Michelle is a partner with more than 35 years of litigation experience. She defends some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers in product liability and commercial litigation matters. Michelle has litigated product liability cases in state and federal trial and appellate courts throughout the United States.
Not only is Michelle a highly skilled attorney, she is also a registered nurse. Her knowledge of anatomy and physiology allows her a depth of understanding of the scientific issues of her legal work which gives her an advantage through all phases of litigation. Armed with an education and insight into the medical issues involved in each case, Michelle can speak intelligently and efficiently to expert witnesses, clients’ scientists and physicians and conduct revealing and comprehensive depositions.
In pharmaceutical and medical device product liability litigation, Michelle has defended manufacturers of many different products, including synthetic and natural hormone therapies, antidepressants, anxiolytics, sleeping pills, chemotherapeutic agents, anticoagulants, over-the-counter cough/cold medications and a variety of contraceptive methods.
Michelle also excels in indemnification agreements between pharmaceutical manufacturers and retail defendants.
Representative Matters
- Served as national counsel for Eli Lilly and Company in litigation concerning Lilly's neuroscience products Prozac, Strattera and Cymbalta.
- Acted as Bayer Corporation's national coordinating counsel in state and federal litigation in which plaintiffs alleged that Bayer’s PPA-containing products caused hemorrhagic and ischemic strokes.
- Member of key litigation and trial teams in Yasmin /YAZ and Mirena product liability litigation.
- Arbitration of alleged breaches of co-marketing and licensing agreements related to pharmaceutical products.
- Managed Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc.’s retail defendant tender requests in talc litigation.
- Managed GlaxoSmithKline’s wholesale and retail defendant tender requests in the Zantac litigation.
- Defended an antitrust case brought by a generic manufacturer against a name-brand manufacturer.