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William M. Gage

William Gage

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“Sources describe William Gage as a ‘very capable trial lawyer with tremendous charisma,’ pointing to the ‘depth of his experience and the strength of his skill.’ He is highly regarded for his expert handling of large-scale pharmaceutical and medical device disputes, including leading pelvic mesh multidistrict litigation.”
Editorial from Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business (2019), where William is ranked nationally for Product Liability & Mass Torts 

Biography – View PDF Bio

Narrative Bio

William is an attorney in Butler Snow LLP’s Pharmaceutical, Medical Device & Healthcare Litigation Group, which Benchmark Litigation selected as its 2018 Product Liability Firm of the Year. He previously served as Chair of the firm’s Litigation Department. He is a trial attorney with nearly 30 years of experience in drug and medical device, product liability, personal injury and mass torts litigation.

William currently serves as MDL lead counsel for Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon, Inc. in In re: Ethicon, Inc., Pelvic Repair Systems Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2327, United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, one of the largest litigations in U.S. history. He also serves as MDL lead counsel and lead trial counsel in In re: Ethicon Physiomesh Flexible Composite Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2782, United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. He previously served as statewide coordinating counsel for the Wyeth diet drug litigation and trial counsel in the New Jersey Accutane litigation.

Profiled as one of Law360’s 2016 Trial Pros, William has extensive trial experience. Over the past four years, he tried seven mesh cases to verdict, obtaining defense verdicts in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas (2017) and in state court in Dallas, Texas (2015). The Texas trial was one of Law360’s 2015 Product Liability Trials to Watch, and the verdict was named as one of CVN’s Top 10 Defense Verdicts of 2015.

William is recognized by many prestigious industry publications, including Chambers USA (nationwide Product Liability & Mass Torts), The Legal 500 US (recognized in the editorial for nationwide Product liability, Mass Tort and Class Action: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices – Defense), Who’s Who Legal: Product Liability Defence, Benchmark Litigation, The Best Lawyers in America, and Mid-South Super Lawyers. He is a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and a graduate of the International Association of Defense Counsel’s Trial Academy. He has presented on numerous occasions about litigation and trial related topics, including speaking at the 2018 Defense Research Institute (DRI) Product Liability Conference on the use of graphics during closing, DRI’s Drug and Medical Device Seminar and the American Conference Institute’s Drug & Medical Device Litigation Seminar.

Associations

Bar Admissions

  • Mississippi, 1990
  • U.S. District Courts
    • Mississippi: Northern, Southern
  • U.S. Court of Appeals
    • 5th Circuit

Distinctions

  • Fellow, International Academy of Trial Lawyers
  • Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business
    • Product Liability & Mass Torts – Nationwide, 2017-2019
  • The Legal 500 US
    • Recognized in the editorial for nationwide Dispute Resolution: Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices – Defense, 2018-2019
  • Who's Who Legal, Product Liability Defence, 2017
  • Litigation Star, Benchmark Litigation Magazine, 2017
  • Best Lawyers in America®
    • Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants, 2011-2019
    • Product Liability Litigation – Defendants, 2018-2019
  • Super Lawyers®
    • Mid-South Super Lawyers, Personal Injury – General: Defense, 2006-2018
  • Martindale-Hubbell®
    • AV®– Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated
  • Graduate, International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) Trial Academy

Education & Honors

  • University of Mississippi, J.D., cum laude, 1990
    • Casenote Editor, Mississippi Law Journal
  • University of Mississippi, B.A., Accountancy, cum laude, 1987

