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La'Verne Edney practices within Butler Snow's Pharmaceutical, Medical Device and Healthcare Litigation group and serves as Chair of the firm’s Inclusivity Committee. She is experienced in defending cases involving product liability, medical negligence, premises liability, bad faith insurance, employment disputes, and legal malpractice. Chambers USA, which recognized La’Verne for Litigation: General Commercial – Mississippi in 2023 and 2024, describes her as “very well known and highly respected,” “incredible,” and “noted for her impressive trial skills.”
Recognized by Lawdragon 500 as one of its Leading Litigators in America, Chambers USA, and Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Mass Torts/Class Actions since 2016, La’Verne is a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the American College of Trial Lawyers, and the International Society of Barristers. She is also the Past President and an Associate of the American Board of Trial Advocates.
With more than 25 years of experience trying cases in challenging venues across state and federal courts, La’Verne’s practice focuses on mass tort litigation, premises liability, medical negligence, and commercial litigation. In recent years, her trial work has centered on pharmaceutical products and medical device litigation.
La’Verne has frequently been called upon to prepare and try cases in difficult jurisdictions, including Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she secured a defense verdict in a pelvic mesh trial in 2019. She is widely recognized for her ability to connect with jurors and explain complex evidence in a relatable and understandable manner.
In May 2022, La’Verne served as a United States Delegate at The Forum on the Rule of Law at the U.S. Supreme Court, where she co-authored a paper and spoke on Human Rights and Civil Liberties. She is also a frequent speaker on issues related to women in litigation and leadership. Most recently, she participated as a guest panelist in 2022 on the topic “Hear Us Roar: Being a Female Litigator in a Male-Dominated Industry” at a conference in Palm Springs, California.
Her recent honors include the Capital Area Bar Association’s Professionalism Award in 2021, the Mississippi Women Lawyers Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019, and Mississippi College School of Law’s Distinguished Alumni Lawyer of the Year Award in 2018.
In addition to her legal career, La’Verne serves on numerous community boards and committees, including the Board of Trustees of Mississippi College, Origin Bancorp, Inc.’s Board, the Magnolia Speech School Board, the Baptist Hospital Board of Regents, and as Immediate Past Chair of the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership Board.
La’Verne earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Alcorn State University and her Juris Doctor from Mississippi College School of Law. Following law school, she clerked for the Honorable Leslie Southwick on the Mississippi Court of Appeals.
Douglas C. Monsour, or Doug Monsour, is a trial lawyer who handles important and significant injury cases in Texas and across the nation. He is one of a handful of trial lawyers who have successfully tried multiple pharmaceutical, medical device, and mass tort product liability cases as the lead lawyer. He also vigorously represents injured oil field workers, victims of 18-wheeler wrecks, industrial accident victims, and those that have been severely burned.
Trial Success
Doug is known for his abilities in the courtroom. Recently, Doug secured two major trial victories in the 3M Combat Arms version 2 earplug litigation. On December 10, 2021, a Tallahassee, Florida Federal Court jury awarded U.S. Army veteran T.J. Finley $22.5 million for hearing loss suffered due to his defective Combat Arms version 2 earplugs. A few months later, on April 29, 2022, a Federal Court jury in Gainesville, Florida awarded $2.2 million to U.S. Army veteran Jonathan Vaughn for his hearing loss suffered from wearing the defective Combat Arms version 2 earplugs. The Finley v. 3M verdict was listed by The National Law Journal as one of the Top 100 verdicts of 2021. In fact, this verdict was the very first verdict in the entire 3M litigation to ever make the Top 100 list. Both trials were defended by international law firm Kirkland & Ellis.
Previously, in November 2014, Doug served as the lead lawyer in a transvaginal mesh case involving four women implanted with the Obtryx sling system to treat stress urinary incontinence. After an almost month-long trial, the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiffs in the amount of $18.5 million. This was the first verdict against Boston Scientific in the Federal Multi-District Litigation (MDL) for any of its incontinence sling products. (Wilson et al v. Boston Scientific Corp., WV, MDL 2326).
