Gallivan White & Boyd
Gallivan White & Boyd is a Southeast institution, regarded as one of the prominent law firms within the region. The firm operates out of three offices across South Carolina alone behind the effective leadership of litigation practice group head Ronald Wray III. Wray is recognized for his work on commercial transportation and complex litigation matters with an emphasis on railroad law, as well as in products liability, class actions, insurance coverage and appellate actions. Trial lawyer and managing partner David Rheney represents clients in personal injury defense, transportation disputes, insurance and reinsurance mattes, bad-faith litigation, as well as product liability cases. Rheney is also active as global legal counsel of Insuralex, where he also serves as the South Carolina representative and president. Gray Culbreath is a seasoned trial lawyer who routinely represents corporations, individuals and insurers in trials and appeals in areas such as complex commercial and class-action litigation, including antitrust, product liability and mass tort actions. John Lay’s primary areas of focus include business litigation, professional malpractice, insurance coverage and bad faith, financial services litigation and product liability disputes. He continues to advocate on behalf of a boat manufacturer as national coordinating counsel.
Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
Having already situated itself well beyond its humble Southeastern beginnings to a point at which it enjoys nationwide acclaim, the Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough team nevertheless refuses to settle. This year alone, the firm saw great expansion to its national practice, adding Minneapolis, Richmond, and San Diego outfits to its operations which already include New York City, Boston, Denver, Baltimore, DC, and Atlanta offices, as well as several other locations across the Southeast in Florida, the Carolinas, and other jurisdictions. With these new outposts comes a new influx of firm talent in the form of more than 30 new partners, nearly all of whom specialize in the firm’s most notable practice area of product liability.
Newly recognized as a litigation star, Mark Raymond of Miami shepherded in a significant victory for GlaxoSmithKline last year when he defeated a large-scale multi-district litigation (MDL) in connection with plaintiffs’ claims that the company’s medication Zantac, an antacid and antihistamine used primarily to treat heartburn, contains chemical agents known to be carcinogenic in nature.
David Dukes of the firm’s Columbia, SC office is recognized by Benchmark as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer and a national standout in product liability matters. Among his several recent roles representing leading pharmaceutical companies in significant life sciences liability matters, Dukes obtained a summary judgment on behalf of Bayer in MDL relating to a wrongful death claim arising in connection with the company’s Xarelto blood thinner.
Top 100 Trial Lawyer and noted commercial and product liability litigator Michael Brown, whose current involvement largely pertains to toxic torts and medical malpractice, is recognized by peers as “formidable.” Brown was recently involved in the firm’s representation of Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in a malpractice case in connection with Bayview’s rendering of labor and delivery care services. Plaintiffs, seeking an amount in excess of $230 million, were defeated on appeal, overturning an earlier verdict against Bayview. Brown was also involved in the firm’s favorable settlement on the behalf of Honeywell of asbestos liability claims filed by a mesothelioma patient and former mechanic who alleged exposure due to working with automobile brakes. Brown’s fellow star G. Mark Phillips, of the firm’s Charleston office, served at the helm of the matter.
