Zaba, Wesley C.

Roger W. Yoerges is a partner in the Washington office of Steptoe & Johnson LLP, where he is a member of the Litigation Department and head of the firm's Products Liability, Pharmaceutical & Mass Tort Litigation practice.

Mr. Yoerges has handled large class actions, individual products liability claims, complex commercial disputes, trade secret litigation, non-compete and related employment matters, FDA regulatory litigation, large insurance coverage matters involving asbestos exposure, environmental contamination, and noise-induced hearing loss experienced by railroad workers nationwide, and litigation under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

For more than fifteen years, Mr. Yoerges has served as national coordinating counsel for an international pharmaceutical company, handling all of its products liability litigation involving polio vaccines. These cases require extensive knowledge of the scientific and regulatory issues unique to biological products. Mr. Yoerges also counsels manufacturers of a wide range of products, including medical devices, regarding labeling and risk management associated with product design and manufacture.

Mr. Yoerges has tried cases and participated in evidentiary and other hearings involving vaccine-related injuries, oil and gas leases (class action), non-compete and trade secret disputes, governmental zoning permits, complex insurance coverage matters, internet privacy, and corporate acquisitions. Mr. Yoerges also led a team in obtaining summary judgment after a three-week Daubert hearing that involved the controversial connection between a putative viral contaminant of polio vaccines and human cancers.

In addition to his trial-level work, Mr. Yoerges has argued in state and federal appellate courts on more than twenty occasions. He recently led a team in persuading a New Jersey appellate court to reverse the denial of summary judgment and to hold that a claim against a vaccine manufacturer must be tried in a special court established by the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986. He also convinced the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit not only to reconsider a long-standing decision involving the role that the FDA's regulations should play in assessing liability, but also to hold that manufacturers should not be bound by that decision.

Prior to joining Steptoe & Johnson, Mr. Yoerges was a partner in an international law firm based in Washington, DC and Boston, MA.