2025 Mass Torts Puerto Rico Speakers

Aaron Heckaman

Partner
Bailey, Cowan, Heckaman PLLC

Aaron graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Information and Operation Management. He then attended South Texas College of Law, where he represented the school in the mock trial program, and served as an associate editor for the Corporate Counsel Review. Prior to joining the firm, Aaron worked for two nationally recognized trial law firms. Aaron has been selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers (2021), in addition to being named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers (2010, 2019-2020), a Thomson Reuters publication and was selected to Rue Ratings’ Best Attorneys of America (2016). He is a member of the National Association of Distinguished Counsel, the American Academy of Trial Attorneys, and the Texas Bar College.

Adam Levitt

Partner
Dicello Levitt

Adam Levitt is one of the nation’s leading advocates for plaintiffs in complex, multidistrict, class action, public client, mass tort, and commercial litigation. Drawing on his extensive experience pursuing and obtaining justice for those who have been wronged by powerful defendants, he co-founded DiCello Levitt to create a top-tier complex issues and trial firm founded on excellence, trust, and respect—where every team member’s voice and talents are valued. In his decades-long career, Adam has scored numerous significant and precedent-setting victories, delivering more than $20 billion in recoveries to clients in biotechnology, financial services, securities, insurance coverage, consumer protection, automotive defects, agricultural products, and antitrust disputes. His reputation for innovatively taking on tough cases has led to his appointment to leadership positions in many historic and headline-grabbing litigations, including three of the largest biotechnology class actions in U.S. history, where he served as co-lead counsel, helped recover more than $1.7 billion on behalf of plaintiffs, and created a game-changing economic model to measure crop contamination damages that set the modern industry standard. He was also retained by multiple State Attorneys General to hold some of the world’s largest chemical companies accountable for widespread environmental contamination from their “forever chemicals” known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). Also, as part of a leadership group characterized as a “class action dream team,” Adam helped secure a $16 billion settlement in litigation arising from Volkswagen’s emissions scandal, and, in a rare class action trial, he and his fellow co-lead counsel secured a milestone $102.6 million jury verdict against General Motors for hiding engine defects from consumers. Adam is also a leader in the legal profession and a frequent speaker on multidistrict litigation, consumer protection, automotive litigation, biotechnology, corporate governance, securities litigation, and internet privacy. Nationally recognized as an authority on class action litigation, Adam writes a monthly class action column in The National Law Journal, has testified before the Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee on class action practice, and chairs an annual class action litigation conference in Chicago. As a founding partner of DiCello Levitt, Adam has cultivated a diverse roster of skilled litigators to advance the cause of justice for individuals, businesses, and public clients. The firm’s attorneys are highly respected for their ability to litigate and win cases and have secured billions of dollars in recoveries for their clients through class action, business-to-business, whistleblower, personal injury, civil rights, and mass tort litigation. They have worked on some of the highest-profile securities actions ever filed, developed game-changing legal theories to secure landmark wins against tech giants that misused and exposed massive troves of personal data, and held some of the world’s largest corporations accountable for endangering and harming American consumers. With a long history of working with public clients, Adam and his partners understand the wants and needs of government officials and their teams, and, as experts in trial practice and jury persuasion, they consistently achieve best-in-class results for their clients. Adam’s own groundbreaking work on behalf of plaintiffs has been recognized locally and nationally in prestigious ranking directories, including Chambers USA, where he has received a Band 1 ranking for Mainly Plaintiffs Litigation in Illinois for three consecutive years. Chambers USA also ranked Adam in Illinois for General Commercial Litigation and nationwide for Product Liability Litigation, where the editors describe him as the “go-to plaintiffs’ attorney in the class actions space.” In 2021, 2022, and 2023, Benchmark Litigation named Adam a National Litigation Star and Securities and Litigation Star in Illinois. According to The National Law Journal, Adam is a “pioneer” in technology litigation. Crain’s Chicago Business has named him a Notable Litigator and Trial Attorney and a Notable Gen X Leader in Accounting, Consulting, and Law, and Lawdragon has named him one of the 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers and one of the 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers in the United States. An elected member of the American Law Institute and the Economic Club of Chicago, Adam considers the formation of DiCello Levitt in 2017 to be a pivotal moment in his distinguished legal career. With a shared vision and commitment to helping people and businesses use the legal system to have their voices heard, he and his partners intend to maintain their industry-wide influence for years to come with a steadfast resolve for justice in all its dimensions.

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.

Bradley D. Honnold

Founding Partner
Goza Honnold Trial Lawyers

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.

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.

Christopher M. Placitella

Shareholder
Cohen, Placitella & Roth Law Offices

Bio coming soon!

Coral Odiot-Rivera

Partner
Napoli Shkolnik

Coral M. Odiot Rivera, Partner at Napoli Shkolnik Coral M. Odiot Rivera’s practice primarily focuses on environmental class actions and mass tort litigations. As a Partner, she plays an integral role in the ongoing, landmark negotiations in the AFFF Multi-District Litigation, which have resulted in multi-billion-dollar settlements with several defendants to date. 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. For her legal achievements and contributions Ms. Rivera was part of a cover feature highlighting Women Legal Trail Blazers, was honored by Law360® Rising Stars, and was recognized as an Outstanding Alumnus of her law school. Coral is also regularly invited to speak on mass tort litigations across the country, including at the Shades of Mass Conference and at the AAJ International Practice Section CLE Program. Her thought leadership articles on Access to Justice and the AFFF MDL have been published on JD Supra and Medium.com.

D. Todd Mathews

Partner
Bailey Glasser LLP

Bio coming soon!

Daniel Callahan

Attorney
Callahan Consulting Group LLC

Daniel Callahan opened his own law office on St. Patrick’s Day in 1984. From there, he distinguished himself as one of the top trial attorneys in California and has repeatedly been recognized by his peers for his incredible accomplishments. Mr. Callahan was the winner of the prestigious OCTLA Trial Lawyer of the Year Award three times, in 2000, 2004, and 2012. Since founding Callahan & Blaine, Mr. Callahan has won many jury trials and obtained scores of seven and eight-figure settlements on behalf of his clients.

