Aaron Block (Courtesy photo)

After spending the first decade of his legal career at Alston & Bird, mass-tort defense litigator Aaron Block has started his own plaintiffs firm, saying he wanted to be more entrepreneurial with the latitude to take on cases "that will really make a difference in the world."

The former Alston & Bird partner said he plans to use his experience defending scientifically complex mass tort cases for product manufacturers and industry groups to take on "serious complex plaintiffs cases in a high-level Alston & Bird way."

"That's the vision. I'm not the first person to try it," said Block, who opened the Block Firm last week in space he's subletting from plaintiffs firm Conley Griggs Partin, which he noted has served as an incubator for other fledgling plaintiffs lawyers.

Block said he's using savings and might undertake some project-based hourly work for corporate plaintiffs referred by other firms to finance his switch to the plaintiffs side. "And with a hope and a prayer too," he added.

At 40, Block said, "I'm mature enough for this to be plausible—and young enough to have the energy and drive to take a big risk." He said he wants to show his two young daughters that, "if you have an idea or cause that you think is important, you've got to jump in and make that happen."

"I love Alston & Bird.They're a great firm, and I'm so grateful for the lawyer they've trained me into," he added.

At Alston, Block handled cases with scientific issues as to whether the product in question caused plaintiffs health problems. That included cases alleging that sugar caused diabetes, cellphones caused health hazards, and talc contained asbestos causing mesothelioma.

He also worked on a major class action for Chinese drywall manufacturer Taishan Gypsum over plaintiffs claims that defective drywall sickened residents and made their homes uninhabitable. A federal judge approved a $248 million settlement agreement on Jan. 10 after a decade of litigation.

Block said an early mentor at Alston, Jane Thorpe, who is now retired, taught him how to work cases where questions about toxicology, epidemiology and other scientific issues come into play. "It's been one of the strengths of the Alston & Bird mass tort practice," Block said. "We aim to know the science at least as well as the scientists on both sides."

"You learn a lot," he added, saying that he's spent time with scientists at Harvard and Johns Hopkins Universities, learning how to think about questions of causation and the implications of science on public policy.

At the Block Firm, the litigator aims to take on serious personal injury cases and tort cases involving science. Block said he's been talking to "my former opponents in the mass tort world," as to potential collaborations.

He also wants to take on civil rights cases. At Alston, Block maintained an active pro bono practice representing asylum-seekers and victims of child sex abuse where DFACs "failed in its duty to protect children," Block said. "Alston & Bird is incredibly supportive of pro bono work."

In a recent pro bono case, Block won bond for an Episcopal priest from Nigeria who sought asylum in the United States after Boko Haram killed his wife, infant son and father. The priest was imprisoned for five years while his immigration case was pending, Block said, even though he had no criminal record and was not a flight risk.

"The government refused to give him a bond hearing," said Block. He filed a habeas petition for the priest, and last year a federal court finally ordered the man's release from custody, pending the resolution of his asylum case. The government declined to appeal.