Life Sciences Industry Group

Fred Rom

Fred has extensive experience over his 25 year career defending product liability and related claims, including successfully trying cases and arguing appeals in various state and federal courts, defeating certification of putative class actions and serving as national or regional counsel for various clients. Fred has defended literally dozens of product liability cases for pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, involving a wide range of drugs and devices. He has also defended pharmaceutical and biotech companies in high profile cases with novel claims arising out of their sponsorship of clinical trials. Based on his litigation experience, Fred also advises companies on various methods to reduce the risk of litigation including analysis of proposed contractual terms. Fred is a member of the Product Liability Advisory Council (PLAC). Read more...

Cris Windham

Cris Windham has over twenty years experience in litigation involving medical and scientific issues. He focuses on developing medical defenses and finding and developing expert witnesses for large scale litigation. Cris supervises a group of lawyers who have performed these services for clients throughout the U.S. and internationally. He has been involved in a variety of pharmaceutical, product liability and toxic tort litigation. Read more...

Chris Douglas

Chris is a trial lawyer who has represented corporate clients and individuals in complex civil cases in state and federal courts. She has handled all phases of litigation, from pre-suit investigation to discovery to motion strategy under a variety of tort schemes under federal and state laws to trial to judge and jury. Her experience in defending medical malpractice claims brings her knowledge of medical issues to bear in the defense of a wide variety of products manufactured or insured by our clients, including pharmaceuticals, tobacco and asbestos-containing products. Read more...

Press Millen

Press is a member of the firm’s business litigation practice with extensive trial experience representing leading pharmaceutical and life sciences companies in a wide variety of business disputes including cases concerning antitrust, securities fraud, trade secrets, trademark and trade dress, and other business practices. For example, in one trial, Press obtained directed verdict in favor of a defendant-manufacturer on monopoly claims brought against it by a competitor. Implus, Inc. v. Schering-Plough Healthcare Products, Inc. (M.D.N.C.). In addition, Press has also represented numerous clients in complex class actions in federal and state courts. Read more...

Kurt Stakeman

Kurt has two primary focuses to his practice: white collar defense and representation of companies and institutions utilizing animal-based research. Kurt has worked on animal research issues since 1990, with substantial experience in counseling clients in how to avoid attacks by animal rights extremists as well as defending clients under attack. He was a featured speaker at the first national animal-use Continuing Legal Education (CLE) program in Indiana in the fall of 2006, discussing legal issues arising from attacks by animal rights groups. Read more...

Ellen Gregg

Ellen is an experienced trial attorney and currently serves as the supervising member of the firm’s Case Management Facility (CMF). Womble Carlyle’s CMF is a unique and proprietary comprehensive litigation support practice team that seamlessly combines client-driven litigation strategies with a technology-based depository for litigation-related work product, pleadings, discovery and other case file materials. The facility allows in-house and outside counsel in multiple jurisdictions to communicate with each other in a real-time, secure environment. and to electronically access all case-related documents thus providing a tool for in-house counsel to effectively manage high volumes of cases and dynamic case strategies while simultaneously avoiding duplicative efforts by various local, regional and national counsel. With twelve years of trial practice prior to managing the CMF, Ellen has a firsthand understanding of the needs of litigators working together while located in different cities and states. She staffs and manages the CMF in a way that enhances trial lawyers’ efficiency and effectiveness, while reducing both attorney and administrative time and accompanying costs. Read more...

Cal Adams

Cal is the Practice Group Leader of the Firm’s Insurance Coverage Group. He has tried over 30 civil jury trials in both state and federal court. Since 1999, Cal has managed over 1,000 diet drug cases filed by North Carolina residents. He is also active in the hormone replacement therapy litigation in North Carolina. Cal has taken and defended hundreds of depositions of fact and expert witnesses, developed numerous expert witnesses for trial, including preparing their Rule 26 report and conducted Daubert hearings. Read more...

Charles Holton

Charles is an experienced trial lawyer who has for over 30 years defended numerous cases in state and federal court involving pharmaceutical products, medical devices, and clinical trials on behalf of manufacturers, health systems, and major medical centers. He has handled matters ranging from complex mass-tort class action litigation to private arbitration. In addition to personal injury claims, he has litigated claims of unfair and deceptive trade practices, indemnity, and insurance coverage disputes. Read more...

Jackie Terry Hughes

Jackie has served as national, regional and local counsel in the defense of a variety of product liability matters in state and federal courts. Over the past five years, she has focused on the defense of pharmaceutical manufacturers, including the successful resolution of a clinical trial design case. Jackie devotes most of her practice to defending an international pharmaceutical company and was recently named a North Carolina "Super Lawyer." Read more...

Randi B. Weiss, Ph.D.

Randi is a Ph.D. molecular biologist who defends manufacturers in mass tort litigation. She has been involved in the identification and development of medical experts and medical and scientific defenses for complex product liability cases on the state, national, and international levels. Randi’s extensive education and experience in science enables her to analyze complex scientific and medical issues important for the successful defense of her clients. Read more...

Sandy Miller

Sandy is a Masters prepared Registered Nurse and Clinical Nurse Specialist who has extensive experience representing health care providers in litigation and health regulatory matters, including anti-kickback and self-referral compliance. She is also an experienced trial attorney who has handled cases involving alleged defective medical products, including the representation of more than forty clients in defective knee and hip implant litigation. She served for more than five years as the co-chair of an Institutional Review Board, primarily reviewing pharmacological cancer clinical trials. Her pre-law nursing experience has provided her with a significant working knowledge of anatomy, pathophysiology, and pharmacology, giving her the ability to analyze complex medical causation issues and other medicolegal issues in representing her clients. Read more...

Dave Mazza

Dave is an experienced trial lawyer and has also served as general counsel for a major animal pharmaceutical manufacturer. He has defended human and animal pharmaceutical manufacturers in product liability cases and has extensive litigation experience with medical devices, particularly respiratory equipment. Dave has defended doctors in medical malpractice claims in state and federal courts. Read more...

Kelly Jones

Kelly Jones is a member in Womble Carlyle’s Product Liability Group. Since joining the firm in 1997, Kelly has been committed to obtaining the best possible result for each of her clients. She is tireless in her legal analysis and strategy development on every case, and her acumen and experience have proven invaluable for her clients. Kelly has represented various product manufacturers, product distributors, automobile manufacturers, chemical and hazardous waste plants, and propane gas component manufacturers in a variety of product liability, toxic tort, professional liability, construction and design litigation. Read more...