PERSONNEL FILE: Nelson Mullins tops 2010 product liability group rankings

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Crucial victories in some of the nation's biggest cases has resulted in Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP being placed at the top of the 2010 product liability group rankings of Portfolio Media, online publishers of Law 360 newswire for business lawyers. The legal media group notes that Nelson Mullins capitalized "on long-running relationships and trial savvy to shield top-tier clients from potentially crippling losses."

Law 360 called one Nelson Mullins win "a bellwether trial with implications for product liability suits accusing Wyeth, now part of Pfizer Inc., of concealing medical risks associated with hormone therapy drug Prempro." A federal court jury took less than one hour to return a verdict for the pharmaceutical company and rejected a plaintiff's claim for $3.5 million in damages.

Law 360 also highlighted a Nelson Mullins lawsuit in which the firm successfully fended off an $18 million jury verdict against another client, Ford Motor Co., awarded to plaintiffs in an auto product liability action, convincing the South Carolina Supreme Court to overturn the verdict on appeal.

The Nelson Mullins Product Liability, Counseling and Reporting Practice Group currently serves as national and regional counsel for numerous companies in various industries across the United States. The group has appeared as lead trial counsel in many of the most feared jurisdictions in the nation and routinely handles dangerous, high exposure personal injury and death cases. The group is regularly selected as national, regional, and lead trial counsel by America's Fortune 500 companies and other leading global companies to manage difficult class actions, high profile disputes, and challenging personal injury cases.

In mid-November, Law360 solicited submissions from more than 300 law firms for the series and received more than 400 responses across 15 practice areas. A team of Law360 editors culled the submissions, highlighting product liability groups for their achievements over the last year.

According to Law 360, the firm was entrusted by major corporations with much on the line ... and proved their mettle by successfully navigating the complex legal proceedings from trial courts and settlement rooms to top appellate venues."

The top firms distinguished themselves by scoring crucial victories in some of the biggest class actions, multidistrict litigation cases and bellwether trials of 2010, leveraging the collective trial experience of their practice groups to sway juries, overturn verdicts, and lay the foundation for settlements, thereby reducing clients' exposure to multimillion-dollar damage awards and reputation-sapping headlines, according to the organization.

Established in 1897, Nelson Mullins has more than 400 attorneys and government relations professionals practicing from 12 office locations in the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Carolina, and West Virginia.

For more information, visit www.nelsonmullins.com.