Karen M. Firstenberg

Product Liability & Mass Tort Litigation

Karen has led nationwide mass tort drug and device litigation in both state and federal courts, winning favorable jury verdicts in multimillion-dollar claims. She strategically handles every aspect of litigation, including claim assessment, depositions, expert discovery, first chair trial work and more. Focused on clients’ business objectives, Karen has successfully pursued arbitration and mediation to achieve client goals.

Karen has defended medical devices ranging from surgical robots and ortho-biologics to pain pumps and prosthetic devices, as well as intra-operative warning devices, lasers, medical durable equipment and more.

Product Counseling & Compliance

To prevent litigation and enforcement, Karen advises on FDA compliance issues for medical device products. She assesses and drafts company policies and procedures for FDA and statutory compliance.

Litigation

In addition to complex product liability claims, Karen litigates class actions, contract issues, unfair business practice claims, medical malpractice and personal injury litigation. She has won defense verdicts on multimillion-dollar claims and summary judgment rulings and has served as first chair in binding arbitrations. Karen is particularly skilled in offensive discovery, counseling clients on how to identify facts supporting potential claims and defenses.

Personal Interests

When she isn’t analyzing product liability cases, Karen stays active by hiking and swimming. She enjoys cooking and exploring new travel destinations with her husband, two children and the family dog, Tulie, a golden retriever.