2026 Mass Torts Puerto Rico Speakers

Richard Arsenault

Attorney
Neblett, Beard & Arsenault

Richard has been recognized as one of America’s 50 Most Influential Trial Lawyers by Trial Lawyer Magazine. He was nominated for the 2015 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award by the Public Justice Foundation and selected as a 2015 member of the Nation’s Top One Percent by the National Association of Distinguished Counsel. In 2014, he was selected by the National Trial Lawyers as the Trial Lawyer of the Year Civil Plaintiff Finalist. He currently serves as Lead Counsel in the Actos MDL where a jury rendered a historic $9 Billion Punitive Damage verdict against Eli Lilly and Takeda. This has been reported as one of the nation’s largest personal injury verdicts. He subsequently served on the team that negotiated a $2.4 Billion settlement which is the largest single mass tort settlement for a drug still on the market. He is also on the Pinnacle MDL Trial Team where a jury rendered a $502 Million verdict against J&J and DePuy. The National Academy of Personal Injury Attorneys selected Richard to receive their Top 10 Attorney Award for the State of Louisiana. The Wall Street Journal has described Richard as having “national notoriety” and as a “big gun” amongst attorneys in competition for leadership roles. BusinessWeek described him as “a Dean of the Louisiana Tort Bar.” The NYTimes has described him as one of the “big players” in the legal community. USA Today featured him as a member of the “Legal Elite,” – a diverse grouping of America’s leading attorneys and the New Orleans Times Picayune has referred to him as “an authority on class actions.” Richard’s commitment to legal excellence is reflected in the years of serving as a faculty member for LSU’s Trial Advocacy program, lecturing at judicial colleges and assuming leadership roles in local as well as national bar associations. Recently, the LA Supreme Court appointed him to serve on the Rules of Professional Conduct Class Action Committee. For over 25 years, Richard has held Martindale Hubbell’s highest rating.

Carlos R. Baralt-Suárez

Attorney
Baralt Law LLC

Carlos R. Baralt-Suárez is Of Counsel at Delgado & Fernández, LLC, where he focuses on securities litigation, litigation related to real estate, complex commercial litigation, appeals, and constitutional law controversies. The synergy between Baralt Law LLC and Delgado & Fernández, LLC allows for collaboration that amplifies our shared commitment to providing exceptional legal results and enables us to pool intellectual capital, technological assets, and industry experience. With over a decade of experience in the legal industry, Mr. Baralt-Suárez has successfully represented clients before federal and state courts, administrative agencies, and regulatory bodies.

Robby H. Birnbaum

Partner
Greenspoon Marder LLP

Robby H. Birnbaum began his law career with Greenspoon Marder in 1998 and has practiced with the firm ever since.  Mr. Birnbaum is a Partner and Practice Group Leader of the Regulatory Compliance and Financial Services Practice Groups and serves on the firm’s Management Committee.  Mr. Birnbaum also Chairs the firm’s Health and Consumer Insurance Sales Regulatory Group. For over 20 years, Mr. Birnbaum has provided proactive, successful compliance strategies and outcomes to financial and health industry clients. Mr. Birnbaum also has substantial experience in the travel and vacation resort industries, representing and counseling some of the largest travel providers and sellers of vacation and business travel services in the world. Mr. Birnbaum’s practice focuses on providing comprehensive legal advice and regulatory advocacy to a broad spectrum of clients, such as nonbank financial products and services providers; advertisers and marketers; health insurance and health-related service sellers; along with trade and professional associations.  Mr. Birnbaum practices before the CFPB, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), offices of state attorneys’ general, state banking and financial services departments and federal and state insurance regulators. A substantial portion of Mr. Birnbaum’s work involves assisting clients with proactive regulatory compliance to remain out of the cross-hairs of regulators and expensive class action lawsuits.  Mr. Birnbaum immerses himself in the industries of his clients, advising clients on how to minimize the legal risks related to providing, advertising, and marketing financial and health insurance products and services to consumers under federal and state consumer protection laws, including laws and regulations under the jurisdiction of the CFPB and FTC.  Mr. Birnbaum’s team also assists with state licensing and agency compliance reviews.  Mr. Birnbaum regularly advises on the design of compliance management systems tailored to specific client needs and government expectations. Mr. Birnbaum is an experienced advertising attorney who regularly advises clients on consumer protection issues, specifically with regard to advertising and promotions, including digital media and lead generation, as well as consumer credit and financial services laws, privacy laws and regulations. He has extensive experience in the issues surrounding mobile marketing, target marketing, lead generation, affiliate marketing, social media, and user-generated content.  Mr. Birnbaum has widely counseled clients on compliance with state and federal banking and insurance regulations, along with the sweeping wave of recent state privacy law regulations. Mr. Birnbaum focuses on defending clients in regulatory investigations and enforcement actions pursued by the CFPB, FTC, state attorneys’ general, and other state regulatory agencies, as well as advising in private litigation involving claims, such as false or misleading advertising, TCPA and telemarketing challenges, and unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts and practices. Mr. Birnbaum is heavily involved as the “go-to attorney” for the debt settlement, consumer credit counseling, vehicle service contracts, seller of travel, and the credit repair industries, actively representing over 500 companies in those industries in all areas from lead generation to administrative licensing and contract fulfillment.  Mr. Birnbaum also counsels the financial partners and supporting vendors of those industries, and is active in their trade associations. Mr. Birnbaum regularly counsels private equity and venture capital funds, along with public companies on their potential investments and market activity in regard to his practice areas.  Mr. Birnbaum regularly supports and serves as lead counsel and advisor on multi-million dollar buyouts and investments.  Mr. Birnbaum serves as outside general counsel to many of the firm’s largest advertising, financial, insurance and other public companies. Mr. Birnbaum served as the elected president of the American Fair Credit Council, the National Association of Credit Service Organizations, and the Administrator of the Vehicle Protection Association. Mr. Birnbaum is exceptionally active in Congressional and legislative affairs groups, bringing those direct insights and current updates back to the firm’s clients.  Moreover, affiliate marketing, publisher/affiliate lead generation and sales, and network referrals round out Mr. Birnbaum’s practice areas. Over the last twenty years, Mr. Birnbaum has likely resolved, without the need for litigation and to the great satisfaction of his clients, more state and federal government investigations and inquiries than any other attorney.

Vince Carnevale

Partner
Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman

Vince Carnevale is a Partner at Milberg involved with the assessment and implementation of legal technology applications to improve firm operations. Mr. Carnevale graduated from Robert Morris University in 1995 with a B.S.B.A. degree in Finance/Economics. He attended The University of Pittsburgh School of Law and graduated in 2001. After law school, Mr. Carnevale joined an AMLaw 200 defense firm, working on electronic discovery projects related to multiple global mass tort pharmaceutical litigation matters. He went on to work as an Investigative Analyst/Legal Project Manager for Crivella West Incorporated, an advanced analytics and investigational research company. With over twenty years of experience managing all aspects of electronic discovery including collection, search, review and production, Mr. Carnevale has drafted various discovery pleadings including Document Preservation Orders, Legal Hold Notices, and Electronically Stored Information (ESI) Document Production Protocols. He has been the lead ESI project manager for some of the largest Mass Tort Class Action Pharmaceutical litigations in the country and has additional experience with Bankruptcy, Antitrust, Securities, Commercial, and Employment Law matters. Mr. Carnevale has attended numerous Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f) Meet and Confer sessions to assist in the negotiation of ESI protocols and search criteria. He has also drafted declarations and affidavits regarding the quality and sufficiency of document productions and has attended status conferences in State and Federal court to support the related motions. Mr. Carnevale was selected to become a member of The Sedona Conference WG1 Brainstorming Group on Multidistrict Litigation and also on Possession, Custody, or Control. He is also a member of the EDRM State Rules project team with a mission to organize and publish a cross reference of State eDiscovery Rules with the US Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Mr. Carnevale attained his Project Management Professional PMP® certification in March 2015. He is admitted to practice law in the State of Pennsylvania as well as the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and is also a Registered Foreign Lawyer.

Chris Coffin

Partner
Pendley, Baudin & Coffin, L.L.P.

Chris Coffin is a partner with Pendley, Baudin & Coffin, L.L.P., located in New Orleans, Louisiana. He has years of experience and background in litigating complex cases involving defective pharmaceuticals and medical devices, environmental contamination, product liability, toxic torts and consumer fraud claims. In addition to being a registered nurse for over twenty-four (24) years, as the leader of Pendley, Baudin & Coffin's pharmaceutical and medical device litigation practice, Chris has been actively prosecuting cases against pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers for over seventeen (17) years.

