HarrisMartin's MDL Conference: Transvaginal Mesh and ACTOS Litigation Speaker Profiles



Co-Chair Richard J. Arsenault, Neblett, Beard & Arsenault, Show/Hide Bio

Co-Chair Richard J. Arsenault

  • With a diverse career spanning nearly 30 years, Richard J. Arsenault’s experience as a trial lawyer, author, speaker, mediator, expert witness, and teacher has provided a unique foundation for navigating complex litigation.

    At a recent class action fairness hearing, Harvard Law Professor Arthur Miller testified that Arsenault is one of the “leaders in the area of complex litigation.” Likewise, Professor Edward Sherman, former dean of Tulane Law School and author of the Complex Litigation treatise, has described Arsenault as one of the “experts” in class actions.

    The National Law Journal has recognized Arsenault as having one of the nation’s largest personal injury verdicts. He has Martindale Hubbell’s highest rating for legal ability and ethical standards and is listed in other peer reviewed publications including the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers and “Best of United States”. He has appeared in the “Best Lawyers in America” publication for over 15 consecutive years. He also serves as a faculty member for LSU Law School’s Trial Advocacy Program; a faculty composed of Federal and State Court Judges, professors and prominent attorneys. He has been a part of that program since its inception nearly 20 years ago. In addition to a busy litigation practice, Arsenault has also been retained to provide expert testimony and has served as a mediator in mass tort litigation. Additionally, Trial Magazine has called upon Arsenault to peer review articles they consider for publication.

    The architect of many significant litigation recoveries, Arsenault has been appointed to negotiating teams in major multidistrict litigation. He served on the Executive Committee and as Class Counsel in environmental litigation where the defendant agreed to a substantial settlement just days before trial. He was also appointed to the Vioxx MDL Plaintiff Steering Committee, where there is likewise a substantial pending settlement. Whether through trial or creative alternative dispute resolution, Arsenault has the experience to tackle and resolve complex litigation.

ACTOS Co-Chair Paul J. Pennock, Weitz & Luxenberg, New York Show/Hide Bio

ACTOS Co-Chair Paul J. Pennock

Voted one of Best Lawyers in America from 2005 to the present, as seen in New York Magazine, Paul J. Pennock is the Chief of the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device litigation department at Weitz & Luxenberg and the firm’s lead litigator in that area.

Litigation Leadership Roles:
Yasmin and Yaz MDL National Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee; National Co-Lead Counsel, Seroquel National MDL Plaintiffs' Steering Committee; Liaison counsel, New York State ReNu with MoistureLoc litigation; Leading counsel, New York Bextra/Celebrex litigation; Leading counsel, New Jersey Seroquel/Risperdal litigation; Guidant Corporation National MDL Plaintiffs' Steering Committee; National Accutane Plaintiffs' Steering Committee; New Jersey Propulsid Plaintiffs' Steering Committee; Liaison Counsel for the New York State Rezulin Litigation; Liaison counsel for New York State Breast Implant Litigation; Philadelphia Baycol Litigation; Zyprexa Plaintiffs' Steering Committee

Transvaginal Mesh Co-Chair Vance R. Andrus, Andrus, Hood & Wagstaff, P.C., Denver Show/Hide Bio

Transvaginal Mesh Co-Chair Vance R. Andrus

In 1969, Vance volunteered for the U.S. Army and ultimately attained the rank of First Lieutenant. He is a 1972 graduate of the LSU Law School where he served on the Law Review and as the legal research assistant to Professor George Pugh. Subsequently, Vance served as the law clerk for the Honorable Justice Al Tate of the Louisiana Supreme Court (who subsequently served on the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals). Thereafter, he worked as a defense lawyer before founding the plaintiff firm today named Andrus Hood & Wagstaff, and has extensive trial experience both as plaintiff and defense counsel.

