Overview
Susan received the Trial Attorneys of New Jersey’s Trial Bar Award, the highest honor given to trial attorneys in New Jersey in 2018. She is consistently recognized by Chambers USA, Benchmark Litigation, and Best Lawyers in America as a leading lawyer in the area of Products Liability. According to Chambers USA:
"Susan Sharko is adept at handling large product liability disputes, in which she often represents pharmaceutical and medical device companies.’ "She's brilliant," enthuses a client, adding: "She's extremely experienced, and she's very purpose-driven and wise."
"Susan is ‘a brilliant strategist who puts together the strategy she wants people to execute and works very closely to make sure everyone is on the same page.’ She garners high praise for her strength in coordinating multidistrict litigation, and fields significant [experience] in complex pharmaceutical and medical device disputes."
"When you think of product cases, you think of Susan Sharko.’ She is ‘a great trial lawyer,’ and clients particularly appreciate her tenacity, explaining that ‘she is a really excellent lawyer who is tough, aggressive and knows her stuff. Plaintiff lawyers are afraid of her.’ Susan is a ‘great negotiator who understands the global implications any decision might have for a company.’"
"Susan Sharko is a ‘masterful tactician’ who acts as national coordinating counsel for leading companies in mass torts and MDLs across a wide range of sectors, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices and toxic torts." One client reports: "She uses resources efficiently to get to the right result. She absorbs all information and can find extra hours in the day."
Susan is a frequent author and speaker at conferences for both lawyers and the judiciary, and actively participates in the Bolch Judicial Institute at Duke Law School. She volunteers her time with RAICES (Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services), which promotes justice by providing free and low-cost legal services to underserved immigrant children, families and refugees in Central and South Texas.
She was a law clerk to the late New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Robert L. Clifford.
Appointments
- New Jersey Supreme Court Board on Trial Attorney Certification (Past Chairperson)
- District X Fee Arbitration Committee (Past Chairperson)
Related Services
Credentials
Bar Admissions
New Jersey
Court Admissions
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
Certifications
Certified Civil Trial Attorney—New Jersey Supreme Court with regular recertificationEducation
New York University School of Law
J.D. (1979)
Lehigh University
B.A. with highest honors, Phi Beta Kappa (1976)
Insights & Events
Latest
Insights
Leadership & Community
Pro Bono
- Faegre Drinker — Pro Bono Honor Roll, 2022
Professional Associations
- Trial Attorneys of New Jersey (Past President)
- American Bar Foundation (Fellow)
- Association of the Federal Bar of the State of New Jersey (Past Trustee)
- American Law Institute (Elected Member)
- International Association of Defense Counsel (Elected Member)
- Products Liability Advisory Counsel (Sustaining Member)
- William J. Brennen, Jr. – Arthur Vanderbilt Inn of Court (Former Master)
Honors
- LMG Life Sciences — Leading Life Sciences Lawyer, 2021-23
- LMG Life Sciences — Life Sciences Star, 2022
- Who’s Who Legal — Product Liability Defense, 2023
- Trial Attorneys of New Jersey — Trial Bar Award, 2018
- New Jersey Law Journal — Top Women in the Law, 2018
- Best Lawyers® — Mass Tort Litigation/Class Action - Defendants, 2020-24; Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants (Lawyer of the Year, 2020), 2020-24
- Benchmark Litigation — "Litigation Star," 2017-19
- Chambers USA — Band 1, New Jersey, Litigation: Products Liability, 2005-23
- Chambers USA — Band 3, Nationwide, Product Liability & Mass Torts, 2020-23
- Chambers USA — Band 4, Nationwide, Product Liability & Mass Torts, 2018-19
- Chambers USA — Band 5, Nationwide, Product Liability & Mass Torts, 2015-17
- LMG Life Sciences — Life Sciences Star, 2020
No aspect of these recognitions has been approved by the highest court of any state.