Torrey defends clients in complex product liability actions, specializing in pharmaceutical drug and surgical device litigations. She has represented manufacturers in federal and state court, including large multidistrict litigations, coordinated state court proceedings and class action lawsuits.  

Torrey is involved in all stages of litigation, from initial case assessment, motion practice and bellwether work up, to company witness preparation, international depositions and trial work. She has successfully drafted dispositive motions for multiple clients in jurisdictions across the U.S., including two landmark MDL orders. Torrey has argued numerous motions in federal court and in front of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML).

As a key member of the Taxotere multidistrict litigation, Torrey was part of the team that obtained two complete defense verdicts in the first bellwether trials, which was reported in First Taxotere Bellwether Trial Ends in Defense Verdict, and Sanofi-Aventis Wins Second Taxotere Verdict in Jury Bellwether, in Law.com. 

Specializing in the pharmaceutical and medical device field, Torrey attended Mini-Medical School at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, gaining insight and training in medicine, patient care and surgical techniques from the school’s distinguished faculty.  

Torrey participated in her law school’s civil litigation clinic, where she first-chaired a trial and won, and later was named the school’s Student of the Year. She also interned for the Hon. Rodney W. Sippel, Chief Judge for the U.S. District Court of Missouri, Eastern District. 

Representative Matters

Defense verdict for Sanofi when a Louisiana jury returned a defense verdict in two hours after a multiweek trial in the first bellwether trial in multidistrict litigation involving allegations that the breast cancer chemotherapy drug Taxotere causes permanent hair loss (Shook Wins Bellwether Trial in Taxotere MDL)Earnest v. Sanofi Aventis U.S. LLC, No. 16-17144 (E.D. La.); In re Taxotere (docetaxel) Prods. Liab. Litig., MDL No. 2740.

Defense verdict for Sanofi when a Louisiana jury returned a defense verdict in the second bellwether Taxotere MDL trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (Sanofi-Aventis Wins Second Taxotere Verdict in Jury Bellwether) involving allegations that the breast cancer chemotherapy drug Taxotere causes permanent hair loss. Kahn v. Sanofi Aventis U.S. LLC, No. 16-17144 (E.D. La.); In re Taxotere (docetaxel) Prods. Liab. Litig., MDL No. 2740.

Presentations and Publications  

The Importance Of MDL Bellwether Trial Opening Statements And Closing Arguments, DRI's For the Defense, September 2022

Trial Practice for Associates “In the Trenches”, The Future of Trial Practice in Pharmaceutical Drug  and Device Litigation, June 23, 2022 (with Chris McRea). 

Building a Fulfilling and Productive Career, Women in Litigation Forum 2021, Benchmark Litigation, September 30, 2021 (with Hildy Sastre).

Exposing Meritless Claims in Drug and Medical Device Product Liability MDLs, DRI's For the Defense, September 2019 (with Christopher J. Kaufman and Jason R. Harmon).

Media Coverage

Sanofi May Assert Lack of Knowledge of Taxotere Hair Loss Risk, Bloomberg Law, July 2, 2020.