Snell

Burt is a trial lawyer who focuses on representing the needs of pharmaceutical and medical device companies, especially in the context of complex product liability matters. He is experienced in defending federal multidistrict litigation (MDLs), state court coordinated litigation, US and foreign class actions, as well as individual plaintiff cases.  He served as lead or co-lead trial counsel in numerous trials. He has extensive experience in preparing and defending depositions and trial testimony of APEX witnesses, other high-level management, and corporate designees in both US and foreign litigations. He has led teams in the development of experts for US and foreign litigations and regularly works closely with lawyers around the world on expert, science, and regulatory matters. He also has significant experience in commercial litigation, class actions, mass torts, AG litigation, and IP litigation. Burt also is an expert in drug and medical device medical, clinical, quality and regulatory issues in the US, EU, and other foreign jurisdictions. He routinely counsels and guides clients through FDA, EU MDR and other complex foreign multi-jurisdiction regulatory and legal issues. He also has extensive experience counseling clients in their response to foreign governments and litigation, third parties, and the media.

• Drug & Device Litigation
• Commercial Litigation
• Health Law
• Groundwater & Chemical Exposure Litigation

Pharmaceutical, Medical Device and Healthcare

Burt’s experience includes representing Ethicon, Inc. and Johnson & Johnson in MDL and state court litigation, Attorney General Litigation, as well as foreign litigation and other non-litigation matters involving medical devices. He has developed experts, taken and defended expert witness depositions and prepared expert witnesses for trial. He has led the expert team in the US and Foreign litigations and has overseen the recruitment of a very large number of experts to defend the client. He is trial counsel in certain state court cases. He has also prepared and defended the depositions of several company witnesses including Apex witnesses, Board members, upper management, and corporate designees. He has been lead counsel with foreign lawyers across numerous litigations, regulatory matters, and investigations.

Burt also represents AbbVie and Allergan in federal and state court personal injury and class action litigation.  He works with and prepares company witnesses and leads the expert team. He also assists the company in US and foreign regulatory and scientific matters and investigations.

Burt has also served on trial teams involving a wide variety of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, including Baycol®, Fen-Phen, Vioxx® and Seroquel®. He is an effective and very experienced leader of national expert teams.  Burt has unique and industry leading know-how in handling large volumes of MDL cases requiring expert reports and depositions and has extensive experience developing and preparing expert witnesses for trial. He has also played a key role in the coordination of complex, national discovery efforts on behalf of many well-known pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

Burt frequently works hand-in-hand with in-house counsel, company management and personnel, and foreign lawyers on medical, clinical, quality and regulatory issues as well as litigation in the US, EU, and other countries.  He has extensive experience counseling and guiding clients through FDA, MDD and MDR regulatory compliance, submissions, inquiries and inspections, recalls, Field Safety Corrective Actions, and holds, and other matters with regulators and notified bodies.  He has experience in evaluating and enhancing quality system documentation, clinical evaluation reports, device risk assessments, clinical study protocols and reports, post market surveillance, labeling, professional education and user materials, websites, and promotional materials.  He also has extensive experience counseling clients in their response to media, foreign government bodies, and other third parties.

Burt brings a deep understanding of science, clinical studies and medicine allowing him to effectively communicate with internal company experts on these topics and analyze the benefit/risk profile of the product and design of medical devices. He also brings his unique and extensive experience in handling drug and medical device cases, working with company leadership, leading expert teams and trying cases to his counseling of clients on FDA and foreign regulatory issues as well as foreign litigation and issues in the press, giving clients a big picture strategic, legal and business understanding when seeking to protect their products and brand.

He obtained his J.D., high honors, from Rutgers University and B.A. in Organizational Management, with distinction, from Eastern College. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania.

