When a Defendant faces thousands of lawsuits in multiple jurisdictions for the same product or alleged negligent act, the Defendant will typically request that the Multidistrict Litigation Panel consolidate those cases into one Multidistrict Litigation Court (MDL). MDLs are used to manage discovery and sometimes even trials for lawsuits that involve drugs, defective products, negligent acts, and other claims that involve thousands of people whose allegations of harm involve the same basic actions by the Defendant.
MDLs are helpful because they consolidate and conserve resources, have consistent court rulings throughout the entirety of the case, help ensure a larger number of harmed individuals are aware of the litigation and can be compensated for their injuries, and encourage global and efficient settlements. In order to be appointed to a Plaintiff MDL Leadership Committee, attorneys must first and foremost submit an application that details their qualifications. After that, they are interviewed by a federal judge who ultimately makes the decision as to who will be on the executive leadership team. Those who are appointed will either become Co-Lead Counsel for the MDL or become a part of the Plaintiff’s Executive Committee/Plaintiff Steering Committee.
Watts Guerra proudly has been a part of many MDL Leadership roles in the mass tort cases we represent clients in. We openly welcome the extra work that is associated with that role because want to maintain being the voice for those who are standing up to these large corporations that are causing harm. In fact, currently, we have four of our powerhouse female attorneys in MDL Leadership. Historically, men usually hold those roles, so this is a huge deal!
To celebrate the dedication and hard work that these fierce female attorneys are doing, we wanted to highlight and shout from the rooftops how proud we are of them!
Shelly Sanford – Ethicon Physiomesh Plaintiff Steering Committee
Shelly Sanford is not a stranger to litigation leadership. She has been appointed to litigation leadership positions in New York, Louisiana, California, West Virginia, Texas and Minnesota, including selections to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, Government Actions Executive Committee, Federal-State Liaison, and as Chair Co-Chair, or Member of committees on experts, science, discovery, fee allocation, trials, and administration.
In addition to her other professional accolades, Shelly is Certified in Domestic and International Arbitration by the White Resolution Center of the University of Houston. In 2011, she passed the U.K. Solicitor’s examination for qualified foreign lawyers. In 2018 Shelly was certified in cybersecurity by the Global Cyber Institute.
Erin Rogiers – 3M Early Vetting Subcommittee
Erin Rogiers has dedicated her legal practice to advocating for injured individuals and families, as well as protecting their right to trial by jury. She handles a variety of cases including automobile and trucking collisions, premises liability, product liability, work injuries, medical malpractice, civil rights, and mass torts. She has litigated cases in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Florida, Wyoming, Connecticut, and Kentucky.
In 2017, Erin was bestowed the F. Scott Baldwin Award by the American Association for Justice. This award is given to one young trial lawyer in the country each year in recognition of attorney F. Scott Baldwin of Marshall, Texas, and the practice of fighting for injured victims and their families and producing outstanding damage awards. In 2018, St. Mary’s University School of Law awarded Erin the 10 Under 10 GOLD (Graduates of the Last Decade) award, recognizing one attorney from each graduating class of the last decade.
Erin is active in several legal organizations, serving on the Board of Directors for the San Antonio Trial Lawyers Association and the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, and the Board of Governors for the American Association for Justice.
Paige Boldt – Zantac Leadership Development Committee
Paige Boldt focuses on representing clients who have been wronged by the actions of large corporations, including cases such as catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, products liability, defective pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and other mass torts. Paige is licensed to practice law in Texas, California, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, but has represented clients from every state in the country, filing personal injury and wrongful death cases nationally.
In addition to managing the Mass Tort department, tackling personal injury, and mass tort cases, Paige also recognizes the importance of comprehensively serving clients and has taken on contract, probate, and bankruptcy issues as they arise in the firm’s cases during litigation and settlement.
Alicia O’Neill – Paraquat Plaintiff Executive Committee
Alicia O’Neill began her legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in Harris County, Texas where she served as first chair counsel in misdemeanor and felony trials, appeals, and writs of habeas corpus for more than a decade. She now serves as the Managing Attorney/Director of the Watts Guerra Mass Tort Office.
Alicia has successfully directed a number of Mass Tort teams that coordinated client intake, relations, development, maturation, and damages building for dockets ranging from hundreds of clients to ten thousand clients. Over the years, and in many state and federal courts, Alicia has successfully handled cases involving: mass torts, sexual assault, and sexual harassment, harmful pharmaceuticals, personal injury, contract disputes, and fraud. She has served as lead counsel in more than forty-five jury trials and spoken extensively across the country regarding sexual assault and DNA analysis as an investigative tool. She is also an accomplished appellate attorney and has successfully argued in State appellate court.
Our MDL Leadership female attorneys are setting the example for future attorneys at our firm, both male and female, to show them that they can accomplish anything they set their mind to. We are so proud to have these trailblazing women at our firm and are cheering them on in every endeavor they decide to accomplish!
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