Presently, Vance serves as National Co-Lead Counsel of the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee (PSC) in "In Re: Avandia Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation", MDL no. 1871. He additionally serves as a PSC member, as well as a member of the PSC executive committee in "In Re: Fosamax Products Liability Litigation", MDL no. 1789. He also serves as a member of the PSC in "In Re: Kugel Mesh Hernia Patch Products Liability Litigation", MDL no. 1842.

Vance received the Alumni Award as the Outstanding Graduate from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1969 where he served as the Student Government President of the College of Liberal Arts and a member of Blue Key National Honor Society. At LSU Law School he published articles in the LSU Law Review, co-authored with Justice Tate, in the Tulane Law Review and published in the Louisiana Bar Journal. He has lectured extensively to the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel, the Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association, and Mealey's National Mass Tort Conferences on Baycol, Vioxx, Fen-Phen, Breast Implants, Avandia, Kugel Mesh, Permax and Dostinex. He also twice served as Co-Chair of the national Mealey's Conference on Complex Litigation, and has spoken on mass tort matters for the Mass Torts Made Perfect seminar series.

Vance moved to Colorado in 1999 and, in 2001, became a fully certified firefighter and fought forest fires with Elk Creek Fire Department until, at age 60, he decided that it was a young man's game. He also became, at age 54, a certified ski instructor for the Vail Corporation at Breckenridge, CO.

Thomas R. Anapol, Anapol Schwartz Weiss Cohan Feldman & Smalley, Philadelphia

Bryan F. Aylstock, Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, PLLC, Pensacola, FL

Stacy K. Hauer, Johnson & Becker, LLC, Minneapolis

Harry F. Bell Jr., The Bell Law Firm, PLLC, Charleston, WV

Mark E. Burton Jr., Hersh & Hersh, San Francisco

Thomas P. Cartmell, Wagstaff & Cartmell, Kansas City, MO

John R. Climaco, Climaco, Wilcox, Peca, Tarantino & Garofoli, Co., LPA, Cleveland

David R. Cohen, David R. Cohen Co. LPA, Cleveland

Nicholas J. Drakulich, The Drakulich Firm, San Diego

Amy Eskin, Hersh & Hersh, San Francisco

Yvonne M. Flaherty, Lockridge Grindal Nauen, Minneapolis

Jennifer M. Hoekstra, Neblett, Beard & Arsenault, Alexandria, LA

Eric D. Holland, Holland Groves Schneller & Stolze, St. Louis

Michael Johnson, Johnson & Becker, LLC, Minneapolis

Douglass A. Kreis, Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, PLLC, Pensacola, FL

W. Mark Lanier, The Lanier Law Firm, Houston

Victoria J. Maniatis, The Sanders Firm, Mineola, NY

Michael J. Miller, The Miller Firm, LLC, Orange, VA

Jerrold S. Parker, Parker Waichman Alonso LLP, New York

Paul J. Pennock, Weitz & Luxenberg, New York

John M. Restaino, D.P.M., J.D., M.P.H., The Restaino Law Firm, Denver

James R. Ronca, Anapol Schwartz Weiss Cohan Feldman & Smalley, Philadelphia

Robert L. Salim, Law Office of Robert Salim, Natchitoches, LA

Hunter J. Shkolnik, Napoli Bern Ripka Shkolnik, New York

J. Paul Sizemore, Sizemore Law Firm, Los Angeles

Fred Thompson III, Motley Rice, Mt. Pleasant, SC

Aimee H. Wagstaff, Andrus, Hood & Wagstaff, P.C., Denver

Henry G. Garrard III, Blasingame Burch Garrard Ashley P.C., Athens, GA

Dawn M. Chmielewski, Climaco, Wilcox, Peca, Tarantino & Garofoli, Cleveland

P. Leigh O'Dell, Beasley Allen Law Firm, Montgomery, AL

Adam J. Levitt, Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP, Chicago

Melanie H. Muhlstock, Parker Waichman Alonso LLP, New York