Pharmaceutical litigation in the United States is constantly evolving as plaintiffs' lawyers seek to create new avenues of recovery, state and federal governments adopt legislation that affects the legal playing field, and new court decisions usher in changes in the law.

As product manufacturers face an increasingly litigious environment in Europe, questions of "access to justice" naturally come to the fore of the public policy agenda in this area.

In this section we analyse the findings of our research in greater depth to identify the firms and practitioners who stand out worldwide.

With the benefit of over 14 years of research and tens of thousands of votes from clients and private practitioners, Who’s Who Legal takes a closer look at developing trends in the product liability defence legal marketplace worldwide.

Our research has revealed 336 experts in 34 jurisdictions who can be considered to be leaders in the area of product liability law.

Faults or defects will arise periodically in all sorts of products, and this is an area in which manufacturers cannot afford to dispense with expert legal advice.

The presence of 31 lawyers from 17 firms bears out the vibrancy of California's product liability defendants' bar, which is at the forefront of legal developments in the US.

One firm stands pre-eminent in the research for this edition. Four-time winner of Who's Who Legal's product liability law firm of the year, Shook Hardy & Bacon fields 12 lawyers in this edition, a contingent unmatched by any other firm.

Tom Barnes takes a closer look at the issues facing product liability defence lawyers.

Texas's sophisticated litigation Bar sees a high concentration of product liability cases, especially in the automotive, pharmaceutical and medical device fields.

Illinois has a reputation for first-rate litigation expertise, which extends to its product liability defence lawyers, not only from large firms, but also from high-profile boutiques. This spread is reflected in our research, which identifies 26 leading practitioners from 16 firms.

Product liability lawsuits are as frequent as ever in Florida and the state’s lawyers have an international reputation for excellence. The recent RJ Reynolds litigation, in which a $145 billion verdict was overturned, has brought Florida tobacco litigation into the limelight and many of the state’s lawyers are particularly well known for their work in this area.