Mike Williams

Mike Williams is nationally recognized as a leading trial lawyer in the field of pharmaceutical mass torts. He is particularly known for his understanding of science and medicine, and for his ability to connect the dots between the drug a client has taken and their injury.  He is currently assisting children injured by mercury in vaccines, and women harmed by hormone therapy drugs.

Leading trial lawyers from major national law firms and from Canada regularly ask Mike to work with them on cases involving hundreds of injured people.  He has handled many large Daubert hearings in federal courts where large numbers of cases are at stake.

Mike graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1978. He received his Masters in Philosophy from the University of California at Berkeley, and his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Wabash College.  

Mike was admitted to the Oregon State Bar and the U.S. District Court of Oregon in 1978, to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1979, to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in 1980, and to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1983. In 2002, Mike was admitted to the Washington State Bar.

Mike began his legal career working for Art Johnson’s firm in Eugene, Oregon, a highly respected plaintiffs’ law firm. The first client he represented was a woman injured by a Dalkon Shield IUD. Ultimately, Mike tried nine Dalkon Shield cases to verdict in federal court in 1984.

In 1986, Mike moved to Portland and established what is now Williams Love O’Leary & Powers. Mike has been actively involved in many medical device and pharmaceutical mass torts, often trying the “first in the country” cases. He tried a Neo Mull Soy infant formula case in 1986, then proceeded to settle all eight of his cases. Mike filed the first L-tryptophan case in the country, and in 1991, he tried the nation’s first three L-tryptophan cases, receiving more than $2.2 million in verdicts, and then settling all the rest of his 80 cases.

In 1987, Mike Williams tried the country’s third breast implant case in federal court in Tacoma, Washington, and won a plaintiffs’ verdict. The firm eventually represented over 800 breast implant clients.

In April 1997, Mike filed the first Fen-Phen (diet pill) case in the country and prepared dozens of others for trial, even starting trial in Jefferson County Mississippi before settling hundreds of Fen-Phen cases that night. The firm represented over 200 clients injured by Fen-Phen in Oregon and in Washington, and worked with attorneys in other states to represent over 2,000 clients.

In 2003, he was lead counsel for the plaintiffs in the PPA Ischemic Stroke Daubert hearing in the MDL court in Seattle, where he won the right to go to a jury trial for as many as 1,000 ischemic stroke victims.

Beyond his experience as a leading litigator, Mike is also an accomplished author and editor.  He co-authored the chapter on Parties in the Tort Litigation treatise published by ATLA, the Oregon Class Action chapter of the ABA’s survey of state class action laws, and the “Products Liability,” “Ultra-hazardous Activities,” and “Spontaneous Declarations” chapters for Oregon State Bar Continuing Legal Education, among others.  He was the founding editor-in-chief of the Oregon State Bar Litigation Journal, the newsletter of the Litigation Section of the Oregon State Bar, a job he kept for ten years (1980-90).

Mike is a past president of the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association. He and his firm have had the highest rating for competence and ethics by Martindale Hubbell (a.v. rating) since 1988. He is currently a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (President‘s Club Member), Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, Oregon Trial Lawyers Association, Washington Trial Lawyers Association, Multnomah County Bar Association, and the Federal Bar Association.

Mike also served as chair, Oregon State Bar Federal Practice and Procedure Committee (1999-2002); and member, Executive Committee, ATLA Litigation Group on PPA (where he is also a court appointed member of the MDL Plaintiffs Management Committee).

Since 2001, he has served as co-chair of the ATLA Litigation Croup on Vaccines. In addition, Mike is also a frequent speaker at the invitation of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Oregon Trial Lawyers Association, Oregon Law Institute, Oregon State Bar, and Mealey’s.

Mike also has been active in his community, including having served as member and chair of the Eugene School Board. He has also contributed generously to charitable and political groups that help the poor and protect our civil justice system.

