Thomas V. Girardi, 70

Commercial litigation, product liability, toxic torts, bad faith

Girardi, one of the most highly regarded plaintiffs' attorneys in the nation, had a busy year. After helping to secure a $4.85 billion settlement against Merck & Co. Inc. in 2007 over the discontinued painkiller Vioxx, Girardi spent much of the last year negotiating terms of the settlement with the pharmaceutical giant. In July, he engineered a settlement with Pfizer Inc. over 220 heart attack cases involving the painkiller Bextra. Girardi is currently lead counsel in Avandia litigation, representing plaintiffs in claims that the GlaxoSmithKline diabetes drug leads to heart attacks and strokes. Girardi also has remained active in legislative issues, addressing fairness for judicial compensation, funding for the courts and fairness to employees of the court system.