In 2004, Doug’s trial skills were tested by pharmaceutical giant Wyeth. He served as lead lawyer in two very significant Fen-Phen cases. In the first case, Wyeth hired world famous defense lawyer Dan Webb of Chicago’s legal Goliath, Winston & Strawn, to defend them. In the third week of the trial, Wyeth relented and settled for a confidential sum. In the second case, Wyeth retained Houston mega-firm Vinson & Elkins to defend them. Wyeth again relented, and just before closing arguments settled for a confidential sum.
In addition to these trials, Doug has tried over thirty cases of various types including oil field injuries, defective drugs, defective medical devices, medical malpractice, trucking (18-wheeler) wrecks, industrial accidents, car wrecks, civil rights and malicious prosecution.
Doug is triple board certified. He is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. In addition, he is Board Certified as a Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Furthermore, he is Board Certified in Civil Pretrial Practice Advocacy by the National Board of Civil Pretrial Practice Advocacy.
Kenzo Kawanabe is an acclaimed trial lawyer with substantial experience in high-stakes cases. Kenzo is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Prior to forming a national trial boutique nearly three years ago, Kenzo was a partner at a venerable, 100-year-old Denver law firm.
Kenzo is a founder of Olson Grimsley Kawanabe Hichcliff & Murray LLC, an impact litigation law firm which tried eight cases in its first three years, obtaining more than $150 million in judgments. Last month, he was one of the lead trial lawyers to obtain a groundbreaking $70 million trial victory from a Chicago jury against Abbott Laboratories. He also was on the team – brought in less than one month before trial – to obtain the first verdict in the country regarding premature infant formula and necrotizing enterocolitis. That jury returned the verdict awarding our client – whose baby died from NEC – $60 million in compensatory damages against Mead Johnson. One third of his firm’s work is pro bono, and Kenzo was one of the lead lawyers to obtain a state-wide injunction against ICE to stop illegal warrantless arrests.
Kenzo is a fourth-generation Coloradan and engages deeply in community service. He is on the boards of Colorado Legal Services and Colorado State University, and recently completed board service for Asian Americans Advancing Justice – D.C. He was also the first-ever General Counsel for the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. He has received widespread recognition including America’s Top 200 Lawyers by Forbes Magazine. Kenzo was a Boettcher Scholar at the University of Colorado, and a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center. He clerked for Chief Justice Mary J. Mullarkey of the Colorado Supreme Court.
Kristin Cobb represents multinational companies before federal and state courts in a variety of matters involving breach of contract, business torts, unfair competition, tortious interference, misappropriation of trade secrets, products liability, the False Claims Act and state consumer fraud laws.
Ms. Cobb’s representations include:
Prior to joining Skadden, Ms. Cobb represented:
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.
Motley Rice co-founder Joe Rice is recognized as a skillful and innovative negotiator of complex litigation settlements, having served as the lead negotiator in some of the largest civil actions our courts have seen in the last 20 years.
Corporate Legal Times reported that national defense counsel and legal scholars described Joe as one of the nation's “five most feared and respected plaintiffs’ lawyers in corporate America.” As the article notes, "For all his talents as a shrewd negotiator ... Rice has earned most of his respect from playing fair and remaining humble.”
Joe was recognized by some of the nation’s best-regarded defense lawyers as being “the smartest dealmaker they ever sat across the table from,” Thomson Reuters has reported. Professor Samuel Issacharoff of the New York University School of Law, a well-known professor and expert in class actions and complex litigation, has commented that he is “the best strategic thinker on the end stages of litigation that I’ve ever seen.”
Since beginning to practice law in 1979, Joe has continued to reinforce his reputation as a skillful negotiator, including through his involvement structuring some of the most significant resolutions of asbestos liabilities on behalf of those injured by asbestos‐related products. He negotiates for the firm's clients at all levels, including securities and consumer fraud, anti-terrorism, human rights, environmental, medical drugs and devices, as well as catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases.
Joe is co-lead counsel in the National Prescription Opiate MDL aimed at combatting the alleged over-distribution and deceptive marketing of prescription opioids. Joe, as Chair of the opioid Negotiating Committee, worked with the committee and the Attorney General Committee to reach over $50 billion in settlements for communities nationwide with defendants in the opioid supply chain. Motley Rice continues to represent dozens of governmental entities, including the first jurisdictions to file cases in the current wave of litigation.