SELECTED SEMINARS / PRESENTATIONS BY MIKE WILLIAMS:

Invited Presentations at Professional Meetings

May 12, 2004: Federal Bar Association, Continuing Legal Education “Seeing is Believing: Technology in the Courtroom,” Portland, Oregon

March 22-23, 2004: Mealey’s Emerging Drugs & Devices Conference for Plaintiff Attorneys, Scottsdale, Arizona
-Conference Co-Chair
-“Mature Litigation Updates from the Leaders: Thimerosal Update”

March 2004: American Trial Lawyers Association, Trial of the Pharmaceutical Cases Seminar, “Hormone Replacement Therapy: Is This a Viable Mass Tort?” Dallas, Texas

February 26, 2004: Oregon State Bar Seminar: Evidence: Basics to Cutting Edge, “Scientific Evidence Issues in Litigation: Where Oregon Law Applies” Portland, Oregon

February 2, 2004: Williams/Petroff PPH/Fen-Phen Conference Seminar II for Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Only, Orlando, Florida
-Conference Co-Sponsor and Moderator
-“Overview of the Litigation: Perspective from an Experienced Mass Tort Lawyer”

January 13, 2004: Mealey’s PPA Litigation Conference, “Proving Causation in PPA Cases,” Houston, Texas

November 18, 2003: Mealey’s Daubert Conference, Pasadena, California
-Conference Co-Chair
-“Epidemiology & Daubert – A Case Study In Re: Phenylpropanolamine [PPA] Products Liability Litigation,” Plaintiff’s Speaker

November 14, 2003: Oregon Law Institute Seminar on Oregon Evidence Law, “Lessons Learned from the Daubert Battles in Toxic Torts,” Portland, Oregon

September 12, 2003: Federal Bar Association conference, E-Evidence: Discovery and Using Electronic Evidence at Summary Judgment and Trial, "Seeing is Believing: Technology in the Courtroom," Portland, Oregon

August 3, 2003: Past President's Rapid Fire, Oregon Trial Lawyers Association, Sunriver, Oregon

July 3, 2003: Williams/Petroff PPH/Fen-Phen Conference Seminar I for Plaintiffs’ lawyers only, San Francisco, California
-Conference Co-Sponsor and Moderator
-“Overview of the Litigation: Perspective from an Experienced Mass Tort Lawyer”
-“PPH Cases: How Good Are They? How Many Are There? Is This A Different Disease From The Old Days? What Impact Will PTO 2867 Have?”
-“Strategies for Survival: Practical Tips From Experienced Mass Tort Guys”
-Moderator of Litigation Strategy Workshop: “When to File? Where to File? How to Skin the Cat.”
-“Critique of Opening Statement. Q & A. What Can We Do To Make It Better? How Firmly Are Our Hands Tied? How Bad Is It?”

October 23, 2002: Federal Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division, "Professionalism Workshop," Portland, Oregon - "Technology in the Courtroom"

October 17 - 18, 2002: PPA MDL Plaintiffs' Steering and Discovery Committees, "Proving Liability and Punitive Damages in your PPA Case," - Las Vegas, Nevada - "OVERVIEW of Pre-Yale Scientific Literature with focus on notice and laser decision" and "PANEL DISCUSSION - Daubert Challenges in the MDL" Participant

July 24, 2002: Lawyer's Marketing Roundtable, "Mass Torts Meets Mass Media," Atlanta, Georgia - "Hormone Replacement Therapy"

July 22, 2002: 2002 ATLA Convention, Section on Toxic, Environmental, and Pharmaceutical Torts (STEP), "I Need a New Drug: A Drug-by-Drug Update, Mass Tort Review," Atlanta, Georgia - "Thimerosal"

June 1, 2002: ATLA Pharmaceutical & Medical Device Litigation: Emerging Drugs & Devices and Litigation Updates - [Beth Bernard] , Chicago, Illinois, "Mercury from Childhood Vaccines: The Thimerosal Litigation"

