Fidelma Fitzpatrick represents people and communities in toxic tort and environmental matters, including property damage and personal injury claims. Her experience with complex civil litigation has led her to represent other victims of corporate malfeasance, including thousands of women who suffered health problems after receiving medical devices such as Essure®, pelvic mesh/sling products and IUDs, as well as people harmed by consumer products such as chemical hair straighteners.
In addition to her toxic tort and medical casework, Fidelma also represents states, cities, counties and townships in litigation against opioid manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies in their claims the companies engaged in deceptive marketing and over-distribution of highly addictive opioids, creating and fueling the deadly opioid crisis.
In 2023, Honorable Mary Rowland appointed Fidelma as co-lead counsel for MDL 3060 In re: Hair Relaxer Marketing Sales Practices And Products Liability Litigation in the Northern District of Illinois. Plaintiffs in the MDL developed uterine cancer and other illnesses after using certain chemical hair relaxers. They assert defendant manufacturers failed to adequately test the products and warn customers about potential harms. Fidelma is also lead counsel of the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee for the coordinated Essure® litigation in California against Bayer Corp., and she serves on the PEC for Paragard® IUD multidistrict litigation filed in the Northern District of Georgia for women who suffered severe effects linked to the birth control devices. She also serves as co-lead counsel of the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee for a Philadelphia mass tort filed for farmers, railroad workers and others who developed Parkinson’s Disease after using Paraquat weed killer.
In 2012, Fidelma was appointed co-lead counsel of the pelvic mesh MDL In re American Medical Systems, Inc., Pelvic Repair Systems Products Liability Litigation in the Southern District of West Virginia. She also holds leadership roles in pelvic mesh state court litigations, including serving as liaison counsel in the American Medical Systems cases consolidated in Delaware and the Boston Scientific cases consolidated in Massachusetts. She continues to represent women who experienced complications after receiving pelvic mesh/sling products. Filed cases are against defendants including Boston Scientific, C.R. Bard, Inc., and Ethicon.
In addition to her leadership appointments in various mass tort actions, Fidelma regularly serves as trial counsel in varied product liability and medical device cases on behalf of Plaintiffs. She was co-lead trial counsel in the lead paint pigment case, The People of California v. Atlantic Richfield Company et al., in which Motley Rice represented 10 California cities and counties against national lead paint pigment manufacturers. In January 2014, the court ruled Sherwin-Williams Company, NL Industries, Inc., and ConAgra Grocery Products Company created a public nuisance by actively promoting lead for use in homes despite knowing that it was highly toxic. The parties subsequently reached a $305 million settlement that established an abatement fund to remove toxic lead paint from homes and protect the health and safety of thousands of California children.
Fidelma also held a central role in the state of Rhode Island's trial against former corporate manufacturers of lead paint pigment. She continues to litigate cases seeking to hold the lead paint pigment industry accountable for the childhood lead poisoning crisis and provide restitution and compensation to affected children and families. As a result of her work for lead poisoning victims, the Wisconsin State Supreme Court became the first to recognize the legal rights of poisoned children to sue lead paint pigment manufacturers.
Fidelma began working with Motley Rice attorneys in 1997 on the Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island lawsuits against the tobacco industry. She serves on the Board of Regents at Canisius College and frequently speaks on environmental and mass tort topics at conferences for federal and state court judges, attorneys, academic professionals and law students.
Please remember that every case is different. Although it endorses this lawyer, The Legal 500 United States is not a Motley Rice client. Any result we achieve for one client in one matter does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients.
A founding partner of Seeger Weiss, Christopher A. Seeger is widely recognized as a highly innovative and accomplished plaintiff attorney. Chiefly known for multidistrict mass torts and class actions involving drug injury, toxic injury, and personal injury, Chris’ versatile practice also includes product liability, property damage, antitrust, and third-party payer litigation, as well as consumer, insurance, and securities fraud. Chris has led some of the most complex, groundbreaking, and high-profile litigations in the U.S. at the state and federal levels. He has received more multidistrict litigation (MDL) appointments than any other lawyer between 2016 and 2019, according to a 2020 ALM study.
Chris served as co-lead counsel in the 3M Combat Arms Earplug Litigation, having been chosen by Judge M. Casey Rodgers from a pool of nearly 200 other applicants to represent more than 250,000 service members and veterans who suffered hearing injuries while using 3M earplugs. After more than four years of litigation, Chris secured a landmark settlement worth over $6 billion in August 2023, successfully resolving the largest mass tort in American history.
