Biography: Life Sciences

James F Rogers is a partner of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP in Columbia, South Carolina, where he practices in the areas of product liability, commercial litigation and consumer fraud actions. He has been primarily engaged in the defence of pharmaceutical and medical device companies since 1991.

Nelson Mullins has offices located throughout the eastern United States.

Mr Rogers has first chair trial experience and also has extensive pretrial experience. He has served as the primary case manager for mass tort cases involving thousands of plaintiffs and has been involved in the coordination of national litigation. He has significant experience throughout the United States in defending class action allegations for pharmaceutical companies in economic injury cases and certain types of business litigation. Mr Rogers has handled class action matters in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma and Washington. In his defence of drug and device manufacturers and laboratories, Mr Rogers has deposed plaintiffs, plaintiffs' experts and other key witnesses; argued significant dispositive and other pretrial motions; prepared and defended a wide range of corporate employees for deposition and trial; and served as trial counsel. He has obtained summary judgment for drug and device manufacturers on several occasions on various grounds, such as insufficiency of expert testimony and product identification. Mr Rogers' experience includes handling matters concerning pharmaceuticals such as analgesics, anti-inflammatory agents, anti-depressants, anti-psychotics, rheumatoid arthritis medications, appetite suppressants, oral contraceptives, hormonal agents, vaccines and nonprescription drugs. Additionally, he has extensive experience handling matters concerning medical devices such as silicone breast implants, angioplasty catheters, heart valves, latex gloves, physical therapy equipment, pedicle screws, intraocular lenses, durable medical goods, surgical mesh and various implantable orthopaedic devices. In addition to litigation, Mr Rogers also has provided counsel to the industry on a variety of issues, including labelling and the prevention of litigation risks.

Mr Rogers is an active member of the Defense Research Institute (DRI) and serves as the programme chair for DRI's drug and medical device committee. He is also a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel and an active member of the drug, device and biotech committee within that organisation. Mr Rogers has spoken at DRI and other conferences and has authored several articles related to the defence of pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Representative examples include "Over the Counter and Under the Radar: Preemption in Nonprescription Drug Cases", For the Defense, July 2009; "Back to the Basics: A Primer for Preparing Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Sales Representatives for a Deposition", Rx for the Defense, spring 2008; "An Ounce of Prevention: E-Discovery Preparedness for Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Companies", IADC Newsletter, February 2008; and "Gaining Access to Federal Courts: The Sham Defendant Doctrine in Drug and Medical Device Cases", Rx for the Defense, spring 1994.

In 1989, Mr Rogers earned a JD, cum laude, from the University of South Carolina School of Law where he was named to the Order of the Coif and the Order of the Wig and Robe. He also served as articles editor of the South Carolina Law Review and was a legal writing instructor.

Mr Rogers earned a BS in finance, cum laude, from the University of South Carolina in 1986.

Other Practice Areas

James F Rogers also features in the following practice areas:

• Product Liability Defence