Lauren E. Handler

Lauren Handler (ret) has been the chief strategist behind many of the firm’s complex products liability cases, representing major pharmaceutical and manufacturing company clients. She led the New Jersey hormone therapy litigation and was instrumental in mounting the defense of adequate warning that led to dismissal of two cases set for trial.

During Ms. Handler’s 30 years’ experience handling products liability matters, she has defended products ranging from polio and DPT vaccines, to diet drugs, Cox-2 inhibitors, NSAIDs, pacemakers, and prosthetic heart valves.  On behalf of large manufacturing companies, she has also defended injury claims from asbestos, petroleum products, forklifts and handheld power equipment.

Ms. Handler is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey Board on Trial Certification as a Civil Trial Attorney. Through the years, she has developed particularized experience in the law on expert challenges, preemption, consumer fraud, alternative design strict liability claims, and medical monitoring damages. Ms. Handler has been described by a colleague as "a legal scholar with a love for the law, a conscientious and committed advocate who gives 200 percent to each and every client." 

Parallel with her immersion in litigation methods and defense strategies, Ms. Handler serves numerous professional organizations, earning her place as the first female Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) in New Jersey, and selected by the ACTL to participate in its 2007 Canada-US Legal Exchange. She was formerly Chair of the ACTL Ethics Committee and served as the New Jersey State Chair. She is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) in which she served as an officer in the North Jersey Chapter; the Morris County Bar Association, which she served as President in 2000; and the New Jersey Bar Association, where she served for many years on the Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committee.

Ms. Handler’s practice is unique in that she straddles both the plaintiff and defense bars, as evidenced by her successful representation of victims of catastrophic accidents and medical malpractice. Her representation of parties on both sides of the "v" gives her a unique perspective on litigation that enables her to expect, meet and defeat the strategy and arguments of her opponents. At trial, she has both obtained multi-million dollar awards for her plaintiff clients, and defeated multi-million dollar claims brought against her defense clients.

• Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers; New Jersey State Chair, 2007-2009
• American Board of Trial Advocates, Vice President Northern New Jersey Chapter, 2009-2011
• Trial Attorneys of New Jersey
• Defense Research Institute
• International Association of Defense Counsel, past member
• Fellow, American Bar Foundation
• Morris County Bar Association, President, 2000; Medical-Legal Cooperation Committee, Chair, 1990–1996
• Morris County Bar Foundation, President, 1998
• New Jersey State Bar Association, Civil Trial Bar Section, Executive Committee, 1987– 1990; Certified Trial Attorneys Section, Vice Chair, 1991–1993; Food, Drug & Cosmetic Law Section; Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committee
• American Bar Association, Tort and Insurance Practice Section; Litigation Section
• New Jersey Women Lawyers Association

• "Navigating Potential Products Liability Risks When Engaging in Advertising and Other Forms of Communication," Products Liability Boot Camp for Life Sciences - The Ultimate Guide for Regulatory Professionals to Minimize Litigation Risks, American Conference Institute, New York, NY, July 2010.
• "Civil Trial Advocacy Summer Institute," NJICLE Seminar, New Brunswick, NJ, July 2010.
• "Recent Developments and Proposed Changes in Rules of Professional Responsibility," seminar, American College of Trial Lawyers, April 2006.
• "Demonstration of Incorporating Themes to Humanize the Corporate Defendant in Opening Statement," seminar, Defense Research Institute, Drug and Medical Device Seminar, May 2001.
• "Masters in Trial," seminar, Foundation of the American Board of Trial Advocates, December 4, 1999.
• "Trial Advocacy in New Jersey," seminar, New Jersey Business Institute, March 23, 1999.
• "Employment-At-Will," "Issues in the Dismissing of Employees—What You Need to Know," seminar, New Jersey Business & Industry Association, October 29, 1997.
• "Drug and Medical Device Litigation into the Next Millennium," American Conference Institute, December 5–6, 1996.
• "Employment-At-Will," "The Dismissal or Discipline of Employees: How to Navigate a Potential Minefield," seminar, New Jersey Business & Industry Association, October 22, 1996.
• "Loss of Parental Consortium," Damages Seminar, Defense Research Institute, New York, New York, March 17, 1994.
• Faculty Member, IADC Defense Counsel Trial Academy, Boulder, Colorado, July 1993.
• "Civil Trial Preparation," Institute of Continuing Legal Education, October 1992.
• "The Child’s Right to Sue for Loss of Parental Consortium," "Hot Tips in Tort Law", seminar, New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education, June 2, 1990.
• "New Jersey Practice after Tort Reform," Professional Education Systems, Inc., September 23, 1989.
• "The Shrinking of a Trial: How to Handle the Psychiatric Expert in a Claim for Emotional Distress," New Jersey State Bar Association Mid-year Meeting, November 1988.