Los Angeles, April 12, 2004— Jan E. Dodd, 39, a partner with Kaye Scholer LLP, has been selected by Daily Journal Extra, a legal publication serving both northern and southern California, as one of the state’s top 20 lawyers under the age of 40 in the April 5, 2004 issue. There are approximately 50,000 lawyers younger than 40 in California.
Ms. Dodd’s work has included hundreds of product liability and mass tort cases as well as suits involving premises liability for violent crimes. In January, along with Kaye Scholer partner Aton Arbisser, she represented Novartis Consumer Health in two PPA (Phenylpropanolamine) product liability defense verdicts in California; the first jury trial in the United States to be argued on any PPA product (In re PPA litigations, JCCP 4166: Linda Lutz and Pearl O’Neill v Novartis AG). She also participated in the Daubert evidentiary hearing in the Rezulin MDL matters for Pfizer/Warner. In recent years she has coordinated numerous mass tort cases regarding asbestos, Norplant, breast implants, latex gloves, pedicle screws, Rezulin, PPA and toxic chemical exposures.
“Jan is a wonderful trial lawyer and we take great pride in the fact that she has been recognized for her skills,” said Barry Willner, Managing Partner of Kaye Scholer. At a young age for a partner at a major law firm, Jan has been lead in some of the largest product liability cases to date. “Jan has great trial instincts and is a force to be reckoned with, especially in jury cases,” added Randy Sherman, Partner in Kaye Scholer’s New York Office.
Before joining Kaye Scholer, Dodd was in private practice in the Midwest. During that time she was appointed a Special State Attorney General for the State of Missouri and was retained to represent the state in claims against tobacco companies. In 1988 she served as a Judicial Clerk to the Honorable Edward D. Robertson, Jr., former Chief Judge of the Missouri Supreme Court, where she was involved in the writing of the Nancy Cruzan v. State of Missouri opinion — the “Right to Die” opinion that was subsequently upheld in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Kaye Scholer LLP, one of the largest law firms in the United States, was founded over 85 years ago in New York City. Today, the firm counts some 500 lawyers in nine offices: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., West Palm Beach, Frankfurt, London, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
# # #
