When it comes to helping clients resolve complex business disputes in the pharmaceutical, OTC medication, personal care/cosmetic, medical device, biologic, nutritional supplement and other life sciences spaces, our attorneys have extensive experience litigating commercial disputes that may arise at each phase of the product’s lifecycle.

Harris Beach Murtha attorneys defend brand-name and generic pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers and distributors, as well as manufacturers of OTC drugs, nutritional supplements, cosmetics, personal care products, biologics and products impacting women’s health.

Our extensive defense experience ranges from urology imaging systems and other sophisticated products, to contact lenses and personal care items, to cough and cold remedies and other OTC products, such as dietary and sports nutritional supplements.

Our attorneys have earned a reputation for skillfully defending a wide range of pharmaceutical, medical devices and nutritional supplements companies throughout New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut and the nation. We have established a proven record of success defending clients in sophisticated, high-exposure, high-value catastrophic injury cases.

We defend claims involving a variety of allegations, including birth defects, cancer, cardiac injuries, autoimmune disease, neurologic injuries, learning disabilities and others by challenging “junk science” and through motions directed at causation under Daubert (federal) and Frye (state) standards.

We counsel and strategize with our clients to assess and resolve potential problems before they erupt into costly litigation. When litigation is necessary, we manage discovery intelligently and pursue resolution in an aggressive and efficient manner, using litigation management tools and innovative legal strategies.

Harris Beach Murtha attorneys frequently represent businesses or property owners accused of liability when personal injuries occur on their premises and have a track record of success avoiding hefty judgments and higher insurance rates. That work includes high-exposure personal injury cases, slip-and-fall cases, complex claims involving serious personal injury, complex multi-party matters involving contribution and indemnification disputes, alleged defective conditions, assaults with negligent security, false imprisonment and related tort claims.

We evaluate risk and analyze objectives at every stage of the process, while managing the impact on your business. When needed, we have access to a broad network of trusted technical experts to bolster our case.

Our Mass Torts and Industry-Wide Litigation Practice Group has been named a national Tier 1 Law Firm for Mass Torts Litigation/Class Action-Defendants since 2014. Our attorneys are recognized for their ability to handle cases in which complex scientific and legal issues overlap. They hold degrees or licenses in fields such as pharmacology, nursing, industrial hygiene, education, food and beverage operations, law enforcement and computer science. Others have held key positions in government, including United States Attorney.

Our trial lawyers regularly coordinate the defense of medical and life sciences industry-related mass torts. We have developed effective mass tort defense strategies for FDA regulated products such as pain pumps, contraceptives, analgesics, dental anesthetics, latex products, breast implants, Hormone Replacement Therapies, and diet drugs.

We represent foreign and domestic clients of all sizes and industry affiliations in some of the most complex and precedent-setting mass torts filed in the last 30 years. We are noted for our proprietary approach to large case management and litigation support. Our attorneys are recognized as thought leaders on emerging issues; are active members of industry groups; and are sought-after educators who write and speak for bar associations, trade councils, companies and insurers.

Harris Beach Murtha attorneys regularly assist medical device, biological and life sciences organizations with their broad corporate needs. We take a multi-disciplinary, problem-solving approach to each transaction we guide, including those in highly regulated industries such as health care, medical devices and pharmaceutical.

Our corporate legal services include financing, capital, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issues, initial public offerings, tax issues, licensing agreements, export applications, and equity and technology exchange agreements. We also advise boards of directors on state and federal regulatory compliance; corporate governance and structure; and merger, acquisition and divestiture activities.

At Harris Beach Murtha, our entrepreneurial and strategic approach to working with business clients supports all phases of their growth and evolution and helps them define and meet their immediate and long-term objectives. The keen business acumen, legal knowledge and extensive public and private business transactional experience of our attorneys has consistently resulted in their professional peer-review recognition in The Best Lawyers in America ®.

Harris Beach Murtha attorneys serve as national, regional, and local counsel for some of the largest names in pharmaceuticals, biologics, medical devices, cosmetics, nutritional supplements and products impacting women’s health. While we have offices throughout New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Washington, D.C., our work is national and, when the stakes are high, our experience matters.