Diandra “Fu” Debrosse Zimmermann

Partner
DiCello Levitt LLP

Diandra “Fu” Debrosse is Managing Partner of DiCello Levitt’s Birmingham office and Co-Chair of the firm’s Mass Tort division. Fu is also a member of the firm’s Public Client, Environmental, Personal Injury, Civil Rights, and Trial practice groups. Widely known for her relentless client advocacy, Fu represents individuals and public entities injured by wrongful conduct, whether from defective medical devices or drugs, environmental contamination, corporate misconduct, or civil rights abuse. Nationally recognized as a powerhouse in mass torts, class actions, products liability, discrimination, and sexual assault claims, Fu has secured almost a billion dollars in client damages. Fu holds prominent leadership positions for several multidistrict litigations, including Co-Lead Counsel for In re: Abbott Laboratories, et al., Preterm Infant Nutrition Products Liability Litigation; Co-Lead Counsel for In re: Hair Relaxer Marketing Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation; Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee for In re: Paraquat Products Liability Litigation; Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for In re: Social Media Adolescent Addiction/ Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation; and Plaintiffs’ Committee for In re Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1 RAS) Products Liability Litigation. She also represents municipalities in both In re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation and In re: McKinsey & Company Inc., National Prescription Opiate Consultant Litigation, and is counsel in In re: Proton Pump Inhibitor Litigation. Fu formerly held a seat on the In re: Smith & Nephew Birmingham Hip Resurfacing Hip Implant Liability Litigation Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee and the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for In re: Higher One Account Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, and has represented plaintiffs in many other MDLs. Fu also leads many systematic civil rights and sexual assault cases and represents states and municipalities in litigation. In addition to other significant representations, she currently represents the City of Baltimore in relation to the devastating collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. In 2022, 2023 and 2024, Lawdragon recognized Fu as one of the 500 Leading Consumer Lawyers.  In 2024 Lawdragon recognized Fu as one of the 500 Leading Global Plaintiff Lawyers.  Chambers USA 2022 and 2023 ranked the firm’s Litigation: Mainly Plaintiffs team among Chambers USA 2022 and 2023 ranked the firm’s Litigation: Mainly Plaintiffs team among the top five in Alabama. The Birmingham Business Journal honored Fu with a Best of the Bar Award and Who’s Who in the Law recognitions in 2021 and 2022. In 2024, Forbes recognized Fu as one of America’s Top 200 Lawyers in their inaugural list.

Dr. Charles Bennett

Professor
University of South Carolina

Dr. Bennett is the principal investigator for the only state-funded independent pharmaceutical safety program in the nation- the Southern Network on Adverse Reactions (SONAR)/the Doris Levkoff Meddin Center for Pharmaceutical Safety.  The program has been funded by over $15 million in support from the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society, the Department of Veterans Administration, a $5 million endowment from the state of South Carolina and the University of South Carolina, and two philanthropists from South Carolina.  The program does not accept any funds from the pharmaceutical industry. SONAR evaluates the safety of pharmaceuticals and medical devices with annual sales of $1 billion or greater. In the past decade, SONAR has identified 43 potentially fatal and previously unrecognized adverse drug or device reactions. The result has been improved safety information on product labels and savings of tens of thousands of lives; most (but not all) of the identified drugs or devices continued to have robust sales; at the same time, their safety profiles have been improved. An important finding in 2006 identified  patients who experienced hypersensitivity and allergic reactions to coronary drug eluting stents.  The initial finding was based on autopsies of four persons with sudden death, whose hearts were available for cardiac pathologist review.  Finally, SONAR has reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine the first empirical data identifying conflicts of interest in pharmaceutical sponsored basic science research- a finding that mirrors that for clinical research.

Dr. Manuel Gonzalez-Brito

CMO
MSP Recovery Law Firm

Manuel Gonzalez-Brito, D.O. was born in Miami, Florida and is a graduate of the University of Florida. He obtained his medical degree at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida. His General Pediatric residency and Pediatric Critical Care Medicine fellowship were completed at the University of Miami School of Medicine/Jackson Memorial Hospital (UHealth). Dr. Brito was a professor of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital who cared for critically ill children due to trauma, infection, organ failure/transplant, cardiac critical care, burns and all other illness related to pediatric critical care. This included being a part of the pediatric sedation program designed especially for children with complex medical conditions. During his professorship, Dr. Brito had extensive experience in training medical students as well as Pediatric residents and fellows. In addition, Dr. Brito’s professorship at the University of Miami included basic science and clinical research with publications in Traumatic Brain Injury, Spinal Cord Injury and Peripheral Nerve Injury.  This included being selected to the Pediatric Scientist Development Program (PSDP). As a physician-scientist, Dr. Brito conducted research that included collaborations with physicians and scientists at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and the UHealth Batchelor Childrens Research Institute. After his professorship at the University of Miami, Dr. Brito spent an additional 10years as the co-director of the Palm Beach Childrens Hospital Pediatric Critical Care Unit and director of the Palm Beach Childrens Pediatric Concussion Center as part of Kidzmedical Services (KMS is a pediatric physician group based in Miami, FL). During this time Dr. Brito cared for critically ill children due to trauma, cardiac-illness, infection, respiratory illnesses, neurologic/neurosurgical conditions, and complex orthopedic conditions. In addition, Dr. Brito participated in the Palm Beach Childrens Pediatric Sedation service. As part of his tenure with KMS, Dr. Brito also provided Pediatric and Pediatric Critical Care Medicine service to Naples Community Hospital North, Bethesda, and Del Ray Medical Center Hospitals. Dr. Brito is a board-certified physician by the American Board of Pediatrics in General Pediatrics and Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. Education: 1989-1993 Bachelor of Science, Psychology. University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. 1993-1997 Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, NSUCOM, Ft Lauderdale-Davie, FL. 1997-1998 1yr Rotating Internship, Palmetto General Hospital, Miami, FL. 1998-2001 Pediatric Residency Program, University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, FL. 2001-2005 Pediatric Critical Care Fellowship, University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, FL.

