motley Rice’s team that represents dozens of cities, towns, counties and townships in the National Prescription Opiate MDL against opioid manufacturers and distributors. He also represents states in similarly filed litigation. He played a significant role in negotiations on behalf of tens of thousands of women allegedly harmed by pelvic mesh/sling products and served as co-liaison counsel in the N.J. Bard pelvic mesh litigation in Atlantic County. Hundreds of cases have been filed in federal and state courts against multiple defendants.
He is also co-lead counsel for In re Ethicon Physiomesh Flexible Composite Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation, a member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for In re Bard IVC Filters Products Liability Litigation, as well as the Depuy® Orthopaedics, Inc. ASR™ and Pinnacle® Hip Implant MDLs. Don has litigated against both Ethicon, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, and C.R. Bard previously in pelvic mesh litigation and also against C.R. Bard in the Composix® Kugel® hernia mesh multidistrict litigation, In re Kugel Mesh Hernia Patch Products Liability Litigation, the first MDL before the federal court of Rhode Island. Don also serves as co-lead plaintiffs’ counsel and liaison counsel in the federal MDL, and as liaison counsel for the Composix® Kugel® Mesh lawsuits consolidated in Rhode Island state court on behalf of thousands of individuals alleging injury by the hernia repair patch.
As liaison counsel for all wrongful death and personal injury cases in the September 11th aviation security litigation, Don played a central role in the extensive discovery, mediations and settlements of more than 50 cases of aviation liability and damages against numerous defendants. He also represented families of the victims who opted out of the Victim Compensation Fund to seek greater answers, accountability and recourse. Additionally, he manages associated litigation as a lead attorney for In re Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001, MDL #1570, a groundbreaking case designed to bankrupt the financiers of al Qaeda.
Don contributed his experience in connection with the commencement of and strategy for shareholder derivative litigation brought on behalf Chiquita Brands International, Inc., alleging the defendants breached their fiduciary duties by paying bribes to terrorist organizations in violation of U.S. and Columbian law. He also served as trial counsel for PACE Industry Union-Management Pension Fund in a securities case against Forest Laboratories, Inc., and was involved in the initial liability discovery and trial strategy in an ongoing securities fraud class action involving Household International, Inc.
Don began working with Motley Rice attorneys in 1997 on behalf of the State Attorneys General in the historic lawsuit against Big Tobacco, resulting in the largest civil settlement in U.S. history. He tried several noteworthy asbestos cases on behalf of mesothelioma victims, including the state of Indiana’s first contractor liability verdict and first premises liability verdict for wrongful exposure to asbestos. He continues to manage asbestos cases and actively litigates mesothelioma lawsuits and individual tobacco cases in the courtroom.
Don is a frequent speaker at legal seminars across the country and has appeared on numerous television and radio programs, as well as in print media to address legal issues related to terrorist financing, aviation security, class action litigation, premises liability and defective medical devices. A "Distinguished Practitioner in Residence" at Roger Williams University School of Law for the 2010- 2011 academic year, Don taught mass torts as an adjunct professor for more than 10 years. Don is an AV® rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell®.
A relentless and principled advocate, Kenneth S. Byrd is a partner in Lieff Cabraser’s Nashville office and an experienced trial attorney who has obtained several large jury verdicts against major tobacco companies. He received the Tennessee Association for Justice’s 2015 Paladin Award for his successful litigation against cigarette manufacturers R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Philip Morris USA Inc., and Lorillard Tobacco Company in Florida federal courts. The Paladin Award is TAJ’s highest honor and is given to the state’s top trial lawyer of the year. His work in these cases included securing separate jury verdicts of $27 million and $41 million, both upheld on appeal.
Kenny represents clients in mass tort cases, defective product cases, and consumer fraud litigation. He represents consumers in class actions as well as injured individuals and families in personal injury and wrongful death cases nationwide. His leadership roles include appointments to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee and Early Vetting Subcommittee in In re 3M Combat Arms Earplug Liability Litigation, MDL 2885 (the largest MDL in U.S. history), and to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in In re AME Church Employee Retirement Fund Litigation, MDL 3035.
Kenny is also a member of Lieff Cabraser’s Whistleblower/False Claims Act practice group, helping whistleblowers expose fraud and the misuse of government funds.
Consumer protection and defective products.
