“Grit, Determination, Hard Work” Lead to Client Success, Shook Partner Tells Daily Business Review

The Daily Business Review profiled Shook Partner Hildy Sastre in “Fresh off Pharma Victory, Defense Lawyer Braces for Similar Fights Fueled by Lit Funding.”

Sastre is among an elite group of women trial lawyers with experience defending Fortune 100 corporations—including pharmaceutical and medical device companies and a variety of other manufacturers—in national multidistrict litigation, consolidated proceedings and mass tort claims, many of which involve tens of thousands of plaintiffs. Sastre acts as trial counsel in bellwether cases—those that courts and parties select to test their arguments, with the goal of moving the overall mass tort litigation toward resolution.

“We’re seeing MDLs grow candidly into record-setting numbers in the tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of cases,” said Sastre, who became the co-chair of the firm’s Product Liability Litigation Practice earlier this year.

She is on the short list of women trial lawyers asked to work on some of the most complex and challenging cases in the country. The article explores Sastre’s competitive edge in the courtroom which she says she learned beginning with her athletic prowess while in school.

“A lot of it comes down to pure hard work, determination and what you are able to do to represent your client to the best of your ability,” said Sastre. “The grit is part of me since I was young.”

Shook Partner William Geraghty is also interviewed for the article about cases they've tried together.