Thomas Ayala is a director at Grant & Eisenhofer, focusing on complex pharmaceutical and medical device litigation. Mr. Ayala has handled all phases of mass tort and personal injury litigation from commencement through trial and appeals. He has also assembled and worked with numerous interdisciplinary teams of medical and scientific expert witnesses to support clients’ legal claims, and he has served as first-chair cross-examiner of adversarial experts and other witnesses.
Mr. Ayala is actively in litigation against major pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, and manufacturers in other industries. Mr. Ayala serves on the Law and Briefing Committee for the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee in In re Xarelto Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2592, serves as Co-Chair of the Science and Expert Committee and as a member of the Law and Briefing Committee for the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee in In re Zofran (ondansetron) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2657 (where G&E is co-lead), and power morcellators (where G&E is a member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in In re Power Morcellator Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2652). Mr. Ayala is also representing individuals adversely affected by defective metal-on-metal hips and Essure®.
Prior to his representation of injured individuals and victims of consumer fraud, Mr. Ayala worked for an international firm serving as national counsel in numerous mass tort proceedings, including pharmaceutical, medical device, environmental exposure, and other complex personal injury proceedings, including multidistrict litigation proceedings.
Immediately following law school, Mr. Ayala was a law clerk to Judge Eduardo C. Robreno of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, where he assisted the judge in presiding over seven jury trials and was actively involved in the administration of matters arising under federal and state law.
Mr. Ayala was selected as a Product Liability “Rising Star” in Law360’s 2016 list of Top Attorneys Under 40 and co-authored “Overcoming the Clear Evidence Defense,” published in the July 2016 issue of Trial magazine.
Mr. Ayala earned his J.D., summa cum laude, from Villanova University School of Law in 2004, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Villanova Law Review and was named to the Order of the Coif. While at Villanova, Mr. Ayala served as an intern to the late Judge Charles R. Weiner.