Eric D. Holland

Owner/ Partner
Holland Law Firm

Taking on American and international corporate giants, Eric Holland’s litigation results are measured in the billions and billions of dollars recovered for his clients and in measurable societal good like getting unsafe firearms off the streets, triggering governmental investigations, and fighting against court secrecy. His work has been featured in Reuters, Bloomberg, the New York Times, NPR, CBS, the L.A. Times, and CNBC, to name just a few. In just the last three years, he has been described to the media as a “legal mastermind” by his corporate opponents. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award and was also inducted into the Verdict Hall of Fame by the National Law Journal.

Based in St. Louis, Eric has handled cases across the United States and obtained many record-setting jury verdicts and settlements. He obtained over 25 multi-million-dollar results in single injury cases in the first 20 years of his law practice involving railroad, product liability, and trucking matters. Over the last fifteen years, Eric has developed his firm’s complex litigation practice into one of the country’s leaders and has been instrumental in obtaining several eight-, nine-, and ten-figure verdicts and settlements, many of which have been litigated in courts in and around St. Louis. He has been appointed to leadership positions in mass tort and class action litigations, including lead counsel, steering committee, and executive committee posts in various state and federal courts. He is an active speaker and a member of several trial attorney associations, including the Academy of Rail Labor Attorneys (ARLA), AAJ, NTL, and many others. He has been recognized as a “Super Lawyer” since 2006, holds the “A.V. Preeminent” rating of Martindale-Hubbell, is a “Top Rated Lawyer” (Mass Torts, Product Liability, and Class Action litigation), and has been a “Top 100 Trial Lawyer” and a “Top 25 Mass Tort Lawyer” for several years. Eric currently serves on the Executive Committee for The National Trial Lawyers and the Lawyers Cabinet for the George Washington University Law School’s Complex Litigation Center.

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

Evan M. Janush

Managing Attorney
The Lanier Law Firm

I am the Managing Attorney of the New York office of The Lanier Law Firm. I have significant experience representing clients in complex commercial litigation, pharmaceutical mass tort litigation, antitrust and class-action litigation, and representing employees in discrimination and whistleblower actions.My work has involved significant appeals, legal motions and oral arguments that have supported trial verdicts in excess of $450 million, in addition to achieving numerous multi-million-dollar settlements. In 2013, I was honored to be named a New York "SuperLawyer" and I am honored to have been listed as one of the Top 100 trial lawyers in New York by the National Trial Lawyers Association (2010-2013). I am a 1998 graduate of Yeshiva University, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where I was a member of the Law Review and President of the Student Bar Association. I received my undergraduate degree summa cum laude in 1995 from the University of Connecticut where I was the President of the Student Government Association at the Stamford campus. Prior to joining The Lanier Law Firm, I practiced law at the firms of Weitz & Luxenberg and Jenkens & Gilchrist Parker Chapin.I am licensed to practice law in New York and Connecticut, and I am admitted to practice in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Southern District of New York, Eastern District of New York, District of Connecticut, Eastern District of Michigan, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern District of Texas, and the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas. I have also been granted pro hac vice admission to the District of New Jersey, the New Jersey Appellate Division, and the New Jersey Superior Court.Specialties: Plaintiff's Attorney focusing on Complex Commercial Litigation, Class Action Litigation, Employment Litigation involving Whistleblower and Discrimination Claims, and Mass Tort Litigation.

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.

Grant L. Davis

Founding Partner
David, Bethune & Jones, LLC

Bio coming soon!

Greg Coleman

Senior Partner
Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, LLC

Greg Coleman is a Senior Partner of Milberg with over 30 years of trial and appellate experience. Mr. Coleman’s practice focuses on class actions, products liability, medical practice, personal injury, complex multi-district litigation, litigation, toxic torts, premises liability, ERISA, ERISA class actions, drug and medical device litigation, and workers’ compensation. Mr. Coleman received his B.A. with highest honors and distinction from Jacksonville State University in 1986. He attended The University of Tennessee College of Law, graduating in 1989. In addition to distinguishing himself academically, Mr. Coleman was a member of the National Trial Moot Court Team, was the recipient of the American Jurisprudence Award for National Trial Team, and was listed in Who’s Who Among Rising Young Americans. In addition, the College of Law bestowed upon him the honor of inclusion into the National Order of Barristers for outstanding oral advocacy and trial skills.

Hon. Glenn A. Norton (Ret.)

Missouri Court of Appeals

Glenn A. Norton is Of Counsel with the Firm. His practice focuses on the areas of mediation, arbitration and special master appointments. He has extensive experience in the courtroom, with hundreds of jury and non-jury trials, and has been assigned by The Supreme Court to cases involving complex litigation and felony matters. As a retired judge, Glenn Norton is particularly well-suited to preside over arbitration hearings on any type of matter. Judge Norton is certified by the University of Missouri School of Law as a mediator. Judge Norton was appointed Judge for the Missouri Court of Appeals in 2002. He served as Chief Judge of the Court and presided over the settlement docket until he left the Court in 2015. He has also previously served as Chief Legal Counsel to Governor Bob Holden, where he oversaw the legal departments for all 15 state agencies and reviewed judicial appointments, death penalty cases, budget issues, clemency applications and legislation. Judge Norton practiced law in the former Briscoe and Norton Law firm in 1985, where he was responsible for murder trials and other high-profile felonies, and he was elected to serve as Associate Circuit Judge for Ralls County. He was re-elected to this position in 1998. Within the Judicial Branch, Judge Norton served on the Executive Council, the Legislative Steering Committee and as Chair of the Associate Circuit Judge Section.

Hunter Shkolnik

Founding Member, Partner
Napoli Shkolnik

Mr. Shkolnik holds numerous leadership appointments in multi-district litigations and currently serves as Co-Liaison Counsel in the Flint Water litigation, where he helped negotiate the landmark $641.2 million settlement. He was also a primary attorney in settling the first federal opioid trial in Ohio for $320 million and is a member of the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee for the National Prescription Opiate litigation, and was a lead trial attorney in the monumental win in the New York Opioid Trial.  Recently, Mr. Shkolnik was named to the Law360 Product Liability Editorial Board.