Boston College Law School, J.D., cum laude (2004)
Samford University, B.S. in Mathematics, minor in Journalism (1995), cum laude
Tennessee (2004)
U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit (2009)
U.S. District Court, District of Colorado (2019)
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (2016)
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan (2020)
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee (2006)
U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee (2005)
U.S. District Court, Western District of Tennessee (2007)
Faculty, “Texas Two Step. When Insurance is Gone and the Bankruptcy Court Is Not: Mass Torts in Crisis,” Mississippi Association for Justice Winter CLE Seminar (2022)
Speaker, “Mass Torts/Class Actions and Bankruptcy Issues,” Trial Lawyers of Mass Torts Inaugural Conference (2022)
Co-author, ABA Survey of Federal Circuit Court’s Class Action Decisions (2018)
American Bar Association
American Constitution Society, Nashville Chapter
Camp Ridgecrest Alumni & Friends (Board Member)
Harry Phillips American Inn of Court, Nashville Chapter
Historic Edgefield, Inc. (President, 2009–2011)
Nashville Bar Association
Tennessee Bar Association
Tennessee Trial Lawyers Board of Directors
Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association (Board of Governors)
Best Lawyers in America (Consumer Protection, Personal Injury Litigation–Plaintiffs, Product Liability Litigation–Plaintiffs), 2018–2024
Lawyer of the Year, Product Liability Litigation (Nashville), 2023
Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers in America, 2021–2023
Outstanding Private Practice Antitrust Achievement, American Antitrust Institute, 2020
Media interview, “Full Measure Talks to Kenny Byrd About the ‘Forgotten’ Tobacco War,” 2019
Adjunct Faculty, Vanderbilt Law School, “The Practice of Aggregate Litigation,” 2018–present
Media coverage in Nashville Scene (2015, 2017)
Paladin Award, Tennessee Association for Justice, 2015
Super Lawyers Rising Star for Mid-South, 2014
Terry is the managing partner of Markovits, Stock & DeMarco, LLC, a boutique plaintiffs’ litigation firm in Cincinnati, Ohio. His practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, class action litigation, and sports and entertainment law. In 2022 alone, Terry was a member of court-appointed class counsel in finally- approved class action settlements valued at over $758 million and part of plaintiff’s counsel in an individual state settlement of $80 million. Terry has been recognized as a Super Lawyers Rising Stars and Super Lawyer each year since 2014, Best Lawyers since 2020, Cincinnati Business Courier’s Forty under 40 (2019), Wittenberg University’s Outstanding Young Alumnus (2014), Flying Pig Marathon’s Volunteer of the Year (2016), and is the current Executive Director of the Potter Stewart Inn of Court.
Rodolfo “Rudy” Armando Ruiz II has served as a District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida since 2019. Judge Ruiz is a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States Committee on Court Administration and Case Management, where he chairs the Subcommittee on Legislation. He also serves on the Local Rules Committee of the Judicial Council of the United States Eleventh Judicial Circuit. Judge Ruiz is Chair of the Probation Committee for the Southern District of Florida and former Chair of the Court’s Budget Committee. He currently presides over MDL-3090, In Re: Fortra File Transfer Software Data Security Breach Litigation, his second transferee assignment from the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, having previously presided over MDL-2994, In Re: Mednax Services, Inc., Customer Data Security Breach Litigation.
Before his appointment to the federal bench, Judge Ruiz served as a Circuit Court Judge for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida from 2014 to 2019, and as a Miami-Dade County Court Judge from 2012 to 2014. During his service as a state court judge, he was Chair of the Florida Bar’s Civil Procedure Rules Committee and was appointed to the Florida Supreme Court Committee on Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases. Judge Ruiz was also an active member of the Florida judicial faculty and served as the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court Liaison to Dade Legal Aid.
Prior to becoming a judge, Judge Ruiz worked as an Assistant County Attorney with the Miami-Dade County Attorney’s Office from 2009 to 2012. In that role, he represented Miami-Dade County and its employees in federal and state courts at both the trial and appellate levels, serving in the Federal Litigation, Tax & Finance, and Torts Sections. Earlier, from 2006 to 2008, he was an associate with White & Case L.L.P., specializing in mergers and acquisitions, asset-backed financings, and general corporate matters as part of the firm’s Corporate Latin America practice group.
Judge Ruiz served as a law clerk to the Honorable Federico A. Moreno of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida from 2005 to 2006. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Duke University and a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University, where he was Articles Editor for the American Criminal Law Review.
Judge Ruiz currently serves as Board Vice Chair of the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University. He is also a member of the Georgetown Law Alumni Board and the Judicial Group of Directors of the South Florida Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. In addition, he has served as an adjunct professor at St. Thomas University School of Law, teaching Complex Litigation.
Michael A. London is a founding partner of Douglas & London, P.C., based in New York City. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Miami and his Juris Doctor degree from Brooklyn Law School. Mr. London is admitted to practice law in New York and New Jersey, as well as in the United States District Courts for the Eastern, Southern, and Western Districts of New York, and the District of New Jersey.
Since the beginning of his legal career, Mr. London has focused exclusively on representing consumers and injury victims, primarily in mass tort and products liability litigation involving pharmaceuticals and medical devices. He has been appointed to significant leadership positions in some of the largest national mass torts and complex litigations of the past two decades, often serving as lead counsel, co-lead counsel, or liaison counsel.
Vice-Chair, Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, In re Zyprexa Products Liability Litigation, MDL 1596 (E.D.N.Y.) – $700 million settlement of approximately 8,000 claims.
Co-Lead Counsel, In re Yasmin and Yaz (Drospirenone) Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2100 (S.D. Ill.) – Over $2 billion settlement.
Co-Lead Counsel and Liaison Counsel, In re Bayer Corp. Combination Aspirin Products Marketing and Sales Practice Litigation, MDL 2023 (E.D.N.Y.) – $15 million class settlement.
Co-Lead Counsel, In re Pradaxa (Dabigatran Etexilate) Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2385 (S.D. Ill.) – $650 million settlement involving approximately 4,000 claims.
Liaison Counsel, In re Ortho Evra Products Liability Litigation, MDL 1742 (N.D. Ohio) – Approximately 3,000 confidential settlements.
Chairperson, Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee, In re Testosterone Replacement Therapy Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2545 (N.D. Ill.) – All defendants resolved approximately 7,000 claims.
Co-Liaison Counsel, In re Levaquin Litigation (N.J. Superior Court) – Hundreds of confidential settlements.