Mildred Conroy

Associate
Simmons Hanly Conroy LLP

Mildred Conroy joined the Lanier Law Firm’s New York office as an associate in 2018 and practices in the areas of toxic torts, pharmaceutical litigation, mass torts and product liability. Ms. Conroy proudly fights for injured clients and their families who have been harmed by defective products and corporate negligence. Prior to joining the Lanier Law Firm, Ms. Conroy was a legal assistant with the Madison County District Attorney’s Office, where she worked primarily in the felony division. Ms. Conroy is from Massachusetts and received her Bachelor of Arts in History from Washington College in Chestertown, MD. She then went on to attend Roger Williams University School of Law in Bristol Rhode Island, where she focused on Maritime law. Ms. Conroy is a member of the American Association for Justice, American Bar Association and the Missouri Bar Association. When she is not passionately advocating for her clients, Ms. Conroy enjoys competitive sailboat racing, skiing and spending time with her family.

Erin Copeland

Partner
Fibich Leebron Copeland & Briggs

Mass tort litigator licensed in Texas and Missouri. Represents injured individuals nationwide. Largely focused on issues involving women's healthcare and litigation involving drugs and devices specifically for women. Appointed Co-Lead of the Paragard (birth control product) MDL pending in Atlanta, GA. Previously served on Plaintiffs' Executive Committee in the Essure (birth control product) JCCP pending in Alameda County, California. Helped to facilitate a 1.6B settlement on behalf of nearly 30k Plaintiffs who claimed injury by the Essure device. Other appointments include: Plaintiffs' Steering Committee in the Hair Relaxer MDL pending in Illinois; Plaintiffs' Executive Committee in the Uloric consolidated action pending in Illinois; Plaintiffs' Steering Committee in the Onglyza MDL pending in Kentucky; Plaintiffs' Steering Committee in all Transvaginal Mesh MDLs pending in West Virginia and Plaintiffs' Steering Committee/State-Federal Liaison in Pradaxa MDL in Illinois

Katherine Cornell

Owner
Cornell Law

Katherine Cornell is the owner of Cornell Law where she focuses on pharmaceutical and medical device cases nationwide. Since obtaining her Juris Doctor from Michigan State University in 2012, Katherine has worked exclusively on the front line of mass pharmaceutical and product liability litigation, representing tens of thousands of victims who have been harmed.

Katherine worked extensively on the transvaginal mesh litigation and served on the trial team against Mentor Worldwide and its parent company Johnson & Johnson, obtaining a $4.4 million dollar verdict for her client. She handled thousands of hernia mesh claims and was appointed to leadership by Judge Porto in the Proceed Mesh MCL in the Superior Court of New Jersey – Atlantic County. In addition, Katherine was appointed by Honorable Judge Rodgers in the Northern District of Florida to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for the 3M Combat Arms Earplug multi-district litigation where she served on multiple trial teams.  Katherine was also appointed to leadership by Judge Rowland in the Hair Relaxer Product Liability Litigation in the Northern District of Illinois.

In her spare time, Katherine is an active member of the legal community. She has been named a Top 40 Under 40 by The National Trial Lawyers. She serves on the Board of Governors for the American Association for Justice (AAJ) Revitalization Board and is a member of the Voter Protection Action Committee and the National Finance Council.

Sharon Desh

Partner
Winston & Strawn LLP

Sharon is a partner at Winston & Strawn and a frequent writer and speaker on trial strategy and case management. She previously served on the trial team representing a pharmacy chain in litigation related to prescription opioids, described by the Washington Post as “the most complex civil lawsuit in U.S. history.” Sharon has extensive experience working with and examining witnesses, as well as in leading joint defense groups and managing complex matters.

Robert J. Drakulich

Partner
The Drakulich Firm

Robert J. Drakulich is a trial lawyer and partner at THE DRAKULICH FIRM, APLC, with offices in San Diego, California and Reno, Nevada. Mr. Drakulich’s primary practice is in the areas of product liability, personal injury, wrongful death, and medical device/ pharmaceutical drug mass torts, class actions, nursing home abuse, airplane/helicopter crash, business litigation, and mesothelioma/asbestos cases. Mr. Drakulich is licensed to practice law in California, Nevada, Minnesota, and Washington D.C. and is admitted to practice before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Drakulich has actively participated as a member of the trial team on several multi-million-dollar cases. Together with his father, Mr. Drakulich has helped attain hundreds of millions of dollars for the firm’s mass tort clients. In addition to his work on the firm’s mass tort practice, Mr. Drakulich has also helped secure substantial verdicts and settlements on behalf of the firm’s single event cases. Mr. Drakulich was honored to be appointed to the Plaintiff Steering Committee (PSC) in In re: Elmiron (Pentosan Polysulfate Sodium) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2973, by the Hon. Brian R. Martinotti of the United States District Court, District of New Jersey and has been a key team member re: the depositions in the case as well as the science and efficacy of the drug. Mr. Drakulich has extensively worked in Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) settings in nationally prominent Multi-District Litigations (MDL’s) against the world’s largest pharmaceutical and medical device corporations. In addition to In re: Elmiron, Mr. Drakulich has worked at the direction and request of lead counsel in other MDL cases, including In Re: Actos (Pioglitazone) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 11- 2299 (United States District Court, Western District of Louisiana) and In Re: Incretin Mimetics Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2452, (United States District Court, Southern District of California). Mr. Drakulich has also worked on various state court coordinated proceedings, including cases in St. Louis, Missouri and the California Judicial Council Coordination Proceedings (JCCP). Mr. Drakulich is thankful to be an invited speaker at over twenty legal seminars across the country, including for years at the prestigious Annual Class Action / Complex Litigation Symposium held in New Orleans, Louisiana regarding the topics of federal preemption, the intersection of science and law, and the new standards for personal jurisdiction. Mr. Drakulich has also been an invited speaker at numerous HarrisMartin MDL Conferences, including in Chicago, Los Angeles, Napa, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tucson, and Washington, D.C., speaking on emerging tort litigation and other specialized topics in complex litigation. Mr. Drakulich is grateful for the awards and distinctions that he has received throughout his career, including: the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Civil Plaintiff Lawyers in California as well as previously Top 40 under 40 by the National Trial Lawyers, Super Lawyers Rising Star in both California and Nevada, AVVO’s highest rating of “Superb” (10.0 out of 10), and the Top 100 Attorneys in the State of Nevada by America’s Top 100 Attorneys. Mr. Drakulich graduated (cum laude) from the University of San Diego School of Law. Before entering law school, Mr. Drakulich was a high school teacher and working artist. He graduated (cum laude) with a B.A. degree from the College of Creative Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Mr. Drakulich endeavors to employ his creative skills and teaching background in law. Much like art, when handling a client’s case, Mr. Drakulich looks at it from every angle, reduces it to the simplest form and tries to think of the most compelling method to convey it to an audience.

Nicholas J. Drakulich

Founding Partner
The Drakulich Firm

Nicholas J. Drakulich is the Founder of THE DRAKULICH FIRM, A Professional Law Corporation, with offices in California and Nevada. Mr. Drakulich has been uniquely honored to have been appointed by several Federal Courts across the nation to serve as a member of Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee or Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in nationally prominent Multi-District Litigations (MDL’s) against the world’s largest pharmaceutical and medical device corporations, recovering several billions of dollars on behalf of injured consumers. Mr. Drakulich was also selected to be the lead trial counsel in several of these cases. Mr. Drakulich has earned a reputation as being a specialist in this field. Following a jury verdict against “the world’s largest medical technology company” , the trial counsel for this giant corporation, opined that Mr. Drakulich is an “exceptionally able, senior, seasoned litigator who was extremely well prepared and clearly spent considerable time and effort to ensure the best possible representation of his client.” Mr. Drakulich has also been honored to be selected as a Super Lawyer, a member of the National Trial Lawyers, The Million Dollar Advocates Forum, The Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. For many years, Mr. Drakulich has been consistently rated (“AV”) by Martindale Hubbell, America’s preeminent peer-reviewed lawyer rating service. He has been an invited speaker at several dozen legal seminars across the United States, including those sponsored by the AAJ, HarrisMartin, Mealey’s and numerous State Bar Associations. Mr. Drakulich focuses his practice in catastrophic personal injury, products liability, and mass torts. He has enjoyed a diverse and rewarding trial practice for more than thirty-five years having recovered several hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of his injured clients. Mr. Drakulich is proud to be a trial lawyer and humbled to champion his clients’ quest for justice.

Verdicts & Settlements

Mr. Drakulich is proud to have been one of the core members on the trial team together with Mark Lanier, Richard Arsenault, Paul Pennock, and Neil Overholtz in the Actos MDL that secured a historic verdict of over $9 Billion Dollars, which was reported to be the seventh largest punitive damages verdict in U.S. history. As one of the key team members of the Actos MDL, Mr. Drakulich worked exceptionally hard on the case from its inception to its successful conclusion, directly contributing to the ultimate $2.4 Billion Dollar settlement. In addition to his MDL work, Mr. Drakulich also successfully represented along with co-counsel nearly two thousand individuals against the manufacturers of spinal implants that were alleged to have caused serious injuries. These cases ultimately resulted in a confidential settlement following several years of protracted and intensive litigation.

