Thomas V. Girardi

In over 50 years as a litigator, Thomas V. Girardi became the first attorney to obtain a $1 million-plus verdict for a medical malpractice case in California. He has handled cases that became movies such as the film Erin Brockovich released in 2000 and that’s in addition to securing hundreds of millions of dollars for plaintiffs from multinational corporations such as Shell Oil.

Girardi is co-lead trial counsel in the massive, Porter Ranch gas leak cases that involve 400 law firms representing 38,000 plaintiffs. The lawsuits are slowly grinding through Los Angeles County Superior Court, as Judge Carolyn Kuhl tries to move them toward a trial date. Defendant Southern California Gas Co. is preparing to file a motion for summary judgment.

Girardi is also involved in two cases against Johnson & Johnson Corp. over a psychiatric drug and talcum powder. The first cases are over their drug Risperdal, administered for psychological illness such as bipolar disorder, but a lawsuit filed by Girardi’s firm alleges they lead to altered hormonal imbalances in men, in some cases causing them to grow breasts.

Girardi also represents over 400 women who claim the company’s talcum baby powder caused them cancer. Bellwether litigation has gone through a roller coaster of ups and downs, with a $417 million verdict in Los Angeles state court having been tossed out by the judge. The case is now on appeal.

Girardi once told the Daily Journal, “twenty-five years ago, Johnson & Johnson, the so-called family company had absolute positive evidence that their product causes ovarian cancer and did nothing about it.”

— Justin Kloczko