Co-Lead Counsel, In re E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company C-8 Personal Injury Litigation, MDL 2433 (S.D. Ohio) – $671 million settlement of approximately 3,600 claims.
Co-Lead Counsel, In re Invokana (Canagliflozin) Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2750 (D.N.J.) – Approximately 2,000 confidential settlements pending resolution.
Across the eight national litigations where he served as co-lead or liaison counsel, each resolved efficiently through settlements, typically between 18 and 47 months from MDL centralization to settlement announcement. Mr. London served as the primary negotiator in six of these matters, securing more than $18 billion in settlements since 2005.
Co-Lead Counsel, Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee, In re Aqueous Film-Forming Foam Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2873 (D.S.C).
Chair, Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee, In re Davol, Inc./C.R. Bard Inc., Polypropylene Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2846 (S.D. Ohio).
Mr. London has served on discovery, expert, law and briefing, and class action committees in several complex cases. He has represented hundreds of women exposed to Diethylstibestrol (DES), victims of the September 11th World Trade Center Disaster Site Litigation, individuals harmed in the Ambulatory Pain Pump-Chondrolysis litigation, families impacted by the CVS device, and others.
He has also served as trial counsel in multiple tobacco cases, including securing the first successful verdict against the tobacco industry in New York State. He was co-trial counsel in the first Norplant products liability trial in New York and has supported numerous trial teams with jury selection and courtroom strategy.
Mr. London serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association (NYSTLA), the Board of Governors of the American Association for Justice (AAJ), and is a member of Public Justice and the Tobacco Trial Lawyers Association. He sits on the President’s Advisory Council at Brooklyn Law School.
He is a frequent lecturer on mass torts, preemption, medical malpractice, and jury selection, and has been featured on major media outlets including CNN, MSNBC, NBC, ABC, The New York Times, New York Magazine, and Forbes. His published work includes articles on vaccines, the Learned Intermediary Doctrine, youth smoking, mercury exposure, and products liability issues.
Mr. London is the attorney in charge of Douglas & London’s New Jersey practice and also serves as the firm’s general counsel.
James E. Cecchi founded and directs Carella Byrne's class action practice, a leading consumer class action firm in the State of New Jersey and across the United States. Mr. Cecchi has held leadership positions in many of the nation’s most complex and significant consumer class actions affecting consumer rights over the last decade, and under his leadership the firm has returned billions of dollars to consumers.
Prior to joining the firm in 1994, Mr. Cecchi served in the United States Department of Justice as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, where he participated in major criminal prosecutions involving money laundering, narcotics smuggling, and violations of federal firearms laws. From 1989 to 1991, Mr. Cecchi served as a law clerk to the Honorable Nicholas H. Politan, United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey (Ret.).
Mr. Cecchi was appointed to the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in In re National Prescription Opiate Litigation, MDL No. 2804, in the Northern District of Ohio. In that role, he served as the sole negotiator between the State of New Jersey and its subdivisions regarding allocation of settlement funds from the nation’s largest drug distributors and Janssen Pharmaceutical, ultimately securing a fifty percent allocation, exceeding three hundred million dollars, to the subdivisions.
Mr. Cecchi served on the Steering Committee and as Settlement Class Counsel in In re Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2672, in the Northern District of California. The matter resulted in a settlement exceeding fifteen billion dollars for consumer fraud and warranty claims arising from the use of defeat devices to evade United States emissions regulations.
He was also appointed to the Steering Committee and as Settlement Class Counsel in In re Takata Airbag Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2599, in the Southern District of Florida, which resulted in settlements exceeding one and a half billion dollars for consumer fraud and warranty claims involving defective airbags. The litigation remains ongoing as to certain second-wave defendants.
In In re American Medical Collection Agency, Inc. Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, MDL No. 2904, in the District of New Jersey, Mr. Cecchi was appointed sole Lead Counsel in the national multidistrict data breach litigation.
Mr. Cecchi was appointed Interim Co-Lead Counsel in In re Mercedes-Benz Emissions Litigation in the District of New Jersey, a case arising from the alleged use of defeat devices to evade United States emissions regulations, which resolved with final approval of a settlement valued in excess of seven hundred million dollars.
Mr. Cecchi also served in leadership roles in consumer, antitrust, and securities fraud litigations involving pharmaceutical products, including Vytorin and Zetia, where consumer cases settled for over forty-one million dollars and related securities cases settled for hundreds of millions of dollars.
As Lead Counsel in In re Liquid Aluminum Sulfate Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 2687, in the District of New Jersey, Mr. Cecchi secured a settlement exceeding one hundred million dollars. He also served as Chair of the Plaintiffs’ Indirect Purchaser Executive Committee in In re Effexor XR Antitrust Litigation.
Mr. Cecchi acted as Co-Lead Counsel in Davis Landscape v. Hertz Equipment Rental, securing a nationwide class settlement valued at more than fifty million dollars, and served in leadership roles in major securities, derivative, and ERISA litigations, including claims arising from Merck’s Vioxx litigation, which settled for more than one billion dollars.
Mr. Cecchi also served as Co-Lead Counsel in In re Mercedes-Benz Tele-Aid Contract Litigation, resulting in a forty million dollar settlement of consumer fraud claims arising from Mercedes-Benz’s failure to notify customers of mandated technology changes.
