Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Plaintiffs' Lawyers Find New Clients in Pharmaceutical Cases

By Petra Pasternak
April 26, 2007

For years, Hersh & Hersh ('H&H') has represented hundreds of users of a top-selling anti-psychotic drug in suits against its maker. Now the firm is taking on bigger clients against the same company: states that say they've been footing the public health costs from the drug. H&H's first such client against pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co. is the state of New Mexico, which claims it spent about $18 million on Zyprexa'-related medical expenses between 1999 and 2005.

The 10-lawyer San Francisco plaintiffs' firm is taking on overhead to handle an expected uptick in work as more and more states ' which spend millions on the drug through Medicaid programs ' file suit. Although it can be a politically controversial move, states are hiring private law firms to represent them ' some on a contingency basis, some not.

Read These Next
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later Image

The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.

The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs Image

The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.

Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations Image

This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.

Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough Image

There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.

A Lawyer's System for Active Reading Image

Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.