Joe served as one of the lead negotiators in the $15 billion Volkswagen Diesel Emissions Fraud class action settlement for 2.0-liter vehicles, the largest auto-related consumer class action settlement in U.S. history, as well as the 3.0-liter settlement. Under his leadership, Motley Rice also helped negotiate a pair of Takata bankruptcy resolutions that secured funds for victims who were harmed by the company’s deadly, explosive airbags. Joe also serves as a member of the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee for In re General Motors LLC Ignition Switch Litigation, and was appointed to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for In re Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep Ecodiesel Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation.
Joe led negotiations on behalf of thousands of women who allege complications and severe health effects caused by transvaginal mesh and sling products, including litigation that has five MDLs pending in the state of West Virginia. He is also a member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for the Lipitor® MDL, filed for patients who allege the cholesterol drug caused their Type 2 diabetes.
Joe served as a co-lead negotiator for the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in reaching the two settlements with BP, one of which is the largest civil class action settlement in U.S. history. The Economic and Property Damages Rule 23 Class Action Settlement is estimated to make payments totaling between $7.8 billion and $18 billion to class members. Joe was also one of the lead negotiators of the $1.028 billion settlement reached between the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee and Halliburton Energy Services, Inc., for Halliburton’s role in the disaster.
Joe held a crucial role in executing strategic mediations and/or resolutions on behalf of 56 families of 9/11 victims who opted out of the government-created September 11 Victim Compensation Fund. In addition to providing answers, accountability and recourse to victims’ families, the resulting settlements with multiple defendants shattered a settlement matrix developed and utilized for decades. The litigation also helped provide public access to evidence uncovered for the trial.
As lead private counsel for 26 jurisdictions, including numerous State Attorneys General, Joe was integral to the crafting and negotiating of the landmark Master Settlement Agreement, in which the tobacco industry agreed to reimburse states for smoking-related health costs. This remains the largest civil settlement in U.S. history.
Joe held leadership and negotiating roles involving the bankruptcies of several large organizations, including AWI, Federal Mogul, Johns Manville, Celotex, Garlock, W.R. Grace, Babcock & Wilcox, U.S. Gypsum, Owens Corning and Pittsburgh Corning. He has also worked on numerous Trust Advisory Committees. Today, he maintains a critical role in settlements involving asbestos manufacturers emerging from bankruptcy and has been recognized for his work in structuring significant resolutions in complex personal injury litigation for asbestos liabilities on behalf of victims injured by asbestos-related products. Joe has served as co-chair of Perrin Conferences’ Asbestos Litigation Conference, the largest national asbestos-focused conference.
Joe is often sought by investment funds for guidance on litigation strategies to increase shareholder value, enhance corporate governance reforms and recover assets. He was an integral part of the shareholder derivative action against Omnicare, Inc., Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust v. Gemunder, which resulted in a significant settlement for shareholders as well as new corporate governance policies for the corporation.
Joe serves on the Board of Advisors for Emory University's Institute for Complex Litigation and Mass Claims, which facilitates bipartisan discussion of ways to improve the civil justice system through the hosting of judicial seminars, bar conferences, academic programs, and research. In 1999 and 2000, he served on the faculty at Duke University School of Law as a Senior Lecturing Fellow, and taught classes on the art of negotiating at the University of South Carolina School of Law, Duke University School of Law and Charleston School of Law.
In 2013, he and the firm created the Ronald L. Motley Scholarship Fund at The University of South Carolina School of Law in memory and honor of co-founding member and friend, Ron Motley.
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.
Joseph A. Zirkman is the Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Scouting America, formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America. He brings more than 30 years of experience serving as general counsel for both public and private companies.
Prior to joining Scouting America, Mr. Zirkman served as Vice President and General Counsel of Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc., and as Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Fiesta Restaurant Group. His career highlights include guiding Carrols through its initial public offering, overseeing the subsequent spin-off of Fiesta Restaurant Group, managing significant mergers and acquisitions transactions, and leading the successful defense of a high-profile proxy contest.