Appointed by Judge Joy Flowers Conti to lead the Philips Recalled CPAP, Bi-Level Pap, and Mechanical Ventilator Litigation, Chris represented patients impacted by the company’s recall of more than 10.8 million devices. He was the lead negotiator for an uncapped class action settlement worth a minimum of $479 million that was announced in September 2023, resolving economic loss claims of users and payers impacted by the recall. After receiving final approval for the economic loss settlement, Chris negotiated additional agreements in April 2024 to resolve plaintiffs' personal injury claims for $1.075 billion and medical monitoring claims for $25 million, providing compensation to patients who suffered significant physical injuries caused by the recalled machines.
In the National Prescription Opiate litigation, Chris was appointed to the Executive and Settlement Committees by Judge Dan A. Polster. In 2022, he played an instrumental role in securing settlements worth more than $15 billion with Walgreens, Walmart, CVS, and Kroger. Also, in 2022, a $6.6 billion settlement was reached with pharmaceutical manufacturers Teva and Allergan (AbbVie). Previously, in July 2021, the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in the federal opioid litigation formally announced the terms for a $26 billion global settlement agreement with opioid manufacturer Johnson & Johnson and the “Big Three” drug distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson. To date, Chris has been involved in over $50 billion in settlements through the National Prescription Opioid Litigation.
Chris serves as co-lead counsel in the Proton-Pump Inhibitor Litigation on behalf of patients who suffered kidney injuries while using proton-pump inhibitor drugs. On October 3, 2023, he announced a $425 million settlement with AstraZeneca and additional agreements with GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, and Takeda, bringing the total value of the resolution to $590.4 million.
Chris’s unprecedented run of recent settlements adds to his impressive legacy of resolving major cases and obtaining billions in compensation for injured plaintiffs. This includes a $4.85 billion landmark global settlement with Merck on behalf of patients who suffered heart attacks and strokes while taking Vioxx, a $21 billion-plus settlement with Volkswagen and Audi over the “clean diesel” scandal—the largest consumer auto industry class action settlement in U.S. history, a $1.5 billion settlement for farmers impacted by Syngenta GMO seed contamination—the largest agricultural settlement in U.S. history, and a $1 billion-plus uncapped settlement for retired NFL players and their families in the historic NFL concussion case.
After starting his career as a corporate defense lawyer representing the interests of big business, Chris was struck by the imbalance of power between corporations and the individuals harmed by them. As a result, he left to become a plaintiff attorney. The son of a union carpenter who worked his way through school, Chris is a former amateur boxer and a current Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. Now, whether working on a class action involving thousands of people against a multinational conglomerate or an individual case protecting one client’s rights, he fights with the same passion and conviction.
Chris has been recognized for his outstanding work and unmatched success in leading complex federal cases. He has received the National Law Journal Elite Trial Lawyers Lifetime Achievement Award, been named a Lawdragon Legend, a Law360 Titan of the Plaintiff Bar, and been inducted into both the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame and the Legal 500 Hall of Fame. He is consistently named to annual award lists, including Chambers USA Tier 1 for Product Liability, Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America, and Best Lawyers in America. Regularly quoted by the press regarding his work on nationally and internationally prominent cases, Chris has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Reuters, ABC, CBS, NBC, NPR, and ESPN.
Michelle is a nationally recognized litigator focused on electronic discovery law, data privacy, cross border discovery, and AI technology exploration. She counsels clients on the development and execution of defensible eDiscovery processes in connection with contentious, high-stakes commercial litigation, products liability cases, antitrust matters, and internal and government investigations. Michelle regularly advises multinational corporations on data loss and records retention, as well as challenges and solutions generated by emerging technologies.
Michelle frequently writes and speaks about issues and solutions related to electronic discovery. She was recognized by Relativity as a 2023 AI Visionary.
Jim's practice focuses on the defense of pharmaceutical, medical device and consumer product litigation in state and federal courts nationwide, particularly consolidated mass torts and multi-district litigations.
In Chambers, clients describe Jim as having "[a]n incredible ability to synthesize complex scientific issues into very persuasive arguments that can be used both in court and in negotiations with the other side."
