ALTON, Illinois — Simmons Hanly Conroy, one of the nation’s largest mass tort litigation firms, is proud to announce that Law360 has named Shareholder Jayne Conroy a “Titan of the Plaintiffs’ Bar” for 2022. She was one of only 10 plaintiffs’ attorneys nationwide to receive the honor this year.
Each year, Law360’s “Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar” award recognizes attorneys across the United States who exemplify “the broad work of holding corporations accountable and protecting the rights of consumers.” Potential candidates for the award include accomplished firm executives, teachers and advocates, and more.
Law360 chose Conroy for this honor because of her recent work on opioid litigation that resulted in a $26 billion settlement in addition to representing New York’s Suffolk County in a bellwether trial against opioid manufacturers.
As highlighted by Matt Perez of Law360:
“During the trial, Conroy negotiated several settlements, including a $1.18 billion deal with McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp. Two holdouts, Teva Pharmaceuticals and Anda Inc., were found by a jury in December to be chiefly liable for fueling the opioid epidemic in Suffolk County, Nassau County and New York state.”
It’s a success that may not have been possible without Conroy’s ability to expertly navigate scientifically complex class actions and multidistrict litigations like this. In an interview with Law360, she noted how she gravitated to the sciences and strongly considered attending med school — until the complexity of legal cases and scientific evidence lured her in.
“I loved the idea of deep dives into different types of cases,” said Conroy, describing what led her to become a lawyer. “It just seemed like a fascinating thing to do every day.”
Now, with more than 30 years of experience as a skilled strategist, trial lawyer and negotiator, Conroy has consistently helped secure billions of dollars across dozens of case types for thousands of individuals, families and communities in numerous courtrooms nationwide.
“The firm congratulates Jayne on Law360’s recognition of her achievements and successes for our clients,” said Simmons Hanly Conroy Chairman John Simmons. “She has consistently broken barriers and established herself as a powerhouse in courtrooms across the country. We are extremely proud of her passion and commitment to delivering justice for our clients. She is more than deserving of this prestigious honor.”
In both 2016 and 2017, Law360 also recognized Conroy as an MVP for Product Liability Law for her work in the DePuy Pinnacle hip replacement litigation, which resulted in over $1.7 billion in verdicts after four bellwether trials.
Conroy’s additional awards and honors include being ranked by Best Lawyers as the 2022 “Lawyer of the Year” for Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions; The National Law Journal’s “Elite Women of the Plaintiffs Bar Winner” in 2021; the American Association for Justice’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021; The National Law Journal’s Plaintiffs’ Lawyer Trailblazer List in 2020; being elected to the American Law Institute in 2019; and being inducted into the National Trial Lawyers Association’s “Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame” in 2019, among others.
Conroy received her J.D. from New England School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College.
