George A. Tsougarakis is one of the firm's leading commercial litigators with more than 25 years of experience. George has spent his entire career at Hughes Hubbard & Reed, where he has enjoyed a broad and varied litigation practice.

George's experience covers a wide range of practice areas, including pharmaceutical products litigation and class actions. Within these areas, he has performed several critical roles, from trying cases to counseling clients on how to avoid litigation.

Professional Activities

Firm Management
- Chair, Hughes Hubbard's Insurance Coverage practice group
- Hiring partner since 1996
Member and 2008 Attorney of the Year, Hellenic Lawyer Association
Member, International Association of Defense Counsel
Member, Detroit Mercy School of Law Advisory Board
Member, Monroe College Department of Criminal Justice Advisory Board

Previous Experience

Served for eight years as Merck’s national counsel for defense firms nationwide in connection with the defense of thousands of multi-jurisdictional class-action and individual personal injury lawsuits involving the product Vioxx in the United States and internationally, specifically focusing on sales and marketing issues, including Food and Drug Administration and its Office of Prescription Drug Promotion regulations and Anti-Kickback Statute laws. As national counsel, George also:
- Assisted in the formulation of trial strategy, case management and public communications
- Revised policies regarding sales force and conducted investigations into off-label marketing and violations of company policy
- Advised senior management on litigation and represented scores of pharmaceutical representatives named in product liability suits
- Prepared dozens of witnesses, including witnesses at the highest level of the company, to testify in a wide variety of governmental and judicial settings
Appointed by the federal court of the Eastern District of New York as a mediator for insurance coverage disputes arising out of October 2012 Superstorm Sandy damages
Supervised simultaneous civil and criminal federal, state and local investigations and civil litigation for a Fortune 100 client in connection with allegedly fraudulent practices
Liaised with and advised in-house lawyers regarding sales, marketing and regulatory issues in governmental investigations and congressional hearings
Lead counsel for a pharmaceutical company and its founder against a university regarding ownership of intellectual property
Advised and represented manufacturers in multimillion-dollar product liability actions involving a wide array of products
National counsel for insurance companies in multibillion-dollar, multiparty and direct-action insurance coverage trials regarding tobacco products, HIV-infected blood products and silicone-gel breast implants
Drafted insurance policies and complex settlement agreements
Advocated for an insurance company in a declaratory judgment action regarding insurance coverage for a manufacturer’s liability arising from breast implant litigation
Arbitration counsel for a restaurant's parent company in a proceeding involving claims for insurance coverage of race discrimination by restaurants
Managed a bank's lender liability suit in which a creditors' committee alleged that banks facilitated management looting by the now-bankrupt company and assisted management in defrauding the company and its shareholders. Case settled after six years of litigation
Lead counsel for a French bank regarding claims of fraud by its borrowers
Trial counsel for Bank of Nova Scotia regarding its "grid interest" claims, in which the bank alleged that a trust provided false information about its financial circumstances prior to its 2002 collapse that enabled it to underpay interest on its loans from the client and another bank by over $117 million. Case settled after trial
Represented the world's largest performing rights agency with respect to claims of copyright infringement, and rated court proceedings to determine the appropriate licensing fees for the users of music
Investigated, on behalf of a large international religious organization, claims of sexual and financial misconduct by its clergy

Highlighted Publications

"Issues and Exclusions in Insurance Coverage Litigation," in Recent Developments in Insurance Coverage Litigation: Leading Lawyers on Analyzing Risks, Interpreting Policy Language, and Developing a Litigation Strategy, Inside the Minds, Aspatore Books, March 2011
"The Impact Of Revisions To The PhRMA Code," Product Liability, Law360, August 2008

Lectures

Lecturer, "Insurance Allocation," Mealey's Seminar, January 2000
Lecturer, "The Effect of Emerging Case Law on International Arbitration," Union Internationale des Avocats, May 1998