He serves as national coordinating counsel and MDL counsel for consolidated litigations across the U.S. involving thousands of plaintiffs as well as in numerous single-plaintiff cases involving pharmaceuticals, consumer products and medical devices. In conjunction with those roles, Jim emphasizes efficient discovery and manages significant mass tort e-discovery undertakings for his clients.
Jim has also coordinated the resolution of some of the largest, mass torts of the last decade.
Jim also counsels clients on product liability due diligence related to potential acquisitions and divestitures.
Regarding pharmaceutical and biologic manufacturers, Jim's experience includes:
Regarding medical device and consumer products manufacturers, Jim's experience includes:
With more than two decades of practicing personal injury law, Rosemary Pinto has earned an impressive record of courtroom victories, most of which were in cases that other lawyers had rejected as unwinnable. Even in law school, Ms. Pinto stood out among her peers as one of the preeminent litigators. She won the Villanova Law School Theodore F. Riemel Moot Court Competition, in which law students presented a series of arguments before trial and appellate judges.
As a trial lawyer representing injured victims, she has achieved some of the largest verdicts in Philadelphia against corporations and medical treaters in cases that were against seemingly insurmountable odds. Ms. Pinto has an extensive background litigating mass tort actions. In the past, she represented asbestos manufacturers and insurance companies in complex matters. Currently, she confines her practice to the representation of victims, including victims of defective drugs and products that have been irresponsibly marketed to the public. Ms. Pinto also has the added advantage in the courtroom of having practiced insurance defense law early in her career. With this background, Ms. Pinto is able to predict what the defense will do in nearly every case.
Ms. Pinto has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a “Top Rated Products Liability Attorney in Philadelphia, PA” since 2005, and has been recognized in Best Lawyers in America© since 2006. She is frequently asked to lecture to other lawyers in the areas of medical malpractice, product liability and improvement of trial skills by the Philadelphia Bar Institute, the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association and the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association. Ms. Pinto has taught at the Beasley School of Law in the Trial Advocacy Program. She also participated in the Philadelphia Bar Association’s program, teaching civics to high school students. She has appeared on television and radio in relation to cases litigated, her pro bono work and her work in the legal community.
Ms. Pinto credits her success in the courtroom to her background. Her father was one of the preeminent trial lawyers in the country and thus she developed a love of the law at an early age. In addition, as a former high school history teacher, Ms. Pinto believes that courtroom trials are very similar to teaching, because in both situations you are exposing a captive audience (that might prefer to be somewhere else) to a new set of facts or evidence, and you need to present the information in a way that is interesting so that the audience becomes involved in the process. Ms. Pinto is a firm believer in our justice system and the ability of a jury of one’s peers to weigh the evidence and come up with a fair decision. She says that it is the collective wisdom of a jury that gives it the ability to see through false statements and red herrings to achieve a just result. Ms. Pinto takes an active role in politics by supporting both political candidates and judicial candidates that support the Constitution of the United States and our justice system in the hopes of ensuring access to justice for all, not just the wealthy corporations and insurance companies. Giving back to the community is important to Ms. Pinto as an attorney, so she continually represents indigent clients, donates to and helps raise money for charitable causes and holds receptions for candidates seeking public office who support the rights of all of our citizens. Ms. Pinto has been on the Board of Governors of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, the Philadelphia Bar Association, and the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers. She has also served on the Board of Delegates to the Pennsylvania Bar Association.
The Honorable Brian R. Martinotti, U.S.D.J., was appointed to serve as a United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey on July 11, 2016, by former President Barack Obama. Judge Martinotti graduated cum laude from Seton Hall University School of Law and from Fordham University with a Bachelor of Science in Finance. Prior to becoming a federal judge, Judge Martinotti served as a New Jersey Superior Court Judge from 2002 to 2016. He sat in both the Family Division and the Civil Division in Bergen County. While assigned to the Civil Division, he was one of the state’s three Multi-County Litigation judges handling mass torts and complex litigation. Over the course of his judicial tenure in state and federal court, Judge Martinotti has presided over 13 Multi-District and Multi-County Litigations.
Judge Martinotti is the recipient of the 2020 Hon. Peter Ciolino Professionalism Award from the Bergen County Bar Association, the recipient of the Congressman Peter Rodino Medal of Excellence from Seton Hall School of Law, a 2018 Tri-County Scholarship Fund Honoree, a Fellow of the American Bar Association, and an elected member of the American Law Institute. In September 2023, Judge Martinotti was the recipient of the 2023 St. Thomas More Medal at the Seton Hall School of Law Annual Red Mass.