As General Counsel of Scouting America, Mr. Zirkman has played a key role in guiding the organization through what the Wall Street Journal described as the largest and most complex nonprofit bankruptcy case in United States history.
Mr. Zirkman is widely respected in both the legal and business communities and frequently speaks at legal forums and conferences. His areas of focus include corporate governance, activism defense, mergers and acquisitions, SEC reporting and compliance, franchising, complex litigation strategy and management, and employment law.
He earned his Juris Doctor from Brooklyn Law School and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Duke University. Mr. Zirkman is admitted to practice law in New York and Texas.
Christopher A. Seeger is a founding partner of Seeger Weiss LLP and one of the nation’s leading plaintiff attorneys, widely recognized for his leadership in complex multidistrict litigations and class actions involving drug injury, toxic exposure, and mass torts. His practice also includes product liability, antitrust, third-party payer, and consumer fraud litigation. A 2020 ALM study found that he received more MDL appointments than any other lawyer between 2016 and 2019.
As proposed counsel for the proposed class in the Roundup Products Liability Litigation, Chris negotiated a proposed $7.25 billion settlement for individuals across the United States who were exposed to Roundup products and were or will be diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Chris has held court-appointed leadership roles in many of the most consequential litigations in United States history. He was selected by Judge M. Casey Rodgers as co-lead counsel in the 3M Combat Arms Earplug Litigation, representing more than 250,000 service members and veterans and helping secure a landmark settlement exceeding $6 billion in 2023. He was also appointed co-lead counsel by Judge Joy Flowers Conti in the Philips Recalled CPAP Litigation, where he served as lead negotiator for settlements totaling more than $1.6 billion.
In the National Prescription Opioid Litigation, Chris served on the Executive and Settlement Committees by appointment of Judge Dan A. Polster and played a key role in negotiating more than $60 billion in settlements. He also served as co-lead counsel in the Proton-Pump Inhibitor Litigation, where settlements totaling $590.4 million were announced in 2023.
Chris was appointed Plaintiffs’ Lead Negotiation Counsel in the national Talcum Powder Litigation, where he leads global settlement negotiations on behalf of injured consumers. He was also appointed Plaintiffs’ Lead Counsel in the Class Action Settlement Administration Litigation and the Depo-Provera Products Liability Litigation, while serving as Plaintiffs’ Coordinating Counsel in the MultiPlan Health Insurance Providers Litigation.
Throughout his career, Chris has helped secure historic resolutions, including a $4.85 billion settlement involving Vioxx, a more than $21 billion settlement arising from the Volkswagen and Audi “clean diesel” scandal, a $1.5 billion settlement for farmers harmed by Syngenta GMO seed contamination, and an uncapped settlement exceeding $1 billion in the NFL concussion litigation.
Chris began his legal career as a corporate defense lawyer before transitioning to plaintiff-side advocacy after witnessing the imbalance of power between corporations and injured individuals. The son of a union carpenter, he is a former amateur boxer and a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. He is also frequently quoted by national and international media outlets.
Abbe R. Gluck is the Alfred M. Rankin Professor of Law and the founding Faculty Director of the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy at Yale Law School. She is also Professor of Internal Medicine (General Medicine) at Yale School of Medicine and a Professor in the Institution for Social and Policy Studies at Yale.
From November 2020 until November 2021, Professor Gluck served in the Biden Administration as Special Counsel to the President. In that role, she was the lead lawyer for the White House COVID-19 Response, first for the Biden-Harris Transition and later in the White House as Special Counsel to the White House COVID-19 Response Team. She also simultaneously served as a member of the White House Counsel’s Office, where she handled litigation and policy matters relating to health care, the USDA, and Veterans Affairs across the administration.
In 2012, Professor Gluck founded the Yale Law School Medical Legal Partnership Program, a poverty legal services clinic operating across seven sites in New Haven, which she continues to direct. She joined Yale Law School in 2012 after previously serving on the faculty of Columbia Law School and holding senior positions in government. Her academic expertise includes state courts and federalism, Congress and the political process, civil procedure, and health law. She also serves as chair emerita of the Section on Legislation and the Law of the Political Process for the Association of American Law Schools.
