Three Shepard O’Donnell Attorneys Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2024
BOSTON, MA, August 21, 2023 –Shepard O’Donnell, one of the top asbestos personal injury law firms in Massachusetts for 25 years, announces that three of its attorneys were selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2024 edition. Published by Woodward/White, Inc., Best Lawyers is considered by many to be the oldest and most respected peer-reviewed publication in the legal profession.
Founder Michael Shepard was recognized in the Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs practice area. Co-Managing Partner Erika O’Donnell was recognized in the Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs and Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs practice areas.
Partner Michael McCann was recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® category in the Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs and Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs practice areas. The “Ones to Watch” designation recognizes lawyers for outstanding professional excellence who are earlier in their careers.
Inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America is based on an extensive peer-review process designed to capture the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical and legal practice area. Best Lawyers has been published since 1983 and highlights the top 5% of practicing attorneys in each practice area. Its 2024 selections are featured in the 30th edition of The Best Lawyers in America.
Why Local Experience Matters Most When Hiring A Mesothelioma Litigation Firm In Massachusetts
Is Bigger Really Better?
Why Local Experience Matters Most When Hiring A Mesothelioma Litigation Firm In Massachusetts
Mesothelioma is a devastating disease that develops years after exposure to asbestos-containing material. This exposure invariably occurred in the normal course of employment, and workers had no idea they were entering a potentially dangerous environment day after day. No one told them that while they were simply trying to provide for their families, they were risking their future health.
The fact that mesothelioma patients and their families have had to endure pain and suffering, both financial and emotional, as a result of the callous actions of manufacturers of asbestos-containing products is unconscionable. Companies that knowingly perpetuated the use of this harmful material for decades after it was known to be harmful should be held accountable, and many victims are successfully filing lawsuits in Massachusetts to get compensation for their injuries.
But what is the best way to make sure these companies pay?
If you or a loved one is suffering or suffered from mesothelioma in Massachusetts, you have a number of options when hiring a lawyer to represent you, from mesothelioma mega-firms that tout their size and geographic reach as benefits, to smaller local firms who have practiced in the state for many years. Which of these options provides the best chance for success?
Ask yourself the following questions when choosing the right firm to represent your interests in a Massachusetts mesothelioma case:
Do they understand Massachusetts law?
If you file your case in Massachusetts, you want someone who thoroughly understands the state’s legal landscape. In complicated mesothelioma cases, your attorney should be very familiar with state laws, the Judge and Special Master, the defense attorneys on the other side, and the local rules of discovery and deposition, which vary widely from state to state. In fact, your case could be dismissed outright if your lawyer does not strictly follow the proper rules and procedures. Even improperly filling out a Plaintiff’s Disclosure Form can have serious ramifications for your case, potentially precluding claims against liable defendants, meaning your final award will be less than you could have received.
Do they know who to sue?
In addition to knowing how to file the case for maximum benefit, your attorney should fully understand who to include in the suit. There are myriad potential defendants in a mesothelioma case, some obvious and some less so. Lawyers from out of state may not be familiar with the suppliers of specific asbestos-containing products used in Massachusetts. They could overlook potential defendants that would add to your financial recovery. Do they know the names of all the contractors, distributors, wholesalers, and suppliers involved? Experienced local lawyers will have intimate knowledge of the entire pool of potential defendants specific to your jobsites.
Have they tried a case exactly like yours before?
Lawyers have varied interests and experience, and many practice in multiple different areas of law. However, the specialized and detailed nature of a mesothelioma lawsuit does not lend itself well to dabblers in the area. Many mesothelioma cases in Massachusetts stem from similar jobsites, projects or exposures, be they paper mills, navy ships, powerhouses, shipyards, high-rise office buildings, or a host of other workplaces. Even those who were self-employed often worked with the same asbestos products. Is your attorney well-versed in the history of asbestos use in the state and have they successfully tried similar cases against all possible defendants? Specific, relevant Massachusetts asbestos litigation experience is critical to a successful outcome.
Are they part of the local landscape?
As in many other areas, communities in Massachusetts are tight-knit and tend to help and support their own. Opening up to out-of-staters can be more difficult, and to the extent that there is some implicit bias against outsiders, there is the potential it could negatively affect your case.
As a test, ask your prospective attorney to pronounce these names: Quincy, Haverhill, Worcester, Stoneham, or Amherst. You will quickly learn whether they are truly part of our community!
Do they have “boots on the ground” in MA?