Experience

  • MDL and Mass Tort Management
    • MDL Lead Counsel, In re: Ethicon, Inc., Pelvic Repair Systems Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2327, United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia
    • MDL Lead Counsel, In re: Ethicon Physiomesh Flexible Composite Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2782, United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
    • Statewide Counsel, diet drug litigation for Wyeth.
    • Regional Counsel, Gammagard® litigation for Baxter Healthcare Corporation.
  • Trials
    • Hrymoc v. Johnson & Johnson, et al. – New Jersey Pelvic Mesh Litigation (Trial Counsel, 2017).
    • Adkins v. Johnson & Johnson, et al. – Pennsylvania State Court Pelvic Mesh Litigation (Trial Counsel, 2017); “Philly Jury Clears J&J in Latest Pelvic Mesh Case,” Law360, June 9, 2017.
    • Carlino v. Johnson & Johnson, et al. – Pennsylvania State Court Pelvic Mesh Litigation (Trial Counsel, 2016).
    • Cavness v. Johnson & Johnson, et al – Texas State Court Pelvic Mesh Litigation (Trial Counsel, 2015); “CVN Top 10 Defense Verdicts of 2015,” Courtroom View Network, December 30, 2015.
    • Perry v. Johnson & Johnson, et al. – California State Court Pelvic Mesh Litigation (Trial Counsel, 2015).
    • Batiste v. Johnson & Johnson, et al – Texas State Court Pelvic Mesh Litigation (Trial Counsel, 2014).
    • Kendall v. Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., – New Jersey Accutane litigation (Trial Counsel, 2014).
    • Gross v. Johnson & Johnson, et al. – New Jersey Pelvic Mesh Litigation (Trial Counsel, 2013).
    • Reynolds, et al. v. Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. – New Jersey Accutane Litigation (Trial Counsel, 2012).
    • McCarrell v. Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. – New Jersey Accutane Litigation (Trial Counsel, 2010).
    • Speisman, et al. v. Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., – New Jersey Accutane Litigation (Trial Counsel, 2008).
    • Budzinski v. City of Clinton, et al., (Trial Counsel).
    • Weed v. Dickerson, (Trial Counsel).
    • Delaughter v. Lucious Cannon, Jr., et al., (Trial Counsel).
    • Powell v Mississippi Farm Bureau, (Trial Counsel).
  • Reported Decisions
    • Akins v. Golden Triangle Planning & Development District, Inc., 34 So. 3d 575 (Miss. 2010).
    • American Home Products Corp. v. Sumlin; 942 So. 2d 766 (Miss. 2006).
    • Wyeth Laboratories v. James, 918 So. 2d 1243 (Miss. 2005).
    • Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories v. Caldwell, 905 So. 2d 1205 (Miss. 2005).
    • American Guarantee and Liability Ins. Co. v. The 1906 Co., 273 F. 3d 605 (5th Cir. 2001).
    • American Guarantee and Liability Ins. Co. v. The 1906 Co., 129 F. 3d 802 (5th Cir. 1997).
    • Ezell v. BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc., 961 F.Supp. 149 (S.D. Miss. 1997).
    • McCoy v. South Cent. Bell Telephone Co., 688 So. 2d 214 (Miss. 1996).
    • Allstate Ins. Co. v. Chicago Ins. Co., 676 So. 2d 271 (Miss. 1996).
    • Radmann v. Truck Ins. Exchange, 660 So. 2d 975 (Miss. 1995).

In the News

Papers, Presentations, & Publications

  • Speaker, “Current Issues in Multidistrict Litigation," Contemporary Issues in Complex Litigation Conference, Chicago, Ill., November 29, 2018.
  • Speaker, “Cutting Edge Use of Graphics During Closing,” DRI Product Liability Conference, San Diego, Calif., February 2018.
  • Speaker, “Hot Topics and Trends in Medical Device Litigation,” AdvaMed Litigation Counsel Working Group, January 2018. 
  • Author, “The Three C’s," Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 10 No. 3, 2017.
  • Speaker, “How Expert Witnesses Can Help Win or Lose Cases at Trial,” SEAK 26th Annual National Expert Witness Conference, May 2017.
  • Speaker, “Fighting Back Against Overbroad or No Injury Class Actions: Strategies for Drug and Medical Device Defense Counsel to Effectively Defeat Certification,” 19th Annual Drug and Medical Litigation Conference, American Conference Institute (ACI), New York, N.Y., December 2014.
  • Speaker, "The Litigation Exchange: Drug and Device Edition," Co-Chair and speaker, Momentum Event Group, New York, N.Y., October 2013.
  • Speaker, "Taking the Social Media Plunge: Engaging Customers Online While Minimizing the Inherent Litigation Risks of Viral Communication," ACI 17th Annual Drug and Medical Device Litigation Conference, New York, N.Y., December 2012.
  • Author, "Effect of Judicial Estoppel on Plaintiffs’ Personal Injury Claim – What Every Defense Lawyer Needs to Know," Southern Law Network, Chicago, Ill., October 2010.
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