Our intellectual property (IP) attorneys focus on U.S. and foreign patent and trademark procurement for clients in all areas of advanced technology, including mechanical and electrical engineering, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, nanotechnology, medical devices, materials science, environmental chemistry and agriscience.

We have protected numerous patents of leading pharmaceutical and life sciences companies. Our IP attorneys have a wide range of technical backgrounds in science and technology, as well as the medical and life sciences, well-positioning us to help clients identify and protect proprietary formulas and trade secrets.

We also assist clients with the analysis, purchase, sale and licensing of their IP, domestically and worldwide, as well as managing and assessing the scope and value of their IP portfolios.

We have procured, enforced and defended patents for leading medical device manufacturers, pharmaceutical and life sciences companies in administrative proceedings, alternative dispute resolution processes and federal district court litigation. Harris Beach Murtha attorneys are also experienced in developing, designing and implementing strategies to combat illicit trade on a global basis.

Our Medical and Life Sciences Practice Group provides legal counseling concerning prelitigation risk assessments and submissions to the FDA, including package inserts, marketing materials, brochures, warnings, patient labeling, pharmacovigilance as well as development and use of Risk Minimization Action Plans.

To help our clients avoid potentially damaging legal actions, our attorneys also examine pre- and post-market liability issues relating to clinical trials, marketing and product recalls.

Harris Beach Murtha’s attorneys have deep experience in regulated industries, including health care, long-term care and senior living. We represent some of the largest senior living and long-term care organizations in North America and defend a variety of health care, senior/assisted living and skilled-nursing companies in litigation and regulatory matters, including class actions, trials, arbitration, investigations, and regulatory responses.

Our work includes investigations and defense of lawsuits and regulatory actions pertaining to allegations of negligence, abuse and neglect; claims of inadequate supervision/hiring; medication errors and elopement. Additionally, we defend class actions concerning staffing and alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and other federal and state laws related to accessibility.

Many of our attorneys possess a combination of legal and scientific acumen and first-hand knowledge from beginning their careers as nurses, pharmacists or other health care professionals. We routinely leverage our sophisticated industry insight to benefit clients and reach solutions quicker and more cost-effectively.

With years of experience in pharmacy ownership and supervision, our pharmacy law attorney team is headed by a pharmacist-attorney within the Medical and Life Sciences Practice Group. Our attorneys, drawing on insights gleaned from both scientific and legal credentials, have earned a national reputation for providing general business counsel and successfully defending some of the largest entities in the pharmaceutical industry.

We help ensure compliance with Medicare and Medicaid standards, pharmacy state laws, board of pharmacy rules, DEA regulations, and various Pharmacy Benefit Manager contracts and provider manuals. We also draft and negotiate related corporate agreements, represent clients before state and federal regulatory enforcement agencies, assist with pharmacy purchase and sale transactions, and defend clients in products liability and pharmacist professional malpractice litigation. We also defend the interests of pharmacies and pharmacists in litigation and reimbursement-related fraud and abuse investigations.

Our pharmacy law attorneys also serve the general counsel needs of pharmacies and pharmacists through regulatory compliance, PBM audit support, contract review, corporate transactional, government investigation, real estate, data privacy and cybersecurity, labor and employment, immigration and intellectual property services.

Harris Beach Murtha has the experience, relationships and resources to help industry stakeholders compete and succeed in this constantly shifting marketplace.

Harris Beach Murtha has extensive experience advancing and defending the interests of nutritional supplement manufacturers, distributors and retailers. Our attorneys serve the general counsel needs of these clients by providing the full range of corporate transactional, intellectual property and regulatory compliance services.

We support our clients through every phase of the product life cycle, including product development; securing and defending intellectual property rights; helping ensure compliance with advertising, marketing and distribution regulations; drafting and negotiating related corporate agreements; and defending the clients in products liability and mass tort litigation.

In the highly competitive medical and life sciences field, where “first-to-market” status and technological advances can increase the value of a company’s stock, Harris Beach Murtha attorneys help protect companies from harmful employee actions by safeguarding patents, enforcing noncompete and confidentiality agreements and taking other protective measures.

