PHILADELPHIA, September 11, 2023―Five Duane Morris LLP attorneys have been named to the 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America guide.
- Dana J. Ash – Products Liability/Business Litigation (Philadelphia)
- Sean K. Burke – Products Liability/Toxic Torts (Washington, D.C.)
- Sharon L. Caffrey – Mass Tort/Products Liability/Toxic Torts (Philadelphia)
- Matthew C. Gaudet – IP Litigation, especially Patent (Atlanta)
- L. Norwood "Woody" Jameson – IP Litigation, especially Patent (Atlanta)
The second edition of the guide represents all-stars in commercial litigation, financial and securities matters, white collar and investigations, IP, and cybersecurity and data privacy. The Lawdragon editorial team selected the honorees through submissions, journalistic research of the lawyers behind the biggest cases and editorial vetting from a board of their peers.
Dana J. Ash is chair of the Products Liability and Toxic Torts Division of Duane Morris' Trial Practice Group and serves as a team lead for the Duane Morris Life Sciences and Medical Technologies Industry Group. Ash practices in the areas of products liability and business litigation and has conducted trials in state and federal courts across the United States. In addition to numerous court trials, Ash has handled mediations and litigated arbitration claims under the auspices of the American Arbitration Association and the International Chamber of Commerce. He represents medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors nationally in products liability matters and in commercial disputes with suppliers and customers. Ash has served as lead trial counsel for clients in consolidated products liability claims involving medical devices and pharmaceuticals, including human tissue products and other biologics, in both federal (multidistrict litigation) and state court venues, including California and West Virginia. He also employs his medicolegal experience defending physicians, hospitals and health maintenance organizations in medical malpractice and other licensing claims. Ash also handles matters involving complex commercial contracts (including asset purchase agreement and partnership agreement disputes) and other business-related disputes.
Sean K. Burke is vice chair of the Products Liability and Toxic Torts Division of Duane Morris' Trial Practice Group. Burke is a trial attorney representing clients nationally in complex products liability and commercial litigation matters. He has tried cases before juries in both state and federal courts while also handling numerous mediations. He regularly represents manufacturers of medical implant devices in product liability cases, including in consolidated multi-plaintiff matters in both federal court (multidistrict litigation) and state courts in California, Illinois and Tennessee. He also represents clients in matters involving trade secret litigation, the breach of noncompetition and other restrictive covenants and commercial contract disputes. Burke also represents and counsels clients in the gaming industry, with a focus on the horse racing industry, in a broad range of matters involving state regulatory compliance, contract negotiations and litigation.
Sharon L. Caffrey is a products liability trial lawyer who is sought after to try large exposure cases in the most difficult jurisdictions, often referred to as “judicial hellholes.” Caffrey has a distinguished record of success at trial: Of the past 10 cases she has tried, she obtained eight defense verdicts and two low-value verdicts. She has tried dozens of mass tort, toxic tort, health effects and medical negligence cases, the vast majority to defense verdicts. Caffrey is also able to leverage her deep experience to serve as national coordinating counsel for clients looking to guide the management of voluminous litigation consistent with their legal and business priorities. Caffrey's background includes defending pharmaceutical, medical device and biologics products liability claims, as well as toxic tort claims involving diesel exhaust, PHAs, pesticides, asbestos, talc, microsilica, silica and benzene. She has also represented several clients in multidistrict litigation proceedings and clients in a variety of industries in product defect claims. As a result, she has a deep understanding of these claims across a wide array of machinery, tools, equipment and related applications.
Matthew C. Gaudet is chair of the Patent Litigation Division of the firm's Intellectual Property Practice Group. Over the last 25 years, he has defeated dozens of patents through trials, summary judgment rulings and inter partes reviews, and he regularly appears before the Federal Circuit. In just the last two years, he has tried cases for Cisco Systems, Verizon and Yahoo, and he has served as lead counsel for other major technology companies including Microsoft, Comcast, Cox Communications, CenturyLink, Fortinet and SonicWall. He has also collected over $100 million for patent holders. Gaudet previously was recognized as one of the top five IP lawyers under 40 in the country by Law360 (in which he was described as a “deadly cross-examiner”). The honor followed a year when two different district courts―one in East Texas, one in Delaware―cited his cross-examinations of opposing experts in rulings that sustained winning jury verdicts, with one judge describing his cross-examination as "brilliant." From 2009 through 2023, Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business included Gaudet in its listing of leading IP lawyers in Georgia. He is also listed in Best Lawyers in America and the "Top 100" of Georgia Super Lawyers. Before entering private practice, Gaudet served a judicial clerkship for the Honorable Susan H. Black of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Duke University School of Law.
L. Norwood “Woody” Jameson is chair of Duane Morris' Intellectual Property Practice Group. Jameson practices in the area of intellectual property law and litigation with particular emphasis on patent litigation. He also litigates a broad range of intellectual property disputes, including trademark and trade dress litigation, copyright litigation and false advertising disputes. In 2014, Jameson was named Outstanding IP Litigator for Georgia by Managing Intellectual Property. The team he leads also received the Managing Intellectual Property Award for the top patent litigation practice in the southern United States. In 2009 through 2023, Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business included Jameson in its listing of leading IP lawyers in Georgia. He has represented several well-known companies in complex patent litigation involving such technologies as fiber optics communications, cyber security technology, semiconductors, cable television technology, internet technology, online banking transactions, MPEG decoding technology, telecommunications and computer hardware and software applications. He likewise has had lead responsibility for trademark and false advertising litigation for Fortune 500 companies and anti-counterfeiting activities surrounding the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. He is a member of the Litigation and Patent, Copyright and Trademark Law sections of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Georgia and the Atlanta Bar Association. He has served on the Federal Trial Practice and Procedure Committee of the American Bar Association, has served on numerous committees of the International Trademark Association, and has been a speaker at seminars on a multitude of patent and trademark topics.
About Duane Morris
Duane Morris LLP provides innovative solutions to today’s multifaceted legal and business challenges through the collegial and collaborative culture of its more than 900 attorneys in offices across the United States and internationally. The firm represents a broad array of clients, spanning all major practices and industries. Duane Morris has been recognized by BTI Consulting as both a client service leader and a highly recommended law firm.
