|
Experience:
Craig Woods is an experienced litigator whose practice focuses especially on complex personal injury and commercial litigation and arbitration matters. He represents national and multi-national corporations in complex, technically oriented litigation and arbitrations, including toxic tort, chemical process and biotechnology product liability litigation; information technology disputes; patent litigation; and other engineering and technology-related disputes.
Craig has extensive experience organizing multi-disciplinary expert teams and mounting expert testimony admissibility challenges under Daubert/Frye, and he is highly skilled in the use of court-appointed experts and expert analysis, testing and simulations to support litigation. Craig's practice also encompasses matters such as fraud, defamation, negligence, contract disputes, malicious prosecution, insurance disputes, trademark controversies, unfair competition and other critical areas of business litigation.
Prior to joining Mayer Brown in 1995, Craig served as Law Clerk to The Honorable William C. Conner, US District Court for the Southern District of New York (1994-1995).
Notable Engagements:
Welding Fume Litigation - Responsible for developing the toxicology/material science defense for a consortium of defendants involved in state and federal MDL mass personal injury litigation arising from claimed neurological injuries allegedly associated with exposure to welding fume. Representation involves participation on a "science team," which is comprised of attorneys from a number of different law firms with particular science-related expertise, coordination of the defense expert case in the on-going federal and state court litigation, and development of Daubert attacks on plaintiffs' material science and toxicologist experts in the federal MDL.
Biotechnology Product Liability Litigation - Responsible for developing science defense to claims brought by dozens of plaintiffs in various jurisdictions around the country against major US pharmaceutical company asserting defects in an automated immunoassay blood screening test. Science case involved expertise in immunology, immunochemistry, biostatistics, and biology. Successfully defended only case brought to trial.
Asbestos Litigation - Currently serving as national counsel to Fortune 100 company in connection with toxic tort product liability litigation arising out of former sales of asbestos-containing products. Responsible for developing, implementing, and coordinating science defense and multi-disciplinary expert teams - including areas of pulmonology, occupational medicine, pathology, industrial hygiene, material science, microscopy, toxicology, and epidemiology - simultaneously in multiple jurisdictions around the United States.
Silica Litigation - Currently serving as national counsel to Fortune 100 company in connection with toxic tort product liability litigation arising out of exposure to silica from company products and at company facilities. Responsible for developing, implementing, and coordinating science defense and multidisciplinary expert teams - including areas of pulmonology, occupational medicine, pathology, industrial hygiene, material science, microscopy, toxicology, and epidemiology.
Ammonium Nitrate Plant Explosion - Responsible for developing science case and supervising multi-disciplinary team of experts in connection with $400 million product liability lawsuit arising from explosion of ammonium nitrate plant in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1994. Science case involved expertise in chemical process engineering, explosion effects, energetic chemistry, metallurgy, and mechanical and structural engineering. With the assistance of multi-disciplinary expert team, drafted science brief submitted to court-appointed expert regarding cause and origin of explosion and successfully challenged opposing expert under Daubert. Also assisted in insurance recovery.
Tractor Patent Litigation - Worked with structural and mechanical engineering experts to develop infringement science case against manufacturer of infringing belted agricultural tractor. Obtained favorable claim construction in Markman hearing based on expert analysis. Case ultimately settled on very favorable terms.
Information Technology Arbitration - Prosecuted/defended multi-million dollar breach of contract arbitration against software development company relating to functionality shortcomings of automated retirement benefits web site before the American Arbitration Association.
Education:
Georgetown University Law Center, JD, cum laude, 1994; Associate Editor, Georgetown University Law Journal, University of Kansas, BSEE, with highest distinction, 1991. |
