A partner at the firm, Kristine is an experienced litigator with more than 25 years of experience. Kristine has developed a national reputation in the area of mass torts, representing injured plaintiffs who have filed product liability lawsuits against manufactures of pharmaceutical products and devices and serving in leadership roles in several nation-wide multi-district pharmaceutical cases.
Kristine was appointed by the federal judge presiding over the In Re NuvaRing® Products Liability Multi-District Litigation to serve in the dual role of co-lead counsel and national liaison counsel. She led this litigation on behalf of thousands of plaintiffs who alleged injuries related to their use of the Nuvaring birth control product and ultimately successfully negotiated a $100 million settlement on their behalf. Kristine’s accomplishment was recognized by Missouri Lawyers as securing one of the largest reported settlements in the state of Missouri in 2014.
Kristine has also been appointed to serve in leadership roles in other pharmaceutical products liability cases, including the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in the In re Testosterone Replacement Therapy Products Liability Litigation and the Science and Discovery Committees for many national pharmaceutical products liability cases, including In re Yasmin® and Yaz® (Drospirenone) Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, In re Ortho Evra® Products Liability Litigation and In re Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents Product Liability Litigation. Kristine also regularly speaks at national litigation conferences on topic related to pharmaceutical products liability litigation.
In 2020, Kristine was named to Missouri Lawyers Weekly‘s inaugural edition of The Power List, focusing on personal injury lawyers who lead and influence the Missouri legal community. She was hailed as having “staked out a path that has placed her at the center of some of the biggest controversies of recent years in the pharmaceutical drug and medical device worlds.” In 2021, Kristine was again named to The Power List.
In 2015, Kristine was recognized as a member of the Nation’s Top One Percent by the National Association of Distinguished Counsel (NADC). Membership into this select organization is based upon nomination by independently neutral organizations and approved by a judicial review board. Kristine has also been selected for inclusion in the Honors Edition of the Cambridge “Who’s Who Among Executive and Professional Women” and, since 2008, has been named to the Super Lawyers top 100 lawyers in Missouri. Kristine also serves on the Board of Governors for the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys. Kristine has also consistently received an “AV” Preeminent rating in Martindale-Hubbell, the highest possible rating for profession excellence by her peers from this organization.