Awards and Distinctions

For over 20 years, Mr. Drakulich has been consistently rated (“AV”) by Martindale Hubbell, America’s preeminent peer-reviewed lawyer rating service. This is the highest possible rating, indicating preeminent legal ability and the utmost ethical standards. Mr. Drakulich has also been selected as a member of the National Trial Lawyers. The National Trial Lawyers is “a national organization composed of the top 100 trial lawyers from each state. ” Membership is obtained through special invitation and is “extended only to those attorneys who exemplify superior qualifications of leadership, reputation, influence, stature, and profile as civil plaintiff or criminal defense trial lawyers. ” In addition, Mr. Drakulich has been selected as a member of The Million Dollar Advocates Forum, The Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, and Super Lawyers.

Community Activities

Mr. Drakulich has also been appointed by Federal Courts to serve as a member of the Common Benefit Attorney’s Fee & Costs Committees in MDL’s on more than one occasion. Mr. Drakulich was also especially pleased, as a member of a Common Benefit Attorney’s Fee & Costs Committee, to play a pivotal role in helping to secure a $1 million dollar donation to the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation from the settlement fund towards their device data base designed to track the performance of life-sustaining heart devices.

National Litigation Practice

Mr. Drakulich has been uniquely honored to have been appointed by several Federal Courts across the nation to serve on a small member team as a member of Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee or Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in nationally prominent Multi-District Litigations (MDL’s). These MDLs involve the claims of several thousands of plaintiffs from across the country who alleged were seriously injured and/or died as a result of unreasonably dangerous and defective pharmaceutical drugs or medical devices. Mr. Drakulich is proud to have been part of a talented team of attorneys who have successfully recovered over three billion dollars ($3,000,000,000.00) on behalf of these injured consumers. Mr. Drakulich was selected as the Leader of the trial teams in several of these MDLs. Each of these Federal Court appointments followed a competitive application process amongst numerous nationally recognized attorneys from across the United States. Mr. Drakulich prosecutes select cases in other jurisdictions in association with local counsel and serves as a consultant to foreign counsel in the prosecution of class action cases in Canada.

Federal Court National Appointments

In Re: Incretin Mimetics Product Liability Litigation MDL No. 2452, (United States District Court, Southern District of California); appointed by U.S. District Judge Anthony P. Battaglia to the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee. In Re: Actos (Pioglitazone) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 11- 2299 (United States District Court, Western District of Louisiana); appointed by U.S. District Judge Rebecca F. Doherty to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee. In Re: Medtronic, Inc. Implantable Defibrillators Product liability litigation, MDL No. 05-1726 (United States District Court, District of Minnesota); appointed by U.S. District Judge James M. Rosenbaum to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee. In Re: Guidant Corp. Implantable Defibrillators Product liability litigation, MDL No. 05-1708 (United States District Court, District of Minnesota); appointed by U.S. District Judge Donovan W. Frank to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee. In Re: Medtronic, Inc., Sprint Fidelis Leads Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 08-1905 (United States District Court, District of Minnesota); appointed by U.S. District Judge Richard H. Kyle to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee.

Recent Scholarly Lectures

Invited Speaker at the MDL Judicial Summit, in connection with Baylor University, presenting on a panel regarding the Selection of Plaintiff and Defense Steering Committees – Aspen, CO, 2023 Invited Speaker at the 5th Annual Western Alliance Bank Class Action Law Forum in Collaboration with the University of San Diego School of Law on a panel re: Assessing the Viability off a Mass Tort Litigation as well as on a panel re: Creating the Litigation Team – SanDiego, CA, 2023 Invited Speaker at HarrisMartin’s MDL Conference: Managing Mass Torts, Key Litigation Updates and Lessons Learned, presenting on a panel re: Game Changing Rules, including Daubert, Personal Jurisdiction, Preemption, Lone Pine Orders, and Proposed Amendments to the Federal Rules Providing Interlocutory Appeals from MDL Judge’s Orders – Tucson, AZ,2023 Invited Speaker at HarrisMartin’s MDL Conference: The Current Mass Tort Landscape, presenting on a panel re: Game Changing Rules, including Jurisdiction, Preemption, Lone Pine Orders, and Proposed Amendments to the Federal Rules – St. Louis, MO, 2022 Invited Speaker at HarrisMartin’s MDL Conference: ‘Bet-the-Company’ Mass Tort Litigation, Current Activity and Developing Trends, (postponed due to Covid-19), San Francisco, CA, 2020 Invited Speaker at 19th Annual Class Action/Complex Litigation Symposium re: the topic of Game Changing Rulings – New Orleans, LA, 2019 Invited Speaker at HarrisMartin’s MDL Conference: HIV Drugs, Valsartan, 3M Earplugs and Litigating in a Post-Fosamax World on a panel with the Hon. David R. Herndon (Ret.) re: the topic of “Mass Tort ‘Death Penalty’ Issue – Preemption in a Post-Fosamax World” – Portland, OR, 2019 Invited Speaker at HarrisMartin’s MDL Conference: The Significance of Proposed Rule Changes in MDL Procedures & Valsartan re: the topic of Preemption Landscape – Waiting on Fosamax with the Hon. David R. Herndon – Miami, FL, 2019 Invited Speaker at HarrisMartin’s MDL Conference: Critical Developments in Mass Torts, MDLs, and Game-Changing Jurisprudence re: the topic of Mass Tort “Death Penalty” Issues – Key Recent Developments, including Jurisdiction, Preemption, and Daubert – New Orleans, LA, 2019 Invited Speaker at HarrisMartin’s MDL Conference: An Analysis of Today’s Mass Tort Landscape re: the topic of High Stakes Issues: 2018 in Review, including Jurisdiction: Personal/Subject Matter, Preemption: Express/Implied, and Daubert: Keys to a Successful Challenge – Washington D.C., 2019 Invited Speaker at HarrisMartin’s MDL Conference: Current Mass Torts from E-Discovery Through Exit Strategies – Navigating “Game-Changing” Dynamics re: the topic of Key Mass Tort Procedural Issues, including Recent FRCP Amendments, and Witnesses Appearing via Satellite Transmission – New York, NY, 2018 Invited Speaker at 18th Annual Class Action/Complex Litigation Symposium re: the topic of Plaintiffs’ Steering Committees: Views from the Bench and Trench on a panel with Mark Lanier, Mark Robinson, Kathryn Snapka, and Paul Pennock – New Orleans, LA, 2018 Invited Speaker and Moderator at HarrisMartin’s MDL Conference: The Mass Tort Litigation Landscape – A Critical Analysis, re: the topic of Navigating Game Changing Dynamics, including Jurisdictional Landscape Following BMS and Recent Preemption Rulings – Napa, CA, 2018 Invited Speaker at HarrisMartin’s MDL Conference: ‘Bet-the-Company’ Mass Tort Litigation re: the topic of Game-Changing Complex Litigation Developments, including Post BMS Jurisdictional Landscape, Multi-Plaintiff Trials, Preemption, Deposing CEOs, Spoliation, and Testimony via Satellite at Trial – Chicago, IL, 2018 Invited Speaker at HarrisMartin’s MDL Conference: Opioid, Equifax & Talcum Powder re: the topic of Jurisdictional Landscape Post-SCOTUS Bristol-Myers Decision – St. Louis, MO, 2017 Invited Speaker at 17th Annual Class Action/Complex Litigation Symposium re: the topic of Preemption – New Orleans, LA, 2017 Invited Speaker and Moderator at HarrisMartin’s MDL Conference: ‘Bet-the-Company’ Mass Tort Litigation re: the topic of Medtronic Infuse Litigation – Chicago, IL, 2016 Invited Speaker at 16th Annual Class Action/Complex Litigation Symposium re: the topic of Recent Preemption Activity; Drugs, Devices, & Generics – New Orleans, LA, 2016 Invited Speaker at HarrisMartin’s MDL Conference: Zofran, Bard IVC and Zimmer Persona Knee Litigation re: the topic of Medtronic Infuse Litigation Update – San Francisco, CA, 2015 Invited Speaker at HarrisMartin’s MDL Conference: Xarelto, Morcellators and Emerging Torts re: the topic of INFUSE Bone Graft – San Diego, CA, 2015 Invited Speaker at HarrisMartin’s MDL Conference: Morcellator, Fluoroquinolone (FLQ) and Invokana Litigation re: the topic of INFUSE – New York, NY, 2015 Invited Speaker at 15th Annual Class Action/Complex Litigation Symposium re: the topic of Spoliation Game Changer in MDLs? – New Orleans, LA, 2015 Invited Speaker at the Kentucky Justice Association Annual Convention and Seminar re: the topic of Using E-Discovery to Expose Abhorrent Behavior – Cincinnati, OH, 2014 Invited Speaker at HarrisMartin’s CLE Summit on Major Developments in Drug & Medical Device Litigation. On panel with fellow core members of the trial team from $9 Billion Dollar Verdict in the Actos MDL, entitled, “ACTOS – Trial Update, Litigation Landscape, and Settlement News” – New Orleans, LA, 2014 Invited Speaker at 14th Annual Class Action/Complex Litigation Symposium re: the topic of Recent Preemption Activity; Drugs, Devices, & Generics – New Orleans, LA, 2014 Invited Speaker at the 2014 MDL Conference re: the topic of predictive Coding, ESI and Preservation Obligations, 2014 Invited Speaker at the 13th Annual Class Action/Complex Litigation Symposium re: the topic of Recent Preemption Activity; Drugs, Devices, & Generics – New Orleans, LA, 2013 Invited Speaker at HarrisMartin’s Complex Litigation Conference, on a panel with Judge Kenneth Starr and Professor Francis McGovern re: the topic of The Latest Preemption Battle – Chicago, IL, 2013 Invited Speaker at HarrisMartin’s MDL Conference: Transvaginal Mesh and Actos Litigation, providing a solo presentation on the topic of Preemption of Devices & Drugs: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly – Miami, FL, 2012 Invited Speaker at HarrisMartin’s Symposium: All Things Mass Tort re: the topic of Bard IVC Filter, 2012 Invited Speaker at HarrisMartin’s MDL Conference: Fungal Meningitis, Stryker Hip, Mirena IUD and More re: the topic of Bard IVC Filter – Dallas, TX, 2012 Invited Speaker at HarrisMartin’s MDL Conference: Pradaxa, Zoloft, Actos, Yaz and Everything MDL re: the topic of The Cutting Edge of ESI Protocols – Predictive Coding & Concept Searching – Cleveland, OH, 2012 Invited Speaker at HarrisMartin’s MDL Conference: Hot Topics in the MDL and Class Action Litigation re: the topic of Who is Paying Your Doctor? – The Learned Intermediary Doctrine – San Diego, CA, 2012 Invited Speaker at the 12th Annual Class Action/Mass Tort Symposium re: the topic of Professionalism in the Complex Litigation Landscape: Perspectives from the Bench and Bar – New Orleans, LA, 2012 Invited Speaker at HarrisMartin MDL Conference: Transvaginal Mesh and Actos re: the topic of Actos Litigation Status, Claims and Defenses, Savannah, GA, 2011 Invited Speaker at HarrisMartin’s Darvon and Hip Implant Litigation Conference: New Developments in These Emerging Mass Torts re: the topic of Past Claims and Pending Litigation, including Porter v. Zanodyne Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Differences/Similarities to Other Pharmaceutical Torts, and Rulings on the Liability of Generic Drug Manufacturers in Pliva v. Mensing and Conte v. Wyeth, together with Mark E. Burton, Jr. and Mark P. Robinson, Jr. – San Diego, CA, 2011 Invited Speaker at HarrisMartin’s MDL Conference: Zimmer NexGen Knee and DePuy Hip Implant Litigation re: the topic of Preemption/Mensing – San Francisco, CA, 2011 Invited Speaker at HarrisMartin’s Darvon and Darvocet Recall Litigation Conference re: the topic of Past Claims and Pending Litigation including Porter v. Xanodyne Pharmacueticals, Inc., Differences/similarities to Other Pharceutical Torts, and Rulings on the Liability of Generic Drug Manufacturers – New Orleans, LA, 2011 Invited Speaker at Scientific Evidence: Daubert, DNA & More Conference re: the topic of Daubert’s Application in Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Litigation, 2010 Invited Speaker at HarrisMartin’s Toyota Recall Litigation Conference Part II: Toyota Recall – Costa Mesa, CA, 2010 Invited Speaker at the 10th Annual Class Action/Mass Tort Symposium re: the topic of Preemption Presentation – New Orleans, LA, 2010 Invited Speaker at the 9th Annual Class Action/Mass Tort Symposium re: the topic of Preemption: What Survives, Where are We Headed, and What’s the Difference? – New Orleans, LA, 2009 Invited Speaker at the 8th Annual Class Action/Mass Tort Symposium re: the topic of Preemption: What Survives and Where are We Headed? A Timely Jurisprudential and Legislative Update – New Orleans, LA, 2008 Invited Speaker at Mealey’s Drug and Medical Device Litigation Conference re: the topic of Heart Device Litigation – Guidant/Medtronic & St. Jude Heart Devices – San Diego, CA, 2007