Our attorneys have partnered with management at businesses in a wide range of industries throughout the Northeast to proactively prevent labor issues, claims and conflicts by conducting risk assessments, developing sound policy, delivering training and strengthening positions at the bargaining table. Our clients include small privately held companies, large publicly traded corporations, tax-exempt organizations and public sector entities. Our attorneys also handle National Labor Relations Board and Equal Opportunity Commission regulations for their clients.

Employment and labor law is ever-changing and increasingly complex. Regularly emerging laws, regulations and court decisions will impact your daily operations and Harris Beach Murtha helps you understand and respond to avoid disruption and mitigate negative consequences.

Today’s regulatory landscape is increasingly complex. Federal, state and even local governments have expanded compliance requirements and increased enforcement. Harris Beach Murtha attorneys help pharmaceutical and medical device companies, as well as manufacturers of nutritional and dietary supplements, vitamins and OTC products, stay abreast of changes in their highly regulated industries.

We represent a variety of medical and life sciences businesses throughout New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut and around the nation. Many of our attorneys also have backgrounds in complex, specialized fields, such as pharmaceuticals, forensic science, accounting, health care and banking. They understand the complexity of these fields and monitor regulatory updates and industry news, preparing Harris Beach Murtha to react quickly and strategically when needed.

We advise clients in the areas of corporate compliance, government ethics, lobbying compliance and white-collar crime, and we help clients conduct high-level internal investigations to help address government scrutiny. We help businesses develop effective compliance programs and mitigate risk so they can operate successfully and maintain profitability.

Our environmental and toxic tort team has years of experience dealing with the elimination of toxic and hazardous wastes and by-products from the manufacture of pharmaceutical and medical devices. We assist companies in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut and states around the country and rely on our extensive experience to guide and support in these critical situations.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large, diverse, and complex family of manmade fluorinated chemicals that have long been used in the manufacturing of consumer and industrial products, such as fire suppression foams. Found in everything from water to wrappers, awareness and concern surrounding these “forever chemicals” is gaining steam, impacting organizations across a wide range of industries and municipalities.

Harris Beach Murtha helps clients assess PFAS risks and address these and other emerging contaminant issues that lead to actions by regulatory agencies, including site investigations, off-site contamination concerns, project delays, future liabilities and potential threats of litigation.

We work with scientific experts to help guide clients through the legal, regulatory and scientific challenges and uncertainties related to PFAS. We help develop effective risk communication and long-term strategies to investigate possible environmental contamination on-site and off-site, analyze past, present and pending remediation projects and cleanups, and advise our clients regarding possible liabilities, including enforcement and litigation.

Medical and life science companies are often targeted by cyber criminals. Harris Beach Murtha offers a dynamic combination of legal and technical support to protect digital assets and business interests, as well as a rapid response team in the event of a breach.

Our cybersecurity team provides a full range of data privacy and cybersecurity services: compliance counseling and legal risk assessment, guidance on following the National Institute of Standards and Technology protocols and other state and federal regulations, defense in litigation and investigations, and rapid response in the event of breaches. Our attorneys, along with our information security and communications professionals, partner with you to reduce risk and defend your data.

Our expert witness database consists of the nations’ leading authorities on epidemiology, teratology, toxicology, pharmacology, industrial hygiene, dysmorphology, oncology, genetics, pathology, biomedical engineering, cardiology, obstetrics, gynecology and economics.

Harris Beach Murtha established our First Response Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Team recognizing that, in the event of a catastrophe, response time is critical to manage liability exposure. This team helps clients prepare detailed emergency plans to mitigate risk before a crisis occurs. Our team is also available to help with evidence preservation all the way through the post-disaster investigation. Our 24-hour, on-the-scene legal guidance provides the insight, perspective, experience and required coordination to manage critical legal issues, as well as media coverage that could expose your organization to significant liability and reputation damage.

Protecting the image of a medical and life sciences company is critical, especially during a crisis or highly controversial situation. Harris Beach Murtha has extensive experience crafting effective communication strategies to maximize positive public exposure and lessen the negative impact to pharmaceutical, medical devices and nutritional supplement companies facing controversial situations.

We provide media training, respond to the media, develop talking points and work side-by side with you during and after the crisis so you have the support needed to weather the storm.