HarrisMartin's MDL Conference: Zimmer NexGen Knee and DePuy Hip Implant Litigation Speaker Profiles

Brian Devine is one of the founding partners of Seeger Salvas LLP. His litigation practice focuses on complex product liability matters. And his results speak themselves: In the last few years alone, he has recovered more than $20 million for the plaintiffs he represented and he has helped to guide two defendants out of financial peril by helping to negotiate global product liability settlements of $1 billion and $100 million.

Brian’s unparalleled depth of knowledge of orthopedic implant litigation stems from his years working in the medical device industry. Brian attended law school at night while working as the risk manager at Sulzer Medica, a firm based in Switzerland that made complex medical devices such as pacemakers, heart valves, and orthopedic implants. As Sulzer Medica’s Assistant General Counsel, Brian was responsible for all of the firm’s product liability cases worldwide. When the company suddenly had to recall several thousand hip and knee implants in December 2000, Brian was given lead responsibility for managing the resulting avalanche of litigation. He managed thousands of individual cases and directed attorneys in almost every state in the country. He also managed a federal Multi-District Litigation proceeding and several coordinated state court proceedings. He then took a leading role in negotiating a nationwide class-action settlement which literally saved the company from financial disaster. Brian helped guide Sulzer Medica from the brink of bankruptcy, increasing its share price by 650 percent from $2 per share to over $15 per share after the settlement was confirmed.

In 2002 Brian founded the law firm Seeger Salvas LLP with his partners Ken Seeger and Adam Salvas. At Seeger Salvas, Brian represents plaintiffs in orthopedic and medical implant cases. Brian’s legal and medical knowledge combined with the unique perspective he gained while in-house makes him a formidable adversary. Brian’s skill as an advocate is best proven by his results. In the last few years alone, he has recovered more than $20 million for his clients. He has scored five victories in excess of $1 million, and his largest victory is a $3.7 million settlement on behalf of a single client.

Brian’s experience includes managing litigation at all stages of the lifecycle from pre-litigation through appeal. Additionally, Brian has significant experience managing coordinated actions, both in federal court and state court. In the last few years alone, Brian has participated in four federal Multi-District Litigation proceedings and several state coordinated proceedings. He is currently representing patients affected by the DePuy hip replacement recall.

Brian has been invited to share his unique perspective on product liability litigation with both medical device companies and groups of attorneys representing plaintiffs. He has written extensively about medical device litigation, most recently publishing two articles about medical device litigation in California’s Civil Litigation Reporter.

Much of Brian’s time is devoted to pro bono cases. He works with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights where he successfully represents clients seeking political asylum. His most memorable case involved a Colombian woman who had to flee her homeland after witnessing the assassination of a high-profile political leader. Brian obtained asylum for her at the Immigration Court and he successfully defended the favorable ruling before the Board of Immigration Appeals.

Mr. Davis is a graduate of Boston University and the University of California Hastings College of the Law. He obtained his law degree in 1989. Following law school he worked for a San Francisco litigation boutique until 1992, when he was recruited by the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. From 1992 through 2001, Mr. Davis served as a Deputy City Attorney representing the municipality and its employees in jury trials and appeals in both State and Federal Court.

Beginning in 1995, Matt was requested by then-City Attorney Louise Renne to prosecute in many of the ground breaking consumer protection lawsuits which the City filed against big businesses, including one which accused the Bank of America of mishandling government bond funds. That case settled for $187,000,000.

In 1997, Matt was lead attorney in suits brought by the City which alleged California’s largest title insurers had defrauded consumers and the government. Those complaints resulted in verdicts and settlements totaling more than $75,000,000. While working on these matters, Matt notified authorities of improprieties which he discovered within the Office of the State Insurance Commissioner. Specifically, Matt uncovered information which demonstrated that Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush had taken action to favor insurance companies to the detriment of consumers. Quackenbush later resigned while under investigation. California Lawyer magazine credited Matt as playing a critical role in that outcome.

Matt has been responsible for a number of high-profile verdicts and settlements. Most recently, together with John Echeverria, he successfully tried a class action lawsuit on behalf of over 1,000 Hilton Hotel guests who contracted viral gastroenteritis. The suit alleged that the casino violated State sanitation laws and acted in conscious disregard of its guests’ safety. The jury awarded compensatory and punitive damages in excess of $25,000,000.

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.

Thomas Anapol, a Shareholder of Anapol Schwartz, is a hands-on attorney, active in every aspect of his clients’ cases.

He views the practice of law as a very personal one, involving constant input from the client in a close one-on-one relationship. He concentrates his practice in pharmaceutical and medical device litigation, medical malpractice, asbestos and other catastrophic injury-related civil litigation. He co-chairs the firm’s Mass Tort Department.

Mr. Anapol served in various positions for the Pennsylvania Association for Justice (PAJ). He currently serves on the board of governors for the association and is co-chair of its membership committee. He is also a member of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association and American Association for Justice (AAJ). He was recently appointed co-chair of AAJ’s Hydroxycut Litigation Group. Mr. Anapol served on the steering committee in the Guidant and Medtronic Defibrillator litigations. He periodically writes for The Legal Intelligencer and has lectured at AAJ and PAJ and other association seminars.

In 1988, Mr. Anapol received his bachelor’s degree from Boston University, and earned his law degree from Widener University School of Law in 1991 and now serves on the board of directors of the Widener University School of Law Alumni Association. He is admitted to practice and actively practices in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.