May 13, 2002: Mealey's Thimerosal In Vaccines: A Litigation Update Teleconference - "Vaccine Litigation"

May 10, 2002: Oregon State Bar Federal Court Conference - Federal Practice Seminar, Portland, Oregon - "Ninth Circuit Cases: Calculation of a Reasonable Attorney Fee in Common Fund Cases"

April 22 - 23, 2002: Mealey's Mass Torts: Rezulin, Propulsid, Scientific Evidence & Expert Testimony, Phoenix, Arizona, "The Introduction of Scientific Evidence and Expert Testimony in Federal and State Court- Part One"

April 3, 2002: Guest Lecturer, Scientific Proof Course, Willamette University School of Law, Salem, Oregon, "Admissibility of Scientific Evidence in Oregon Courts".

March 18-19, 2002: Co-Chair, Mealey's Vaccine Litigation Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -"Thimerosal Litigation Part II: Litigating Your Case" and "Challenges For the Future: Skeptics Face Enthusiasts - A Panel Discussion" Participant

January 29, 2002: OTLA Brown Bag Lunch Seminar, Northwestern College of Law at Lewis & Clark Portland, Oregon - "Seeking Justice for Consumers: Class Actions"

January 14-15, 2002: Co-Chair, Mealey's Conference On Baycol Litigation, San Diego, California
2001

December 3-4, 2001: Mealey's Emerging Drug Litigation In Drugs & Medical Devices Conference, West Palm Beach, California - The New Thimerosal Controversy"

November 15-16, 2001: ATLA Vaccine Litigation Group Strategic Meeting, Scottsdale, Arizona"What Ongoing Studies Do We Know About? What Studies Need to be Done?" and "How Can One Prove a Case with the Evidence We Have so Far?"

October 26 , 2001: Louisiana State Bar Association, New Orleans, Louisana - Keeping the Mass Tort Defendant in the State Court of Your Choice

August 16-17, 2001: PPA/Ephedra Litigation Conference, San Diego, California - The Relevant Medical Literature

June 1, 2001: Oregon State Bar, Workers Comp Section, Salishan, Oregon - "Civil Actions by Injured Workers Against Third

April 20, 2001: Montana Trial Lawyers Association, Helena, Montana - "Scientific Evidence and Experts: The Divergence of State and Federal Law"

April 18, 2001: Oregon Trial Lawyers Association, Portland, Oregon - "The Ethics and Practice of Referring Cases and Doing Deals"

April 5-6, 2001: Program Co-chair, Mealey's Mass Torts: Scientific Evidence & Causation, Boston, Massachusetts

April 2-3, 2001: Mealey's Rezulin Litigation Conference, Boston, Massachusetts -"Daubert Issues"

March 12-13, 2001: Mealey's PPA & Ephedra Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - "The Medical Literature: The Foreseeability of the PPA Recall Based on the Open Medical Literature"

February 13, 2001: ATLA Midwinter Convention; Propulsid Litigation Group, New Orleans, Louisiana "Identifying a Good Case"

January 22-23, 2001: Mealey's Propulsid Litigation Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana - "Liability Issues Part 1: The Medical Literature"

Dec. 1 and 2, 2000: Kansas Trial Lawyers Association Annual Meeting Topic: Getting Rid of the Gap on Pain & Suffering: The Oregon Success StoryParties and Employers"

Nov. 17, 2000: Portland/OLI/Lewis & Clark College Topic: Expert Evidence

Nov. 13, 2000: Fen-Phen Trial and Settlement Strategies Topic: Cutting Edge Science Update

Oct. 24, 2000: Rezulin Litigation Conference Topic: Jurisdictional Issues in Rezulin Litigation

Oct. 21, 2000: American Trials Lawyers Association National College of Advocacy: Propulsid and Rezulin: Medical and Legal Update conference. Topic: A Review of the Medical Literature and What the Adverse Event Statistics Reveal: A Chronology.