Paul Farrell Jr.

Principal
Farrell & Fuller Law

Paul Farrell leads the vanguard of the next generation of mass tort lawyers. A West Virginia native, he filed the first transvaginal mesh (TVM) cases in the country resulting in the formation of MDL2807 styled In re Pelvic Repairs System Product Liability Litigation in Charleston, West Virginia. Paul served as Plaintiffs’ Liaison for some 80,000 cases from across the country and trial counsel for the bellwethers. Since 2016, his practice has focused on the opioid litigation after filing some of the first public nuisance cases on behalf of political subdivisions from the Ohio River Valley. Paul was appointed Co-Lead Counsel of MDL 2804 styled In re National Prescription Opiate Litigation which has been described as the most complex mass tort in American jurisprudence. Paul is considered one of the architects of the case against the distributors of prescription opioids and served as lead trial counsel in the first bellwether trial brought on behalf of his hometown in Huntington, Cabell County, West Virginia. Paul is a co-founder of Farrell & Fuller, LLC, formed in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and recently designed and filed the first anti-trust cases against Google and Facebook on behalf of newspapers from across the country. Paul is married to his law school sweetheart, Jacqueline Farrell, and they are the proud parents of Connor, Cahley and Casey.

Yvonne Flaherty

Partner
Lockridge Grindal Nauen

Yvonne M. Flaherty focuses her practice on the representation of injured parties in complex litigation against pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, as well as class actions involving a variety of consumer and product defect claims. She has been appointed to serve as Lead Counsel in consolidated claims against national medical device manufacturers and serves on several Plaintiff Steering Committees on behalf of thousands of claimants in Multi District Litigation throughout the United States. Ms. Flaherty has also served on trial teams in two national class actions, both of which were tried to verdict. In Peterson v. BASF Corp., Ms. Flaherty was a member of the trial team who secured a substantial jury verdict for a nation-wide class of farmers seeking redress for violation of consumer protection statutes. She is a frequent speaker at national conferences concerning medical device and pharmaceutical litigation, including topics concerning mass tort litigation, preemption, electronic discovery, and the Learned Intermediary Doctrine. Yvonne M. Flaherty is a member of the American Association for Justice (“AAJ”) formerly ATLA, numerous AAJ committees, co-chairs the Electronic Discovery Committee, and is the past Chair of the Women’s Trial Lawyers Caucus. She also serves on the Minnesota Association for Justice Board of Governors and Executive Committee and is a member of the Minnesota State, Hennepin County and Federal Bar Associations.

Marc D. Grossman

Senior Partner
Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman

Marc D. Grossman is a Senior Partner at Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, LLC with decades of experience representing large groups of plaintiffs against major corporate defendants, including in the areas of environmental torts, medical claims, class actions and mass torts, both domestically and globally. Mr. Grossman has also produced five Broadway shows, and is co-owner of the Puerto Rican professional basketball team Mets de Guaynabo.