Lee Popkin is a trial lawyer in the Litigation Department, co-head of the Mass Torts & Product Liability group, and a member of the Trial Strategies practice. Recognized as “an emerging go-to talent,” by Chambers USA, Lee has significant experience trying high-stakes cases in state and federal courts throughout the country. Her diverse practice spans complex commercial, product liability, and antitrust litigation and includes clients in the pharmaceutical, agricultural, consumer product, sports, and financial services industries.
Lee’s clients rely on her to handle all phases of litigation—from pre-litigation risk assessments through trial and resolution. They value her talent for simplifying complex issues, building credibility with judges and juries, and delivering thoughtful, strategic solutions.
Lee was named Young Lawyer of the Year (Litigation) by The American Lawyer for 2022 and shortlisted for Product Liability Lawyer of the Year in Euromoney’s Women in Business Law awards in 2023 and 2024. Lee is ranked by Chambers USA for Commercial Litigation and recognized by The Legal 500 for her work in Product Liability and Mass Torts. Benchmark Litigation named Lee among its “Litigation Stars” and included her in its '40 and Under' list.
Lee also devotes significant time to pro bono matters, and was recognized by KIND for her work representing two sisters from El Salvador fleeing gang violence. Before joining Proskauer, Lee served as law clerk to the Honorable Sarah S. Vance of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. She received her J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School.
Tom Pirtle is a nationally acclaimed trial lawyer renowned for his groundbreaking achievements in personal injury, wrongful death, defective product, and commercial dispute cases. With an exceptional track record in the courtroom, Tom has secured numerous landmark verdicts. Additionally, he has displayed his commitment to representing the rights of injured individuals through leadership positions in significant multi-district litigations, including:
Tom graduated with honors, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree from Stephen F. Austin University in 1987, where he was awarded Most Outstanding Graduate by the Board of Regents. He went on to graduate from South Texas College of Law in 1990.
The chair of Lieff Cabraser’s Economic Injury Product Defect Practice Group, partner Jason L. Lichtman has extensive experience leading multidistrict and large class action litigation on behalf of consumer plaintiffs. With a practice focused on consumer protection, data privacy, and damages, Jason recently recovered more than $122 million in economic value for coffee farmers in the Kona region who sued nearly two dozen companies for selling “Kona coffee” that was not coffee from Kona. The Court described Jason as conducting one “of the most impressive class action cases I have dealt with in my time on the federal bench,” adding that his results in the litigation were “great for justice” because this was a case with “a real result that makes people whole again.”
Numerous other courts have also appointed Jason to leadership positions in large consumer protection cases, in which he has recovered more than $500 million for his clients, including the exploding Samsung Top-Loading Washing Machines case (Co-Lead Counsel); the Whirlpool Corp. Front-Loading Washer products liability litigation (Co-Lead Counsel); and the Dover v. British Airways airline overcharging case (Class Counsel). In the Whirlpool Defective Washers Products Liability litigation, Jason served as Co-Chair of the Law and Motion Committee, one of the trial counsel, and Lead Settlement Counsel, achieving a nationwide settlement strongly favorable to plaintiffs following a bellwether trial, multiple appeals to the Sixth and Seventh Circuits (all won by plaintiffs), and multiple petitions for certiorari (all defeated by plaintiffs). Jason has also secured major victories as counsel of record before numerous federal appellate courts.
Jason’s practice also includes a focus on complex damages issues, including in the Anthem Data Breach Litigation and Marriott Data Breach litigation, leading plaintiffs’ work with damages experts, including the development of highly technical, comprehensive experts reports, defending depositions of plaintiffs’ experts, and taking defendants’ experts’ depositions. The Marriott case remains pending, but Jason’s work contributed heavily to the groundbreaking settlement for plaintiffs of $115 million in Anthem, as well as significant injunctive relief targeting deficient Anthem’s cybersecurity practices. Jason also serves on the board of directors for Public Justice Foundation and is past Chair of the Public Justice Class Action Committee. Public Justice is devoted to standing up for consumers against unscrupulous payday lenders, reckless polluters, dangerous food producers, and other bad corporate actors. A multiple-year “Super Lawyer” for the New York area, he also served on the Law360 Privacy and Consumer Protection Editorial Advisory Board, providing feedback on Law360’s news coverage, including case updates, policy developments, and trends in various industries.
A founding partner of Seeger Weiss, Christopher A. Seeger is widely recognized as a highly innovative and accomplished plaintiff attorney. Chiefly known for multidistrict mass torts and class actions involving drug injury, toxic injury, and personal injury, Chris’ versatile practice also includes product liability, property damage, antitrust, and third-party payer litigation, as well as consumer, insurance, and securities fraud. Chris has led some of the most complex, groundbreaking, and high-profile litigations in the U.S. at the state and federal levels. He has received more multidistrict litigation (MDL) appointments than any other lawyer between 2016 and 2019, according to a 2020 ALM study.
Chris served as co-lead counsel in the 3M Combat Arms Earplug Litigation, having been chosen by Judge M. Casey Rodgers from a pool of nearly 200 other applicants to represent more than 250,000 service members and veterans who suffered hearing injuries while using 3M earplugs. After more than four years of litigation, Chris secured a landmark settlement worth over $6 billion in August 2023, successfully resolving the largest mass tort in American history.
Appointed by Judge Joy Flowers Conti to lead the Philips Recalled CPAP, Bi-Level Pap, and Mechanical Ventilator Litigation, Chris represented patients impacted by the company’s recall of more than 10.8 million devices. He was the lead negotiator for an uncapped class action settlement worth a minimum of $479 million that was announced in September 2023, resolving economic loss claims of users and payers impacted by the recall. After receiving final approval for the economic loss settlement, Chris negotiated additional agreements in April 2024 to resolve plaintiffs' personal injury claims for $1.075 billion and medical monitoring claims for $25 million, providing compensation to patients who suffered significant physical injuries caused by the recalled machines.