James Bergener

Founder
The Bergener Firm

Recognized by fellow accident lawyers, he has been a guest lecturer at conferences, legal seminars, and law schools on topics involving injury tort litigation and practice management.Aside from his numerous academic and professional interactions, “Sweet James” Bergener provides weekly commentary as a legal expert on various radios stations and television programs across the nation.

James Murdica

Partner
Barnes & Thornburg LLP

Bio coming soon!

Jayne Conroy

Shareholder
Simmons Hanly Conroy LLP

Jayne Conroy is a named shareholder 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.

Jim DeMay

Partner
Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, LLC

James DeMaybegan his law career in 2007 with Ferguson, Scarbrough & Hayes, PLLC. After years of partnering with Dan Bryson, Scott Harris, and Hunter Bryson, Mr. DeMay made the decision to join the Milberg team in 2021, focusing his practice on municipal law and land-use litigation. With a specific interest in the area of development impact fees, Mr. DeMay is successful in defending the rights of private land owners against unauthorized or unfair impact fee charges. His experience includes representing both municipalities and private land owners in complex civil matters involving statutory and municipal ordinance violations, as well as other matters. Mr. DeMay has stepped into numerous leadership roles, having been appointed as class counsel in class action lawsuits involving illegal fees paid by homebuilders and recovering over $30 million for his clients. In collaboration with the North Carolina Home Builders Association, he oversees various land-use legislative matters and has even argued cases before the North Carolina Supreme Court and the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Outside the office, Mr. Demay enjoys spending time with his wife, Laura, and running ultra-marathons and trail races. One of his highlight races includes competing in the Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim race across the Grand Canyon. His running goals include successfully completing a 100-mile race in the near future.

John Driscoll

Attorney
The Driscoll Firm, LLC

John J. Driscoll founded The Driscoll Firm, LLC, in October 2008. John is licensed to practice law in Illinois, Missouri, and Minnesota. In addition, he is admitted to practice in the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Missouri, the Southern District of Illinois, the District of Minnesota and the District of Columbia. John has offices in St. Louis, Mo.; Chicago, Il.; Raleigh, NC and San Juan, Puerto Rico.  In 2020, during the pandemic, John moved to Puerto Rico. When in Puerto Rico, he enjoys long walks on the beach, and is becoming pickle ball curious.

John M. Restaino, Jr.

Senior Partner
Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, LLC

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.

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.

Jonathan Orent

Attorney
Motley Rice LCC

Jonathan Orent is a seasoned trial lawyer who advocates for people hurt by medicaldevices, pharmaceutical drugs, social media addiction and other consumer products. Jonathan has led multiple large-scale litigations for his clients.* Beyond his work in the courtroom, Jonathan has become a recognized voice in the field of e-discovery and other emerging topics in the law. Jonathan appointed lead counsel of hernia mesh litigation In re Atrium Medical Corp. C-QUR Mesh Products Liability Litigation, MDL #2753 and serves as co- lead and co-liaison counsel in the largest consolidated hernia mesh litigation in the country, In re Davol/C.R. Bard Hernia Mesh Multi-Case Management Coordination. Jonathan led Motley Rice’s hernia mesh trial team in Trevino et al. v. Davol in 2022, achieving a $4.8 million* verdict against C.R. Bard following a month-long jury trial in Rhode Island Superior Court. He was co-liaison counsel in the In re Bard Litigation in New Jersey state court and as state court liaison counsel in Massachusetts. He was a member of the litigation team that successfully tried the Barba v. Boston Scientific Corporation case to a $100 million verdict* in Delaware (later reduced by appeal to $10 million). Jonathan also argued the successful appeal to the Massachusetts Court of Appeals, which allowed key evidence relating to Boston Scientific’s alleged knowledge of the potential harm caused by its products. In addition to his leadership in hernia and pelvic mesh litigation, Jonathan is spearheading emerging litigation and is pursuing cases against the makers of weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. Outside of his medical device work, Jonathan represents children and parents who allege Instagram purposefully designed its platform to be addictive to young people and increased its user growth at the expense of the mental health of its users. Jonathan also represents communities and people facing personal injury, property damage and economic loss as a result of negligence, environmental hazards or groundwater and soil contamination. In 2008, he sued a large New England utility company for more than 100 Tiverton, R.I., residents who claimed they suffered damages resulting from environmental contamination of their residential property. More recently, Jonathan helped settle contamination litigation between members of the Tallevast, Fla., community and a major aerospace defense contractor involving property damage and emotional distress caused by the alleged release of trichloroethylene (TCE), perchloroethylene (PCE) and other chemicals into the groundwater. Jonathan has worked on complex litigation against the lead paint industry on behalfof government entities in California, New York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin, as well as lead poisoning cases for individual children and families against property owners. He also assists with discovery and trial preparation of the firm’s asbestos cases. Prior to joining Motley Rice in 2005, Jonathan was a law clerk with the Missouri State Public Defender Youth Advocacy Unit and a legal intern for Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois. Recognized as an AV® rated attorney Martindale-Hubbell®, he has made numerous presentations on a variety of legal matters involving medical device litigation, environmental law, and e-discovery. He currently serves on the Sedona Conference Working Group that publishes important and influential commentary in the field of e-discovery. He is an adjunct professor at Roger Williams University School of Law, teaching about Rhode Island’s influential history in mass torts. He also served on the Rhode Island Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, a group whose mission is to address key community issues and discrimination matters, such as foreclosure scams and the disparate treatment of minority youth. Jonathan is President of AG Bell Rhode Island, as well as a member of the Rhode Island Early Intervention Work Group, a group that reviews early intervention services provided to deaf or hard of hearing children between the ages of 0-3 in Rhode Island.  

Joseph F. Rice

Founding Member
Motley Rice LLC

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 30 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.” His alma mater, the University of South Carolina School of Law, rebranded in his honor in November 2023, and is now known as the Joseph F. Rice School of Law. 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 in securities and consumer fraud, anti-terrorism, human rights, environmental, and medical drug and device cases, as well as catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases. He is recognized as an AV Preeminent® rated attorney in Martindale-Hubbell®.

