Steven Skikos, a founding partner of Skikos, Crawford, Skikos & Joseph LLP, has been a trial attorney since 1990. Skikos has tried multiple pharmaceutical and medical device cases, tried numerous employment law cases in state and federal court on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants, prosecuted and tried criminal cases while clerking at the United States Attorney's Office in San Francisco, and tried personal injury cases. Since 1996, Skikos has focused on complex pharmaceutical drug and medical device litigation. He has been court-appointed lead and/or liaison counsel for California Judicial Counsel Coordinated Proceedings (JCCP) and/or for the federal Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) in more than a dozen cases. Skikos has been a lead negotiator responsible for settling more than $4 billion in cases for tens of thousands of plaintiffs and has served as strategic leader in several more national litigations.
His experience most recently includes serving in the following roles:
- Plaintiff's Co-Liaison Counsel and member of the Plaintiff's Executive Committee appointed by the Honorable Dan A. Polster in the National Prescription Opiate case before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. This litigation is a response to the national opioid crisis, with plaintiffs including cities, counties, native tribes, and others taking legal action against manufacturers and distributors of opioid medications. [In re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation, MDL No. 2804, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio]
- Plaintiff's Co-Liaison Counsel and member of the Plaintiff's Executive Committee appointment by the Honorable Curtis E.A. Karnow in the California North Bay Fire Cases, JCCP No. 4955, San Francisco Superior Court. This litigation seeks to hold PG&E liable for personal injury and property damages caused by the fires that consumed Napa, Sonoma, and other counties in Northern California in October 2017.
- Co-Lead Counsel appointed by the Honorable David Katz resulting in a multibillion-dollar settlement for almost 10,000 patients suffering a revision surgery and other consequences from the recalled DePuy ASR hip implant. [In re: DePuy Orthopedics Inc. ASR Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2197, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio]
- Co-Lead Counsel and Court Appointed Co-Liaison for the California Reglan/Metoclopramide Litigation Judicial Council Coordination Proceedings (JCCP No. 4631), San Francisco Superior Court. The case resulted in a $250 million nationwide settlement resolving approximately 5,000 cases located in 18 different venues and involving three coordinated jurisdictions with 16 pharmaceutical brand and generic manufacturer defendant groups.
- The firm's recent work on behalf of patients taking generic pharmaceutical products has resulted in Teva v. Superior Court and amicus brief for the United States Supreme Court in the Fosamax/Alendronate Sodium Drug Cases, JCCP No. 4644.
Prior to founding Skikos, Crawford, Skikos & Joseph LLP, Steve was the managing partner of the San Francisco office of Lopez, Hodes, Restaino, Milman & Skikos.
Steve graduated from Hastings College of Law in 1990 where he was executive publications editor of the Hastings International and Comparative Law Review and recipient of the Hastings 1066 Scholar Award. While at Hastings, Steve clerked for the United States Attorney's Office in San Francisco where he was given the opportunity to prosecute and try criminal cases. He received his undergraduate degree, with honors, from the University of Notre Dame in 1987.
Steve is a sought-after speaker and has presented at conferences on issues relating to pharmaceutical mass tort litigations, Skikos was selected by Super Lawyer® as a top-rated class action and mass tort attorney in San Francisco.