In the National Prescription Opiate litigation, Chris was appointed to the Executive and Settlement Committees by Judge Dan A. Polster. In 2022, he played an instrumental role in securing settlements worth more than $15 billion with Walgreens, Walmart, CVS, and Kroger. Also, in 2022, a $6.6 billion settlement was reached with pharmaceutical manufacturers Teva and Allergan (AbbVie). Previously, in July 2021, the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in the federal opioid litigation formally announced the terms for a $26 billion global settlement agreement with opioid manufacturer Johnson & Johnson and the “Big Three” drug distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson. To date, Chris has been involved in over $50 billion in settlements through the National Prescription Opioid Litigation.
Chris serves as co-lead counsel in the Proton-Pump Inhibitor Litigation on behalf of patients who suffered kidney injuries while using proton-pump inhibitor drugs. On October 3, 2023, he announced a $425 million settlement with AstraZeneca and additional agreements with GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, and Takeda, bringing the total value of the resolution to $590.4 million.
Chris’s unprecedented run of recent settlements adds to his impressive legacy of resolving major cases and obtaining billions in compensation for injured plaintiffs. This includes a $4.85 billion landmark global settlement with Merck on behalf of patients who suffered heart attacks and strokes while taking Vioxx, a $21 billion-plus settlement with Volkswagen and Audi over the “clean diesel” scandal—the largest consumer auto industry class action settlement in U.S. history, a $1.5 billion settlement for farmers impacted by Syngenta GMO seed contamination—the largest agricultural settlement in U.S. history, and a $1 billion-plus uncapped settlement for retired NFL players and their families in the historic NFL concussion case.
After starting his career as a corporate defense lawyer representing the interests of big business, Chris was struck by the imbalance of power between corporations and the individuals harmed by them. As a result, he left to become a plaintiff attorney. The son of a union carpenter who worked his way through school, Chris is a former amateur boxer and a current Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. Now, whether working on a class action involving thousands of people against a multinational conglomerate or an individual case protecting one client’s rights, he fights with the same passion and conviction.
Chris has been recognized for his outstanding work and unmatched success in leading complex federal cases. He has received the National Law Journal Elite Trial Lawyers Lifetime Achievement Award, been named a Lawdragon Legend, a Law360 Titan of the Plaintiff Bar, and been inducted into both the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame and the Legal 500 Hall of Fame. He is consistently named to annual award lists, including Chambers USA Tier 1 for Product Liability, Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America, and Best Lawyers in America. Regularly quoted by the press regarding his work on nationally and internationally prominent cases, Chris has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Reuters, ABC, CBS, NBC, NPR, and ESPN.
Jim's practice focuses on the defense of pharmaceutical, medical device and consumer product litigation in state and federal courts nationwide, particularly consolidated mass torts and multi-district litigations.
In Chambers, clients describe Jim as having "[a]n incredible ability to synthesize complex scientific issues into very persuasive arguments that can be used both in court and in negotiations with the other side."
He serves as national coordinating counsel and MDL counsel for consolidated litigations across the U.S. involving thousands of plaintiffs as well as in numerous single-plaintiff cases involving pharmaceuticals, consumer products and medical devices. In conjunction with those roles, Jim emphasizes efficient discovery and manages significant mass tort e-discovery undertakings for his clients.
Jim has also coordinated the resolution of some of the largest, mass torts of the last decade.
Jim also counsels clients on product liability due diligence related to potential acquisitions and divestitures.
Regarding pharmaceutical and biologic manufacturers, Jim's experience includes:
Regarding medical device and consumer products manufacturers, Jim's experience includes:
Judge Salas earned her B.A. from Rutgers University and her J.D. from Rutgers School of Law–Newark. After graduating from law school, Judge Salas clerked for the Honorable Eugene J. Codey, Judge of the Superior Court, Essex County Vicinage. In October 1995, Judge Salas entered private practice with the law firm of Garces and Grabler, P.C., where she focused on criminal defense and appellate litigation. In September 1997, Judge Salas joined the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of New Jersey. As an Assistant Federal Public Defender, she represented indigent criminal clients before both the New Jersey District Court and the Third Circuit.
On November 3, 2006, Judge Salas was sworn in as a Magistrate Judge for the District of New Jersey—the first attorney of Hispanic descent to hold that position. On June 14, 2011, the Senate unanimously confirmed President Obama’s nomination of Judge Salas as a United States District Judge. She was sworn in by the Honorable Jose L. Linares, becoming the first Latina District Judge in the District of New Jersey.
As a District Judge, Judge Salas has presided over complex civil and criminal matters, including numerous issues of first impression for the District of New Jersey. Along with Senior District Judge Katharine S. Hayden, she co-founded the District of New Jersey Pretrial Opportunity Program, which provides pre-trial judicial intervention for criminal defendants struggling with drug and alcohol addiction.
