The following is an excerpt from Practice Perspectives: Vault's Guide to Legal Practice Areas.
Emily Ambrose practices primarily in the areas of class action defense, products liability defense, appeals, and other complex litigation. She also frequently provides legal advice to business clients spanning labeling, regulatory, environmental, and other types of risk mitigation. Emily was recently honored by Minnesota Lawyer as being among the Top Women in Law and was named in Benchmark Litigation’s 40 and Under List. She has experience in all aspects of civil practice, including defending and taking witness and expert depositions; arguing motions; conducting all phases of discovery, including coordinating large-scale electronically stored information discovery; and going to trial. Emily is a skilled writer and oral advocate and has led efforts to defeat multiple putative class actions at the motions-to-dismiss stage, reverse class certification, and obtain summary judgments and favorable Daubert rulings in multiple cases. Prior to private practice, Emily clerked for the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
Alicia Grant is a partner in the firm’s product liability and consumer disputes group. Alicia’s practice focuses on all aspects of product liability actions, such as mass torts and complex commercial litigation in state and federal court, including class actions and multidistrict litigation. Her recent experience includes the successful defense of a global corporation against false advertisement claims in federal class action litigation and first chairing a bench trial in state court.
Prior to law school, Alicia had a 10-year career with the Bexar County Appraisal District where she gained extensive experience in arbitration, mediation, and other alternative dispute resolutions. Alicia builds on this experience to provide effective case resolution strategies. Before joining the firm, she clerked for the Honorable Tony M. Davis, United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of Texas.
Describe your practice area and what it entails.
Alicia: My practice area focuses on litigation for companies in the life sciences and energy sectors, usually involving multiple plaintiffs. For example, in product liability cases, a group of plaintiffs will often sue the corporation. These cases tend to be complex and nuanced. I collaborate with experts and the business to understand the product, helping me build a stronger defense.
Emily: I handle complex litigation, including representing product manufacturers and sellers in product liability litigation. Product liability cases include allegations that an individual was injured because of an allegedly defective product. The product can be defective based on its design (it is unreasonably dangerous), manufacture (an error in the manufacturing process or in the materials), or warnings (the warnings or instructions were inadequate). The claims are typically pursued under state law but can be litigated in both state and federal courts. Cases can be pursued individually, in various groupings or consolidated matters, or in multidistrict litigation. This practice involves working with very sophisticated clients and requires not only understanding the law but also understanding the product and human nature. It involves working with subject matter experts in many different fields to understand how products are made and how they work. This practice area also requires an understanding of human behavior and interaction with products.
What types of clients do you represent?
Alicia: Pharmaceutical companies and energy companies. For example, the top companies I represent are Shell, Toyota, Walmart, and Takeda.
Emily: My clients are food and consumer product manufacturers and sellers. Most frequently, they are large, well-established multinational companies with existing products. I work with their in-house legal departments, primarily their litigation attorneys. I also advise companies that do not have in-house legal departments and those hoping to develop new products for consumers.
What types of cases/deals do you work on?
Alicia: Everything is focused on litigation or preparing for it, usually involving multiple plaintiffs. The cases are often class actions or multidistrict litigations. For example, I’ve worked on several high-stakes cases that tend to attract media attention due to their nature.
Emily: I represent clients in disputes, often involving claims by consumers related to product advertising or design or alleged injuries from products. I also represent clients in other complex litigation, including that involving supply chain contracts, and advise on risk relating to products, particularly around product advertising and safety. Typical product liability cases involve a person who claims to have been injured from a product. Often there is a dispute as to which product was actually involved (and whether it was made by the client), a dispute about whether it was altered after the time it was made, a dispute about whether it was abused or misused, or a dispute about whether it actually caused the injury that was alleged.
How did you choose this practice area?
Alicia: I chose this practice area because of my mentors and the great people I got to work with. Once I started working with clients in the field, I really appreciated how smart and collaborative they are. The issues are always interesting and varied, so I’m never bored. I also noticed there weren’t many women litigators in this space, and I saw it as a chance to take the road less traveled and hopefully help bring more women into the field.
Emily: When I started in private practice after completing law school and a clerkship, I was drawn to a small firm that was run by one of the best trial lawyers in the country. The firm focused on complex litigation for companies, including product liability litigation, class actions, environmental claims, and business disputes. Over time, I became more proficient in product liability work through working on several different dockets of cases involving products.
What is a “typical” day like and/or what are some common tasks you perform?
Alicia: What I enjoy about my job is that there is not a typical day, but common tasks can include anything from meeting with experts, such as an orthopedic surgeon, to doing a field inspection, touring a power plant, or conducting depositions.
