Shook, Hardy & Bacon is a heavyweight in the product liability world, and its defense wins for Boston Scientific Corp. in pelvic surgical mesh suits, among others, made it a strong contender in our competition.

The Kansas City, Missouri-based firm, which boasts the largest product liability practice in the world, with 319 product liability attorneys as of June 30, is probably best known for defending the tobacco industry, particularly Philip Morris, for which it pioneered national litigation in the 1950s. It continues its defense of Philip Morris as first chair in 27 of the company's 39 Engle progeny trials. Shook Hardy has defended 110 active class actions and 135 product liability claims in 25 countries in the last two years.

Significant Cases: Shook secured important verdicts in Massachusetts in Albright v. Boston Scientific and Cardenas v. Boston Scientific. They were among the few decisive victories so far for manufacturers of surgical devices used for treatment of pelvic organ prolapse and other conditions. An estimated 100,000 lawsuits have been filed against seven manufacturers for claims ranging from constant pain to dyspareunia, according to Reuters.