Judge Salas has received significant recognition for her work on and off the bench. Her honors include the Whipple Memorial Award from the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey (2008), the Women’s Initiative and Leaders in Law Platinum Award from the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association (2015), the Woman of Substance Award from Seton Hall University’s Women’s Law Forum (2015), the Public Interest Law Foundation Award from Rutgers University (2021), the President’s Award from the Hispanic National Bar Association (2022), the Justice Thurgood Marshall Award from the New Jersey State Bar Association (2022), the Jurist Award for Making the World a More Just Place from the National Judicial College (2023), the William J. Brennan, Jr. Award from the Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey (2023), the Excellence in Civic Engagement Award from the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University (2023), the Raphael Lemkin Rule of Law Guardian Award from the Bloch Judicial Institute of Duke Law School (2024), and the Morton A. Brody Distinguished Judicial Service Award from Colby College (2024).
Judge Salas is a loving wife to her husband of 26 years, Mark Anderl, and the proud mother of her late son, Daniel Mark Anderl, who gave his life protecting his family when a disgruntled lawyer targeted Judge Salas because of her role as a federal judge. Following Daniel’s tragic murder, Judge Salas has made it her mission to secure greater protections for members of the judiciary. Her advocacy led to the passage of “Daniel’s Law” in New Jersey, and she worked tirelessly for similar federal protections. As a result, President Biden signed the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act into law on December 23, 2022.
Wesley L. Hsu is a judge on the United States District Court for the Central District of California. He was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on January 23, 2023, and confirmed by the United States Senate on May 3, 2023, by a vote of 53 – 43.
The United States District Court for the Central District of California is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts.
Prior to joining the court, Hsu was a judge on the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, California.
United States United States District Court for the Central District of California (2023-present)
On January 23, 2023, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Hsu to the United States District Court for the Central District of California. He was confirmed by a 53 - 43 vote of the U.S. Senate on May 3, 2023. Hsu received commission on May 12, 2023.
Jayne Conroy is a named partner at Simmons Hanly Conroy and oversees practice areas in the Complex Litigation Department. Under her leadership, the firm has become one of the country’s largest plaintiff law firms dedicated to helping those injured by corporate wrongdoing.
With a legal career spanning more than three decades, Jayne has earned a superb national reputation as an elite trial lawyer, skilled strategist and decisive negotiator. She has consistently helped secure billions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for thousands of individuals, families and communities in numerous courtrooms nationwide.
“We are a threat to defendants because we are everywhere,” Jayne said while talking about the depth of experience in her department. “They know they have to deal with us, and we are prepared to try cases.”
Jayne focuses her practice on helping plaintiffs exclusively in mass torts, class actions, product liability, pharmaceutical and sexual abuse litigation. She serves or has served on dozens of court-appointed leadership committees in complex legal actions of national scope. These complex mass tort cases, called multidistrict litigations or MDLs, involve thousands of cases originating from state courts around the country and consolidated before a single federal judge.
Jayne is a co-lead in the National Prescription Opiate MDL and the East Palestine train derailment matter against Norfolk Southern. Jayne's most recent MDL appointment includes the Plaintiff’s Executive Committee in the In re: Camp Lejeune Water Litigation in the North Carolina Southern Division which alleges drinking may have been contaminated with toxic chemicals that can cause multiple types of cancer, birth defects, Parkinson’s disease and more. She is also on the Plaintiff’s Executive Committee in the MDL In re Hair Relaxer Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation and the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee for the MDL In re McKinsey & Company Inc National Prescription Opiate Consultant Litigation, Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, which alleges McKinsey knowingly engineered marketing tactics that caused an avalanche of opioid addiction.
The Honorable Kelley Brisbon Hodge is a United States District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Judge Hodge was nominated by President Joseph R. Biden on July 12, 2022, and received her commission from the President on December 23, 2022. She was sworn in as District Judge by Chief Judge Juan R. Sánchez on December 28, 2022.
Prior to joining the federal bench, Judge Hodge was a partner in private practice in the Labor and Employment section of Fox Rothschild LLP in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Before joining Fox Rothschild LLP, Judge Hodge served as the 25th District Attorney of Philadelphia after being elected in 2017 by the Board of Judges for the Court of Common Pleas for the First Judicial District. Upon her election, Judge Hodge became the first African American woman to lead the District Attorney's Office in its 167-year history and the first African American woman to lead a District Attorney's Office in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
As an attorney, Judge Hodge practiced law in Pennsylvania and Virginia, beginning her legal career as a public defender in Richmond, Virginia, in 1997. She later relocated to Philadelphia, where she joined the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office in 2004. Before becoming District Attorney, Judge Hodge served as the first independent Title IX coordinator at the University of Virginia. Over her career, she was also appointed by two Pennsylvania Governors to statewide commissions focused on school safety, juvenile justice, and citizen review of law enforcement.
Across more than twenty-five years as an attorney, Judge Hodge developed extensive experience in trial practice, litigation, and compliance, focusing on education law, criminal law, government policy advising, discrimination, and civil rights.
Judge Hodge earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia in 1993 and her Juris Doctor from the University of Richmond School of Law in 1996. She has served as a lecturer in law at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and the University of Virginia School of Law. She has served on numerous boards, has been recognized by various legal and professional organizations, and is active in several community-centered organizations.
Federal Judicial Service:
Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida
Nominated by George W. Bush on July 14, 2003, to a seat vacated by Lacey A. Collier. Confirmed by the Senate on October 20, 2003, and received commission on November 21, 2003. Served as chief judge, 2011-2018.
