Bio

Ms. Flaherty is a 1992 graduate from St. Olaf College and graduated from William Mitchell College of Law in 1996. She chairs Lockridge Grindal Nauen’s pharmaceutical and medical device practice and has devoted the majority of her career to representing plaintiffs in complex litigations. Law & Politics magazine has continually designated Ms. Flaherty as a “Super Lawyer” in the fields of Class Action/Mass Torts each year since 2011. Ms. Flaherty was named one of the Top 50 Women Minnesota Super Lawyers in 2013-2019, one of the Top 100 Minnesota Super Lawyers in 2016 and 2017, and was named an Attorney of the Year in 2015.

Ms. Flaherty’s experience includes serving as Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel in the consolidated Minnesota State Court Litigation, In Re American Medical Systems, Inc., Litig., Case No. 27-CV-11-3933 (Hennepin County District Court, Minnesota). In her role as Co-Lead Counsel, Ms. Flaherty managed the coordination, discovery, trial selection and resolution of thousands of individual cases pending before the Honorable Ronald L. Abrams. The Honorable James V. Selna, in the Central District of California, also appointed Ms. Flaherty to serve as Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel in the consolidated Riata heart device litigation, captioned In Re St. Jude Devices Litigation, Case No. SACV 13-00383. Numerous courts throughout the United States have also appointed Ms. Flaherty to Plaintiffs’ Steering Committees in complex MDL litigations. Recently, Ms. Flaherty was appointed to serve on the Executive Committee for the national litigation involving Round Up, In Re Roundup Products Liability Litig., MDL No. 2741.

Ms. Flaherty served on trial teams in two national class actions, both of which were tried to verdict. In Peterson v. BASF Corp., Civil No. C2-97-295 (Norman County District Court, Minnesota), Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P. secured a jury verdict for a nation-wide class seeking redress for defendants’ marketing of its herbicide products. After multiple state appellate opinions and two trips to the U.S. Supreme Court, a substantial judgment was affirmed and paid to farmers throughout the United States. Additionally, Ms. Flaherty was a member of the trial team representing a certified sub-class as part of a nationwide antitrust trial in In re Laminates that was tried to verdict in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Ms. Flaherty is active in the state and federal trial lawyer associations. She is the past Chair of the National College of Advocacy (NCA) Board for the American Association for Justice (AAJ), the AAJ Electronic Discovery Committee, past Chair of the AAJ Section on Toxic, Environmental, and Pharmaceutical Torts (STEP), and past Chair of the AAJ Women’s Trial Lawyer Caucus. Ms. Flaherty also serves on the Minnesota Association for Justice Board of Governors and Executive Committee. She is a Minnesota Representative to AAJ’s Board of Governors.

Ms. Flaherty is a frequent lecturer on topics associated with complex litigation, including preemption, case resolution, and fees.

Yvonne M. Flaherty

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