Judge Martinotti is a frequent lecturer for the American Bar Association, New Jersey State Bar Association Institute for Continuing Legal Education, New Jersey Association for Justice, and the Bergen County Bar Association. He has published in the Manual for Complex Litigation and the Loyola University Chicago Law Journal on the topic of Multi-District and Multi-County Litigation and has been recognized by the Fordham Law Review and JAMs for developing and implementing innovative methods of resolving complex litigation. He is also a member of the Judicial Advisory Board for the Institute for Complex Litigation and Mass Claims at the Emory University School of Law, and as well as a co-chair of the Federal/State subcommittee, which continues to promote state and federal cooperation, particularly in the complex litigation arena. He is a member of the RAND Kenneth R. Feinberg Center for Catastrophic Risk Management and Compensation Advisory Board and was appointed by Chief Justice John Roberts to be on the Editorial Board for Federal Judicial Center’s Manual for Complex Litigation.
Prior to being appointed to the State bench, Judge Martinotti was in private practice with the law firm of Beattie Padovano, LLC, from 1987 until 2002, beginning as an associate and eventually being elevated to partner in 1994. While in private practice, Judge Martinotti was a distinguished and well-regarded litigator and Certified Civil Trial Attorney. He was a council member for the Borough of Cliffside Park and also served other towns in various roles as municipal public defender, prosecutor, and tax attorney. Judge Martinotti began his legal career by serving as a law clerk to the Honorable Judge Roger M. Kahn of the New Jersey Tax Court.
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 is licensed to practice law in California and the District of Columbia only.
Judge Jane Triche Milazzo was sworn in as a United State District Court Judge on October 12, 2011, after being unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on October 11, 2011.
Judge Milazzo graduated from LSU Law School in 1992 and immediately went into practice with her family at the Law Offices of Risley Triche, LLC, where she engaged in a general civil practice. Judge Milazzo was the first female to practice law in Assumption Parish and ultimately became the first female elected to Louisiana’s 23rd Judicial District Court.
Judge Milazzo regularly speaks to lawyers on issues of professionalism, advocacy, and complex litigation. She currently presides over the multidistrict litigation, In Re: Taxotere (Docetaxel) Products Liability Litigation. She is married to her husband, John. They have six children and five grandchildren.
Eric Gibbs prosecutes consumer protection, antitrust, whistleblower, financial fraud and mass tort matters. He has been appointed to leadership positions in dozens of contested, high profile class actions and coordinated proceedings, and currently serves in leadership positions in In re Equifax, Inc. Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, In re: Wells Fargo Auto Insurance Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, In re Risperdal and Invega Product Liability Cases, In re Banner Health Data Breach Litigation. Eric has recovered nearly a billion dollars for the clients and classes he represents, and has negotiated groundbreaking settlements that resulted in meaningful reforms to business practices, and have favorably impacted plaintiffs’ legal rights.
Reputation and Recognition by the Courts
In over twenty years of practice, Eric has developed a distinguished reputation with his peers and the judiciary for his ability to work efficiently and cooperatively with co-counsel, and professionally with opposing counsel in class action litigation.
[Mr. Gibbs] efficiently managed the requests from well over 20 different law firms and effectively represented the interests of Non-Settling Plaintiffs throughout this litigation. Judge Wu, In re Hyundai & Kia Fuel Economy Litigation (C.D. Cal)
The attorneys who handled the case were particularly skilled by virtue of their ability and experience.
Judge Debevoise, In re: Mercedes-Benz Teleaid Contract Litigation (D.N.J.)
They are experienced and knowledgeable counsel and have significant breadth of experience in terms of consumer class actions.
Judge Sabraw, Mitchell v. American Fair Credit Association (Alameda County Superior Court)
Representation was professional and competent; in the Court’s opinion, counsel obtained an excellent result for the class.
Judge Fogel, Sugarman v. Ducati North America (N.D. Cal)
Achievements and Leadership
Eric has been widely recognized for his professional excellence and achievements, and has been selected by numerous publications as a leading lawyer in the field of Class and Mass Actions.
