Best Lawyers in America for Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants
Select a location from the list below to find the best legal talent for your needs.
State
Larry Hepler, Partner larry.hepler@heplerbroom.com www.heplerbroom.com Practice Description: Mr. Hepler focuses his practice on the defense of complex, multiparty civil cases and class actions involving a wide range of subjects, including all aspects of consumer fraud, personal injury, products liability, pharmaceutical, commercial, toxic torts, construction and insurance litigation. Mr. Hepler has represented clients in numerous jurisdictions, with primary emphasis in Illinois and Missouri. ...
Robert D. Brown, Jr. is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants and Product Liability Litigation - Defendants. Robert D., who practices law in Newark, New Jersey, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Robert D. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Walter represents a variety of individual and corporate clients in large, complex commercial litigation, arbitration, and personal injury litigation. Walter's primary area of expertise lies in the litigation of disputes in the federal and state courts of Mississippi, where he regularly tries cases to verdict. Specialties: Commercial litigation; catastrophic personal injury litigation; insurance coverage and defense.
Erica L. Calderas has extensive experience representing commercial clients of varying sizes as plaintiffs and as defendants in complex matters in state and federal trial and appellate courts. Erica has a deep understanding of a wide range of litigation matters impacting businesses, including business torts, contract disputes, consumer protection claims, trademark infringement, employment disputes, fraud claims, enforcing and defending against claims regarding non-competition agreements and tr...
Marc J. Kessler is an experienced trial lawyer who is widely regarded as one of the nation’s preeminent business litigators. He has extensive experience with large scale, “bet-the-company” matters and is widely recognized for his ability to handle the most complex and critical litigation issues . Marc’s expertise includes complex commercial transactions, procurement, healthcare, trade secrets and non-competition, product liability, business torts, real estate, intellec...
Rob is an experienced trial lawyer in the firm’s Chattanooga office. Rob’s practice areas include tort liability defense to include catastrophic injury cases, trucking and transportation, construction defect litigation, workers’ compensation and automobile liability. A natural problem solver, he enjoys formulating creative trial strategies and solutions for handling claims and lawsuits across industries.Rob has received an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the hi...
John Rocco is a Shareholder in the Litigation and Risk Management Practice Group. John serves as national, regional and local counsel for a number of corporations, providing legal services in the areas of toxic tort and product liability defense, contractual indemnity, insurance placement and insurance coverage, commercial litigation, risk management and due diligence investigations. He manages and directs the work performed by lawyers and law firms on behalf of many of these corporations acr...
Agatha K. Raynor is a shareholder with Crivello, Nichols & Hall. She concentrates her practice in employment law and regularly advises clients on compliance, best practices and risk management in all areas of employment law, including: accommodation of disabilities; addressing harassment complaints; reductions in force; separation agreements; and implementing effective employment policies and practices. Agatha also defends private and public employers in employment-related litigation befo...
Evan Holden is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants. Evan, who practices law in Atlanta, Georgia, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Evan is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
David Ledyard joined Strong Pipkin in 1975. In 45 years of practice, he has handled a wide range of litigation across Texas and in states including Louisiana, Arkansas, California, Mississippi, Illinois and Maryland. He has tried as lead counsel business, commercial, construction, toxic tort, premises liability, products liability, maritime, Jones Act and property damage cases. He has defended companies in plant and pipeline explosions and fires, CERCLA actions, medical device cases, trucking...
Steven (“Steve”) Pockrass is Co-Chair of the firm’s Wage and Hour Practice Group. In this position, he helps clients and attorneys throughout the firm deliver proactive and responsive solutions to federal and state wage-hour questions and concerns. Steve coordinates wage-hour resources within the firm and works on a variety of wage-related issues, ranging from evaluating whether certain job positions are properly classified to defending collective and class actions. In addit...
John Beisner is the leader of Skadden’s Mass Torts, Insurance and Consumer Litigation Group. He focuses on the defense of purported class actions, mass tort matters and other complex civil litigation in both federal and state courts. He also regularly handles appellate litigations and has appeared in matters before the U.S. Supreme Court. Over the past 25 years, he has defended major U.S. and international corporations in more than 600 purported class actions filed in federal courts and...
Mike Baker began his practice in 1977 in Strong Pipkin’s Beaumont office. Over those years of practice, he handled or tried to conclusion all types of personal injury litigation: worker's compensation, vehicular collision, industrial, retail or commercial premises liability, railroad crossing accidents, FELA, Jones Act, general maritime and offshore rig accidents, and 42 USCA 1983 actions defending local governmental units involving civil rights violations, and/or work place discriminat...
Madeleine Fischer is special counsel in the Litigation Practice Group. She focuses on insurance coverage and claims handling disputes. Madeleine has represented clients in litigation for almost 40 years and has extensive trial experience in state and federal courts. She has represented a variety of policyholders and insurance companies in insurance coverage and bad faith litigation. Besides insurance coverage and bad faith litigation, her practice also extends to appellate practice, class act...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.