ALTON, Illinois – Simmons Hanly Conroy, one of the nation’s largest mass torts firms, is pleased to announce Best Lawyers® has named 19 of its attorneys in its 2021 edition, including an attorney to the inaugural Ones to Watch list.
“Best Lawyers is one of the most highly regarded attorney referral publications, and it’s an honor to have so many of our Shareholder recognized,” said Chairman John Simmons. “Our attorneys give above and beyond to fight for our clients, achieving millions of dollars in settlements and paving the way for future justice.”
The attorney named to Best Lawyers’ inaugural Ones to Watch list is Brett F. Fuller, an associate in the firm’s New York office. Recognized in the Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs category, Fuller focuses his practice on helping victims of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. Ones to Watch recipients have been in private practice five to nine years.
Eighteen other Simmons Hanly Conroy attorneys are named as 2021 Best Lawyers in the following practice areas:
- Michael J. Angelides (Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs; Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs): Managing Shareholder of the firm, Michael Angelides oversees the asbestos, pharmaceutical, environmental, personal injury and other mass tort and class action practices. He is based in the firm’s Alton office and has been recognized as a Best Lawyer since 2014.
- Nicholas J. Angelides (Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs; Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs): A Shareholder in Simmons Hanly Conroy’s Alton office, he helps direct legal strategy for asbestos and mesothelioma cases. His work has resulted in millions of dollars in verdicts settlements for individuals and families
- John A. Barnerd (Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs): Based in Alton, Barnerd is a Shareholder and member of the firm’s management committee. He has helped secure millions of dollars on behalf of individuals and families nationwide.
- Andrea Bierstein (Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs): One of the premier appellate brief-writers and oral advocates in the nation, Bierstein is a New York-based Shareholder who focuses her legal practice on pharmaceutical litigation, consumer protection class actions, commercial litigation, and environmental law.
- Daniel P. Blouin (Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs): Blouin is a Shareholder based in the firm’s New York office. As a lead trial attorney, he has secured three of the top five valued verdicts in the history of the New York City Asbestos Litigation and the largest 2019 asbestos trial verdict in California.
- Mitchell Breit (Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs): A Shareholder with a career spanning 40 years, Breit focuses his practice on consumer class actions and mass torts and has served in leadership roles in many matters of national scope. He is based in the New York office.
- Perry J. Browder (Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs; Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs): A Shareholder in the firm’s Alton office and head of the firm’s Asbestos Group, he has been integral to developing the firm’s national reputation in asbestos litigation. He is currently serving on the Illinois State Bar Association’s Board of Governors.
- Jayne Conroy (Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs; Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs): A Named Shareholder in the New York office, Conroy oversees multiple complex litigation practice areas and has secured billions of dollars in results for her clients. She serves or has served on dozens of court-appointed leadership committees including the National Prescription Opiates MDL, DePuy Hip Implant MDL, the Volkswagen Clean Disease MDL and more.
- Amy E. Garrett (Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs): A veteran litigator, Garrett serves as the firm’s assistant managing Shareholder in the Alton office and oversees the firm’s diversity and inclusion efforts. She litigates asbestos product liability and personal injury cases and has helped secure millions of dollars in results in courts nationwide on behalf of individuals and families devastated by asbestos diseases.
- Ted N. Gianaris (Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs; Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs): Gianaris is a Shareholder and management team member based in the firm’s Alton, Illinois office. He has a national practice representing victims of life-changing injuries and toxic diseases, focusing mainly on prosecuting toxic torts caused by chemical and asbestos exposure, medical malpractice and catastrophic injuries.
- Paul J. Hanly, Jr. (Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs): A Named Shareholder in the firm’s New York office, Hanly manages the firm’s Complex Litigation Group and recently received a 2020 Elite Trial Lawyers Lifetime Achievement Award from The National Law Journal. He’s been named to multiple court-appointed leadership roles, including co-lead counsel in the national prescription opioid litigation.
- Conard Metcalf (Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs; Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs): As of counsel in the Alton office, Metcalf has represented hundreds of individuals diagnosed with asbestos-caused cancers, occupational diseases and toxic injuries.
- Laurence Nassif (Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs): Nassif serves as assistant managing Shareholder in the firm’s New York office. He focuses his practice on asbestos and mesothelioma litigation, pharmaceutical mass torts, and other complex personal injury cases. His recent legal work has resulted in millions of dollars for his clients.
- Jo Anna Pollock (Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs): A Shareholder in the firm’s Complex Litigation Department, Pollock focuses on class actions, sex abuse, pharmaceutical and environmental litigation. She has more than 20 years of experience in trial and appellate courts across the country and has secured millions of dollars on behalf of her clients. She is based in the Alton office.
- Justin Presnal (Appellate Practice; Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs): Presnal is a Shareholder in the firm’s Complex Litigation Department and works out of College Station, Texas. With more than 25 years of experience, his cases involve class actions and complex litigation matters, as well as dangerous drugs, medical devices and other products.
- Deborah R. Rosenthal (Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs; Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs; Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs): Working out of the firm’s San Francisco office, Rosenthal is a Shareholder focusing on cases involving asbestos litigation, sexual abuse litigation, personal injury and commercial litigation.
- Drew Sealey (Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs): An Alton-based Shareholder, Sealey represents individuals and families impacted by asbestos-related diseases. He has helped secure millions of dollars for his clients.
- John Simmons (Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs; Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs): Simmons is chairman of the firm, which he founded in 1999 with a focus on asbestos litigation. He has overseen some of the largest verdicts and settlements in the history of asbestos litigation and continues to lead from the firm’s Alton headquarters.
Best Lawyers® compiles its lists through peer-reviewed surveys of leading lawyers; attorneys do not pay a fee to participate or be recognized. The 2021 edition considered more than 10 million evaluations and recognizes over 93,000 attorneys in 145 practice areas.
