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William M. Gage

William M. Gage

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“William Gage is renowned for acting as lead counsel for major pharmaceutical trial companies in large MDLs, drawing particular praise for his achievements in pelvic mesh litigation. ‘He is a pleasure to work with, very smart and very capable.’ ‘A really smart guy, beloved by his clients and really dedicated to his work - he has immense likability and charm.’ (Editorial from Chambers USA: American’s Leading Lawyers for Business, 2021, where William is ranked nationally for Product Liability & Mass Torts) “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, 2019)

Biography – View PDF Bio

Narrative Bio

William is an attorney in Butler Snow LLP’s Pharmaceutical, Medical Device & Healthcare Litigation Group, which LMG Life Sciences selected as its 2019 Product Liability Firm of the Year. He previously served as Chair of the firm’s Litigation Department. He is a trial attorney with more than 30 years of experience in drug and medical device, product liability, personal injury and mass torts litigation.

William served 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 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. He was retained in 2019 as lead trial counsel in a Washington state attorney general action related to pelvic mesh that resolved shortly before trial. He was also was retained in 2019 as co-lead trial counsel in a first-of-its-kind eight-week bench trial in an attorney general action in California involving pelvic mesh. Over the past six years, he tried eight product liability 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 American College of Trial Lawyers and International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He has presented on numerous occasions about litigation and trial related topics, including speaking at the Defense Research Institute’s Product Liability Conference (2021 and 2018) and Drug and Medical Device Seminar, the Contemporary Issues in Complex Litigation Conference (2018 and 2019) at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, 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, American College of Trial Lawyers
  • Fellow, International Academy of Trial Lawyers
  • Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business
    • Product Liability & Mass Torts – Nationwide, 2017-2021
  • The Legal 500 US
    • Recognized in the editorial for nationwide Dispute Resolution: Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices – Defense, 2018-2020
  • Who's Who Legal, Product Liability Defence, 2017-2021
  • Benchmark Litigation
    • Litigation Star, 2017, 2021
  • Best Lawyers in America®
    • Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants, 2011-2022
    • Product Liability Litigation – Defendants, 2018-2022
  • Super Lawyers®
    • Mid-South Super Lawyers, Personal Injury – General: Defense, 2006-2020
  • Martindale-Hubbell®
    • AV®– Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated
    • More...
Chambers

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
    • The People of the State of California v. Johnson & Johnson – California State Attorney General Pelvic Mesh Litigation (Trial Counsel, 2019); “4 Key Moments From J&J’s Mesh Marketing Battle With Calif.,” Law360, October 2, 2019; “Breaking Down J&J and California’s $1B Pelvic Mesh Trial,” Law360, July 12, 2019.
    • 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); “J&J Wins 1st Trial Over Prosima Pelvic Mesh,” Law360, October 5, 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, "Practical Tips for the Products Lawyer,” DRI 2021 Product Liability Conference, August 20, 2021.
  • Speaker, “An Analysis of the Role of Daubert in Modern, Complex Litigation," Contemporary Issues in Complex Litigation Conference, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, Chicago, Ill., October 17, 2019.
  • Speaker, “Current Issues in Multidistrict Litigation,” Contemporary Issues in Complex Litigation Conference, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, 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, October 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.
    • More...