Greenberg Traurig Named Georgia Litigation Department of the Year at The American Lawyer 2021 Industry Awards

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• USA - English

ATLANTA, Dec. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP was named Regional Litigation Department of the Year for Georgia and a finalist in the Best Client-Law Firm Team category of The American Lawyer 2021 Industry Awards. The annual awards series recognizes and celebrates the important work being done across the legal profession, according to American Lawyer Media (ALM). Winners were honored at ALM's Dec. 2 event in New York.

Atlanta office-based Lori G. Cohen, Greenberg Traurig vice chair, co-chair of the firm's Global Litigation Practice and Trial Practice, and founder of the Pharmaceutical, Medical Device & Health Care Practice, said: "To be recognized again by TheAmerican Lawyer for litigation excellence is a true honor, and this year's victories – both inside and outside the courtroom – demonstrate what makes our team exceptional. Our total commitment to excellence in client service motivates us time and time again to achieve success, often in some of the most complex litigation matters facing companies that are vital to health care provision nationwide."

Over the past 18 months, Greenberg Traurig's Atlanta litigation group achieved success for clients in numerous important matters including:

• Winning two full defense verdicts for client BD/C.R. Bard in July and August 2021 in cases remanded from In Re: Bard IVC Filters Products Liability Litigation, a multidistrict litigation (MDL) proceeding. The first matter, Couturier v. C. R. Bard, Inc., was litigated in the Eastern District of Louisiana Federal Court. After nine days of trial, including the testimony of 21 witnesses, the jury in the matter deliberated for just 90 minutes before reaching a total defense verdict in favor of BD/C.R. Bard. In the second, the team prevailed for BD/C. R. Bard, obtaining a Motion for Summary Judgment in Nelson v. C. R. Bard, Inc., pending in the Southern District of Mississippi Federal Court.
• Securing two critical appellate wins for client BD/C.R. Bard in pelvic mesh litigation. The team's success in Mary McGinnis and Thomas Walsh McGinnis v. C. R. Bard, Inc. pending in New Jersey Superior Court's Appellate Division was a crucial victory for pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers and a monumental step for courts nationwide to understand the significance and admissibility of FDA evidence in product liability trials. The victory for BD/C.R. Bard in Eve Sherrer vs. Boston Scientific Corporation and C. R. Bard was significant for all out-of-state corporate litigants battling in Missouri. The ruling that prior criminal convictions were not admissible to rebut good character evidence or impeach the corporation's credibility will importantly help even the playing field at trial for defendant corporations.
• Helping to secure important and groundbreaking dismissals of many of the claims asserted against generic pharmaceutical manufacturer Teva Pharmaceuticals, USA, Inc. and other generic-drug-manufacturer defendants in the In re Zantac (Ranitidine) Products Liability Litigation MDL, with only narrow claims left to be challenged again after amendment. The matter is among the fastest growing and largest pharmaceutical MDLs in history.
• Leading a series of legal victories throughout the nation for Sandoz, Inc. and Eon Labs, Inc. in the national amiodarone litigation. These victories, which virtually ended the litigation for all generic manufacturers of the drug, followed the team's success in securing the dismissal on behalf of Sandoz and Eon of more than 450 non-California plaintiffs for lack of personal jurisdiction in the California amiodarone coordinated proceeding. The case, which comprised six coordinated lawsuits with more than 480 plaintiffs' claims from 38 states, is a significant victory against "litigation tourism" wherein lawsuits are filed in plaintiff-friendly state courts.
• Securing dismissals of several thousand cases—including several potential bellwethers—as national counsel for Sandoz in litigation related to chemotherapy drug Taxotere (docetaxel). The team also obtained summary judgment in the first case set to go to trial against Sandoz. This litigation includes a 12,500+ case federal MDL, a New Jersey multicounty litigation, and an action by the Mississippi attorney general.
• Securing the complete dismissal of claims against Bausch & Lomb in the closely watched Doe, et al. v. Bausch & Lomb, Inc., et al. case in the District of Connecticut. With the plaintiffs' bar testing a "failure to report adverse events" theory of liability designed to circumvent the federal preemption defense for these devices, this victory lays the groundwork to close this potential preemption loophole in the Second Circuit.

Greenberg Traurig's Atlanta litigation group now has twice won the ALM Regional Litigation Department of the Year category in Georgia, also having done so in 2018. The team also has been a finalist or winner every year since the inception of the award series that same year. The 2021 award is the department's seventh year of recognition by American Lawyer Media publications. ALM's Georgia-based Daily Report honored the firm in 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2017 for its representation of pharmaceutical and medical device companies in some of the most significant products liability litigation affecting the industry, which was handled by the firm's Products Liability & Mass Torts and Pharmaceutical, Medical Device & Health Care Practices. The firm was also honored in 2015 and 2016 in the area of Labor & Employment for the handling and trying of complex bet-the-company and large high-stake cases, including class and collective actions, by the Atlanta office's Labor & Employment Practice.

The firm's recognition in the Best Client-Law Firm Team category reflects its deep and successful partnership with long-time client and Fortune 200 medical device manufacturer Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD). As the sixth largest medical device company in the world and the leading manufacturer of injection devices, the partnership of BD's in-house attorneys and outside counsel work seamlessly together to develop and execute strategy, leverage risk, and manage costs. This "one team" mindset is built on a platform of trust that began almost a decade ago and thrives because in-house and outside counsel act in strategic alignment to simultaneously meet BD's business and litigation needs.

About Greenberg Traurig's Litigation Practice: Greenberg Traurig's Litigation Practice includes a team of more than 600 attorneys. The firm's trial lawyers regularly appear in state and federal courts throughout the country, as well as in appellate courts and before international arbitration panels. They work closely with in-house counsel to develop a strategy that best fits a litigation cost and proficiency model appropriate to the client's unique needs and goals.

About Greenberg Traurig's Pharmaceutical, Medical Device & Health Care Litigation Group: The Pharmaceutical, Medical Device & Health Care Litigation Group is an integral part of the firm's 600+ attorney Litigation Practice. Led by "trial wizard" Lori G. Cohen, this team is nationally recognized for its dynamic courtroom presence, responsiveness to clients, and deep subject matter knowledge. Recent recognitions include the shortlist for Benchmark Litigation's 2020 "Product Liability Firm of the Year"; national rankings for 2019 "Product Liability & Mass Torts" from Chambers USA Guide; and national rankings for 2019 "Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action Defense: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices" from The Legal 500 United States.

About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has approximately 2,300 attorneys in 40 locations in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, diversity, and innovation, and is consistently among the largest firms in the U.S. on the Law360 400 and among the Top 25 on the Am Law Global 100. The firm is net carbon neutral with respect to its office energy usage and Mansfield Rule 4.0 Plus Certified. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com.

Media Contact

Lourdes Brezo Scholl, Greenberg Traurig, LLP, +1 (212) 801-2131, [email protected]

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