In 2019, Law360 recognized Eric among its “Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar,” one of only 10 attorneys nationwide to receive the award, honoring “influential plaintiffs lawyers who had significant wins in 2018.” He also received the 2019 California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award for his work in the Anthem Data Breach Litigation. The Daily Journal named Eric to its prestigious list of “Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California” for 2019 and 2016, and Law360 recognized Eric as a “2016 Consumer Protection MVP,” the only plaintiff-side lawyer in the country selected in that category. In 2018, Law360 named Eric a “Cybersecurity & Privacy MVP,” one of only five attorneys who received the honor nationwide. Consumer Attorneys of California selected Eric and co-counsel as finalists for the Consumer Attorney of the Year award for their work in achieving $100 million settlement in the Chase “Check Loan” Litigation.
His cases have been chronicled in major legal and news publications including NBC News, CNN, the National Law Journal, The New York Times, Auto Week, Market Watch, and Bloomberg News.
Eric holds a variety of leadership positions in professional associations dedicated to consumer advocacy, and he is frequently called upon to present on developing trends in the law at conferences throughout the country. Eric heads our California whistleblower attorney practice group.
Litigation Highlights
In re Anthem, Inc. Data Breach Privacy Litigation
Served as a court-appointed member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee representing the interests of plaintiffs and putative class members following a massive data breach of approximately 80 million personal records. The lawsuit settled in August 2018 for $115 million, the largest data breach settlement in history.
In re Chase Bank U.S.A., N.A. “Check Loan” Contract Litigation
Multidistrict litigation that alleged Chase Bank wronged consumers by offering long-term fixed-rate loans, only to later more-than-double the required loan payments. Eric led negotiations in the case, which resulted in a $100 million settlement with Chase eight weeks prior to trial.
In re Adobe Systems Inc. Privacy Litigation
As court-appointed lead counsel, Eric and his team reversed a long line of decisions adverse to consumers whose personal information was stolen in data breaches. Judge Koh issued a 41 page decision in plaintiffs’ favor and Eric negotiated a comprehensive reform of Adobe’s data security practices. The court’s landmark decision on Article III standing in this case marked a sea change and has been cited favorably in over twenty cases in the year since it was issued.
After more than a decade of litigation, Eric as lead counsel achieved a nationwide class action settlement on behalf of approximately 5 million consumers of Intel Pentium 4 processors. The lawsuit changed Intel’s benchmarking practices and Intel agreed to a cash settlement for the class, along with $4 million in charitable donations.
Parkinson v. Hyundai Motor America
Eric served as class counsel in this lawsuit alleging that the flywheel and clutch system in certain Hyundai vehicles was defective. After achieving nationwide class certification, Hyundai agreed to a settlement that provided for 50-100% reimbursements to class members for their repairs and full reimbursement for rental vehicle expenses.
De La Cruz v. Masco Retail Cabinet Group
Eric served as lead attorney litigating the collective claims of dozens of misclassified account representatives for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Successfully certified a class of current and former Masco account representatives and personally arbitrated the case to judgment obtaining full recovery for the class.
In re Providian Credit Card Cases
Eric played a prominent role in this nationwide class action suit brought on behalf of Providian credit card holders alleging that Providian engaged in unlawful and fraudulent business practices in connection with the marketing and fee assessments for its credit cards. The Honorable Stuart Pollack approved a $105 million settlement, plus injunctive relief—one of the largest class action recoveries in the United States arising out of consumer credit card litigation.
Kim Bueno serves as lead counsel for jury trials throughout the country. A member of King & Spalding’s Product Liability and Mass Torts practice group based in Austin, she represents clients in high-stakes personal injury actions and complex commercial litigation.
Kim is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and has been recognized by Chambers USA for Litigation—Trial Lawyers (2024); Nationwide Product Liability & Mass Torts (2021-2024); and Texas: Austin & Surrounds – Litigation: General Commercial (2023-2024).
The Legal 500 US (2024) named her a Leading Lawyer in Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action—Defense: Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices, highlighting her high-profile victories in federal and state courts throughout the country.
Kim holds a J.D. with high honors from The University of Texas School of Law and a B.A., summa cum laude, from Southern Methodist University. She is licensed to practice in Texas.
Paul Geller, managing partner of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP’s Boca Raton, Florida office, is a founding partner of the Firm, a member of its Executive Committee, and head of the Firm’s Consumer Practice Group. Paul’s 30 years of litigation experience is broad, and he has handled cases in each of the Firm’s practice areas. Notably, before devoting his practice to the representation of consumers and investors, he defended companies in high-stakes class action and multi-district litigation, providing him with an invaluable perspective. Paul has tried bench and jury trials on both the plaintiffs’ and defendants’ sides and has argued before numerous state, federal, and appellate courts throughout the country.