Katherine Cornell

Owner
Cornell Law

Bio coming soon!

Larry Taylor

Managing Partner
The Cochran Firm

Bio coming soon!

Lea Morris

Vice President of Strategy
Bespoke Capital Partners

Lea Morris is an attorney and business development visionary who brings a focused, unique perspective to every project she embarks upon.  Lea serves as Vice President of Strategy for Bespoke Capital Consulting. Bespoke is the first of its kind to take a consultative approach to deploying capital in the legal field. With more than 60 years of collective industry knowledge, Bespoke’s management team leverages their expertise to provide a wide spectrum of consulting services including operational best practices, financial core competencies, and business development with a goal of helping firms build strong foundations and increase efficiency to better represent their clients. Lea received her Juris Doctorate from the Cumberland School of Law in 2006 and is licensed to practice law in the state of Florida. After graduating law school, Lea practiced law at Levin Papantonio Rafferty Proctor Buchanan O’Brien Barr & Moughey in Pensacola, Florida where she was an attorney in the firm’s mass torts department. Lea oversaw and ran multiple litigations and their subsequent settlements during her time at the firm. From 2012 to late 2022, Lea served as Vice President of Client Development at the industry’s largest mass tort legal administration, leading its sales team to back-to-back years of record-breaking bookings. During this time, her role also involved providing advisory and consulting services to mass tort firms. In that role, Lea worked to revolutionize the way the mass tort industry thought of outsourced back-office support. Lea’s idea of providing end-to-end support to mass tort law firms, spanning from case inception through resolution resulted in the industry’s first end-to-end mass tort support solution. Lea moved to Puerto Rico in January 2022.

Lee Floyd

Partner
Breit Biniazan

Before joining Breit Biniazan, Lee Floyd spent a decade defending some of the country’s largest and most influential corporations. From pharmaceutical companies to national automotive manufacturers, Lee worked in the trenches with impressive battalions of attorneys and seemingly unlimited resources. Lee was the first female partner in the products liability group of one of the nation’s leading law firms and the youngest partner in that firm’s history. In 2019, she was one of only ten lawyers selected nationwide to join the prestigious Products Liability Advisory Council’s as a Future Leader. During this time Lee was recognized consistently: by Super Lawyers® as a “Rising Star” and by Best Lawyers in America® as “Ones to Watch.” She has received national recognition by Benchmark Litigation as a partner in the Product Liability Firm of the Year and is the only attorney in Virginia to be recognized on their “40 and Under Hot List” list five years running. On paper, she displays the kind of career that many attorneys aspire to achieve. But that wasn’t enough for Lee. She wanted more. During the pandemic, as a paralegal at her previous firm, she was grappling with something much larger: a diagnosis of stage four metastatic breast cancer. She was only given a short time to live. There was hope, though. If the paralegal, who was also a single mom, could receive a very expensive treatment, there was a chance she would be given more time with her three year old son. That’s when Lee became an advocate. She banded together with other women, started a social media campaign, organized crowdfunding, and solicited help from powerful and connected people to get her paralegal the assistance she so desperately needed. Lee fought fiercely until, finally, the paralegal received the world class oncology care she deserved. “That’s when I learned that the highest and best use of my time isn’t representing corporate defendants to keep money in their bank accounts,” says Lee. “The highest and best use of my time is to help others when they have nowhere else to turn.”

Majed Nachawati

Managing Partner
Nachawati Law Group

Majed Nachawati is a founding partner of Nachawati Law Group and is heavily involved in the law firm’s mass tort and public client practices. Majed currently serves on the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee in In re Texas Opioid Litigation, No. 18-0358. In addition to his work on the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee, Majed leads the firm in representing the State of Utah as well as more than 50 counties, cities, and hospital districts in Texas, North Dakota, New Mexico, Kentucky, Maryland, Florida, and Mississippi in the opioid litigation. The firm's public entity practice under Majed's leadership is also representing the States of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Nevada against social media giants such as Facebook and TikTok, and the State of Arkansas against Temu. Contemporarily, he serves as Co-liaison in Paraquat cases, JCCP 5031, pending before the Honorable Judge Edward G. Weil, as well as on the Official Committee of Talc Claimants in the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy of Red River Talc LLC (LTL III), No. 24-90505. Previously, he served on the Official Tort Claimants’ Committee in the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy of Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, LTL Management (LTL I), No. 21-30589, and as Interim Co-Lead Class Counsel in the Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream litigation in the Northern District of California, Nos. 3:11-cv-2910-EMC and 4:11-cv-3164-EMC. Majed has led the firm developing a strong mass tort and class action practice. The firm has held leadership positions in the Winter Storm Uri MDL, Bard Hernia Mesh MDL, the Bard IVC Filter MDL, the Cook IVC Filter MDL, the Cordis IVC Filter MDL, and the Paragard IUD MDL. In addition to filing one of the first class actions against Dreyer’s Ice Cream for false advertising, the firm filed the first class action in the nation against Midstream Media for privacy violations arising from an invasive computer tracking technology known as “history sniffing,” one of the first class actions against Apple for privacy violations arising from tracking of consumers on their iPhones, and one of the first known consumer class actions against Loreal arising from the company’s failure to warn consumers about the flammability of a particular hair care product. Under Majed’s leadership, the firm provided onsite trial briefing support for a three-week Cook IVC filter trial and was part of the team that received a $3 million design defect verdict—the first in the country against an IVC filter manufacturer. In 2018, the firm tried a case against the perpetrators of a murder-for-hire scheme involving millions of dollars in life insurance and obtained a verdict of approximately $166 million. The son of a first-generation Middle Eastern immigrant father and a Hispanic mother, Majed did not growup in a life of privilege. He discovered the law as a way to make a difference in his own life and in the lives of his clients. He began his legal career as a two-year judicial law clerk with the Thirteenth Court of Appeals of Texas. Majed works tirelessly to build relationships and do the work that will create change. He sees practicing law as a calling—not just a career. Majed has served on the State Bar of Texas Committee on Professionalism and was the District Chairman for the Grievance Committee for the State Bar of Texas, District 6. He has also served as a Committee Member for The Dallas Bar Association’s Legal Ethics Committee and Lawyer Referral Service Committee. Majed also serves as member of the Board of Directors of Public Justice and the Board of Directors for the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, is an appointed member of The William ‘Mac” Taylor American Inn of Court, and is a former member of the State Bar of Texas Committee for Diversity in the Profession. Majed also serves as a mentor to law students at the University of North Texas School of Law. He has sponsored the Junior League of Dallas, the Attorneys Helping the Community 5K, Feed My Starving Children, the Texas Crime Victims Compensation Fund, and the Lone Star Race Benefiting Children with Disabilities. Through the law firm, he has also participated in relief efforts to address natural disasters, including Humanitarian Relief for Families Affected by Hurricane Harvey, and volunteered with DFW Detained.  

