Barbara is a member of the firm's Life Sciences Health Industry Group. From 2007 to 2009, she was the Practice Group Leader for the Firmwide Products Liability Group. From 2009 to 2010, when the firm reorganized along industry group lines, she was the Vice Chair of the Life Sciences Group. During that timeframe, the department was named as the winner (2010) and finalist (2006 and 2008) for The American Lawyer’s “Product Liability Department of the Year.”
Since joining the firm in 1991, Barbara’s practice has focused on complex pharmaceutical products liability, mass torts, multi-district litigation, and class action defense. Barbara has been a successful first chair at numerous trials representing many of the top 10 pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, insurers and hospitals.
Barbara is currently the national counsel for a medical device company in the Pelvic Mesh Litigation, responsible for all aspects of the case, from discovery through trial. She was the national counsel for a major energy client in the Motor Fuel Temperature Litigation, and one of three lead lawyers representing Schering Plough in the NuvaRing litigation. From 2006 to 2010, she was a lead trial lawyer in the Wyeth hormone therapy litigation. From 1997 through 2008, in addition to serving as lead trial counsel, she was one of two Reed Smith partners responsible for pre-trial management of the Wyeth Pennsylvania diet drug litigation, in which 20,000 cases were filed, staffing a steady stream of up to four multiple plaintiff trials per month. In 2005, Reed Smith was named as one of the top 10 firms in The National Law Journal’s “Defense Hot List” based in part on that litigation.
Barbara has advised several Fortune 500 companies on assessing risks pertaining to various legal and compliance issues, including off label promotion of drugs, acquisitions of products with threatened or pending litigation, product recalls, review of product labeling and warnings, continuing medical education compliance, sales rep compliance, and other issues which potentially could involve litigation exposure.
She was a member of a national class action settlement team for a top insurance company involving allegations of fraudulent sales practices, and successfully represented a large hospital in an insurance coverage case stemming from the design failure of a waste incinerator/heat recovery system.
She has also represented financial institutions, government agencies, and health care providers such as FDIC, Episcopal Hospital and the Temple University Health Care System. She has been admitted pro hac vice before many tribunals; and has also represented clients at AAA arbitrations and administrative hearings. She is a frequent speaker on issues relating to pharmaceutical products liability, mass torts and trial tactics.
Prior to joining Reed Smith, Barbara was certified as a mediator in Washington, D.C.'s Superior Court and has mediated a variety of commercial, contract and consumer disputes. She is currently a Judge Pro Tem in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.
