Counsel

Michael L. Lisak

Products Liability
Commercial Litigation and Disputes

mlisak@sidley.com

Chicago +1 312 853 1086

- Letter
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MICHAEL LISAK serves as counsel in the Chicago office. Prior to joining Sidley in 2008, he was a partner and trial attorney at a law firm in Baltimore. Michael has substantial national experience in mass and toxic torts as well as various types of product liability as well as general litigation, including trying cases. His practice has included serving as both national and regional counsel in several mass tort multidistrict and related state litigation and class actions, as well as more traditional individualized lawsuits. He is also involved in defending “whistle-blower” allegations concerning pharmaceutical sales and marketing practices. Michael is a co-founder of Sidley’s Nanotechnology group and is also involved in hydraulic fracturing litigation development efforts.

Throughout his career, Michael has distinguished himself in identifying, interviewing, retaining, deposing and presenting experts for trial, depositions, during class certification proceedings, and for Daubert/Frye motions. These fields have included industrial hygiene, endocrinology, cardiology, pulmonology, oncology, mammography, epidemiology, gynecology, virology, infectious disease, dermatology, hematology, hepatology, nephrology, neurology, pathology, rheumatology, FDA drug approval and labeling, allergy, economics, damages, forensic accounting and orthopedic surgery. He has also taken and coordinated the depositions of defendants’ and plaintiffs’ experts across the United States within these and other fields.

Michael has personally conducted and supervised other lawyers during all forms of pre-trial discovery and motion practice. In that regard, he has drafted and successfully argued numerous pre-trial motions, including motions to dismiss, motions for summary judgment and Daubert/Frye motions; interviewed hundreds of company employees; designed and supervised multi-million page document collections and production efforts; arbitrated and mediated personal injury claims; prepared cases for trial, including all aspects of oral and written discovery; and negotiated and resolved numerous orders and discovery disputes with plaintiffs’ attorneys across the country. His depositions of experts, plaintiffs, prescribers and treaters are used by defense attorneys across litigations for motions and training purposes. Michael has also been involved in pre-litigation risk assessments concerning prescription medications.

Michael graduated with Departmental Honors from The Johns Hopkins University in 1991, and with Honors from The Chicago-Kent College of Law in 1995 where he completed a Certificate in the Environmental and Energy Law Program. He is a Member of the Illinois, Maryland (inactive) and District of Columbia (inactive) state and federal bars as well as the Defense Research Institute. Michael co-authored two papers concerning nanotechnology - “Nanotechnology Manufacturers’ Duty to Warn and Potential Affirmative Defenses” published by The Bureau of National Affairs as well as “Mitigating Risk in Mass Nano Torts” published by Law360 on February 1, 2012. He is also the co-author of “Discovery of Electronic Databases Prepared for Purposes of Litigation Management,” Litigation Ghostbusters: “Who Ya Gonna Call,” Exorcising Ghosts & Goblins from Your High-Stakes Litigation, The Network of Trial Law Firms, Inc., October 1998.

Experience

Extensive national experience representing major corporate clients in mass tort, product liability, and general litigation. This includes:

Representing various pharmaceutical clients in federal multi-district, Philadelphia and New Jersey mass tort actions. Conduct and supervise all forms of expert and fact discovery, legal research as well as motion practice.
Representing a pharmaceutical company as co-national counsel in mass tort product liability as well as whistleblower cases throughout the United States. Responsibilities include coordination amongst “virtual law firm” co-counsel as well as the supervision of local counsel. Conduct and supervise all forms of fact and expert discovery, legal research, motion practice and trial preparation. Conduct employee interviews throughout the United States and Germany.
Representing a Fortune 500 company in a train derailment matter. Representation to date consists of factual investigation, including but not limited to, company employee interviews.
Representing various Fortune 500 companies in mobile device and software cases. This includes conducting fact and expert discovery, legal research, motion practice as well as trial preparation.
Representing a major pipeline company in Illinois, including legal research and trial preparation.
Representing a Fortune 500 company as national counsel in mass tort personal injury and fatality cases throughout the United States involving alleged industrial and commercial exposures to asbestos from various electrical products as well as both marine and land turbines. Conduct and supervise all forms of expert and fact discovery, factual investigation, legal research, motion practice as well as trial.
Leading development efforts regarding potential personal injury, environmental, and economic liability issues related to nanotechnology and hydraulic fracturing. Efforts include analyzing, presenting and publishing concerning state-of-the-art scientific, regulatory and potential health-related liability issues.

Prior to joining Sidley, Michael represented clients throughout the United States in all stages of litigation, from investigation through discovery and trial, as well as post-trial motions and appeals, including:

Representing one pharmaceutical company in multiple different mass tort litigations as both national and regional counsel. Duties included the selection and supervision of local counsel in several jurisdictions in both class actions and individual lawsuits. Responsibilities included serving as co-counsel at trial as well as conducting and supervising all aspects of factual investigation, conducting and supervising all forms of expert and fact discovery, legal research, motion practice, as well as settlement negotiations.
Representing multiple other pharmaceutical clients and manufacturers of medical devices in mass torts as both national and regional counsel in federal multi-district litigation, state-wide class actions, and in individual cases within multiple jurisdictions across the United States and Canada. Duties included the supervision of local counsel as well as conducting all aspects of factual investigation, conducting and supervising expert and fact discovery, legal research, motion practice, as well as settlement negotiations. Representation also included serving on trial teams as well as training junior lawyers in all aspects of litigation.
Representing various Baltimore landlords in cases involving alleged childhood exposure to lead paint, including first and second-chairing jury trials. Efforts also included conducting and supervising all manner of fact and expert discovery, legal research, motion practice and settlement negotiations.
Representing manufacturers of various equipment and products as well as insurance companies in product liability, commercial and general liability litigation. Representative clients included Kubota Tractor, United Equipment Rentals, Nissan, Pfizer, Allstate, The Hartford, Fireman’s Fund Risk Management Services, Travelers, Chubb, Liberty Mutual, and the Enterprise Leasing. Responsibilities included trial, conducting and supervising all manner of fact and expert discovery, legal research, motion practice, factual investigation and settlement negotiations.

Credentials

Admissions & Certifications

U.S. District Court, District of Columbia
U.S. District Court, N.D. of Illinois - General
U.S. District Court, C.D. of Illinois
U.S. District Court, District of Maryland
U.S. District Court, E.D. of Wisconsin
Illinois

Education

Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology, J.D., 1995 (with honors)
Johns Hopkins University, B.A., 1991 (with departmental honors)