Paul was recently selected to serve in a leadership position on behalf of governmental entities and other plaintiffs in the sprawling litigation concerning the nationwide prescription opioid epidemic. In reporting on the selection of the lawyers to lead the case, The National Law Journal reported that “[t]he team reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ in mass torts.” Paul was also a critical member of the team that negotiated over $50 billion in settlements against certain opioid distributors, manufacturers and dispensers. Prior to the opioid litigation, Paul was a member of the leadership team representing consumers in the massive Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” emissions case. The San Francisco legal newspaper The Recorder labeled the group that was appointed in that case, which settled for more than $17 billion, a “class action dream team.” Paul was recently one of the Lead Counsel in In re EpiPen (Epinephrine Injection, USP) Mktg., Sales Pracs. & Antitrust Litig., a nationwide class action that alleged that pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Mylan N.V. engaged in anti-competitive and unfair business conduct in its sale and marketing of the EpiPen auto-injector device. The case recently settled for $609 million.
Some of Paul’s other recent noteworthy successes include the then largest privacy class action settlement in history – a $650 million all cash recovery in In re Facebook Biometric Info. Privacy Litig., concerning the use of biometric identifiers through Facebook’s “tag” feature. In addition to the monetary recovery, Facebook disabled the tag feature altogether, deleting user facial profiles and discontinuing the use of facial recognition software.
Paul serves on the Trial Lawyers of Mass Torts Advisory Board and was formerly on the Advisory Board of Emory University School of Law and the separate Board of The Institute for Complex Litigation and Mass Claims at Emory. He is a member of the Trial Law Institute and the Diversity Law Institute of the Litigation Counsel of America. Paul is also a member of the Supreme Court Historical Society. Additionally, he served for many years as a member of the Board of Advisors for The Center on Civil Justice at New York University School of Law. In these roles and others, Paul frequently lectures on class action and MDL issues at judicial seminars, bar conferences, and academic programs. Paul is also a recurring member of the faculty of the Mass Torts MDL Certificate Program at the Bolch Judicial Institute at Duke University School of Law, as well as the Baylor MDL Judicial Summit.
Paul is rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell (the highest rating available), twice named one of the nation’s top “40 Under 40” by The National Law Journal, and named one of “Florida’s Top Lawyers” by Law & Politics and South Florida Business Journal. He has also been named a Legend, a Leading Lawyer in America, a Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyer, and a 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyer by Lawdragon; a Leading Lawyer by Chambers USA; a Plaintiffs’ Lawyer Trailblazer by The National Law Journal; one of Florida’s “Legal Elite” by Florida Trend magazine; and one of “Florida’s Most Effective Lawyers” by American Law Media’s Daily Business Review. Additionally, Best Lawyers® named Paul a Best Lawyer in America and a Florida Best Lawyer in the area of “Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs,” and he was additionally chosen as Lawyer of the Year in that same category. Super Lawyers Magazine has also named Paul a Florida Super Lawyer for 16 consecutive years.
Paul earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of Florida, where he was a member of the University Honors Program. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from Emory University School of Law, with Highest Distinction, where he was an editor of the Emory Law Journal, a member of the Order of the Coif Legal Honor Society, and awarded multiple American Jurisprudence Book Awards for earning the highest grade in class.
A Relentless, Principled Advocate
A partner based in our Nashville office, Kenneth S. Byrd is an experienced trial attorney at Lieff Cabraser, obtaining several large jury trial verdicts against Big Tobacco over the past several years. He received the Tennessee Association for Justice’s 2015 Paladin Award for his successful litigation against cigarette manufacturers R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Philip Morris USA Inc., and Lorillard Tobacco Company in Florida federal courts. The Paladin Award is TAJ’s highest honor and is given to the state’s top trial lawyer of the year. Kenny’s successful work on these cases included separate $27 million and $41 million jury verdicts that were upheld on appeal.
Kenny represents clients in mass tort cases, defective product cases, and consumer fraud litigation. He represents consumers in consumer class action cases as well as injured individuals and their loved ones in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits filed across the country. Kenny’s leadership roles include his appointment to the Plaintiff Steering Committee and Early Vetting Subcommittee in In re: 3M Combat Arms Earplug Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2885 (the largest MDL in history by the number of claimants), and his appointment to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in In Re: AME Church Employee Retirement Fund Litigation, MDL No. 3035.
