Carlton Fields Launches Minnesota Office With Leading Product Liability, Mass Torts, and Class Action Team

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Carlton Fields has opened a new office in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The new office will be led by trial attorneys Jenny Covington and Molly Jean Given, who will serve as co-office managing shareholders and boast a renowned national product liability defense practice and experience trying high-stakes cases across the country. In addition to Covington and Given, David Carrier and Jenna Durr are joining the new office as shareholders. They all previously practiced at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP.

“We are delighted to welcome this best-in-class team of product liability and class action lawyers to our firm,” said Gary Sasso, president and CEO of Carlton Fields. “They have deep experience in defending national product and mass tort liability trials and class actions. Also, Minneapolis is a strong business and legal market where a number of significant Carlton Fields clients are located.”

“Companies today face more litigation threats than ever before,” said Covington. “Carlton Fields is a leader in high-stakes product liability, mass torts, and class action litigation defense in all levels of state and federal courts on behalf of market-leading and Fortune 100 clients from beginning to end. Its deep bench of seasoned trial lawyers is well-equipped to handle the most complex business trials, arbitrations, and appeals.”

“The opportunity to launch and build a new office for a nationally recognized leader in the legal industry is tremendously exciting,” added Given. “Our clients are going to notice the advantages right away.”

Covington is a first-chair trial lawyer who focuses on defending product liability, class action, mass tort, commercial litigation, and intellectual property matters. She has represented leading medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers in high-profile claims involving catastrophic injury and wrongful death. She earned her J.D., cum laude, from Wayne State University and her B.S. in microbiology from the University of Michigan.

Given is a trial attorney who focuses on individual and mass tort product liability and class actions for medical device, motor vehicle, and other product manufacturers. She has served as lead national counsel in multiple medical device mass torts and has argued at the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. She has experience developing and executing litigation strategies and managing discovery in complex matters, with a strong foundation in regulatory compliance. Given earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School and her B.A., summa cum laude, from Colby College.

Carrier represents Fortune 500 companies, banks, credit unions, and small businesses in high-stakes class actions, commercial litigation, arbitrations, and trade secret disputes nationwide. His complex litigation work includes serving as lead counsel in class actions, consolidated mass actions, and multidistrict litigation. He also defends clients in investigations by state and federal agencies, including matters under the False Claims Act, and serves as appellate and advanced motions counsel. Carrier earned his J.D. from the University of St. Thomas School of Law and his B.A. from Luther College.

Durr defends automotive and medical device manufacturers in product liability litigation. She has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide range of civil litigation. Her defense work includes tort litigation, insurance, professional malpractice, and medical licensure cases. On the plaintiffs’ side, she has worked on personal injury, medical malpractice, insurance claims, class actions, and consumer rights cases. Durr earned her J.D., with high honors, from Drake University Law School and her B.A., cum laude, from the University of Northern Iowa.

Carlton Fields’ new office is located in the IDS Center, a defining feature of the Minneapolis skyline and the tallest building in Minnesota. The office will enhance the firm’s national litigation and class action practice, with a focus on product liability and mass torts.