Online Courts and Virtual Litigation, Arbitration & Mediation: Is This The Future?

Sara Roitman is an accomplished product liability litigator who represents clients facing some of their most challenging legal issues. Ms. Roitman specializes in representing manufacturers in high-stakes multi-jurisdictional mass tort cases in federal and state courts around the country. Her experience includes leading complex coordinated proceedings involving thousands of cases, directing global strategy for clients across numerous jurisdictions and co-parties, and arguing key dispositive and evidentiary motions.

Ms. Roitman is a member of Dechert’s nationally recognized team of product liability and mass tort lawyers, named in 2019 as Practice Group of the Year for Product Liability by Law360 and Litigation Department of the Year for Product Liability by New York Law Journal. In 2020, she was recognized by Profiles in Diversity Journal in the publication’s Women Worth Watching in STEM Awards, which were established to celebrate women leaders who break barriers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Ms. Roitman’s extensive product liability experience includes defending Fortune 500 and major privately held companies facing a wide range of legal issues: personal injury, RICO, public nuisance, consumer fraud, False Claims Act claims, and governmental litigation brought by state attorneys general and local municipalities.

Most recently, she represents Purdue Pharma as one of its lead national counsel in thousands of federal and state lawsuits arising out of Purdue’s sale and promotion of opioid medications. As one of the lead lawyers representing Purdue, Ms. Roitman was appointed by the multi-district litigation court as co-liaison counsel for state and federal coordination issues, and she was lead liaison counsel for all opioid manufacturers in the opioid coordinated action pending in Illinois state court.

Kimberly Branscome acts as trial counsel in complex litigation, advising on product and professional liability, environmental and toxic tort and securities matters. Ms. Branscome advises clients from a broad range of sectors, including the pharmaceutical, consumer products, oil & gas and automotive industries.

Ms. Branscome has served as lead trial counsel in product liability litigation for a major multinational corporation, securing victories for the client in high-profile jury trials regarding allegations of asbestos contamination in that company’s talcum powder products. These wins were recognized by the Daily Journal as “Top Defense Verdicts” in 2018 and 2019, as well as one of the “Top Product Liability cases of 2018” by Law360.

In addition, Ms. Branscome has served as lead counsel for a product manufacturer in a multi-district litigation involving hearing loss claims by service members related to a product sold to the military.

ERICA VISOKEY is the Associate General Counsel, Litigation and Investigations, at ConMed Corporation

Prior to this role, she served as counsel for Stryker Corporation where she was responsible for defending the company's products liability and employment suits, as well as developing and implementing litigation avoidance training.

Erica received her Juris Doctorate from Boston College Law School in 2001 and her Bachelor of Arts in Business from Brown University, in 1998.

Earlier in her career, Erica was an associate at Goodwin Procter, in NY, NY, where she practiced corporate, products liability and employment law.

Tamra Moore is Corporate Counsel, Litigation at Northrop Grumman Corporation. Before joining Northrop Grumman, Tamra was Senior Counsel in the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch, where she represented federal agencies, Cabinet members, and other government officials.

Earlier in her career, she was a litigation associate at two international law firms. She also served as a law clerk to a federal district court judge and federal appeals court judge. Tamra earned a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University and a Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School.