All cases litigated in Massachusetts require a Massachusetts-licensed attorney to bring the case to court. That means if your attorney is in another state and not licensed to practice in Massachusetts, they will need to add local counsel to the team to help with the case, sponsor their access to the courts, and navigate the local rules and procedures. This seems like an extra step: why not hire experienced local counsel to begin with? Even if they are paying the local counsel out of their fee, how motivated is your out-of-state lawyer when he or she is splitting the fee with a local lawyer hired to help them?
Are they personally available?
In a highly complex lawsuit involving hundreds, sometimes thousands of important details, it’s natural for you to have questions. Having personal access to your lawyer whenever you need clarification of a certain aspect of your case, or just want reassurance that everything is on track, can make all the difference to your peace of mind. Often, large firms in diverse locations have multiple hoops to jump through before you are connected with someone familiar with your case and can knowledgeably answer your questions. When you call, are you directed to someone on a “team” working on your case? Do you talk to a different person every time you call? That’s code for a large law firm having too many cases to keep one lawyer on your case from start to finish. A local firm entirely dedicated to your case can often answer your questions with one email, text, or phone call.
Who will pay for their travel costs?
Cases going back many years and involving numerous defendants require detailed and in-depth discovery, unearthing miles of paper trails and conducting multiple in-person depositions. This work needs to be done locally, and if your attorney is from out of state, his or her travel and associated costs will quickly add up. While you may not have to pay these costs up front, they are not free and will ultimately come out of your settlement, lowering your compensation.
Do they really care about you and your family?
You and your family are undoubtedly experiencing emotional stress and trauma as you deal with this painful time in your lives. Especially now, you need an attorney who is present, who cares about what’s happening to you, and who is committed to seeking justice in your case. Make sure you find an attorney for whom you are not just a number on a spreadsheet or a docket. Having responsive, compassionate, and sincere counsel that understands the local court system and who lives and works in the same state is crucial to success – financial success and having a positive experience while going through the process.
Do they win?
Above all, you are hoping for compensation for your suffering. Ask to see your attorney’s successful track record in cases like yours, and in the place you live.
The answers to the above questions will help you make an informed decision about hiring the right attorney for your case. If you think you might have a mesothelioma case in Massachusetts we encourage you to reach out to Shepard O’Donnell. We have helped hundreds of individuals and families obtain justice for their injuries, regularly obtaining settlements and verdicts numbering in the millions. We’d be happy to discuss these questions with you and offer you a free case evaluation. If you like, we will come to your house to listen to your story and will tell you honestly if we think you have a viable claim. And you will never pay unless we deliver results for you.
“Escaping Liability: Texas Two-Step Under Scrutiny” - Michael Shepard Quoted in Article
Michael Shepard’s insights were featured in the South Carolina Lawyers Weekly article, “Escaping Liability: Texas Two-Step Under Scrutiny.”
Shepard told Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly that while the Texas two-step affects only asbestos and talc victims today, it could one day affect any number of products — pharmaceuticals and vehicles, for instance — on the market that hurt people.
“You’re essentially removing one of the great safeguards that we have in this country from corporate negligence or malfeasance, and that is the right to a jury trial, the right to hold that company accountable,” Shepard said.
“Would-be mom sues cryogenic storage center over ‘lost’ eggs”- Michael Shepard Quoted
Michael Shepard was quoted in the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly article, “Would-be mom sues cryogenic storage center over ‘lost’ eggs.”
“She tried to have her eggs preserved with the expectation that she would be able to use them later on when she was ready to have a child,” says the plaintiff’s attorney, Michael C. Shepard of Shepard O’Donnell in Boston. “After going through this incredibly stressful and invasive process, she wasn’t able to have her own child later on due to the negligence of the company she contracted with and their partner.”
“I can’t even imagine what that phone call was like,” Shepard says. “When you have nothing but the highest hopes of having a child and having that child be part of your family line, then being told, ‘Sorry, it didn’t work out’ — it must have been crushing for her.”
Michael Shepard Interviewed on the Texas Two Step and the Georgia-Pacific Case
Michael Shepard was quoted in the Law.com article, “20 State AGs Ask Fourth Circuit to Kill Jones Day’s Texas Two-Step Tactic in Georgia-Pacific Case.”
“If the full panel of the Court of Appeals says the preliminary injunction can’t extend to the parent company—the good
company—it would essentially do away with the Texas Two-Step,” said Michael Shepard, a partner at Shepard
O’Donnell and a member of the asbestos claimants committee in the Georgia-Pacific case.
