Carlton Fields Bolsters its Mass Tort and Product Liability Practice with Group of Attorneys and Consultant
February 19, 2019
Simpson serves as lead trial counsel, national counsel, and local counsel for many global pharmaceutical and medical device companies, including Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries. He handles national litigation relating to anticoagulants, hip implants, pelvic mesh, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and atypical antipsychotic medications, among other products. Greenspoon mixes a background in private practice product liability cases with in-house and federal clerking experience. Burke, who spent 17 years as a Registered Nurse and 11 years as a product liability and health care litigation lawyer with a national firm, brings a particularly unique skillset to the practice group. Her technical health care knowledge mixed with legal acumen provide invaluable insights throughout product liability matters. Legal Administrative Assistant Ruby Hyde also joins the firm.
“Robert, Lauren, and Barbara will be key contributors to the continuing growth of our mass tort and product liability platform in the U.S.,” said Stephen J. Krigbaum, co-chair of Carlton Fields’ Mass Tort and Product Liability practice. “As we look to the future, it’s hard to identify industries as important as those related to life sciences and health care. As the market for pharmaceutical products continues to expand with the aging Baby Boomer generation, Carlton Fields is well positioned to grow alongside it.”
Simpson, Burke, and Hyde join Carlton Fields from the Hartford office of the law firm Shipman & Goodwin. Simpson served as a member of the firm’s seven-person Management Committee and led its product liability team. With more than 25 years of litigation experience, Simpson has been engaged in multi-district litigation and class actions, and he has tried numerous product liability and tort actions. In the fall of 2018, Simpson was one of the lead trial lawyers who secured a defense verdict on behalf of an international pharmaceutical company involving a novel oral anticoagulant.
“It is extremely rare to find a trial lawyer as experienced as Robert, especially with his energy,” added Ryan S. Cobbs, co-chair of the firm’s Mass Tort and Product Liability practice. “He was trying cases in front of juries when he was a third-year associate. His ability to connect with juries and earn positive verdicts on behalf of clients is remarkable. We’re lucky to have him on the team.”
A Merit Scholar and alumnus of the Case Western Reserve University School of Law, Simpson has gone on to receive numerous accolades in his field. In addition to earning a spot on the prestigious “Best Lawyers in America” list, he has been named one of “America's Leading Lawyers” by Chambers USA, “Most Influential Black Lawyers” by Savoy Magazine, and a “Connecticut Super Lawyer.” Simpson has also held top leadership positions in the American Bar Association Litigation Section, the National Bar Association, and the Connecticut Bar Association.
“I’ve had many long-standing relationships with Carlton Fields attorneys over the years and we’ve even shared clients on occasion,” said Simpson. “I have always thought the world of the firm’s caliber, culture, and reputation as a litigation powerhouse. I see a golden chance to advance my career as a trial lawyer, and I look forward to providing value to Carlton Fields’ clients on a national scale.”
Simpson’s product liability experience is augmented by Lauren Greenspoon, who joins Carlton Fields after nearly 20 years of experience as a product liability and commercial litigation attorney, primarily at Day Pitney. She also served as in-house counsel at Travelers Indemnity Company for seven years and held a clerkship with the Honorable Donna Martinez of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. Greenspoon, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, will add further experience in product liability and multidistrict litigation. She has specific experience in the field, having defended pharmaceutical companies and manufacturing companies in product liability and toxic tort lawsuits. She has won several favorable jury verdicts and arbitration awards, including a favorable jury verdict in a product liability lawsuit for an international manufacturer of adhesives. Greenspoon is a James W. Cooper Fellow of the Connecticut Bar Foundation and an Elector of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.
Before joining Shipman and after 17 years as a nurse, Burke spent several years as a practicing product liability and tort lawyer at Day Pitney. Her experience includes representing hospitals, physicians, and other clients in medical malpractice, personal injury, and product liability actions. Burke has obtained complete defense verdicts in multiple complex medical malpractice and personal injury cases in state court.
Gary L. Sasso, Carlton Fields President & CEO, remarked, “The addition of this stellar team to our Connecticut office builds upon an incredible start to the New Year for Carlton Fields. We bolstered our capabilities in Hartford, Miami, New York, and Washington, D.C., and opened a new office in New Jersey. In total, we added 16 attorneys in the last two months. These diverse — but strategic — additions in targeted industry sectors and core practice areas across our national platform significantly improve our ability to service our clients’ needs.”