Marc D. Grossman

Senior Partner
Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, LLC

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.

Marie Napoli

Founding Member, Partner
Napoli Shkolnik

Marie Napoli, Founding Partner at Napoli Shkolnik Marie 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 cases. She is a leading media commentator on national outlets such as CNN, CBS and NB, and an author on topics ranging from social media addiction to workplace discrimination. For her work, she is industry and peer recognized, notably Ms. Napoli was the lead on a cover feature highlighting Women Legal Trail Blazers, was named to National Trial Lawyers Women’s Rights Top 10, and annually appears on the back cover of the New York Metro Super Lawyers® Women’s Edition Magazine. Marie and Paul Napoli recently provided a gift to establish the NYU Law Environmental Justice Laboratory (EJL). The EJL will work with partners, including impacted communities, to address longstanding environmental racism and build a just, decarbonized future.

Mark Lanier

Attorney & Founder
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.

Matt Lee

Senior Partner
Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips and Grossman, LLC

Matt Lee is a nationally recognized and highly regarded trial lawyer. For over 15 years, Mr. Lee has focused his practice on fighting for people in consumer class actions, employment/civil rights litigation, and other complex plaintiff’s litigation. He also serves as Chair of Milberg’s Employment & Civil Rights Group. After winning a $14 million judgment in a recent jury trial against IBM, the federal court judge found that “[t]his success reflects the quality of counsel who succeeded in proving claims of retaliation largely with circumstantial evidence.” The jury’s award was the largest ever in a retaliation, discrimination or wrongful termination case in the Western District of Washington (Seattle). Mr. Lee has also served as lead counsel in class actions and other complex cases both in North Carolina and around the country, including:

• Co-Lead Interim Class Counsel in Edwards v. CSX Transportation, Inc., No. 7:18-cv-169-BO (E.D.N.C.), a case involving devastating flood damages after Hurricanes Matthew and Florence estimated damages in excess of $250,000,000.
• Lead Counsel in two class actions against IBM arising from its commission’s practices: Comin v. International Business Machines Corp., No. 19-cv-07261-JD (N.D. Cal.) and Engle v. International Business Machines, Corp., Index No. 654556/2020 (Supreme Court of New York).

In the few hours Mr. Lee is out of the office, you may find him hacking away on the golf course, hiking/biking in Raleigh’s Umstead Park, or traveling with his wife, Molly, and their three children, Evie, Audrey, and Arthur.

Melissa K. Sims

Senior Counsel
Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, PLLC

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.

Michael Fuller

Principal
Farrell & Fuller Law

Mr. Fuller is one of the founding member of Farrell & Fuller.  Mr. Fuller spent decades holding the nursing home industry responsible for the abuse and neglect of the elderly.  Now he has turned his attention to other corporate giants in the pharmaceutical industry by taking a key leadership role in the nationwide opioid litigation.  Mr. Fuller along with Mr. Farrell have most recently began anti-trust litigation against Google and Facebook on behalf of our Country’s Newspaper Industry.

Mikal C. Watts

Capital Partner
Watts Law Firm LLP

Mikal Watts is one of the most prominent trial lawyers, having tried and won numerous first-in-the-country MDL bellwether trials.  He now focuses on wildfire, pharmaceutical, farming and environmental pollution mass action cases.

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.

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.

Patrick J. Driscoll

Attorney
Romanucci & Blandin, LLC

Patrick J. Driscoll is a member of the Mass Torts and Civil Rights legal teams at Romanucci & Blandin, LLC. Patrick works with those affected by police and prosecutorial misconduct, focusing on wrongful convictions and other serious violations of their rights, as well as wrongful death and a variety of catastrophic personal injuries in Mass Torts litigation with Partner Bryce T. Hensley. He graduated from Indiana University with a B.A. in Economics where he participated in Greek Life as a part of Theta Chi. He then went on to obtain his Juris Doctor from the Saint Louis University School of Law. While at Saint Louis University he was a part of the law school’s basketball team and participated in its softball league. Patrick grew up in a family that held public service and the justice system in the highest regard, starting with his great-grandfather, who was a prominent judge in Southern Illinois. His grandfather was a well-respected public servant, holding various positions in Saint Clair County, Illinois. Patrick’s legal experience started prior to attending law school as he grew up working at his father’s law firm. Before becoming an attorney (pending), Patrick joined the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and American Association for Justice (AAJ) as a member and attended legal seminars such as Mass Torts Made Perfect and AAJ conventions. Patrick has significant experience in the political arena having been a Field Organizer for Mike Bloomberg in Tampa, an Intern for the Subcommittee on Defense for the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations, a Campaign Fellow for U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Legislative Intern for U.S. Senator Richard Durbin and a Legislative Intern for U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. Outside of working in law and politics, Patrick has experience working at a private equity firm, spending most of his time working on a technology startup that had a mission to help address underbanking in marginalized communities. In his free time, Patrick enjoys reading non-fiction and meditating and is training for his first marathon. After recently relocating from Saint Louis, Patrick relishes the opportunity to spend more time with his family in Chicago’s Southwest suburbs.

