PROFILE
Whether in the context of single-plaintiff, multi-plaintiff, or mass-consolidated litigation, Stephen has extensive experience defending manufacturers against product liability claims, both in Louisiana and in jurisdictions across the country. He has handled matters involving consumer products, commercial products, prescription drugs, and medical devices from beginning to end. In the mass-tort realm, Stephen has developed teams of experts in litigation-relevant scientific disciplines and then prepared team members for deposition and trial testimony. He has monitored both pre- and post-recall investigations into product complaints. Stephen has worked with national trial teams to prepare electronic and demonstrative evidence for use at trial and in jury exercises, and he has supervised the efforts needed to fully prepare company witness for deposition and trial testimony in nationwide litigation.
AREAS OF PRACTICE
Representative Matters / Experience
- Direct involvement with national coordinating and national trial teams in at least eight (8) different pieces of nationwide, mass-tort litigation involving medical devices or pharmaceuticals
- Represented at least a dozen different major medical-device and pharmaceutical manufacturers throughout the state of Louisiana in numerous, high-exposure cases, including wrongful death actions
- Briefing and arguing dispositive motions in dozens of cases on a variety of grounds, including prescription/statute of limitations, preemption, Daubert or Frye grounds, causation, lack of defect, and Iqbal/Twombly, among others
- Numerous depositions of plaintiffs, physicians, lay witnesses, and expert witnesses in advance of motion practice and trial in both individual matters and bellwether matters for mass-consolidated proceedings
- Jury trial experience and involvement in six different jury exercises in jurisdictions across the country
- Preparing company witnesses and 30(b)(6) witnesses for depositions and trial testimony in the mass-tort setting
- Attendance and participation at dozens of product or wreckage inspections, including aircraft wreckage, train wreckage, premises inspections, vehicular inspections, and explanted medical devices inspections
- Management of company witness preparation for trial and deposition, as well as development of concise company story in multijurisdictional litigation
- Preparing expert witnesses for depositions and trial testimony in cases pending in dozens of U.S. jurisdictions, as well as for testimony in international proceedings
- Identifying, retaining, and coordinating teams of experts in litigation-relevant subjects as part of an overarching defense strategy in nationwide mass tort litigation
- Successfully worked with experts and trial counsel in jurisdictions across the country to have plaintiff expert opinions excluded under both Frye and Daubert standards
- Presentations to clients, trial teams, national teams, and international counsel on key scientific issues in various pieces of litigation
Honors
- AV Preeminent, Martindale-Hubbell rating
- Louisiana Super Lawyer
- Best Lawyers in America: Product Liability Litigation - Defendants; Mass Tort Litigation / Class Action - Defendants; Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants; Litigation – Labor and Employment (2016-2022)
- Tulane Moot Court Board
- Best Oralist Team, Saul Lefkowitz National Appellate Moot Court Competition
- Judicial Extern, Honorable Stanwood R. Duval, Jr., United States District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana
AFFILIATIONS
- International Association of Defense Counsel, Publications Vice Chair of the Drug, Device, and Biotechnology Committee
- Federal Bar Association, New Orleans Chapter Board Member, CLE Committee Co-Chair, Past Chair of Younger Lawyers Division
- Trial Attorneys of America, Board of Directors
- New Orleans Bar Association, Past Chair of the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Committee
- Defense Research Institute: Drug & Medical Device Committee, Chair of the Complex Medicine/ Experts Substantive Law Group
EDUCATION
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J.D.,cum laude, Tulane University Law School (2005)
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B.S.E., Engineering Science and Philosophy,magna cum laude with departmental honors, Tulane University (2002)
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International Association of Defense Counsel's Trial Academy, Stanford Law School (2010)
ADMISSIONS
- Louisiana state courts
- United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
- United States District Court for the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Louisiana
Publications and Presentations
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Multidistrict Litigation: Recent Trends and Ongoing Challenges
New Orleans Bar Association CLE on MDLs
September 3, 2020
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Alexa, Am I Liable? Products Liability Implications of Innovative Products
2020 Environmental & Energy, Mass Torts, and Products Liability Litigation Committees' Joint Regional CLE Program, Snowmass Village, CO
January 31, 2020
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The Perfect Storm: Mass Tort Litigation
Lawyers for Civil Justice (LCJ) Membership Meeting, New York, NY
December 5, 2019
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Cracking the Code: Genetic Evidence and Specific Causation
IADC Drug, Device and Biotechnology Committee Newsletter
October 2019
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Tips for Young Lawyers on Identifying and Working with Expert Witnesses
ABA Section of Litigation Webinar
July 10, 2019
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“Open the Pod Bay Doors HAL”: Product Liability Implications of Product Innovations
IADC Annual Meeting, Asheville, NC
July 8, 2019
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Sales and Marketing on Trial in Pharma and Medical Device Litigation
Trial Attorneys of America Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL
June 13, 2019
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The Brave New World of Product Innovations: Liabilities, Risks, and Recalls
PLAC Spring Conference, New Orleans, LA
May 2, 2019
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Products Liability Implications of Product Innovations
American Bar Association Regional CLE Program: Current Issues in Pharmaceutical, Medical Device, and Biotech Litigation, North Wales, PA
November 9, 2018
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3D Printing Potential Product Liability Issues
ACI Legal, Regulatory, and Business conference on 3D Printing, Chicago, IL
June 14, 2018
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The Increased Focus on Detail Representative Discovery in Pharma and Medical Device Litigation
Trial Attorneys of America Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL
June 7, 2018
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3D Printing: Limitless Potential but Not Without Risk
SFIA Research Thought Leadership Webinar
July 18, 2017
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Exploring the Risks and Potential Products Liability Consequences for 3D Printing
ACI Drug & Medical Device Conference, New York, NY
December 6, 2016
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Legal Jiu Jitsu: How To Turn The Tables On The Plaintiff Bar’s Advertising Juggernaut
IADC Annual Meeting, Southampton, Bermuda
July 11, 2016
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Product Liability in 3D
Best Lawyers Business Edition
Summer 2016
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A Disruptive Technology: How Will 3D Printing Alter the Products-Liability Landscape?
Trial Attorneys of America Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL
June 10, 2016
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The Impact of Plaintiffs’ Lawyer Advertising on Mass Tort Litigation
DRI Product Liability Conference, New Orleans, LA
February 2, 2016
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The Impact of Plaintiffs’ Lawyer Advertising on Mass Tort Litigation
Trial Attorneys of America Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL
June 11, 2015
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2014 Products Liability Case Law Update for U.S. Fifth Circuit
DRI Product Liability Seminar, Las Vegas, NV
February 6, 2015
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Has the FDA Determined That Direct-To-Consumer Advertising Provides Too Much Information?
DRI RX For the Defense
January 30, 2015
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Pleading Products-Liability Claims in the Post-Twombly/Iqbal Era
New Orleans Bar Association Procrastinators' Programs
December 2014
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Reevaluating the 401/403 Balance in 21st Century Mass Torts
For the Defense
February 2014
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Current Regulatory and Liability Issues for Drug Compounding
New Orleans Bar Association Procrastinators' Programs
December 2013
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Trial Graphics
New Orleans Bar Association Procrastinators' Programs
December 2011
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Will Direct to Consumer Advertising Lead to the Loss of One of the Pharmaceutical Companies’ Best De
Mass Torts Journal, American Bar Association, Vol. 4, No. 1
Winter/ Spring 2006