Noted Litigator and National Coordinating Science Counsel to National Pharmaceutical and Medical Products Companies Joins Firm
In a move that is consistent with Alston & Bird’s established objective of positioning the Firm with a strong technology/intellectual property/science orientation, the international law firm has named
Ms. Thorpe is a former partner of the Atlanta litigation boutique of Pursley, Howell,
Lowery & Meeks, LLP. Commenting on the announcement, Alston & Bird managing partner
Jane Thorpe’s practice focuses on mass tort litigation. She is looked to by national pharmaceutical and medical products companies as their national coordinating science counsel in landmark litigation matters. She has achieved significant Daubert victories, which resulted in triumphs in hundreds of breast implant cases, including the recent Allison vs. 3M, United States District Court, Northern District of Georgia, November 3, 1998 and Johnson vs. Baxter Healthcare Corp., et.al., No.CV-92-07501, Second Judicial District Court, County of Bernalillo, State of New Mexico (1998). In its article, “Many Torts Later, the Case Against Implants Collapses,”
The Wall Street Journal reported on November 30, 1998 that Judge Vining, in the Allison case, excluded the plaintiff’s experts whose testimony “would not be scientifically reliable” and “not based on good scientific methodology.” In addition, in an earlier breast implant Daubert victory in Hall vs. Baxter Healthcare Corp., 947 F. Supp. 1387 (D. Or. 1996), the court specifically noted that “ . . . Jane Thorpe demonstrated the highest professional skills I have had the pleasure to observe in 33 years on first the state and then federal bench . . . . I highly recommend viewing the four and one-half hours of video argument to any serious student of advanced advocacy.” Ms. Thorpe has also served on national trial teams in litigation involving childhood vaccines, aspartame and Factor VIII. Ms. Thorpe served as Chairman of the Products Liability Section of the State Bar of Georgia and is a Master in the Lumpkin Inn of Court of the American Inns of Court. She is a member of the Georgia and American Bar Associations and sits on the Torts and Insurance Practice and Litigation sections of the American Bar Association. She is also a member of the Lawyer’s Club of Atlanta and the Defense Research Institute. Ms. Thorpe is admitted to practice before the Georgia Appellate Courts, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and the Tenth and Eleventh Circuits. She received both her B.A. and J.D. from the University of Georgia, where she served on the staff and editorial board of the Georgia Law Review. Alston & Bird’s Medical Products and Services Practice Group is the premier medical products liability and malpractice litigation defense group in the Southeast. With more than 25 lawyers, five nurse consultants and experienced paralegals focusing on defense of medical litigation, the Group has attained a high degree of success in the courtroom and a solid reputation for professional excellence, widely recognized by manufacturers, health care professionals, and in corporate and hospital board rooms. Since 1990 alone, the Group has tried 103 medical liability cases to juries – an extraordinary experience base. Of these cases, 91 resulted in favorable outcomes for their clients – an 88% success rate. The Group serves as a major player, either directly or amicus curiae, in most of the significant appellate cases in Georgia which have shaped the medical malpractice laws over recent years. Alston & Bird, with more than 450 attorneys serving both domestic and international clients, is one of the largest and oldest law firms in the country. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, with offices in Washington, D.C., Charlotte and the Research Triangle in Raleigh, North Carolina, the Firm provides a full range of services to clients doing business throughout the U.S. and overseas. In addition to medical products and services litigation,
Alston & Bird’s practice areas include: capital markets and investments; finance and public finance; financial institutions; international; intellectual property; technology; trial and appellate; health care; real estate; environmental and land use; antitrust and investigations; bankruptcy, reorganizations and workouts; tax and fiduciary; and labor and employment.
Ms. Thorpe is a former partner of the Atlanta litigation boutique of Pursley, Howell,
Lowery & Meeks, LLP. Commenting on the announcement, Alston & Bird managing partner
Jane Thorpe’s practice focuses on mass tort litigation. She is looked to by national pharmaceutical and medical products companies as their national coordinating science counsel in landmark litigation matters. She has achieved significant Daubert victories, which resulted in triumphs in hundreds of breast implant cases, including the recent Allison vs. 3M, United States District Court, Northern District of Georgia, November 3, 1998 and Johnson vs. Baxter Healthcare Corp., et.al., No.CV-92-07501, Second Judicial District Court, County of Bernalillo, State of New Mexico (1998). In its article, “Many Torts Later, the Case Against Implants Collapses,”
The Wall Street Journal reported on November 30, 1998 that Judge Vining, in the Allison case, excluded the plaintiff’s experts whose testimony “would not be scientifically reliable” and “not based on good scientific methodology.” In addition, in an earlier breast implant Daubert victory in Hall vs. Baxter Healthcare Corp., 947 F. Supp. 1387 (D. Or. 1996), the court specifically noted that “ . . . Jane Thorpe demonstrated the highest professional skills I have had the pleasure to observe in 33 years on first the state and then federal bench . . . . I highly recommend viewing the four and one-half hours of video argument to any serious student of advanced advocacy.” Ms. Thorpe has also served on national trial teams in litigation involving childhood vaccines, aspartame and Factor VIII. Ms. Thorpe served as Chairman of the Products Liability Section of the State Bar of Georgia and is a Master in the Lumpkin Inn of Court of the American Inns of Court. She is a member of the Georgia and American Bar Associations and sits on the Torts and Insurance Practice and Litigation sections of the American Bar Association. She is also a member of the Lawyer’s Club of Atlanta and the Defense Research Institute. Ms. Thorpe is admitted to practice before the Georgia Appellate Courts, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and the Tenth and Eleventh Circuits. She received both her B.A. and J.D. from the University of Georgia, where she served on the staff and editorial board of the Georgia Law Review. Alston & Bird’s Medical Products and Services Practice Group is the premier medical products liability and malpractice litigation defense group in the Southeast. With more than 25 lawyers, five nurse consultants and experienced paralegals focusing on defense of medical litigation, the Group has attained a high degree of success in the courtroom and a solid reputation for professional excellence, widely recognized by manufacturers, health care professionals, and in corporate and hospital board rooms. Since 1990 alone, the Group has tried 103 medical liability cases to juries – an extraordinary experience base. Of these cases, 91 resulted in favorable outcomes for their clients – an 88% success rate. The Group serves as a major player, either directly or amicus curiae, in most of the significant appellate cases in Georgia which have shaped the medical malpractice laws over recent years. Alston & Bird, with more than 450 attorneys serving both domestic and international clients, is one of the largest and oldest law firms in the country. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, with offices in Washington, D.C., Charlotte and the Research Triangle in Raleigh, North Carolina, the Firm provides a full range of services to clients doing business throughout the U.S. and overseas. In addition to medical products and services litigation,
Alston & Bird’s practice areas include: capital markets and investments; finance and public finance; financial institutions; international; intellectual property; technology; trial and appellate; health care; real estate; environmental and land use; antitrust and investigations; bankruptcy, reorganizations and workouts; tax and fiduciary; and labor and employment.