Patrick Luff

Founding Partner
Luff Law Firm

Patrick A. Luff is a nationally recognized mass torts litigator who has obtained a number of significant victories for his clients, including a $15.4 million wrongful death judgment and a precedent-setting federal appeal. Patrick has served as Co-Liaison (Lead) Counsel in Texas MDL No. 2021-41903, In re: Winter Storm Uri Litigation, and on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for MDL No. 2974, In re: Paragard IUD Products Liability Litigation;  MDL No. 3037, In re: Recalled Abbott Infant Formula Products Liability Litigation; and MDL No. 3043, In re: Acetaminophen – ASD/ADHD Products Liability Litigation. Prior to entering practice, Patrick spent several years as a professor of law. While at the University of Oklahoma, Arizona State University, and Washington and Lee University, he taught courses on legislation and statutory interpretation, civil procedure, and administrative law. He also spent time as a visiting scholar at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg, Germany. During this time, Patrick established himself as a national authority on mass torts, with scholarship appearing in the Connecticut Law Review, the Utah Law Review, and the Arizona State Law Review, among others. Between law school and teaching, he did doctoral work at the University of Oxford on the regulatory role of litigation.

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.

Paul Napoli

Founding Member, Partner
Napoli Shkolnik Law

Mr. 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. Well-known for his ability to oversee large-scale complex cases involving large multi-billion corporations, Paul’s wins run the gamut of issues from defective pharmaceutical drugs, such as the diet drug Phen-fen, to environmental contamination caused by ExxonMobil petroleum additive leaks. 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. Additionally, he was named to Law360’s 2020 Editorial Boards in the Environmental Category and was chosen as a recipient of Law360’s 2020 MVP Awards: Environmental. Paul is a founding board member and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Trial Lawyers of Puerto Rico (TLPR), a trade association bringing together top trial lawyers to share expertise, build partnerships, and to add value to the local Puerto Rico community. Mr. Napoli also serves on the Board of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, sits on the Fordham University President Council and is on the St. John’s University School of Law Dean’s Advisory Counsel.

Peter J. Flowers

Partner
Meyers & Flowers LLC

Bio coming soon!

Peter Mougey

Attorney
Levin Papantonio Rafferty

Peter Mougey is a shareholder and the Chair of Levin Papantonio’s Securities and Business Litigation department. He concentrates his practice in the areas of complex litigation, financial services, and securities litigation, and whistleblower or qui tam litigation. Mr. Mougey has been recognized as one of Florida’s top 100 trial lawyers and a Florida Super Lawyer and has dedicated his career to championing individuals’ rights against the world’s largest companies.Mr. Mougey has represented over 1,500 state, municipal, and institutional entities, as well as tribal sovereign nations, in litigation and arbitration around the globe. In addition, he has represented more than 3,000 individual fraud victims in state and federal court and arbitrations. Most recently, in the National Prescription Opiate Litigation MDL, he was selected to serve as Co-Lead of the Distributor case and serves on the Plaintiff’s Executive Committee in what has been called “the largest and most complex case in the history of jurisprudence” by the Washington Post. Mr. Mougey has been recognized as a transformational leader in and out of the courtroom and is often called up to simplify the country’s most complex cases.

Rachel Lanier

Managing Attorney
The Lanier Law Firm

Rachel Lanier is the Managing Attorney of the Los Angeles Office and member of The Lanier Law Firm Trial Team. She practices in the areas of personal injury, toxic torts, pharmaceutical litigation, mass torts, and product liability. When she is not passionately advocating for her clients, Mrs. Lanier enjoys spending time with her family and exploring the Los Angeles restaurant scene.

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.

Rhon Jones

Principal
Beasley Allen Law Firm

Rhon heads up the firm’s Toxic Torts Section and oversees nursing home abuse and neglect cases. He is one of the top environmental attorneys for plaintiffs in the country. His verdicts and settlements while at Beasley Allen are estimated at $3 billion, and total recovery for all cases he has worked on exceeds $30 billion. He is on the cutting edge for representing governments and water systems for various forms of environmental harm and has handled environmental or toxic exposure cases in at least 15 different states. Most recently, Rhon has taken on the issue of seeking justice for those harmed by the nation’s opioid epidemic.

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.

Richard D. Meadow

Director of Business Development
The Lanier Law Firm

For more than three decades, Richard "Rick" Meadow has stood as a beacon of excellence in civil litigation, championing the rights of injured individuals and their families with unwavering dedication. Having served as the National Mass Tort Leader and Director of Business Development for The Lanier Law Firm, he transitioned to an Of Counsel role when he founded The Meadow Law Firm in Phoenix, Arizona in 2023. This strategic move represents the latest chapter in his distinguished legal career, while maintaining his valued relationship with The Lanier Law Firm.

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.

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.

Robert Kinsman

Co-Founder, Attorney
Krause and Kinsman

Robert is a Kansas City Lawyer and one of the founding partners of the Krause & Kinsman Law Firm, and has committed his practice to protecting the rights of people and their loved ones. He was born and raised in the Kansas City area. Although his family members have been dedicated to careers that concentrate on enriching the lives of everyday people, Robert is a first generation attorney. Throughout his life, Robert has not only enjoyed interacting with the people of his community, but he has been devoted to being a voice for others when they need it most. The heart of his practice consists of advocating for people when they have been wronged. Robert’s practice focuses on areas of personal injury, mass torts, employment discrimination, and business litigation. As a litigation and trial attorney, Robert dedicates his time to making sure his client’s interests are properly represented. He is zealous in providing his clients with the necessary strategy to succeed and regain the quality of life that they enjoyed before they were harmed. He enjoys building lifelong relationships with his clients and their families. Robert earned his law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law with an emphasis in trial practice and litigation. Prior to law school, Robert studied Political Science and Business Administration at Pittsburg State University. He is currently an active member of the Missouri Bar, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys, and serves on KCMBA’s Young Lawyers Section. In his spare time, Robert spends time with his family and friends, while enjoying all the unique activities Kansas City has to offer.

Sarah Lanier

Attorney
The Lanier Law Firm

Bio coming soon!

Seth A. Katz

Shareholder
Burg Simpson

Bio coming soon!

Shannon Pennock

Attorney
Pennock Law Firm LLC

Bio coming soon!

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.

