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Andrew Solow focuses on mass tort pharmaceutical product liability litigation and complex commercial litigation. Andrew provides counsel to domestic and international corporations, individual clients, charitable trusts, and private equity funds in implementing overall litigation and trial strategy, and counseling on strategic settlement decisions, as well as litigation avoidance.

Andrew has extensive experience serving as national counsel, national coordinating counsel, trial counsel, and settlement counsel representing a number of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the world in a wide range of mass tort and product liability litigations involving both prescription and over-the-counter products.

Andrew has also represented both plaintiffs and defendants in civil litigations in courts across the United States involving commercial, contract, fraud, antitrust, securities, foreign currency trading, trademark, patent, intellectual properly, and civil RICO claims.

Prior to joining the firm in 1999, Andrew clerked for The Honorable Charles L. Brieant, in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York. During his time at the firm, Andrew was seconded as in-house counsel by an international pharmaceutical company. As a result of his tenure as in-house counsel, he has a real-world understanding of the in-house corporate legal function, and substantial experience counseling corporate executives and employees on a variety of legal and commercial issues.

Experience

  • Monsanto and Bayer as national counsel in defense of their nationwide litigation involving Roundup®.
  • Bayer Corporation and Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. as national counsel in defense of their prescription antibiotic medications Cipro® and Avelox® in product liability litigation, including an MDL.
  • Bayer Corporation and Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. as national coordinating counsel in the defense of their oral anticoagulant prescription medication, Xarelto® in product liability litigation, including an MDL.
  • Multiple pharmaceutical companies as national counsel and trial counsel in product liability litigation, including an MDL, involving TRT (Testosterone Replacement Therapy) products defending against claims of heart attack, stroke and related cardiac issues.
  • Pfizer as co-national counsel in product liability lawsuits alleging birth defects related to the antidepressant Zoloft®.
  • Pfizer and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc. as co-national counsel in product liability lawsuits alleging birth defects related to the antidepressant Effexor XR®, including dismissal of all cases pending in the MDL.
  • Pfizer, Pharmacia & Upjohn Co., and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc., as trial counsel and national counsel in the Hormone Therapy Litigation responsible for all aspects of litigation, including trial preparation and trial, global strategy, settlement and mediations, and management and coordination of regional and local counsel. Notable trial victories include the following:

    • In May 2012, Andrew, along with Pamela J. Yates (partner in the Los Angeles office), served as co-lead trial counsel for Pfizer units Wyeth Inc. and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in U.S. District Court (Connecticut) and obtained a defense verdict on all counts related to a wrongful death suit involving Wyeth's hormone therapy (HT) medications Premarin and Prempro. After a three-week trial, the jury dismissed all four of the alleged claims. This decision marks Andrew and Pamela's second win in less than one year regarding both HT medications. Lynn Gardner Moss, et al. v. Wyeth Inc., et al.
    • In July 2011, Andrew, along with Pamela, served as trial counsel for Pfizer units Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Pharmacia & Upjohn Co. and obtained a defense verdict in a case involving claims of injuries from the client's HT medicines. After a three-week trial, the jury found that the HT prescription medicines did not cause the plaintiff's breast cancer and that the plaintiff's claims were time-barred by the applicable statute of limitations. Notably, this is the first HT defense verdict for Pharmacia & Upjohn. Hines v. Wyeth, et al.
  • AstraZeneca in thousands of product liability lawsuits alleging that its atypical antipsychotic drug, Seroquel, causes diabetes and related injuries. Andrew assisted in the strategic end game/settlement analysis that contributed to the successful resolution of the litigation.
  • Novartis Consumer Health Inc. in connection with plaintiffs who claimed injuries from over-the-counter products containing PPA. In his role as national coordinating counsel, Andrew was responsible for management and coordination of regional and local counsel, as well as strategy and discovery in the coordinated New York proceedings.
  • Major Pharmaceutical Company as co-lead national counsel in a series of cases (including those combined within an MDL) brought by government prosecutors, third-party payors, and private individuals alleging fraudulent marketing and improper distribution of opioids for chronic pain and seeking billions in abatement costs, damages, restitution, and civil penalties.

Perspectives

Product Liability in the Cannabis Industry: Insights From 2022 & Looking Forward - Cannabis Industry Journal
Cannabis Industry Journal
Lit Alerts—October 2021
A Publication of the Litigation Practice Group
Lit Alerts—September 2021
A Publication of the Litigation Practice Group
Lit Alerts—August 2021
A Publication of the Litigation Practice Group
Lit Alerts—June 2021
A Publication of the Litigation Practice Group
More

Recognition

LMG Life Sciences Guide
"Life Sciences Star" — Product Liability (2019–2022)

Credentials

Education

  • J.D., Pace University School of Law, 1998, cum laude
  • B.S., Syracuse University, 1995

Admissions

  • New York
  • Connecticut

Clerkships

  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, The Honorable Charles L. Brieant
Overview