Professor Gluck has extensive experience as a lawyer in multiple levels of government. Before joining Columbia Law School, she served in the administration of New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine as Special Counsel and Senior Advisor to the New Jersey Attorney General. She also worked in the administration of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as Chief of Staff and Counsel to the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, Senior Counsel to the NYC Corporation Counsel in the New York City Office of Legal Counsel, and Deputy Special Counsel to the New York City Charter Revision Commission.
Prior to law school, Professor Gluck worked in the United States Senate for Senator Paul S. Sarbanes of Maryland. Following law school, she practiced at the Paul Weiss law firm in New York before returning to government service. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University, graduating summa cum laude, and received her Juris Doctor from Yale Law School. After graduation, she clerked for then-Chief Judge Ralph K. Winter of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and for United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Professor Gluck is the author and co-author of several influential books, including COVID-19 and Law: Disruption, Impacts, Legacy, The Trillion Dollar Revolution: How the Affordable Care Act Transformed Politics, Law, and Health Care in America, and A New Deal For Cancer: Lessons from a 50 Year War.
Her scholarship has appeared in leading publications including the Yale Law Journal, Harvard Law Review, Stanford Law Review, Columbia Law Review, New England Journal of Medicine, and Health Affairs. Her work includes pioneering studies on multidistrict litigation, unpublished judicial opinions, gun violence litigation, and the opioid crisis. In 2013, she completed the most extensive empirical study ever conducted on the realities of the congressional law-making process, published in the Stanford Law Review. Her 2017 work provided a comprehensive account of state implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
Professor Gluck is also co-author of a leading Legislation casebook and has served as co-counsel in major health law cases, including filing influential amicus briefs in Texas v. Azar, King, and NFIB v. Sebelius. Her scholarship is among the most widely cited in the country in her fields of expertise.
She currently serves on numerous boards and commissions, including the Uniform Law Commission, where she chairs the Health Law Committee, and the American Law Institute, where she was elected to its governing Council in 2018. She also serves as Vice Chair of the Fund for Modern Courts in New York City, is a member of the New York State Taskforce on Life and the Law, and remains active in the New York City Bar Association.
In 2015, Professor Gluck received Yale Law School’s teaching award in recognition of her contributions to legal education.
Brian is a go-to first-chair trial lawyer who has tried more than 30 cases to verdict before juries across the country, achieving numerous full defense verdicts on behalf of clients in some of the nation’s most challenging jurisdictions.
In recognition of his success, Brian is nationally ranked by Chambers in “Products Liability and Mass Torts.” Chambers describes him as “a litigation genius” who “sees problems before they even happen” and is “instrumental in getting favorable results.” He is also recognized by Legal 500 as a “Leading Partner” in “Toxic Torts” and recommended for “Consumer Products,” “General Commercial Disputes,” “Antitrust Civil Litigation,” and “Sports.” In 2023, Brian was named “Trial Lawyer of the Year” and “Top Product Liability Litigator” by Benchmark Litigation and led the trial team that received Benchmark’s “National Impact Case Award” for the defense verdict secured in Clark v. Monsanto.
Brian is also recognized as a Benchmark “Top 100 Trial Lawyer” and “Litigation Star,” one of Lawdragon’s 500 “Leading Lawyers” and “Leading Litigators” in America, and a two-time finalist for the National Law Journal’s “Winning Litigator” award.
Most recently, Brian co-led the trial team that secured judgment as a matter of law for the NFL and its 32 member teams in a class action lawsuit challenging the distribution of the Sunday Ticket subscription package and the NFL’s media agreements. During the trial, Brian examined several key witnesses, including the plaintiffs’ primary sports economist expert, laying the foundation for a successful post-trial Daubert ruling excluding the testimony as unreliable. He later delivered the oral argument on the NFL’s post-trial motions, resulting in a complete victory for the league.