Kenny is also a member of Lieff Cabraser’s Whistleblower/False Claims Act practice group, assisting whistleblowers to stop fraud and the misuse of funds in government contracts and programs.
Honors: Cum Laude
Major: Mathematics
Minor: Journalism
A founding partner of Seeger Weiss, Christopher A. Seeger is widely recognized as a highly innovative and accomplished plaintiff attorney. Chiefly known for multidistrict mass torts and class actions involving drug injury, toxic injury, and personal injury, Chris’ versatile practice also includes product liability, property damage, antitrust, and third-party payer litigation, as well as consumer, insurance, and securities fraud. Chris has led some of the most complex, groundbreaking, and high-profile litigations in the U.S. at the state and federal levels. He has received more multidistrict litigation (MDL) appointments than any other lawyer between 2016 and 2019, according to a 2020 ALM study.
Chris served as co-lead counsel in the 3M Combat Arms Earplug Litigation, having been chosen by Judge M. Casey Rodgers from a pool of nearly 200 other applicants to represent more than 250,000 service members and veterans who suffered hearing injuries while using 3M earplugs. After more than four years of litigation, Chris secured a landmark settlement worth over $6 billion in August 2023, successfully resolving the largest mass tort in American history.
Appointed by Judge Joy Flowers Conti to lead the Philips Recalled CPAP, Bi-Level Pap, and Mechanical Ventilator Litigation, Chris represented patients impacted by the company’s recall of more than 10.8 million devices. He was the lead negotiator for an uncapped class action settlement worth a minimum of $479 million that was announced in September 2023, resolving economic loss claims of users and payers impacted by the recall. After receiving final approval for the economic loss settlement, Chris negotiated additional agreements in April 2024 to resolve plaintiffs' personal injury claims for $1.075 billion and medical monitoring claims for $25 million, providing compensation to patients who suffered significant physical injuries caused by the recalled machines.
In the National Prescription Opiate litigation, Chris was appointed to the Executive and Settlement Committees by Judge Dan A. Polster. In 2022, he played an instrumental role in securing settlements worth more than $15 billion with Walgreens, Walmart, CVS, and Kroger. Also, in 2022, a $6.6 billion settlement was reached with pharmaceutical manufacturers Teva and Allergan (AbbVie). Previously, in July 2021, the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in the federal opioid litigation formally announced the terms for a $26 billion global settlement agreement with opioid manufacturer Johnson & Johnson and the “Big Three” drug distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson. To date, Chris has been involved in over $50 billion in settlements through the National Prescription Opioid Litigation.
Chris serves as co-lead counsel in the Proton-Pump Inhibitor Litigation on behalf of patients who suffered kidney injuries while using proton-pump inhibitor drugs. On October 3, 2023, he announced a $425 million settlement with AstraZeneca and additional agreements with GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, and Takeda, bringing the total value of the resolution to $590.4 million.
Chris’s unprecedented run of recent settlements adds to his impressive legacy of resolving major cases and obtaining billions in compensation for injured plaintiffs. This includes a $4.85 billion landmark global settlement with Merck on behalf of patients who suffered heart attacks and strokes while taking Vioxx, a $21 billion-plus settlement with Volkswagen and Audi over the “clean diesel” scandal—the largest consumer auto industry class action settlement in U.S. history, a $1.5 billion settlement for farmers impacted by Syngenta GMO seed contamination—the largest agricultural settlement in U.S. history, and a $1 billion-plus uncapped settlement for retired NFL players and their families in the historic NFL concussion case.
After starting his career as a corporate defense lawyer representing the interests of big business, Chris was struck by the imbalance of power between corporations and the individuals harmed by them. As a result, he left to become a plaintiff attorney. The son of a union carpenter who worked his way through school, Chris is a former amateur boxer and a current Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. Now, whether working on a class action involving thousands of people against a multinational conglomerate or an individual case protecting one client’s rights, he fights with the same passion and conviction.
Chris has been recognized for his outstanding work and unmatched success in leading complex federal cases. He has received the National Law Journal Elite Trial Lawyers Lifetime Achievement Award, been named a Lawdragon Legend, a Law360 Titan of the Plaintiff Bar, and been inducted into both the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame and the Legal 500 Hall of Fame. He is consistently named to annual award lists, including Chambers USA Tier 1 for Product Liability, Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America, and Best Lawyers in America. Regularly quoted by the press regarding his work on nationally and internationally prominent cases, Chris has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Reuters, ABC, CBS, NBC, NPR, and ESPN.