Other Federal Judicial Service:
U.S. Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, 2002-2003
Education:
University of West Florida, B.A., 1989
California Western School of Law, J.D., 1992
Professional Career:
U.S. Army, 1985-1987
Law clerk, Hon. Lacey A. Collier, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Florida, 1992-1994
Private practice, Pensacola, Florida, 1994-1998, 1999-2002
General counsel, West Florida Medical Center, Pensacola, Florida, 1998-1999
District Judge Linda Lopez was nominated in September 2021 to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in December 2021. Prior to her confirmation, she served in the same district as a magistrate judge since her appointment in 2018. Previously, she was a senior trial attorney for the Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc., from 2007 until her appointment to the bench. From 2003 to 2007, she was a sole practitioner, running a criminal defense firm and practicing in both state and federal court in Miami, where she defended both retained defendants and financially eligible defendants appointed to her as part of the Criminal Justice Act Panel. From 1999 to 2003, she was an attorney with a small firm in Miami where she had worked for nine years in various legal assistant positions while going to college and law school.
Judge Lopez received her Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from Florida International University in 1996 and her Juris Doctor, magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, in 1999 from the University of Miami School of Law, where she served as an editor for the University of Miami Law Review.
In 2018, Judge Lopez was recognized with a Service Award for her dedicated leadership as head of the San Diego Chapter of the Federal Bar Association’s Community Outreach Committee from 2018 to 2019. In addition to her work with the Community Outreach Committee, Judge Lopez has volunteered extensively with the San Diego Chapter of the FBA throughout her career, including as a board member, and as a liaison for the Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc. Judge Lopez is currently a Master of the Welsh Inn of Court, and was previously a Master of the Enright Inn of Court. She has served on the Board of Governors of the San Diego Chapter of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers since 2018, a Ninth Circuit Director at Large to the Federal Judicial Association since 2024, and a member of the Judging Committee for the Ninth Circuit Civics Essay Contest. Finally, Judge Lopez is on the FBA’s Judicial Advisory Board.
Sean P. Fahey is a partner and chair of Troutman Pepper Locke’s Health Sciences Department where he leads the group’s litigation, white collar, regulatory, intellectual property, and transactional practices. He has extensive experience serving as national coordinating and trial counsel in complex, multidistrict products liability and health care litigation. He represents several of the largest pharmaceutical, medical device, and life science companies in their high-stakes cases, and also serves as strategic settlement counsel and coordinating counsel in parallel litigation, including DOJ and regulatory investigations, and congressional hearings. He is nationally recognized by clients and peers in Chambers USA, Benchmark Litigation, The Legal 500, LMG Life Sciences, and The Best Lawyers in America.
Stuart Davidson is a partner in Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP’s Boca Raton office. His practice focuses on complex consumer class actions, including cases involving deceptive and unfair trade practices, privacy and data breach issues, and antitrust violations.
He has served as class counsel in some of the nation’s most significant privacy and consumer cases, including: In re Facebook Biometric Information Privacy Litigation, No. 3:15-cv-03747-JD (N.D. Cal.) ($650 million recovery in a cutting-edge class action concerning Facebook’s alleged privacy violations through its collection of user’s biometric identifiers without informed consent); In re Yahoo! Inc. Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, No. 5:16-md-02752-LHK (N.D. Cal.) ($117.5 million recovery in the largest data breach in history); Kehoe v. Fidelity Federal Bank & Trust, No. 9:03-cv-80593-DTKH (S.D. Fla.) ($50 million recovery in Driver’s Privacy Protection Act case on behalf of half-a-million Florida drivers against a national bank); In re Sony Gaming Networks & Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, No. 3:11-md-02258-AJB-MDD (S.D. Cal.) (settlement valued at $15 million concerning the massive data breach of Sony’s PlayStation Network); and In re Solara Medical Supplies Data Breach Litigation, No. 3:19-cv-02284-H-KSC (S.D. Cal.) ($5 million all-cash settlement for victims of healthcare data breach).
Stuart currently serves as Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel in In re American Medical Collection Agency, Inc. Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, No. 2:19-md-02904-MCA-MAH (D.N.J.) (representing class of LabCorp customers), In re Independent Living Systems Data Breach Litigation, No. 1:23-cv-21060-KMW (S.D. Fla.), Garner v. Amazon.com, Inc., No. 2:21-cv-00750-RSL (W.D. Wash.) (alleging Amazon’s illegal wiretapping through Alexa-enabled devices), In re American Financial Resources, Inc. Data Breach Litigation, No. 2:22-cv-01757-MCA-JSA (D.N.J.), In re Fortra Tile Transfer Software Data Security Breach Litigation, No. 1:24-md-03090-RAR (S.D. Fla.) (representing Aetna patients), on Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in In re Lakeview Loan Servicing Data Breach Litigation, No. 1:22-cv-20955-DPG (S.D. Fla.), and on Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in In re FTX Cryptocurrency Exchange Collapse Litigation, No. 1:23-md-03076-KMM (S.D. Fla.). Stuart also currently represents the State of Arkansas in a major antitrust enforcement action, State of Arkansas ex rel. Griffin v. Syngenta Crop Protection AG, No. 4:22-cv-01287-BSM (E.D. Ark.).
