Pamela J. Yates

Yates has led four cases for Philip Morris USA Inc. in the last three years, and recently won a major victory when she convinced an eight-person jury that the plaintiff's cancer did not bear any of the hallmarks of cases traditionally linked to smoking.

It took the jury less than an hour to return a verdict that there was not sufficient evidence to attribute medical causation of the cancer to cigarette smoke. Pooshs v. Philip Morris USA Inc. et al., CV-01221-PJH (N.D. Cal., filed Jan. 13, 2004)

Yates said her expert witness demonstrated, among other things, that cancer caused by smoking usually moves at a much faster pace, and the plaintiff had survived 13 years since being diagnosed. Yates said she and her expert argued that that fact pattern was highly unusual in a smoking case.

"He'd never seen this particular form of cancer in a smoker," she said. "Usually the lung cancers in smokers are more aggressive."

Yates said Philip Morris was a longtime client of Kaye Scholer and her past work doing product liability work for pharmaceutical companies gave her an opportunity to start working on the company's cases three years ago.

Yates also handled crucial cross examinations of experts in a case defending her client Pfizer Inc. from allegations that its anti-depressant, Zoloft, caused birth defects.

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP led the case on behalf of Pfizer, but Yates handled an eight day cross examination that limited the scope of the complaint and got the remaining claims thrown out on a second cross that lasted three days.

The defense team has since entered it's motion for summary judgment.

"I love the intersection between the science and the law," she said. "I was privileged to be the cross examiner but the teams worked very well together."

Yates said Phizer was also a preexisting client for Kay Scholer, but her 14 years of service to the company have earned her a place as one of the firm's two "relationship partners" designated for the client.

- Joshua Sebold