Emily: Product liability work always involves risk assessment, thinking about the ultimate trial and developing themes and strategies to best position the client for trial or resolution. Day-to-day, common tasks include interviewing witnesses; collecting and reviewing documents; working with experts in various fields; communicating with opposing counsel; and handling hearings, depositions, or other proceedings. Because the work is complex, we generally have multiple lawyers working together in teams, so there is a lot of collaboration.
What training, classes, experience, or skills development would you recommend to someone who wishes to enter your practice area?
Alicia: For me, I credit a lot to my mentors. It’s key to be in a space with experienced litigators who are going to invest the time in to mentor and help build your growth. As far as resources, I tend to enjoy my CLE opportunities within my space, and I also love a good podcast. I tend to stay up-to-date on what’s going on in the space and follow up with colleagues who have published articles on recent topics
Emily: All the training that goes into complex litigation and trial practice would be relevant. Research and writing are extremely important skills—most of the advocacy to the court, as well as advice to the client, is in the form of writing. Clerkships, or other opportunities to develop research and writing skills, are extremely helpful. This practice area is ideal for individuals who are naturally curious because it involves a lot of investigation of facts: What is the product? How does it work? How can it fail? What happened in the case? Who are the witnesses? Individuals with backgrounds in social sciences, journalism, or other research fields would be well-equipped to navigate the work.
What do you like best about your practice area?
Alicia: I like that I am able to engage in litigation or investment management that impacts the company’s portfolios. This allows me to see how my role is critical to the success of the company and the overall support of their strategic objectives. We have the opportunity to help companies protect and advance their missions. One company that comes to mind has a mission to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life. To be a part of helping that company support its mission by helping with its litigation defense is something that I find meaningful and rewarding.
Emily: I learn something new every day, often about things outside the law. I learn how different products work and how they are made. If the case involves a fire, I learn about fire origin and cause analyses. I learn about the facts of specific incidents and try to understand what happened as if I am a journalist or even a novelist. It is the perfect practice area for people who have natural curiosity. I also enjoy working on teams and collaborating with highly sophisticated clients and experts.
What misconceptions exist about your practice area?
Alicia: A common misconception about being a litigator is that you need to adopt a cutthroat, tough persona like you see in movies. For me, showing up as my authentic self—which is almost the opposite of that—has worked really well. I’ve found that both opponents and jurors tend to connect with me better because they see something they can relate to. On the other hand, they might be put off by the stereotypical tough litigator persona, especially when it’s clear that the persona is a façade.
Emily: Before doing this work, I could not reconcile why anyone would want to practice in a profession that seems to help companies at the expense of injured individuals. I quickly learned that the practice is about advising clients who are relying on outside counsel to navigate complex issues and do the right thing. Often the case is not clear-cut. It is not clear that the product involved was the client’s product, that the product caused the injury, or that a proposed alternative design would be better. Further, some of the products we defend are lifesaving in some regard, such as medical devices or safety equipment.
What are some typical tasks that a junior lawyer would perform in this practice area?
Alicia: The tasks involve fact investigation, including interviews with company employees and fact witnesses, as well as discovery. Junior lawyers handle all aspects of discovery, from written discovery to observing or taking depositions. As a junior lawyer, I had the chance to take multiple depositions by my third year of practice, especially with cases involving many plaintiffs. I also tried a bench trial within my first six months of practice.
How do you see this practice area evolving in the future?
Emily: Products liability work will always exist, and there will always be a push-and-pull between the competing desire for innovation and new product development, choice in product designs, and the yearning for inexpensive products against the reality that people can get hurt from products. I anticipate that the use of AI, whether in the product design phase, marketing, or other decision-making aspects for clients, will become part of the practice. We are also seeing a trend in rising jury verdicts in products liability cases, which can elevate individual cases into bet-the-company litigation.
What kinds of experience can summer associates gain at this practice area at your firm?
Alicia: Summer associates have the opportunity to do a variety of things within this practice space. There are many opportunities to get out from behind the desk, whether it be observing a hearing, a deposition, or even a trial. They’re able to experience firsthand what a day in the life of a lawyer might be. The assignments they’re given are real and give a great perspective and insight into what the practice of law is.
Emily: Summer associates work on case analyses, legal research, fact development, expert workups, understanding the product, assisting in depositions, drafting motions, and strategy development. They may observe hearings, trial, or even jury research exercises. This is a practice area where even the most-junior attorneys are valued because everyone uses these products, and everyone has life experiences that can help frame the issues. It is easy to jump in and quickly become an invaluable member of the team.