NEW YORK – Benchmark Litigation, a legal directory that covers litigation and disputes in North America, has awarded Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP litigation awards in two categories for its 2022 East Coast Awards. The firm has been named Law Firm of the Year in Maryland. 

In addition, Baltimore litigator Michael A. Brown won an Impact Case Award for “Forrest v. Johnson & Johnson.”

In this case, Brown won a jury trial for client Johnson & Johnson in Missouri state court in December 2019. The jury found that J&J did not fail to warn consumers of the dangers associated with baby powder, nor were they negligent in making and selling their product. The trial win is significant because Forrest was the first talc case before Judge Rex Burlison who previously presided over Gail Ingham v. Johnson & Johnson, a 22-woman trial in 2018, which resulted in a $4.69 billion verdict against J&J. And the verdict was reached quickly in a venue known for large plaintiff verdicts.

The plaintiff, Vickie Forrest, alleged that her use of J&J’s baby powder caused her to develop ovarian cancer, which she was diagnosed with in 2012.

Attorneys Scott Richman, Richard Ochran, Deborah St. Lawrence Thompson, and Holly Hempel accepted the awards on behalf of the firm.

Benchmark Litigation shortlisted Brown for its Product Liability Attorney of the Year Award in 2022.

In awarding top honors to Nelson Mullins’ Maryland litigation practice, Benchmark Litigation cited the firm for expanding strategically and finding success in terms of geographic reach, market share and distribution of talent. In the product liability space, the firm has staked itself a national presence, with several trial luminaries taking the lead on high-stakes cases for a “who’s who” of pharmaceutical industry household names.

Winners were announced at a dinner in New York. These awards recognize the country’s most distinguished litigators and their firms for their work over the past twelve months. For each of the nation’s 50 states, Benchmark Litigation selects a firm of the year.

Established in 1897, Nelson Mullins is an AmLaw100 firm that has more than 930 attorneys and government relations professionals with offices in 15 states and Washington, D.C. For more information on the firm, go to www.nelsonmullins.com.