Michael L. Lisak

MICHAEL LISAK has substantial national experience in toxic and mass torts as well as in pharmaceutical and medical device product liability litigation, including trials. Michael’s toxic tort cases have included ethylene oxide, PFAS, hair relaxers, asbestos, and lead paint, while his pharmaceutical experience has spanned many varied prescription medications and medical devices. His practice has included serving as both national and regional counsel in many federal and state mass tort litigations, including multidistrict cases and class actions, as well as individualized lawsuits. He has also been involved in defending “whistle-blower” allegations concerning pharmaceutical sales and marketing practices. Michael is a co-founder of Sidley’s Nanotechnology group.

Prior to joining Sidley in 2008, Michael was a partner and trial attorney at a law firm in Baltimore. Throughout his career, Michael has distinguished himself in identifying, developing, and presenting experts for deposition and trial, as well as during class certification proceedings and Daubert/Frye hearings. These fields have spanned nearly every area of medical and scientific knowledge as well as regulatory, business, and economic issues. He has also taken and coordinated the depositions of plaintiffs’ experts across the United States within these fields. Michael has excelled in defending United States and foreign company witnesses for depositions and at trial, as well as in taking hundreds of plaintiff, employer, and prescribing and other treating healthcare provider depositions. He has spent significant time conducting factual investigations, pursing written discovery, and varied motion practice. Michael also recently tried and obtained a landmark civil rights verdict for a client concerning his 8th Amendment rights against cruel and unusual punishment.

He is a member of the Defense Research Institute, including serving on its Toxic Torts and Environmental Law Committee. Michael has co-authored various papers concerning how best to present scientific evidence at trial, expert-related topics as well as nanotechnology.

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 three papers concerning nanotechnology.

While at Sidley, Michael’s extensive national experience representing major corporate clients in toxic and mass torts litigation, as well as in product liability and general litigation includes:

• Representing a contract sterilizer of medical devices in ongoing toxic tort litigation in the Circuit Court of Cook County as well as in Georgia. Plaintiffs claim that exposure to a chemical used by the sterilizer led them to develop cancer and other injuries. Responsibilities include serving on trial teams, working with scientific experts in multiple fields, and defense of company witnesses, as well as leading individual case work-up efforts.
• Representing a chemical company in ongoing PFAS toxic tort litigation. Plaintiffs claim that exposure to a chemical used by the sterilizer led them to develop cancer and other injuries. Responsibilities include expert retention, development and discovery.
• 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. Responsibilities include conducting and supervising all forms of expert and fact discovery, factual investigation, legal research, and motion practice, as well as serving on trial teams.
• Representing a client concerning talc-containing products throughout the United States concerning cancer claims from alleged exposure to asbestos. Responsibilities include expert development and discovery, as well as serving on trial teams.
• Representing various pharmaceutical clients in both federal multi-district and state court litigation. Responsibilities include conducting and supervising all forms of expert and fact discovery, legal research, motion practice, and serving on trial teams.
• Representing a major pipeline company in Illinois, including legal research, fact and expert discovery, as well as trial preparation. Cases have included both alleged exposure to asbestos and eminent domain issues.
• 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.
• 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.

Some of the above matters were handled prior to joining Sidley.

Michael also maintains an active pro bono practice focusing upon U.S constitutional rights case for prisoners, including trials. Michael won the first the 8th Amendment jury verdict, including punitive damages, concerning solitary confinement in New York.