Bradley D. Honnold

Founding Partner
Goza & Honnold, LLC

Brad Honnold has more than 30 years of experience trying lawsuits and managing high stake litigation throughout the country. Brad has been recognized by his peers and clients for his outstanding work ethic and everlasting advocacy on behalf of his clients. When he takes on a case, Brad’s clients acquire the benefit of his seasoned legal experience, and extensive knowledge of the law, as well as his ready sense of humor. After graduating from the University of Iowa – College of Law, and before starting his own law firm, Brad was a partner at a large nationally known firm. He was a defense attorney from 1989 to 2004, representing hospitals, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and physicians in product liability and medical negligence litigation. In 2005 Brad made the switch to representing plaintiffs. He, along with his friend and law partner Kirk Goza, started Goza & Honnold, LLC. After working as a defense lawyer, Brad wanted to use his expertise to represent clients who had experienced an injury caused by medical malpractice. Because of his experience as a defense lawyer, Brad brings a different perspective to cases, and he felt a calling to do something different – something that would help people in their time of need. “I really just felt a calling to do something different,” he said. “There’s something very different about dealing with a person who has been injured or harmed in some way.” As a partner of Goza & Honnold, LLC, Brad focuses on medical negligence, pharmaceutical and prescription drugs, medical devices, and general personal injury cases. Since partnering and working on national litigations, Kirk and Brad have represented thousands of clients, including Vioxx, Bextra/Celebrex, Fleets Phospho Soda, Trans Vaginal Mesh, DePuy ASR, Zimmer Durom, Pradaxa, Fosamax, Actos, and Power Morcellator. Brad is a member of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, The Kansas Bar, The Missouri Bar, the U.S. District Court – District of Kansas, the U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri, and The Missouri Association of Trial Lawyers. He is also a member of the plaintiff’s steering committee in the federal multidistrict litigations (MDL) for Xarelto, Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI), JUUL Inc., and 3M Military Ear Plugs, as well as a co-chair of the discovery committee for the PPI and JUUL MDLs. As a frequent speaker addressing medical malpractice, trial practice, and product liability, he is dedicated to teaching how to get the best possible outcome. While practicing, Brad has been acknowledged by Super Lawyers in Kansas and Missouri, Best Lawyers in America, and has earned the Martindale-Hubbell AV rating for 20-plus years. He was named “Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers for Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs, Kansas City-KS and Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs, Kansas City-KS. He has also received awards from The Best Lawyers in America for work in Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs and Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs. Brad is recognized by his peers as hardworking and committed to his clients. He is endorsed by his colleagues, previous and past, on his work on mass torts, trials, and class action lawsuits. As a Kansas City resident for over 20 years, Brad spends his free time volunteering in his community. Currently, Brad is a member of and volunteers with St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, where he is a Vestry member, on the Rector Search Committee, on the Stewardship committee, and is a Sunday School teacher. For nine years, Brad served as a volunteer attorney at CASA of Jackson County, Missouri. He represented court-appointed special advocate guardians for children in Jackson County, Missouri Family Court abuse and neglect cases. He was also a board member focused on fundraising and volunteer recruitment training. Brad and his staff volunteer at Project 1020 – a cold-weather shelter in Olathe, Kansas. The team gathers meals and provides on-site staffing for the shelter. As Brad’s four sons were growing up, he also volunteered as a youth sports coach for Leawood Parks & Recreation, YMCA, 3&2 Baseball of Johnson County, Great American Basketball League, and Nall Hills Baseball. In his free time, Brad enjoys spending time with his wife, Colleen, and their four sons – Grant, William, Walter, and John Patrick.

John P. Hooper

Partner
King & Spalding LLP

John Hooper defends multinational companies in complex litigations, including a variety of commercial, product liability, financial services, false and misleading advertising and other consumer class actions where he has served as national, regional and/or strategic counsel. He provides clients with all-inclusive strategic litigation management and counseling services to mitigate the reputational and financial risk associated with high exposure, viral and bet-the-company litigations. John's advises companies to create and execute litigation and strategic resolution options in some of the largest, most complex class actions, commercial litigations and mass torts in federal and state courts. Hooper's experience ranges from trials and arbitrations to mediations and settlements, and all stages of a case, from prelitigation to appeal. John's clients include some of the world's largest manufacturers of automobiles, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, building materials, tires, sporting goods and apparel as well as retailers, railroads, hedge funds, life insurance companies, private equity firms, banks and other financial services institutions. Chambers noted that John Hooper is “24/7 responsive and very strategic” and “he thinks of end- game solutions in a way that other attorneys do not.” The Legal 500 United States has noted that, "John Hooper in New York is 'strongly recommended to anyone seeking a practical approach to managing complex litigation matters, particularly those with national scope.” John has just been recognized by the National Law Journal as one of its “50 Litigation Trailblazers” for his practice of advising multi-national clients on creating and implementing end game strategies in "Viral Litigations". The American Lawyer has recognized his skills in the management and resolution of "bet the company" litigation and as a "great master strategist." He has been nominated to the BTI "Client Service All-Star Team" for multiple years. He is also recognized in the Association of Corporate Counsel's 2014 Value Champion award. The New York Law Journal stated that John Hooper “has worked on some of the most high-profile litigation matters in the last decade.” He has also been appointed by the federal and state courts as a Special Master, Special Settlement Master and Special Arbitration Master. He has also been appointed as the Lead Defense Settlement Liaison Counsel in MDL and other federal and state class and mass actions. He is a member of the Academy of Court Appointed Special Masters. John is a frequent speaker in the United States and Canada on topics related to class and mass actions.

Evan M. Janush

Managing Attorney
The Lanier Law Firm

Evan M. Janush is the Managing Attorney of the New York office. Evan oversees the firm’s pharmaceutical and product liability mass tort litigation practice. He also oversees business litigation matters for The Lanier Law Firm’s New York office, and he is the practice group leader of the firm’s employment litigation practice. Recently, Evan has been in charge of third party discovery on behalf of the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in the Opioid Litigation (MDL 2804), and he has been one of the lead MDL attorneys overseeing the liability case against Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Noramco. Evan has significant experience representing clients in complex business litigation, pharmaceutical mass tort litigation, antitrust and class-action litigation, and representing employees in discrimination and whistleblower actions. Prior to joining The Lanier Law Firm, Mr. Janush practiced law at the firms of Weitz & Luxenberg and Jenkens & Gilchrist Parker Chapin. Evan is the proud father of three daughters and he lives in Westchester County with his wife, Debra. In his spare time, Evan enjoys his role as a stage actor with Westchester Collaborative Theater, as well as boating and snowboarding.

Robbert-Jan Kamstra

Managing Partner
Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman

Robbert-Jan, "RJ",  specializes in resolving complex commercial international disputes and collective actions. Before joining Milberg, he worked as a clerk in the commercial law section of the Amsterdam District Court, he joined the legal team of ASICS’ European headquarters and was part of the litigation department of Baker McKenzie. Robbert-Jan has registered general civil law (algemene praktijk, burgerlijk recht) as principal legal practice areas in the Netherlands Bar’s register of legal practice areas (rechtsgebiedenregister). RJ is the Managing Partner of Milberg Amsterdam where he focuses on environmental, PFAS and vehicle emissions cases.

Rayna Kessler

Partner
Robins Kaplan LLP

Rayna E. Kessler is a partner in the New York office of Robins Kaplan LLP. Her practice focuses on complex civil and multivenue litigation in a range ofmatters that span products liability, mass tort, medical malpractice, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and child sex abuse involving large institutions.She is admitted to practice in federal and state courts in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the ThirdCircuit.After earning her J.D. from Temple University School of Law, Rayna clerked for the Honorable Carol E. Higbee, J.A.D. and worked on several high-profilepharmaceutical and medical device matters, including In re: Pelvic Mesh Litigation, In re: Accutane Litigation, and In re: Vioxx Litigation. Since herclerkship, Rayna has dedicated her career to holding corporations and institutions accountable for the harm that they have caused her clients.Rayna is known for trailblazing new litigation, often being among the first to file in emerging mass tort litigations. Underpinning her work with cutting-edgeinvestigations, Rayna collaborates with a wide network of well-established experts across the country, as well as other plaintiffs’ lawyers, to developcreative and successful litigation strategies for her clients.An experienced complex civil litigator, Rayna has served in court-appointed lead liaison counsel roles in several New Jersey Multicounty Litigations,including In re: Benicar (Olmesartan Medoxomil) New Jersey Multicounty Litigation, Case No. 299; In re: Abilify, Case No. 626; and In re: TaxotereLitigation, Case No. 628. On the MDL front, Rayna served as the State/Federal Coordination Chairperson for the Plaintiff Steering Committee in the In re:Benicar (Olmesartan) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2606. In addition, Rayna served as the State/Federal Coordination Chairperson for the PlaintiffSteering Committee in the In re: Benicar (Olmesartan) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2606.When the law changed in New Jersey and New York to allow survivors to bring claims that were previously time barred, Rayna was honored to begin representing survivors of child sex abuse against large institutions, including the Catholic Church, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Boy Scouts of America.Rayna is no stranger to how powerful interests have dissuaded those who are most injured from coming forward, and how courageous our clients are tos eek to protect others. Rayna is trained in trauma-informed advocacy to ensure that her representation provides transparency, predictability, client empowerment, reliability, and proactive support for all her clients.For her achievements in representing individuals, Rayna has been recognized both as a New Leader of the Bar and as a Top Woman in Law by the NewJersey Law Journal, and she was named a New York Metro Rising Star by Super Lawyers in 2021 and 2022.Rayna is also committed to preserving access to justice through active involvement with nonprofit advocacy organizations. Currently, Rayna serves as anExecutive Committee Board Member and Chair of the Case Development/Special Projects Committee for Public Justice, the country’s leading nationalnonprofit consumer legal advocacy organization. Rayna is also actively involved with American Association for Justice (AAJ) as a Section & LitigationGroup Coordination Committee and Membership Oversight Committee Member. Rayna also volunteers her time as a Founding Board and ExecutiveCommittee Member for the anti-human trafficking nonprofit, Collective Liberty.Understanding the importance of collaboration and collegiality among our bar, Rayna hosts plaintiff attorney networking events in New York City that invite plaintiff lawyers to learn about each other’s practices and foster a referral network.