Read the full article (subscription required): https://bit.ly/3owTOV5
Michael Shepard quoted in Bloomberg article, “J&J Jury’s Cancer Verdict Ramps Up Pressure on Bankruptcy Vote,”
Recently, Michael Shepard’s insights were featured in the Bloomberg Law article, “J&J Jury’s Cancer Verdict Ramps Up Pressure on Bankruptcy Vote.”
Claimants could see the verdict as a reason to try their own claims in front of a jury, Michael Shepard, a mesothelioma attorney at Shepard O’Donnell PC, said. Claimants in J&J and other asbestos bankruptcies might try to obtain the same relief from bankruptcy that allowed Valadez to get a jury trial, he said.
That would be a thorny issue for judges, who would be in a position to pick winners and losers, Shepard said. “Which ones do you choose?” he asked.
Read the full article (subscription required): https://bit.ly/3owTOV5
Why We Still Need to Worry About Asbestos
Authored by Kelsey McCandless
“So, what do you do?”
Whenever I answer this question and people learn that I work in a law firm specializing in asbestos litigation, I get a lot of curious looks and questions.
I am often asked why I decided to pursue this type of law and why our firm’s work is important to me, especially when “asbestos isn’t even an issue today.” It seems that, for most people, there is no question that asbestos is dangerous and that asbestos exposure can cause cancer, so they often think the work we do should be easy. The reality, however, is more complex.
It is tempting to dismiss asbestos as a problem of the past. For most of the 1900s, asbestos was widely used in construction materials in the United States because of the fiber’s strength and fireproofing properties. Despite the positive features of asbestos’s durability, scientists soon discovered that the fibers posed a health risk to those exposed. By the mid-1930s, researchers already believed in a link between asbestos fibers and life-threatening respiratory ailments, including mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis. By the 1970s, the hazardous effects of asbestos exposure were widely known and well documented.
In the decades since the initial discoveries of the harmful effects of asbestos exposure, the use of the fiber in building materials has decreased significantly in the U.S.; however, it has never been federally banned. Additionally, even after the dangers of asbestos became broadly known, some companies continued to use products that contained asbestos and failed to protect their workers from exposure.
Americans continue to feel the effects of the past widespread asbestos use today, as the fibers can take decades to cause health consequences after exposure. The time between first exposure and the development of the disease is estimated to fall between 10 and 50 years. Even 30 years after peak asbestos use in the United States, around 3,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma yearly. We have seen this firsthand with our clients.
Modern consumers are also at risk of being exposed to asbestos-contaminated products produced today. For example, earlier this year, Johnson & Johnson stated that it would end the worldwide sale of talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder in 2023 due in part to discoveries that the product had been contaminated with asbestos into the 2000s. In addition, as recently as 2019, the Food and Drug Administration found the mineral fibers in several makeup products from the retailer Claire’s.
Despite these revelations and the science-backed research that asbestos causes cancer, there is an ongoing debate in the courtroom about whether and how much asbestos is dangerous. Corporate defendants routinely hire experts to testify that plaintiffs’ exposures to asbestos are not significant enough to contribute to their mesothelioma. They purposefully design defense strategies that manipulate dust disease science to avoid legal liability for the injuries their products cause to workers, consumers, and their family members.
When so many people assume asbestos is not a threat anymore, knowing the reality can be disheartening. This is why the work we do has meaning for me. When our clients and their family members contact us for help, we empathize with their pain and frustration and do whatever it takes to hold bad actors responsible for harming them.
Our clients are gravely ill due to no fault of their own and suffer from cancer caused by the irresponsibility of companies that did not value workers and their families. Fighting for them is what this work is all about.
Michael Shepard’s insights were featured in the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly article, “Boston attorney among those hoping to see ‘Texas Two-Step’ waltz off into sunset.”
Recently, Michael Shepard’s insights were featured in the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly article, “Boston attorney among those hoping to see ‘Texas Two-Step’ waltz off into sunset.”
“Right now, it’s just asbestos and talc victims,” Shepard says. “But tomorrow, it’s going to be pharmaceutical [companies]. It could be automakers. It could be any number of products that are on the market that hurt people. You’re essentially removing one of the great safeguards that we have in this country from corporate negligence or malfeasance, and that is the right to a jury trial, the right to hold that company accountable.”