• Represents AbbVie and Allergan in federal and state court personal injury and class action litigation.  He works with and prepares company witnesses, leads the expert team, takes and defends depositions, and develops litigation strategy.  He played an instrumental part in a recent CoolSculpting® personal injury case that was dismissed in 2021 on summary judgment as to all claims with a Court ruling that the client’s warnings were adequate as a matter of law.  In that case, affirmed on appeal by the 11th Circuit in July 2023, Burt defended corporate witnesses, prepared and defended experts, deposed the Plaintiff’s experts and obtained admissions which the trial court cited to in the published opinion. Cates v. Zeltiq Aesthetics, Inc., Case No. 6:19-cv-1670-PGB-LRH, U.S.D.C. (M.D. Fla.); “11th Circ. Freezes CoolSculpting User’s Product Liability Suit,” Law360, July 24, 2023.  He also works on foreign regulatory matters involving medical devices.
• Represents Ethicon, Inc. and Johnson & Johnson in MDL and state court litigation involving medical devices. He has developed experts, taken and defended expert witness depositions and prepared expert witnesses for trial. He is trial counsel in certain state court cases. He has also prepared and defended the depositions of numerous company witnesses including Corporate designee / 30b6 witnesses and Apex witnesses. He also works on foreign litigation and regulatory matters involving medical devices.
• He served as lead trial counsel in a nursing home case situated in Pennsylvania state court which was favorably settled for the client before trial. He has also served as lead counsel for Merck & Co., Inc. in pharmaceutical litigation situated in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas where he obtained dismissal of the action on motion practice and before discovery.  Similarly, he recently served as lead counsel for a client who was a co-defendant in a FEMA flood coverage lawsuit in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and he obtained dismissal of the client on Rule 12(b) motion practice at the pleadings stage.
• Has represented clients in several mass torts involving pharmaceuticals, as well as individual cases involving pharmaceuticals and medical devices. He has been a key member of trial teams for GlaxoSmithKline in the Baycol® litigation and for Wyeth in the Fen-Phen litigation. In these litigations he was responsible for developing and preparing expert witnesses for trial, taking discovery and trial depositions of fact and medical witnesses, and defending depositions of company sales representatives.
• Served on numerous trial teams defending Merck & Co., Inc. in the New Jersey Vioxx® litigation. The most recent was Hermans v. Merck, against a prominent Plaintiffs’ firm which involved the first sudden cardiac death case to go to trial in the New Jersey Vioxx litigation. He took the trial depositions of the coroner and other fact witnesses and defended the deposition of the defense expert toxicologist. The jury ultimately rejected plaintiff’s personal injury claims. 
• A member of the trial team for AstraZeneca which secured a defense verdict in the first trial of more than 20,000 claims involving the prescription drug Seroquel®. The verdict was described by the press as a "huge win" for AstraZeneca, particularly the jury's finding that AstraZeneca's warnings were adequate. He played an instrumental role in this finding by eliciting favorable warning and damages trial testimony from the two key physicians who prescribed the medication and diagnosed the claimed injury.  He also prepared defense experts and took the depositions of the Plaintiff’s experts.
• Served as an effective leader on national expert teams and has extensive experience developing and preparing expert witnesses for trial. Burt has been responsible for the development of hundreds of expert witnesses in numerous mass tort litigations.  He is a meticulous and seasoned manager and leader.  For example, recently he led the team that timely served expert reports in a large MDL wave of over 550 cases that were due on the same date per the Court ordered expert report deadline. To our knowledge, no other firm has surpassed to this feat of serving expert reports in well over 500 cases on the same day in a single litigation. The logistical know-how, planning expertise, and execution of this plan led to a significant reduction in the client’s exposure as the opposite MDL Plaintiffs failed to serve expert reports in all the cases.  Under his leadership the team has also routinely executed the preparation and service of expert reports in numerous other MDL waves, each consisting of over 100-200 separate cases.  He also has extensive experience taking discovery and trial depositions of fact and medical witnesses and preparing defense witnesses. He has played a key role in the coordination of complex, national affirmative discovery efforts on behalf of clients such as GlaxoSmithKline, Wyeth, Merck, Pfizer and AstraZeneca.
• Represented companies involved in large scale litigation from alleged chemical contamination and personal injury and property damage claims, including working on expert teams to defend the clients and evaluate the scientific merits.  He has represented a large chemical company in asbestos litigation in California state court including preparing experts for trial, arguing motions, and other trial support.
• Counseled and handled individual product liability matters involving medical devices, chemicals, herbicides, and foods for clients such as West Pharmaceutical and Kraft Foods. He also has experience in commercial and intellectual property litigation, ADA/NJLAD litigation, and environmental litigation.
• Handled commercial and antitrust class actions. He played a key role in defending York International Corporation against a nationwide class action and was second chair at the class certification hearing. In that case, he took the deposition of one of the class representatives and numerous third party witnesses, managed discovery, and briefed and argued motions. He also defended the depositions of several company executives and prepared the defense expert for the class certification hearing.
• Received several awards for pro bono service. He has represented pro bono clients in civil rights cases, landlord/tenant disputes, and other matters in state and federal court.
• First chair trial experience and has conducted mock trials for clients.

• Best Lawyers in America®
  • Product Liability Litigation – Defendants, 2023-2024

• Pennsylvania, 2002
• U.S. District Courts
• Pennsylvania: Eastern

• Rutgers University, J.D., high honors, 2002
  • Dean’s Scholar (Highest GPA Evening Section),
  • Executive Board Member, Rutgers Law Journal
• Eastern College, B.A., with distinction, 1998
  • National Honors Society

• Defense Research Institute (DRI)
• American Bar Association
• Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society

• Co-Author, "Oh, Do I Have a Story for You…," Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 16, No. 1, March 2023.
• Presenter, “How to Select and Prepare Expert Witnesses,” CLE Lecture, Philadelphia, Pa., March 15, 2011.
• Presenter, “Mass Torts in Pennsylvania: Procedures, Practice and 2006/07 Case Law Update,” Tort Law Update CLE "Down the Shore", Atlantic City, N.J., August 16, 2007.
• Presenter, “Regulatory Issues Concerning Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Recalls,” Recall Readiness Seminar at the Annual Drug and Medical Device Litigation Conference, New York, N.Y., February 28, 2005.