NON-IP LITIGATION AND ENFORCEMENT FIRM ANALYSIS
Firm Briefings
Hatch-Waxman issues.” He is currently representing AstraZeneca in private antitrust class actions relating to alleged anti-competitive settlements of Hatch-Waxman patent litigation with three generic pharmaceutical companies over AstraZeneca’s blockbuster acid reflux drug Nexium. Dechert “Their litigation group is one of the most talented I have seen and they represent some of the biggest life sciences organizations year in and year out,” admires one competitor about Dechert. Both the product liability and antitrust practices at the firm come highly recommended and are used by some industry heavyweights. Baxter Healthcare, Pfizer, and Quest Diagnostics use Dechert as litigation support. Partner George Gordon co-chairs the antitrust and life sciences groups at Dechert and according to one colleague is “one of the best and brightest that any firm has to offer.” Gordon heads up the team representing Actelion Pharmaceuticals and Actelion Clinical Research in an intriguing case for the industry. This case is dealing with the novel issue of whether the drug innovator Actelion can lawfully refuse to sell samples of a drug it developed to potential competitors who wish to copy its product. Dechert also excels at white-collar criminal investigations. One practitioner is very impressed with the work that partner Frederick Herold has accomplished in the marketplace. “I have done work alongside him and he is just as good as some of the top guys in the industry.” He was counsel to Quest Diagnostics in a False Claims Act case filed by the California Attorney General in state court in California. Herold helped negotiate a complex settlement with the state of California and the qui tam relator that resolved a case with billions at stake. Faegre Baker Daniels With decades of experience in product liability litigation, Faegre Baker Daniels has created one of the most reliable practices in the country. Partners James O’Neal and Joseph Price are two of the industry’s most recognizable names. “Joe [Price] has probably being doing this at the highest level for nearly 40 years, and there is only a tiny group of people that can say that as well,” states one peer. Last year, Price successfully represented Pfizer and Pharmacia in litigation over side effects for Parkinson’s disease drug Mirapex. O’Neal is former head of Faegre’s product liability group and is commended by fellow practitioners for his contribution to the industry. “One of the more successful trial attorneys in the industry and he continues to do big pharma products cases.” He worked as national coordinating counsel for Novartis Pharmaceuticals in multiple class action cases and was counsel for the company on individual product liability litigation involving their attention deficit disorder drug Ritalin. Goodell Devries Leech & Dan One of the strongest practice groups at Goodell Devries Leech & Dan is their pharmaceutical and medical device product liability litigation team. A few of the firm’s competitors praise Goodell Devries for having “some of the best first-chair trial attorneys in the
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United States and being a staple within the industry for nearly three decades.” Pfizer and Bayer have been clients of the firm for nearly 20 years and still use Goodell Devries in product liability litigations throughout the country. Founding partner Charles Goodell is a key ingredient to the firm’s success in the space. Goodell, who one colleague refers to as “the best product liability litigator since the early 1990s,” is among the industry’s most respected trial lawyers. “He is one of the most capable attorneys I have ever seen in a courtroom,” adds another contemporary. Goodell was lead counsel for Pfizer for nearly 15 years in product liability litigation revolving around claims against a heart valve device. He has been retained by Pfizer on other separate occasions since and continues to represent the company in litigation. Over the past few years, Goodell Devries has added some of the industry’s most talented litigators. Robert Limbacher joined the firm in 2011 and helped open the firm’s Philadelphia office. Recently, he has represented Takeda and Eli Lilly in MDLs involving a diabetes medication. “A great trial attorney who has made a great firm even stronger,” states one rival attorney. Prior to joining Goodell Devries, Limbacher was the former chair of Dechert’s product liability and mass tort group. Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum Competitors agree that Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum is quickly becoming one of the best product liability firms in the life sciences industry. “Experienced litigators who have played major roles in some of the most important products litigation in the last few years,” one attorney says, describing the litigation boutique. Partners Joe Tomaselli and Tarek Ismail are considered “two of the top product liability attorneys in the United States,” by a colleague. Both Tomaselli and Ismail have done trial work on behalf of pharmaceutical giant Merck. Ismail was counsel on osteoporosis drug Fosamax and was also part of the Vioxx litigation team. Tomaselli, who one peer views as “a top five or 10 products attorney in life sciences,” has done large amount of work for Merck, including several successful verdicts for his client in their Vioxx litigations. Additionally, the firm played a vital role in AstraZeneca’s nationwide Seroquel litigation. Greenberg Traurig “She is really a tremendous attorney who has a great sense of the atmosphere in a courtroom, which helps her dictate a case for her client,” admires one peer about Greenberg Traurig pa ??\??H??[????[??Z\?? H?\?x?&\?\?XX?]]X?[ YYX?[]?X?H ?X[ ?\?H]Y?][???\[?\?[ YXZ?H H ?? X?XX?[] H X[K8?'?H? H[?? ?[XX?H??\ ?[? H[? \? ?K8?'HX???[?? ??H] ??^K?H?\?H\??\??[? H ?\ ?\?[?[??YYX?[]?X?HX[?Y?X? \?\?KQ???[??[Y\??\? ?? X?XX?[] H]??Z] ??\??Z[ \?H ? ?\??\??Y\?[??Y?Y?[??H?Z[\? ?[]Y ?[?[??\?[? [\ ??Y[? ??H ???[?? ?]?Y[??\?? ?]\?Y?? ?? X?XX?[] HX] \??[?\?H[?H [? X\?Y ?] H ?????[?\??H?? [H[? H ?X?K?8?'??[??\? ?\? ?\?Y [H?\? H??\??H?[?H]Y?][?[? ^H]?H?Y[? ?X?H X\?\?H ??Q?Q?H??QS??T? ? L??