Kubiniec, Joanne E.

Jessica Krieg is an associate with the Firm's Product Liability and Toxic Torts group. Her practice consists chiefly of the defense of serial and mass tort litigation involving pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and she has litigated cases in state and federal court venues across the country, including federal multidistrict litigation and consolidated state court proceedings.

Ms. Krieg currently assists in the defense of serial product liability litigation brought against Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation involving allegations that bisphosphonate drugs cause a condition known as osteonecrosis of the jaw, or "ONJ." Hundreds of these cases have been centralized in federal multidistrict litigation proceedings before the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee and statewide consolidated proceedings before the Superior Court of New Jersey. Ms. Krieg was part of the trial team in Bessemer v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, MID-L-1835-08-MT (N.J. Super. Ct.), and her efforts contributed to a complete defense verdict in what was the first bellwether trial in the New Jersey consolidated litigation.

Prior to her work in the bisphosphonate litigation, Ms. Krieg was an integral part of the defense team representing a large Firm client against claims seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in business interruption damages allegedly incurred by the evacuation and shutdown of a manufacturing facility following a train derailment and chlorine gas spill. She worked extensively with some of the country's leading environmental remediation experts to prepare those experts and to develop themes used to cross-examine the plaintiff's opposing experts at trial. Ms. Krieg also has experience representing pharmaceutical companies faced with Department of Justice inquiries into advertising and marketing practices, and she has defended insurers against failure-to-defend claims brought by their insureds.

Ms. Krieg is actively involved in the Firm's pro bono program and has successfully represented a number of pro bono clients, including tenants facing eviction, independent contractors sued for negligence, and non-profit groups in disputed FOIA actions

s. Krieg defends complex toxics and pharmaceutical matters and prosecutes coverage actions on behalf of corporate policyholders. Among her representations, she has assisted with the response to a government inquiry into drug advertising and marketing practices, has worked on high-profile pharmaceutical class action cases, and has dealt with complex matters involving alleged material breaches of secondary insurance contracts, CERCLA issues, alleged trade secret violations, and alleged commercial disparagement.