Profile: Chilton D Varner

Product Liability

Biography: Product Liability

Chilton Varner has more than 25 years of courtroom experience as a trial lawyer defending corporations in product liability, commercial and other civil disputes. Named to the National Law Journal's list of top women litigators in December 2001, she was one of the top ten who were specially profiled. She is the senior partner in a product liability practice that was selected by The American Lawyer in January 2004 as one of the top three in the country and by Chambers 2004 and 2005 as a national leader. She has served as trial and appellate counsel for a number of the country's largest automotive, pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers. For example, during the past four years she has served as national coordinating counsel for GlaxoSmithKline in product liability litigation involving its antidepressant Paxil/Seroxat and for Purdue Pharma in litigation involving its pain medication OxyContin. She was a member of 3M's national trial team in the breast implant litigation. She is experienced in mass tort litigation, class actions and MDL litigation, including the complex issues of discovery, attorney-client privilege and Daubert challenges to expert testimony that accompany such suits. She also has an active appellate practice.

Ms Varner has recently been appointed by Chief Justice Rehnquist of the United States Supreme Court to the Federal Rules Advisory Committee. She is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the Product Liability Advisory Committee. Further information can be found at www.kslaw.com.