Tobi Millrood

Partner
Kline & Specter, PC

Tobi Millrood is a partner at the firm of Kline & Specter, PC, in Philadelphia, PA. Mr. Millrood brings nearly 30 years of complex litigation experience, with a focus on pharmaceutical and medical device litigation. Through his tireless dedication and careful attention to his client’s cases, Mr. Millrood has earned the accolades of his peers, clients, and Courts. Mr. Millrood has dedicated the last three years to the Roundup Litigation involving the carcinogen glyphosate. Mr. Millrood played a critical role in the trial teams of three groundbreaking verdicts in Philadelphia, $175 million, $2.25 billion, and $78 million, respectively. Mr. Millrood was also the first to file a Hormone Therapy lawsuit in the nation in 2002 and dedicated the next 12 years to the litigation. Mr. Millrood served as Plaintiffs’ Lead Liaison Counsel in In Re Hormone Therapy Litigation, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. He was also on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in MDL 1507 – In Re Prempro Products Liability and was Chair of the American Association for Justice (AAJ) Hormone Therapy Litigation Group. Mr. Millrood tried four Hormone Therapy cases, obtaining Plaintiffs’ verdicts in all four, including verdicts in November, 2009 for $34.3 million and December 2011 for $72.6 million. Mr. Millrood also played an integral role in major appellate victories in the litigation, ranging from the state courts of Pennsylvania and Minnesota, to the Eighth Circuit. Mr. Millrood has served in numerous Court-appointed leadership positions in other pharmaceutical and medical device litigations. He was appointed by Hon. F. Dennis Saylor as Co-Lead Counsel in In re Zofran (Ondansetron) Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2657 and by Hon. Rebecca Pallmeyer as Co-Lead Counsel in In re Zimmer Nexgen Knee Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2272. He was also appointed Co-Lead in the Pennsylvania Opioid Litigation, Del. Cty. vs Purdue Pharma, et al. and Co-Lead/Liaison Counsel in In re Elmiron Products Liability Litigation, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. 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, NJ (also Discovery Chair) and In re Consolidated Fresenius Cases – Superior Ct. Mass. (also Discovery Chair). Mr. Millrood has testified previously before the Federal Civil Rules Committee and served as a liaison for Plaintiffs on amendments to Federal Rule 16.1 regarding MDL litigation. Mr. Millrood speaks frequently at various seminars, on the topics of Mass Tort Litigation, Expert Witnesses, Direct and Cross-Examination, Closings and Rebuttals, the Ethics of Settling Mass Tort Cases, Trial Strategies and Electronic Discovery. Mr. Millrood was President of the American Association for Justice (AAJ) for 2020-21. He also is a member of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice (PAJ) Board of Governors, as well as the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers (PTLA) Board of Directors. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, the District of New Jersey, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Court of Federal Claims and the Third Circuit, as well as the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Millrood resides in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and three sons.

Tristan Axelrod

Partner
Brown Rudnick LLP

Tristan Axelrod is a partner in Brown Rudnick’s Bankruptcy & Corporate Restructuring Practice Group. Tristan concentrates his practice in bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings, focusing on mass torts, cryptocurrency and energy.  Tristan is recognized as a leading bankruptcy/restructuring practitioner by Chambers USA and The Legal 500.  His scholarship regularly appears in law reviews and industry publications, and he serves as co-editor of Chapter 11: Bankruptcy, a treatise for Massachusetts practitioners

Victoria Maniatis

Partner
Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, LLC

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.

Warren Postman

Managing Partner
Keller Postman LLC

Warren Postman is the Managing Partner of Keller Postman LLC. He combines a deep understanding of the civil litigation system with broad substantive expertise to solve complex litigation challenges for the firm’s clients.

Warren has helped build Keller Postman’s arbitration practice, which devotes unparalleled resources to resolving the claims of consumers and employees who are subject to forced arbitration clauses. The firm’s commitment to arbitration allows it to aggressively pursue individual arbitrations for tens of thousands of clients simultaneously and, as described by the New York Times, has left defendants “scared to death.” Warren has won numerous precedent-setting victories requiring defendants to comply with their obligation to arbitrate under agreements they drafted.

Due in large part to the arbitration practice Warren has built at Keller Postman, the rise of “mass arbitrations” has been one of the most significant recent developments in civil litigation. In the last two years alone, Keller Postman has secured millions in settlements for more than 500,000 individual clients.

Before joining Keller Postman, Warren was Vice President and Chief Counsel for Appellate Litigation at the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center. In that role, he managed appellate strategy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which participates in more than 150 cases each year to shape the law on a wide range of issues affecting businesses. Working closely with senior in-house lawyers at some of the world’s largest companies, Warren gained unique insight into the dynamics and trends that shape business litigation.

Warren was previously an attorney in the Issues & Appeals practice at Jones Day, where he helped guide trial and appellate strategy in some of the firm’s most complex and high-stakes cases.

Warren served as a law clerk for Justice David H. Souter at the Supreme Court of the United States and Judge William A. Fletcher at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was Articles Editor on the Harvard Law Review, and graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Brandeis University.

Warren was named Law360’s 2022 Technology MVP for leading one of Keller Postman’s largest mass arbitration litigation efforts against Amazon—and for his work to spearhead operational and technological efficiencies for mass claims litigation. He was named Law360’s 2021 Employment MVP for his work to represent hundreds of thousands of gig economy workers in arbitration. He was also named a 2021 Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Trailblazer by the National Law Journal and is ranked as Band 1 by Chambers and Partners in the District of Columbia. Warren is listed on Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Lawyers in America, Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers, the National Trial Lawyers’ Top 100, and District of Columbia Super Lawyers.

Warren is licensed to practice law in California and the District of Columbia only.

William G. Pintas

Founding Member, Partner
Pintas & Mullins PR, LLC

William Pintas leads one of the largest partnering personal injury firms in North America representing tens of thousands of clients in mass torts, nursing home maltreatment, asbestos claims, institutional sex abuse and environmental disasters. The firm is at the forefront of technology, marketing and law firm partnership strategies. Attorney Pintas is also chief legal strategist for famed civil rights attorney Ben Crump.

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.