Brian serves as national trial counsel for several clients in multidistrict and consolidated litigations across the country, including Monsanto in its Roundup litigation. In that matter, he secured the first full defense verdict for Monsanto in a Los Angeles Superior Court case involving a child diagnosed with cancer at age five. He has also obtained complete defense verdicts for Bayer, Eli Lilly, and Pfizer in products liability bellwether trials, including the first state court jury verdict for Bayer in the Xarelto litigation.
In addition to his courtroom successes, Brian has played a significant role in securing victories before trial. He achieved a Daubert and summary judgment victory for Medtronic in hernia mesh litigation in the Central District of California by successfully challenging the plaintiffs’ specific causation expert. This resulted in summary judgment in favor of Medtronic, which Brian continues to represent in national products liability litigation involving hernia mesh.
Before founding Wilkinson Stekloff, Brian practiced at Covington & Burling and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, where he tried multiple cases to verdict. He also served for four years as an Assistant Federal Public Defender for the Southern District of Florida, obtaining full acquittals in nearly one-third of his jury trials at a rate more than double the national average.
JENNIFER SAULINO is a global co-leader of Sidley’s Product Liability practice. As a fellow of the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers, Jennifer possesses an unusual ability to translate complex legal theories into simple, clear messages for judges and juries. As a first-chair trial lawyer, she focuses on synthesizing extensive case findings into crisp themes, uncovering and dissecting critical, compelling facts, and shaping successful strategies that position clients for optimal results. With experience trying more than a dozen complex, lengthy cases to jury verdicts, and having appeared in numerous federal and state courts across the country, individuals and corporations consistently seek her leadership when faced with tough litigation.
Jennifer is ranked by Chambers USA for General Commercial Litigation (2022–2024) and Litigation: White Collar Crime & Government Investigations (2023–2024) in the District of Columbia with clients recognizing her trial prowess and high-quality advice. Additionally, she has been ranked by Benchmark Litigation 2025 as a “National Practice Area Star” and “Litigation Star” for Product Liability in the District of Columbia and was named to Benchmark Litigation’s 2025 “Top 100 Trial Lawyers” and “Top 250 Women in Litigation" lists.
Sharon is a courtroom-proven trial lawyer with extensive experience in high-profile cases involving parallel proceedings in state and federal courts. Known for her ability to collaborate across the aisle, she is a frequent writer and speaker on trial strategy alongside industry leaders, and has been named a “Key Lawyer” by The Legal 500 in life science and product liability defense. Sharon’s proactive viewpoint and unique ability to navigate the uncertain waters of mass torts has enabled her to deliver excellent results for her clients, and has earned her the respect of judges, opposing counsel, and joint defense groups in some of the most contentious litigation of this decade.
Sharon has represented Fortune 100 companies in class actions, mass torts, and multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the pharmaceutical and consumer product industries. She has been a key member of several trial teams, including helping secure a defense trial verdict on behalf of a multinational medical device and health care company in the NEC litigation in state court after the Plaintiff requested over US$6.2B in damages. She later went on to obtain a complete summary judgment ruling in her client’s favor in the first two NEC MDL bellwether trials. Sharon also previously represented a major pharmacy chain at a history-making trial in the Opioid litigation (described by the Washington Post as “the most complex civil lawsuit in U.S. history”), after which the Ohio Supreme Court sided with her client.
Michael Andolina focuses his practice on working with clients to manage crises and defend and resolve complex multiparty and multi-jurisdictional matters. He handles a diverse range of litigation matters in state and federal courts across the country, with an emphasis on resolving large scale litigation in multiple forums.
Mike has extensive experience advising clients in connection with mass tort and other crisis management situations, including coordinating and conducting investigations, engaging with regulators and law enforcement, developing litigation strategy, and defending clients through all stages of litigation. Currently, he serves as lead resolution counsel for the Boy Scouts of America in their pending Chapter 11 restructuring proceedings. He also represents 3M Company in connection with the Combat Arms Earplug multi-district litigation pending in the Northern District of Florida, the largest MDL in US history. Mike was recognized by the MDL Court as an "MDL MVP" for his role in negotiating a settlement structure to resolve more than 250,000 claims again 3M relating to alleged hearing loss.