Read the full article (subscription required): https://bit.ly/3owTOV5
Shepard O’Donnell’s Erika O’Donnell Presents at Women of PALS Trial Academy
Shepard O’Donnell’s Erika O’Donnell Presents at Women of PALS Trial Academy
Shepard O’Donnell, one of the top asbestos personal injury law firms in Massachusetts for 25 years, announces that the firm’s Co-Managing Partner Erika O’Donnell presented on the panel, “Negotiation and Mediation Tactics,” at the Women of PALS (Plaintiffs Asbestos Litigation Seminar) Trial Academy in Las Vegas on May 9. The seminar featured speakers from across the country and covered numerous asbestos-related litigation topics. The firm was also an event sponsor.
O’Donnell serves as co-managing partner of Shepard O’Donnell. An accomplished litigator, she has achieved numerous multi-million-dollar settlements and verdicts in cases involving mesothelioma, lung cancer and other asbestos-related diseases, smoking-related cancers and pharmaceutical drugs and devices. Most notably, O’Donnell successfully represented the Summerlin family in Summerlin v. Philip Morris USA, et al. (No. 1581CV05255, Mass. Super., Suffolk Co.), a case that brought co-defendants from an asbestos product company and a cigarette manufacturer to trial before a jury. After a five-week trial before the Suffolk Superior Court in Boston, Shepard O’Donnell secured a $43 million verdict on behalf of their client.O’Donnell is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Worcester Bar Association, the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys and the American Association for Justice. She has been recognized by Massachusetts Super Lawyers since 2012.
Shepard Law Announces New Firm Leadership and Changes Name to Shepard O’Donnell
Shepard Law Announces New Firm Leadership and Changes Name to Shepard O’Donnell
Shepard Law, one of the top asbestos personal injury law firms in Massachusetts for 25 years, announces that longtime firm attorney, Erika O’Donnell, was appointed co-managing partner to run the firm alongside founder, Michael Shepard. In conjunction with the leadership change, the firm also rebranded to Shepard O’Donnell.
O’Donnell has been a key member of the Shepard Law team since 2005, when she joined the firm as an associate. Over nearly two decades, she has achieved numerous multi-million-dollar settlements and verdicts in cases involving mesothelioma, lung cancer and other asbestos-related diseases, smoking-related cancers and pharmaceutical drugs and devices. Additionally, she is a role model and mentor to other attorneys and paralegals at the firm. In recognition of her many contributions, O’Donnell was elevated to equity partner in 2019.
“Erika has worked beside me for many years, helping to build a talented, compassionate legal team,” said Shepard. “She is a fearless advocate for our clients and is a tireless fighter for them and their families. Erika is everything you want a personal injury lawyer to be, and I’m thrilled to have her lead the firm with me.”
O’Donnell’s roots growing up in a blue-collar family from Worcester, Massachusetts steered her toward a career helping sick and injured workers get the compensation they deserve for their illnesses. The opening of the firm’s second office in Worcester in 2017 allowed O’Donnell to return to her hometown and help other local families in that community. She is active in the Worcester Bar Association and is a founding member of a prestigious national group of female toxic-tort litigators. O’Donnell is highly respected by both colleagues and adversaries in the litigation field.
“As the firm celebrates its 25th anniversary, it is an honor to take on this expanded role,” said O’Donnell. “I’ve always believed it is important to hold large corporations and businesses accountable for their wrong-doings. And, with the personal injury legal sector in Massachusetts becoming more crowded with so-called ‘national firms’ looking to take mesothelioma cases, it’s equally important for clients to understand that having responsive, compassionate and sincere counsel that understands the local court system and who lives and works in the same state is crucial to success. At Shepard O’Donnell, we treat our clients the way we would want to be treated if we were in their shoes.”
Shepard Law made headline news in October 2018 with its victory in the Summerlin v. Philip Morris USA, et al. case (No. 1581CV05255, Mass. Super., Suffolk Co.)—a notable case that brought co-defendants from an asbestos product company and a cigarette manufacturer to trial before a jury. After a five-week trial before the Suffolk Superior Court in Boston, Shepard Law secured a $43 million verdict on behalf of their client. O’Donnell was involved in representing the case on behalf of the Summerlin family.
In addition to the Summerlin case, O’Donnell was involved with an asbestos mesothelioma case involving a chemical engineer who was exposed to asbestos at a large plant in Springfield, Massachusetts. That case was notable in that she was able to successfully identify and bring suit against many defendants that had never been sued before in Massachusetts for their asbestos-containing products. In 2018, O’Donnell also successfully litigated a case involving a client who worked spraying asbestos insulation in buildings as a teenager, and later developed mesothelioma as an adult in his 60s.
O’Donnell is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Worcester Bar Association, the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys, and the American Association for Justice. She has been recognized by Massachusetts Super Lawyers since 2012.