Stuart also spearheaded several aspects of In re EpiPen (Epinephrine Injection, USP) Marketing, Sales Practices & Antitrust Litigation, No. 2:17-md-02785-DDC-TJJ (D. Kan.) ($609 million total recovery achieved weeks prior to trial in certified class action alleging antitrust claims involving the illegal reverse payment settlement to delay the generic EpiPen, which allowed the prices of the life-saving EpiPen to rise over 600% in 9 years), served as Co-Lead Class Counsel in three cases brought against Genworth Life Insurance Company on behalf of long-term care insureds, Skochin v. Genworth Life. Ins. Co., No. 3:19-cv-00049-REP (E.D. Va.); Halcom v. Genworth Life Ins. Co., No. 3:21-cv-00019-REP (E.D. Va.); and Haney v. Genworth Life Ins. Co., No. 3:22-cv-00055-REP (E.D. Va.), recovering hundreds of millions of dollars in cash damages for policyholders, and served as Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel in In re NHL Players’ Concussion Injury Litigation, No. 0:14-md-02551-SRN-BRT (D. Minn.) (representing retired National Hockey League players in multidistrict litigation suit against the NHL regarding injuries suffered due to repetitive head trauma and concussions), and in In re Pet Food Products Liability Litigation, No. 1:07-cv-02867-NLH-AMD (D.N.J.) ($24 million recovery in multidistrict consumer class action on behalf of thousands of aggrieved pet owners nationwide against some of the nation’s largest pet food manufacturers, distributors, and retailers). He also served as Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel in In re UnitedGlobalCom, Inc. Shareholder Litigation, C.A. No. 1012-VCS (Del. Ch.) ($25 million recovery weeks before trial); In re Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. Shareholder Litigation, No. 16-2011-CA-010616 (Fla. Cir. Ct.) ($11.5 million recovery for former Winn-Dixie shareholders following the corporate buyout by BI-LO); and In re AuthenTec, Inc. Shareholder Litigation, No. 5-2012-CA-57589 (Fla. Cir. Ct.) ($10 million recovery for former AuthenTec shareholders following a merger with Apple). The latter two cases are the two largest merger and acquisition recoveries in Florida history.
Stuart is a former lead assistant public defender in the Felony Division of the Broward County, Florida Public Defender’s Office. During his tenure at the Public Defender’s Office, he tried over 30 jury trials and defended individuals charged with major crimes ranging from third-degree felonies to life and capital felonies. He has been quoted in numerous major media outlets regarding his cases, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, New York Daily News, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Boston Globe, the Miami Herald, The Globe & Mail, and Law360, and is a frequent speaker at conferences involving class action practice and procedure.
Stuart has been honored in the category of Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement in Private Practice at the American Antitrust Institute’s Antitrust Enforcement Awards. He has also been named a Litigation Star by Benchmark Litigation, a Recommended Lawyer by The Legal 500, a Leading Lawyer in America, a Leading Litigator in America, a Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyer, and a Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyer by Lawdragon, one of “Florida’s Most Effective Lawyers” by American Law Media’s Daily Business Review, and a member of The National Trial Lawyers: Top 100-Civil Plaintiffs. He has also been named a Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers Magazine. He is a member of the Sedona Conference Working Group 11 Brainstorming Group, focusing on the California Consumer Protection Act. Stuart currently serves on the 2024 Consumer Protection Editorial Advisory Board for Law360.
Stuart earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the State University of New York at Geneseo. Stuart earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law, where he graduated summa cum laude in the top 3% of his class. While in law school he was the Associate Editor for the Nova Law Review and was the recipient of Book Awards (highest grade) in Trial Advocacy, International Law, and Criminal Pretrial Practice.
Robert Shelby has been a District Judge in the District of Utah since 2012, and Chief Judge since 2018. He serves by appointment on the Committee on Defender Services for the Judicial Conference of the United States. He served on the Tenth Circuit Judicial Council from 2021-2023.
Judge Shelby obtained degrees from Utah State University and the University of Virginia School of Law. He clerked for United States District Judge J. Thomas Greene in the District of Utah, and later enjoyed a diverse private practice with an emphasis in complex commercial litigation.
He is a former President of the Salt Lake County Bar Association and the David K. Watkiss – Sutherland Inn of Court and is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Judge Shelby served on active duty with the Utah Army National Guard during Operation Desert Storm before receiving an Honorable Discharge in 1994.
Judge Rita F. Lin is a U.S. District Judge in the Northern District of California. Prior to her appointment to the federal bench, she served as a Superior Court Judge in San Francisco for five years. She presided over felony trials involving crimes ranging from murder to rape to child sexual abuse, as well as a variety of criminal calendars, including mental health court and preliminary hearings. Before becoming a judge, Judge Lin was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of California in the Criminal Division. She investigated and prosecuted public corruption, illegal opioid prescriptions, organized crime, money laundering, and narcotics trafficking, among other crimes. Before that, she was a litigation partner at Morrison and Foerster, where she practiced complex commercial litigation principally involving class actions and intellectual property, and maintained an active pro bono caseload. In 2012, the Daily Journal named her one of the Top 100 Women Lawyers in California, and in 2017, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association named her one of the Best Lawyers Under 40. Judge Lin is the first Chinese American woman to become a District Judge in the Northern District. She began her career as a law clerk for Judge Sandra Lynch on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Judge Lin is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School
Larry Taylor is an attorney with The Cochran Firm – Dallas. His practice focuses on serious personal injury litigation concentrating in the areas of wrongful death, automobile accidents, truck accidents, as well as criminal defense cases. Larry earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Texas A&M University. He obtained his Juris Doctor from Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University where he served as a member of the Board of Regents. Prior to attending law school, Larry worked as an investment banker and financial strategist for small business owners.
.jpg)