Robert Kinsman

Co-Founder, Attorney
Krause and Kinsman

Robert L. Kinsman serves to bring large-scale results to a wide arrange of clients. Robert has been at the forefront of some of the most unique cases in the country. He plays a significant leadership role in each of his cases, whether it be case investigation and development, science and expert development, bellwether selection, settlement negotiation and coordination, trial and trial preparation, or briefing case-defining motions and case management orders. His peers often see him as a multi-purpose, versatile advocate that is always ready to jump in and help on any task so his clients are able to find a just and fair result. Robert’s recent appointments have been to the Executive Committee in the Camp Lejeune Water Litigation – EDNC 7:23-cv-00897; Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee as the Co-Chair of the Law & Briefing Committee in MDL 2846: In Re: Davol, Inc./C.R. Bard, Inc., Polypropylene Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation; and, Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in MDL 2974: In Re: Paragard IUD Products Liability Litigation.

Dedication to Client Success

Robert practices throughout the country litigating mass tort and complex litigation cases involving environmental disasters, defective products, and pharmaceuticals. His trial experience encompasses civil cases as well as felony criminal prosecutions. Along with developing and executing winning litigation strategies, Robert has managed some of the largest dockets of cases in the country from client sign-up thru settlement. Tens of thousands of clients have entrusted Krause & Kinsman with their stories. Scores of co-counsel and referral law firms have called Krause & Kinsman their partners.

Client-First Approach

The clients that choose Krause & Kinsman come from near and far. Robert, and his firm as a whole, take extreme pride in representing the people that choose Krause & Kinsman as their advocates. Robert’s firm has a strong belief in the motto “No Client Left Behind.” Krause & Kinsman has developed some of the most innovative client relations systems in the legal space. Krause & Kinsman consistently looks for ways to improve the client relationship to better tell their individual stories. Robert’s knack for knowing and understanding his individual client’s stories has paved the way for his clients to routinely be selected as lead bellwether plaintiffs in major, national litigations. He finds the most joy advocating for the people that put their faith and trust in him.

Life Beyond the Law

Outside of law, Robert enjoys traveling and cooking with his beautiful wife (Ali) and daughters (Leighton and Scarlett). In college, Robert was close to transferring to culinary school. His favorite recipes center around flavorful pastas and perfectly grilled meats. Robert and his family call Puerto Rico home. They love all of the natural beauty, vibrant culture, delicious cuisine, and friendly community that Puerto Rico offers. Sunscreen is a must!

Gary Klinger

Senior Partner
Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman

Gary Klinger is one of the most well-known and respected data privacy attorneys in the United States, settling more than thirty class actions involving privacy violations as lead or co-lead counsel. In addition, Mr. Klinger is well-versed in both sides of class action litigation. Working with several big firms, serving as defense for Fortune 100 clients, he eventually discovered he wanted to join the plaintiff’s side of the practice. As Milberg Senior Partner, his privacy practice includes: data breaches, ransomware attacks, unlawful collection and/or disclosure of personal information, and violations of privacy statutes and/or laws, such as the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, Illinois Genetic Information Privacy Act, California Consumer Privacy Act, California Medical Information Act, Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and General Data Protection Regulation. Mr. Klinger also represents consumers in class actions and mass arbitration for claims involving false advertising, defective products, consumer fraud, violations of the antitrust laws, and other torts. He has won hundreds of millions of dollars for his clients. In 2025, Mr. Klinger was recognized among Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Litigators in America for the second consecutive year. In 2024, he was featured in the Chambers & Partners nationwide guide for his esteemed contributions to Privacy & Data Security Litigation. Currently, he is pursuing his Masters of Laws (LLM) in Data Privacy and Cybersecurity from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.

Ari Kresch

Founder & Chief Visionary Officer
1-800-LAW-FIRM

Ari Kresch is the founder of 1-800-LAW-FIRM and has been on the national radar during most of his 45 years practicing law. His visionary approach to the business of law has set him apart by being the first national advertiser, the first intake center run by trained paralegals, the first law firm to use artificial intelligence to qualify prospective clients, the first law firm to brand itself using a toll-free vanity number, the first transplanted law firm from the mainland to choreograph class action lawsuits in Puerto Rico and the second mass-tort law firm to move to Puerto Rico. His progressive approach to legal partnerships has allowed him and his partner firms to aggregate the highest quality dockets in the industry, in addition to designing unique and creative causes of action to protect our sacred environment and go after those who contaminate and destroy it in the name of profits.

Mark Lanier

Attorney & Founder
The Lanier Law Firm

Mark Lanier is consistently recognized as one of the top civil trial lawyers in America. Best known as a zealous advocate for individuals in personal injury and product liability claims against major corporations, Mark brings passion, creativity and an unparalleled ability to connect with juries in courtrooms across the nation. During the past 30 years, Mark has taken on some of the biggest challenges in the legal field. In doing so, he has achieved some of the largest verdicts in history, accomplishments that have changed business practices to protect the public and have gained justice for the victims of dangerous drugs, medical devices, and other consumer products. In addition, he has successfully represented a select number of clients in claims involving fraud, breach of contract and other forms of business litigation.

Sarah Lanier

Attorney
The Lanier Law Firm

Sarah Lanier is a graduate of the University of Texas School of Law and is now an attorney at the Lanier Law Firm. Sarah’s practice areas include personal injury, toxic torts, mass torts, products liability, and pharmaceutical liability. She worked on Ingham v. Johnson & Johnson et al in Missouri State Court, where the Lanier Law Firm represented 22 women who suffered from and/or died from ovarian cancer caused by talcum powder exposure and played a role in obtaining the unanimous $4.6 billion verdict on behalf of the plaintiffs.

Linda Lipsen

Chief Executive Officer
American Association for Justice (AAJ)

Ms. Lipsen was named Chief Executive Officer of the American Association for Justice (AAJ), formerly known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA), in April 2010. She joined the organization in 1993 to direct AAJ’s Public Affairs department. Ms. Lipsen has led the trial lawyers’ highly regarded Washington lobby team and successfully fought back efforts that would limit access to America’s courts and make it impossible for the victims of negligence or willful wrongdoing to be fairly compensated for harm. She has directed countless legislative campaigns on behalf of a host of issues including patient, worker, and investor protections. Ms. Lipsen has received prominent recognition and numerous awards for her advocacy on behalf of injured Americans, including, among others, the “Senator Paul Wellstone Award” from U.S. Action, the “Esther S. Weissman Eternal Optimism Award” from Workers’ Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), and the Marie Lambert Award. She is regularly recognized in leading Capitol Hill and legal publications such as The National Law Journal as one of Washington’s most influential women lawyers, The Hill as a top lobbyist in recognition of her outstanding professional achievement, and Roll Call as one of Washington’s most effective lobbyists. Following the tragedy of September 11th, she led the fight for enactment of a compensation program for the victims of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The September 11th Victims Compensation Fund established by Congress allowed thousands of families to recover compensation for the loss of their loved ones. Following enactment of the Fund, Ms. Lipsen’s leadership helped ATLA establish, Trial Lawyers Care, the nation’s largest-ever pro-bono legal representation program. Prior to joining AAJ, Ms. Lipsen directed the legislative advocacy program for Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports. In that capacity, she represented consumers on Capitol Hill on a host of issues including antitrust, insurance reform and health care. Ms. Lipsen earned her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin and her J.D. from the Antioch School of Law.

Victoria Maniatis

Senior Partner
Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman

Vicki's plan to become a lawyer started in third grade when she decided to confront the class bully. That tenacity for taking on big dogs for underdogs never stopped. It was only natural that her practice led to focusing on plaintiffs' pharma and environmental litigation. One of the original founders of Mass Tort Med School, Vicki is proud to see the program mature and grow into one of the "go to" events of the year, even better teamed with Trial Lawyers of Puerto Rico. Vicki spends her free time triathlon training and watching her son Alex, now a junior in high school, play baseball. Her dream is to one day own a brewery.

