Lauren E. Handler
Retired Attorney
Morristown, NJ
973.889.4326
lehandler@pbnlaw.com
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.
No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
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Recognized in Best Lawyers in America, Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants; Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs; Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants, 2006 – 2018; Newark Area Litigator/Lawyer of the Year, Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants (2010, 2014 and 2018); Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants Lawyer of the Year (2011 and 2016).
A description of the selection process can be found here. - Recognized in Who's Who Legal – Compendium Edition, 2017; Who's Who Legal: Litigation; Product Liability Defence, 2016.
A description of the selection process can be found here. - Partner in Hope Award, Partners for Women and Justice, 2015
- Certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial Attorney
- Recognized in Chambers USA—America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Litigation: Products Liability, (Band I) 2010 - 2012, (Band II) 2008 - 2009.
A description of the selection process can be found here. - Recognized in Super Lawyers Business Edition, Personal Injury Defense: Products Liability, 2011; New Jersey Super Lawyers List, Personal Injury Products: Defense, 2005 – 2019.
A description of the selection process can be found here. - Recognized in The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers 2011 - 2014
- Recognized in The International Who's Who of Product Liability Defence Lawyers 2010 - 2013
- Recognized in The International Who's Who of Commercial Litigation Lawyers 2013
- Recognized in the Guide to the World's Leading Product Liability Lawyers, 2010
- Trial Attorneys of New Jersey Trial Bar Award, 2008
- 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
- Editor, "The New Reality of Sales Force Behavior and Management," FDLI Monograph Series, Vol. 2, Num 6, June 2011.
- "New Jersey Court Dismisses Two Hormone Therapy Cases Against Manufacturers: Warnings Declared Adequate As a Matter of Law," Porzio Update, August 2008.
- "Tort of Public Nuisance in Public Entity Litigation: Return to the Jungle?," Defense Counsel Journal, October 2002.
- "Nursing Home Injuries: Steps For Proving Liability," New Jersey Lawyer, February 12,2001.
- "The Timely Filing of a Petition Under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act is a Jurisdictional Prerequisite for Maintaining a Civil Action," PB&N Update, May 25, 2000.
- "Jury Selection: A Primer," New Jersey Lawyer—The Magazine, December 1998.
- "Exorcising the Fear From ’Fear of Future Injury’ Claims," Rx For The Defense, Spring 1996.
- "Expert Evidence: Scientific Breakthrough and Junk Science," New Jersey Product Liability Law.
- "Pre-emption Revived in Medical Device Suits," New Jersey Law Journal, 1993.
- "Parental Consortium Loss Becoming a Viable Claim," New Jersey Law Journal, 1993.
- "A Primer on ERISA & Health Care," New Jersey Law Journal, 1993.
- "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.