Lauren E. Handler

Lauren Handler 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." It’s no surprise that she has been described by a client in Chambers USA Directory as "a terrific trial attorney," and that the Trial Attorneys of New Jersey selected her for their coveted Trial Bar Award (2008). She has been recognized by New Jersey Super Lawyers, ranking among both the top 50 Female Lawyers and Top 100 Lawyers in New Jersey.

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.