Mike has also represented Honda in numerous capacities in connection with the Takata airbag recalls, the largest vehicle recall in history, including in multidistrict litigation pending in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, In re Takata Airbag Products Liability Litigation, where plaintiffs allege both economic product defect and personal injury claims against numerous automobile manufacturer defendants and Takata within a single proceeding. Mike also represents Honda in Takata's worldwide restructuring proceedings, which have been described by industry experts as the most complex multinational proceedings in history, and in connection with litigation brought by state attorneys general.
In June 2019, Mike was named by Crain's Chicago Business as a Notable Gen X Leader in Law. He was also recognized in February 2018 with the International Law Office's "2018 Client Choice Award," which honors partners and law firms worldwide that provide "excellent client care" and are nominated only by corporate counsel.
Previously, Mike served as the deputy head of litigation at a large firm in Chicago, where he practiced for more than 20 years.
Tom Loeser is Managing Counsel of the Seattle office of Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy, LLP, where he represents consumers in technology-related nationwide class action litigation. He has been recognized as a Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rated litigator for more than a decade and has been named one of Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Lawyers in America for both Plaintiffs’ Financial Lawyers and Plaintiffs’ Consumer Lawyers.
Mr. Loeser brings a unique combination of legal, scientific, and technological expertise to his practice, with more than 27 years of litigation experience, including 20 years in class actions, five years as a federal cyber prosecutor, and prior experience in Silicon Valley and the technology sector. His technology background includes earning an MBA, writing code for the U.S. Treasury at Microsoft, working as a financial analyst at Hewlett-Packard, and handling technology licensing matters in Silicon Valley.
In 2002, Mr. Loeser was appointed as an Assistant United States Attorney in Los Angeles. After prosecuting a wide range of federal criminal matters, he joined the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section, where he received advanced training in the investigation and prosecution of hacking, computer intrusion, malware, and data breach cases. His work required Top Secret security clearances and ongoing specialized training throughout his government service. During this time, he resolved hundreds of criminal matters and tried numerous federal cases through appeal.
Mr. Loeser’s private practice has focused on prosecuting and resolving complex litigation against major corporations, including national banks, insurers, builders, title companies, automobile manufacturers, mortgage lenders, trucking companies, and nationwide retailers. He is particularly known for handling cases involving highly sophisticated technology, products, services, and data-related misconduct.
He has served in leadership roles in many of the largest consumer class actions in United States history, including the $10 billion Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” multidistrict litigation and the related $1.3 billion Volkswagen Franchise Dealer litigation. He has also played key leadership roles in major data breach and privacy cases, including litigation involving Meta, T-Mobile, AT&T, General Motors, and Allstate.
Mr. Loeser’s work has earned praise from both the plaintiffs’ class action bar and the judiciary. In remarks made during the final approval hearing in Dean Sheikh et al. v. Tesla, Inc., Judge Beth Labson Freeman of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California commended his ability to simplify complex matters and recognized the quality of work performed by him and his firm across numerous cases.
Outside of his legal practice, Tom enjoys spending time with his family cycling, skiing, snowboarding, and participating in ocean activities. In his free time, he can often be found surfing large Hawaiian swells on his hydrofoil surfboard.
Mr. Cachán is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, an invitation only fellowship of lawyers “who have demonstrated the very highest standards of trial advocacy, ethical conduct, integrity, professionalism, and collegiality.” He also is a fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, which is granted by invitation only and limited to 500 active trial lawyers from the United States.
In recognition of his work, Mr. Cachán has been honored by several leading industry outlets and organizations, including:
Mr. Cachán has represented Fortune 500 companies before federal and state courts in jury trials across the nation in breach-of-contract litigations, banking actions, product liability lawsuits and professional malpractice cases. His representations (including those prior to joining Skadden) have included:
Mr. Cachán is active in the legal community. He is a board member of Public Counsel, the largest provider of pro bono legal services in the United States. He also is an honorary trustee of the Mexican-American Bar Foundation, which provides scholarship assistance to Latino law students. Mr. Cachán previously served as a member of the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation of the State Bar of California, which evaluates all candidates under consideration for a judicial appointment by the governor. He is past president of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers in Los Angeles. Mr. Cachán is the son of Cuban exiles and is fluent in Spanish.
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.
