Julia Zousmer, a partner in King & Spalding's Chicago office, defends companies in complex product liability and mass tort litigation. Julia has more than a decade of experience defending pharmaceutical and consumer product manufacturers in federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) practice and state court coordinated proceedings and has managed dockets of hundreds and thousands of cases at all phases of the MDL lifecycle””from MDL formation, to drafting foundational case management orders, crafting/implementing a bellwether process, trying bellwether cases, drafting motions dismissing hundreds of cases, and using case management tools to winnow meritless cases from the docket for global resolution. Julia is a member of the Court-appointed Leadership Development Committee in the Zantac MDL in the Southern District of Florida and a key member of the team serving as national counsel for Boehringer Ingelheim in all Zantac litigation in state and federal court, which most recently won a complete Daubert and Summary Judgment victory in the MDL.
Julia has extensive trial experience, having achieved successful outcomes for clients on more than 10 trial teams in state and federal courts in some of the highest profile product liability MDLs of the past decade.
Julia has been recognized as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers for nine years in New York and Illinois, and as a Key Lawyer by Legal 500 in Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action Defense – Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices.
Julia is a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) and a member of the Board of Friends of Prentice, the fundraising arm of Northwestern's Prentice Women's Hospital that raises money for women's health in all realms.
Matters
Counsel for Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in the In Re Zantac MDL with more than 150,000 claimants in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, as well as in state court coordinated proceedings nationwide.
Represented Merck in two federal MDLs and two state court coordinated proceedings involving its osteoporosis medication Fosamax, including on six trial teams across four jurisdictions.
Represented Janssen at trial in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in case involving allegations that its antipsychotic medication Risperdal causes gynecomastia. Successfully obtained non-suit for Janssen at the end of plaintiff's case.
Represented J&J in a multi-plaintiff talcum powder trial in the City of St. Louis involving allegations that talcum powder causes ovarian cancer. Obtained mistrial for J&J on jurisdictional grounds when Supreme Court issued decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California, San Francisco County, et al., supporting the theory that jurisdiction in the City of St. Louis was improper.