Tobi Millrood

Partner
Kline & Specter, PC

Tobi L. Millrood, a partner, joined the firm to chair its Mass Tort Department. Millrood is a national leader in the trial bar and has 25 years of complex litigation experience, including in court-appointed leadership positions, and has won a number of major jury verdicts in complex litigation. His focus is on pharmaceutical, medical device and complex personal injury litigation. Most recently, in October 2023, Millrood was co-counsel in a case that resulted in a $175 million verdict against Monsanto Co. for an elderly Philadelphia man who was diagnosed with cancer after years of using the company's herbicide Roundup. The verdict in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court was the bellwether case among hundreds awaiting trial in the Philadelphia mass tort program over Roundup. The verdict included $150 million in punitive damages. (Read article) Millrood is past president of the world’s largest trial bar, the American Association for Justice (AAJ), where he completed his term in July 2021 and currently serves as Immediate Past President. As a result of his leadership within AAJ, Millrood has received numerous awards including Distinguished Service, Heavy Lifting and the prestigious President’s Award in 2015. In addition, Millrood has won many accolades and enjoys a national reputation in the field of mass torts. He has been named among the best attorneys in Pennsylvania by Super Lawyers* every year since 2009, including for 2024. Among his numerous highlights in the field of prescription drug and medical device litigation is his perseverance and success against Wyeth, Pfizer and numerous other Fortune 100 companies in the landmark Hormone Therapy litigation. In 2002, Millrood was the first in the nation to file a Hormone Therapy lawsuit and he dedicated the next twelve years to the litigation, serving as Plaintiffs’ Lead Liaison Counsel for the matter in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, presiding over thousands of cases. He also served on the plaintiffs’ executive committee In Re Prempro Products Liability, and was chair of the AAJ Hormone Therapy Litigation Group. Millrood tried four hormone therapy cases, winning jury verdicts in all four, including those of $72.6 million and $34.3 million. He also played a major contributing role in critical appellate victories in the litigation, ranging from the state courts of Pennsylvania and Minnesota, to the U.S. Eighth Circuit. He also served in numerous court-appointed leadership positions in other pharmaceutical and medical device cases, including co-Lead counsel in In re Zofran (Ondansetron) Products Liability Litigation MDL 2657, and as co-lead counsel in In re Zimmer Nexgen Knee Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2272. Millrood was named a co-lead counsel in Pennsylvania opioid litigation, Del. Cty. vs Purdue Pharma, et al. Working in combination with leaders both locally and nationwide, Millrood served on a leadership team that produced a settlement that can bring more than $1 billion to Pennsylvania municipalities and communities devastated by the opioid epidemic. In addition, he has served in other court-appointed leadership positions, including the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committees of In re Stryker Rejuvenate Hip Stem and ABG Modular Hip Litigation, Bergen County, N.J., and In re Consolidated Fresenius Cases in Superior Court in Massachusetts, where in both he was also appointed as Discovery Chair. Millrood is often called upon within mass tort litigation for his strategic planning and discovery architecture. He is a frequent speaker at various seminars on the topics of Mass Tort Litigation, Expert Witnesses, Direct and Cross-Examination, Closing and Rebuttal at Trial, the Ethics of Settling Mass Tort Cases, Trial Strategies and Electronic Discovery. Millrood has testified before the Federal Civil Rules Committee on proposed rule changes and has authored numerous comments to the Rules Committee and Subcommitee on MDL litigation. He is an invited lecturer at University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and an invited trial team coach at the Tulane Law School. Earlier in his , Millrood garnered several notable achievements and verdicts, including serving as co-counsel in a $22 million medical malpractice verdict, among the largest in state history at that time. Millrood is a member of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice Board of Governors and the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Board of Directors. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, the federal District of New Jersey, the U.S. Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Third Circuit. Millrood earned his bachelor’s degree from Tulane University and his law degree from the University of Tulsa College of Law.

James Murdica

Partner
Barnes & Thornburg LLP

Jim Murdica is the chairman of Barnes & Thornburg’s Product Liability and Mass Torts practice. 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. 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. Jim has coordinated the resolution of some of the largest mass torts of the last decade and counsels clients on product liability due diligence related to potential acquisitions and divestitures. Since 2016, he has been recognized by Chambers USA for his work in product liability and mass tort in the nationwide category. In Chambers, clients describe Jim as having "an 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."

Paul Napoli

Founding Member, Partner
Napoli Shkolnik

Paul J. Napoli brings more than 31 years of legal experience to his primary areas of practice, including governmental affairs, environmental law and mass tort litigation. He is widely recognized as one of the country’s top litigators, having successfully led numerous high-profile cases such as the World Trade Center litigation, the Flint Water Crisis and claims brought on behalf of local cities and states involving the Opioid Epidemic. Paul is well-known for his ability to oversee large-scale complex cases involving large multi-billion-dollar corporations, including contamination caused by PFAS, also known as ‘forever chemicals’. Notably in the AFFF litigation affecting America’s public water systems, Paul has succesfully negotiated settlements over $15 billion with defendants to date. He is annually selected to the invitation-only Super Lawyers® list and is recommended as a leading lawyer by Best Lawyers in America, Lawyers of Distinction and Legal 500 US. Mr. Napoli serves on the Board of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, was named to Law360’ s 2024 Editorial Boards in the Product Liability Category and was chosen as a recipient of Law360’ s 2024 MVP Awards: Environmental.

Marie Napoli

Founding Member, Partner
Napoli Shkolnik

Ms. Napoli continues to be at the forefront of complex litigation nationwide and has been appointed to leadership roles in various state and federal multi-district case. She is a leading media commentator and author on topics ranging from mass torts to workplace discrimination. For her work, she has been industry and peer recognized, notably Ms. Napoli was named to National Trial Lawyers Women’s Rights Top 10.

Coral Odiot-Rivera

Partner
Napoli Shkolnik

Ms. Odiot’s practice primarily focuses on environmental class actions and mass tort litigations. As a Partner, she played an integral role in the negotiation of the two landmark settlements for $12.5 billion and $1.185 billion with 3M and DuPont, Chemours and Corteva in the AFFF Multi-District Litigation. She also leads several environmental litigations representing individuals and entities nationwide affected by air, soil, and/or water contamination encompassing a wide spectrum of hazardous substances, including lead, per- and polyfluoroakyl substances (PFAS), 1,4-Dioxane, and smelter plant by-products. Coral graduated cum laude from the Interamerican University School of Law where she also was Editor in Chief of the school’s Law Review. She began her career clerking for the Hon. Anabelle Rodríguez Rodríguez, Associate Justice for the Puerto Rico Supreme Court (2012). After clerking for the Supreme Court, she worked as a legal advisor for the Civil Rights, Democratic Participation and Social Economy Committee of the Senate of Puerto Rico. Prior to joining her current firm, Coral was a legal advisor for the Independent Consumer Protection Office (“ICPO”) representing the Puerto Rico energy consumer in matters before the Puerto Rico Energy Commission and Puerto Rico courts. As a legal advisor for the ICPO, Coral became knowledgeable in matters of Energy and Environmental Law and was given a scholarship by the National Conference of Regulatory Attorneys for a Georgetown Law Course about Regulating Public Utility Performance.

Gale Pearson

Attorney
Nachawati Law Group

For more than 25 years, Gale Pearson has represented thousands of plaintiffs in a range of complex litigation, from environmental law to pharmaceutical litigation to Qui Tam prosecution. Before receiving her Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School, Gale attended California State University, where she studied laboratory medicine, physics, and chemistry. She spent years working in the Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center and is a nationally recognized clinical laboratory scientist. As such, Gale plays a substantial role in Nachawati Law Group’s representation of those harmed by environmental polluters, as well as the bad acts of the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Throughout her career, Gale has played a pivotal role in several MDL litigations, serving on science committees or, as in the case of a Certified Class Action against Phillip Morris, Co., and its parent company, as lead counsel. In United States Absher v. Momence Meadows Nursing Center Inc., she served as co-lead counsel and helped achieve a substantial verdict for her clients. In addition, she was asked to serve as Plaintiff’s liaison counsel in the Minnesota State Medtronic Cases and was appointed to the same position in the Minnesota State Guidant Cases. A member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Gale’s legal success has earned her peer recognition across the country. In 2003, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer presented her with the Outstanding Pro Bono Service Award for her work with the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. In 2005, she was recognized by Forbes Magazine as among America’s top attorneys, and she has been named to the Minnesota Super Lawyers list by Thomson Reuters from 2015-2019. Gale is frequently invited to speak on scientific issues related to pharmaceuticals, as well as complex interstate civil procedures.

John M. Restaino, Jr.