Robert “Mike” Brock is a nationally recognized trial lawyer with 25 years of experience handling high-stakes, bet-the-business litigation. His practice focuses on representing pharmaceuticals and life sciences companies, particularly in product liability and mass tort cases. He has tried cases in a wide range of areas and has represented clients in antitrust, malpractice, toxic tort and securities class action litigation, as well as in other types of cases. Mike is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
Mike has represented companies in some of the most high-stakes litigation in recent history. He currently serves as lead trial lawyer for BP in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill litigation. His trial performance has been highly praised and widely reported in the press. According to the Financial Times, one legal professional said that “in a courtroom full of top-tier legal talent,” Mike was particularly impressive, delivering “one of the most methodical and skillful cross-examinations I have seen” in 25 years.
Mike has also been exceptionally successful in his representations of leading pharmaceutical companies in product liability cases. He secured jury verdicts for Merck in a Fosamax® case in New York City and for AstraZeneca in its first Seroquel® lawsuit in New Brunswick, NJ. He also served as lead trial counsel to Merck in several Vioxx® cases, securing wins in Alabama, California, Florida and New Jersey. Recently, he has served as lead trial counsel for Pfizer in its Chantix® litigation and for Boehringer Ingelheim in litigation concerning Pradaxa®.
Mike is recognized by various legal publications as a first-class trial lawyer in products liability and mass tort litigation. He has been selected as a “leading lawyer” by Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business every year since 2009, and the 2023 edition describes him as “a seasoned trial lawyer who boasts impressive experience representing a range of defendants in high-stakes product liability trials.” Sources for the guide say he is “one of the elite trial lawyers in the U.S.” with a “great courtroom presence” and an ability to “take complex issues and break them down in a way that’s accessible and understandable” and is “a first-rate first-chair trial lawyer” who “is front and center” in major disputes. He was also listed in the 2015–2024 editions of Chambers Global, The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business, most recently ranked in Band 1 for Litigation: Trial Lawyers. The Legal 500 U.S. selected Mike to the “Hall of Fame” in 2021–2024 and as a “leading lawyer” in 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2020 for Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices, and singled him out as a “renowned trial lawyer.” He is also recognized by Benchmark Litigation as a “National Star.” Prior to joining Kirkland, Mike was a partner at Covington & Burling LLP, where he was the chair of their product liability and mass torts practice.
Co-chair of the Product Liability practice group, Kim Branscome is a nationally renowned trial lawyer and litigation strategist who focuses on complex litigation and trials involving product liability, professional liability, environmental and toxic torts, and securities matters. She has secured several high-profile product liability trial victories on behalf of leading multinational corporations across a broad range of sectors, including the pharmaceutical, consumer products, energy and automotive industries. Kim is widely regarded as one of the most talented and respected lawyers in the product liability and mass tort litigation area, with clients describing her as “one of the leading lawyers in this space” and as “someone clients trust to try their cases.”
Kim has deep experience litigating in federal and state courtrooms across the country, with a particular emphasis on the most high-profile mass torts and product liability matters, as well as high-stakes securities class actions and other complex civil litigation. Kim’s representations include:
Kim is widely recognized by leading publications and legal directories for her trial accomplishments and expertise. The American Lawyer named Kim to its 2022 list of “West Trailblazers,” which recognizes lawyers in the western states who have moved the needle in the legal industry. Chambers USA has recognized Kim in the Product Liability & Mass Torts (USA) category for the past four years, describing her as a “well-regarded trial lawyer who has amassed a broad range of experience in mass torts and class actions.” The Legal 500 US also recognizes Kim in its Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action-Defense categories across consumer products, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices and toxic torts, describing her as a “strong practitioner with excellent strategic smarts.” The Daily Journal recognized her as one of the “Top 100 Lawyers” in California in 2019 and one of the “Top Women Lawyers” in California in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Forbes recognized Kim on its inaugural 2024 “America’s Top 200 Lawyers” list. The Los Angeles Business Journal named Kim to its “Top Litigators & Trial Lawyers” and “Most Influential Women Lawyers” lists in 2019 and Law360 named her a “Rising Star” in 2017.