Profile: Stuart M Gordon

Product Liability

Biography: Product Liability

Stuart M Gordon is the founding partner of Gordon & Rees LLP, recently recognised by The National Law Journal as one of the "Top 10 Growth Leaders" among US firms. Under his guidance, Gordon & Rees has grown from three attorneys in San Francisco to more than 350 civil litigation and business practice attorneys in 16 offices throughout the United States. As one of the firm's principal trial attorneys and negotiators, Mr Gordon has tried more than 50 jury and non-jury cases to successful verdict and has mediated and settled several thousand cases. In 2001, California Lawyer honoured Mr Gordon's consistent success in litigation and settlement by awarding him the Clay Award as Californian Litigation Attorney of the Year.

Mr Gordon's primary areas of practice are pharmaceutical and medical device litigation and business, real estate, general litigation and legal malpractice defence. He founded and co-leads the firm's drug and medical device group, which has a highly-regarded track record handling complex, high-profile litigation involving a wide range of pharmaceutical products, including Pondimin, Redux, Premarin, Prempro, Thimerosal, Reglan, Cordarone, Bextra, Celebrex, Perclose devices, medications containing PPA, dietary supplements, and needles and syringes.

Mr Gordon regularly serves as National Regional Coordinating Counsel, both trial and settlement, for several major pharmaceutical companies, as well as local counsel in single- and multi-party litigation. During the past 10 years, he has been the lead negotiator on the West Coast for Wyeth in the fen/phen litigation and has negotiated settlements of several thousand cases. He also has helped to manage Wyeth's and Pfizer's Multi District Litigation in the United States.

Mr Gordon received his AB from the University of California at Berkeley and his JD from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), where he was president of the Student Body and won the Corpus Juris Secundum award as the outstanding student in his class.

Mr Gordon is a member of the San Francisco and American Bar Associations, The International Association of Defense Counsel and DRI.