Senior Partner
Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman

Mr. John M. Restaino, Jr. joins Milberg as a Senior Partner working out of the Encinitas, California area. A non-practicing podiatric surgeon and an attorney with over 30 years of experience, Mr. Restaino focuses on Mass Tort and Medical Malpractice cases. Mr. Restaino practiced podiatric surgery from 1980 until 1990 after graduating from California College of Podiatric Medicine and magna cum laude from Farleigh Dickinson University. In 1991, he began the practice of law after receiving his J.D. from Western State College of Law. Relying on his unique experience and perspective, Mr. Restaino enjoys looking “outside the box” in the development of specific aspects of litigation, including the science pertaining to each litigation, the development of expert witnesses, and the cross-examination of defense expert witnesses. Mr. Restaino received his Master of Public Health degree from the Division of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. An Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy, he actively conducts pharmacovigilance and pharmacoepidemiology. He frequently lectures at legal seminars and has been invited to lecture at the University of South Carolina, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern College of Medicine, and Harvard. Outside the office, Mr. Restaino enjoys martial arts and holds a Black Belt in Kenpo karate and a 2nd degree Black Belt in Okinawan karate. He is a two-time winner in the Kenpo Internationals Black Belt Heavyweight division/senior division. He also enjoys SCUBA diving and holds an “Instructor” rating from the North American Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI). He is both Dive Master and Rescue Diver qualified, having previously taught Dive Medicine at the NAUI College in Laguna Niguel, California.

Hunter Shkolnik

Founding Member, Partner
Napoli Shkolnik

Hunter J. Shkolnik leads the discovery and trial teams of various mass tort litigations, including pharmaceutical and medical device litigations for Napoli Shkolnik. He is also active in managing national litigation and plaintiff litigation groups including for the American Association for Justice. Mr. Shkolnik is currently serving as a chairman, leader, or court-appointed representative on Plaintiff Steering Committees in various drug and other mass torts, including the MultiPlan Health Insurance Provider Litigation, the Self-Funded Payer Track Insulin Pricing Litigation, and National Prescription Opiate Litigation. He also regularly lectures and organizes seminars on issues involving Environmental Risk and PFAS, Healthcare Litigation, and Ethical Considerations in Mass Tort Litigation. Hunter is a legal and political news analyst with extensive experience in areas such as civil and criminal law as well as election-related issues.

Matthew J Sill

Attorney
Fulmer Sill

Matthew J. Sill focuses his practice on pharmaceutical and medical device mass torts, catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, and class action litigation. He is frequently selected for leadership positions among large groups of attorneys representing hundreds or thousands of injured parties. Matt currently represents over 75 cities, counties, and tribes in the nationwide opioid litigation, In Re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation, MDL No. 2804, Case No. 17-md-02804. Matt also recently filed the first case in Oklahoma regarding the marketing and sale of JUUL, In Re: Juul Labs, Inc. Marketing, Sales Practices, and Product Liability Litigation. Matt regularly accepts invitations for faculty positions and speaking engagements at seminars and continuing legal education programs. He has lectured in numerous locations, including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, New York, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, and Texas, with programs typically being attended by lawyers from several other jurisdictions. He was chosen to co-chair HarrisMartin Publishing’s 2013 CAT Flood and Windstorm Litigation Conference. In the practice area of pharmaceutical and medical device litigation, Matt has been a featured instructor or moderator at educational programs devoted to Actos®, GranuFlo®, Topamax®, pre-emption in generic drug cases, and several other topics. He authors a number of articles, and up-to-date information on relevant publications and published legal opinions are available by request from admin@fulmersill.com. Representing plaintiffs with cases pending in several different jurisdictions, Matt’s ability to practice pro hac vice is often based on the recommendation and sponsorship of local attorneys. See; e.g., MDL 2244, In Re: DePuy Hip Implant Litigation; MDL 2738, In Re: Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Products Liability Litigation. He is fully admitted to practice in the State of Oklahoma (2007), where out-of-state lawyers often retain him as local counsel for high-profile matters ranging from product liability to securities and antitrust. See; e.g., In Re: Chesapeake Energy Derivative Litigation. Matt has successfully helped families and individuals involved in opioid litigation, diabetes drug litigation, birth control litigation, gadolinium-based contrast dye litigation, hip replacement litigation, fentanyl pain patch litigation, heart defibrillator lead litigation, Las Vegas hepatitis litigation, Chinese drywall litigation, hormone replacement therapy litigation, denture cream litigation, heart surgery products litigation, dialysis products litigation, and aircraft crash litigation, to mention only a few.

Melissa K. Sims

Senior Counsel
Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman

As Senior Counsel at Milberg, Melissa Sims maintains her own practice in Illinois with offices in Chicago and downstate. She represents communities nationally, helping them seek redress for public nuisance, using her vast experience as a municipal trial lawyer. Ms. Sims was born and raised in a small town in North Central Illinois. After graduating from college at Illinois State University and while attending law school, she worked as a part time employee at the Bureau County Sheriff’s Department and as a legal advocate for the local domestic violence sexual assault shelter, Freedom House. She received an appointment from the Illinois Supreme Court and volunteered license to practice law while in law school, prosecuting traffics and misdemeanor cases to gain experience in the courtroom. After graduating from Northern Illinois University College of Law in DeKalb, Ms. Sims joined the Wimbiscus Law Firm in Spring Valley, Illinois. There, she represented units of local government including sheriffs, counties, cities, villages, school districts, zoning boards, and townships. Ms. Sims has been engaged in the general practice of law for more than twenty years. Her representation of clients has encompassed every possible facet of law: banking, hospitals, corporate, not-for-profit, tax, divorce, child support, probate/estate, trust, real estate, probate, civil rights, patent infringement, criminal, and municipal law. She has drafted municipal legislation and has represented units of local government in trial, appellate, and federal courts. She once argued a precedent setting probate case before the Illinois Supreme Court. Ms. Sims prosecuted hundreds of municipal ordinance violations for the towns she represented. The late William J. Wimbiscus, Jr., began practicing municipal law in 1950; Ms. Sims learned from his vast experience in her municipal practice. As a tenacious municipal prosecutor, Ms. Sims utilized a local ordinance against Exxon, CBS and Viacom for a Superfund site for one of her municipal clients. In that case, she set national precedent before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals on whether a non-home rule unit of local government could exercise its nuisance powers during the course of a Superfund cleanup. Following this case, Ms. Sims represented the Village of Roxana, Illinois, against Shell and Conoco Phillips using her DePue precedent and fined the polluters for every lot, street, and alley which contained benzene from the refinery. Both cases settled. Ms. Sims has served for ten years on the board of directors of Freedom House, also having been its President. She volunteers for local not-for-profits and religious organizations. She also serves as a director on the board of a local bank. She is licensed in Illinois.

Shean Williams

Managing Attorney Atlanta
The Cochran Firm

Dedicated to battling injustice, Shean Williams is an accomplished trial attorney who prides himself on his strong work ethic and determination. Williams excels at persuading the jury to be protectors of their own community as they also correct the injustice to his clients. For the last 20 years, Mr. Williams has earned a formidable reputation for successfully obtaining verdicts and settlements totaling more than $150 million – in cases involving trucking and automobile collisions, medical malpractice, negligent security, maritime injuries, civil rights and police brutality, and medical devices and pharmaceutical litigation. Williams is also nationally renowned for his expertise in commercial vehicle litigation. His command of the motor carrier regulations and standards have led to record verdicts in trucking cases across several states. In fact, Williams led his firm’s legal team when winning a substantial $22 million verdict – the largest amount of compensatory wrongful death damages ever awarded in the state of Georgia, in a trucking case. Eight figure verdicts are not rare for Williams. In 2016, he obtained a $20.5 million verdict against Emory University – stemming from a wrongful death where a 23-year-old man died, as a result of a botched sleep study. He also led a trial team that was awarded a $17.5 million verdict against Grady Memorial Hospital for a young man who suffered brain damage during an elective surgery. In another record-breaking win, Williams received the largest settlement from a Georgia municipality, for a police brutality case where the civil rights of Kathryn Johnston were violated. These victories were all featured in The National Law Journal’s TOP 100 Verdicts.

Alexander Wolf

Senior Associate
Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman

Mr. Alexander Wolf is known for his ability to develop complex legal arguments and achieve favorable results in consumer class action and business litigation. He is an innovative, strategic lawyer, a skilled legal writer, and advocate. He joins Milberg as a Senior Associate with a focus on class action litigation. Prior to joining Milberg, Mr. Wolf was a litigator at DLA Piper LLP and Akin Gump Straus Hauer & Feld LLP in Los Angeles for over eight years where he represented public and private companies in consumer class actions and other complex commercial disputes. His practice included counseling Apple, Danone, Chipotle, Bayer, and other companies across the food and beverage, consumer electronics, and hospitality sectors in false advertising, unfair competition, and data privacy matters. His experience extends from obtaining complete pretrial victories to defending favorable judgments on appeal. Building upon this perspective, Mr. Wolf turned his focus to representing aggrieved consumers in class action litigation. In addition to his law practice, Mr. Wolf is a proud husband and father of a wonderful daughter. He enjoys mixed martial arts and fantasy sports.