August 2008
Drug and Medical Device Litigation Expert Joins Hughes Hubbard
Hughes Hubbard announced that Diane E. Lifton, formerly the Drug and Medical Device team leader at Gibbons, has joined the firm in its New York and Jersey City offices.
Ms. Lifton focuses her practice in pharmaceutical and medical device litigation, representing Fortune 500 companies in their defense against cases involving prescription and OTC medications, medical devices and implants. She has served as national, regional and trial counsel in a number of mass torts, including litigations involving hormone therapy, medication for the treatment of acne and silicone-based medical products.
In addition, Ms. Lifton has extensive experience before the most active mass tort judges in New York and New Jersey. Her representative defense rulings over the years include summary judgments on the eve of trial, a directed verdict on punitive damages and a defense verdict on the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act.
“We believe Diane Lifton’s impressive trial experience will greatly enhance our products liability practice,” Chuck Scherer, Hughes Hubbard’s managing partner, said.
She also supports clients’ clinical research programs, advising them with respect to recruiting patients and drafting informed consent agreements in multi-centered research trials. To this and all of her work she brings a strong medical background. A former pre-medical student, she has in-depth knowledge in a variety of scientific disciplines, including toxicology, pharmacology, gastroenterology, plastic surgery, rheumatology, neurology and dermatology.
Winner of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association’s Rising Star award in 2002, and the Tribute to Women In Industry (TWIN) award in 2006, Ms. Lifton has served as an adjunct instructor in medical device law at Seton Hall University, and is a frequent invited speaker on medical device litigation throughout the nation and abroad.She received her B.A. from Cornell University School of Arts and Science and her J.D. from University of Michigan Law School.
Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP has offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Miami, Jersey City, Paris and Tokyo, and over 30 specialized practices. The firm is ranked #6 in the The American Lawyer’s A-List of the “top firms among the nation’s legal elite,” as well as #4 in AmLaw’s “Top Growth Firms,” a survey of the nation’s 200 largest firms over the last 10 years.