Complex Litigation

The complex litigation attorneys at Simmons Hanly Conroy have centuries of cumulative experience and the resources necessary to level the playing field for our clients. They have spent decades winning complex lawsuits against defendants that have practically unlimited resources. That experience sets Simmons Hanly Conroy and their clients apart with suing large and often global corporations.

Simmons Hanly Conroy attorneys have a history of persevering for their clients amid the most challenging circumstances, fierce opposition and setbacks encountered during the course of class action and mass tort lawsuits, which can be complex in the face of adversity. Because of our success, hard work and personal sacrifice, several of our attorneys have been appointed to national leadership positions in the practice areas of both complex litigation and pharmaceutical litigation.

Named Partners Paul Hanly and Jayne Conroy oversee the firm’s complex litigation department and have helped forge the firm’s national reputation for litigating complex, cutting-edge civil litigation at the state and federal level.

Ms. Conroy has represented several thousand victims of the September 11, 2001 tragedy in a multidistrict action against the financial sponsors of terrorism.

In a separate set of negligence litigations against the airlines and airport security companies on behalf of 50 families who lost their loved ones on the four 9/11 aircraft, Ms. Conroy helped forge settlements that totaled in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Jayne Conroy’s Leadership Positions:

• Member of Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee, Syngenta AG MIR162 Corn Litigation MDL 2591; Litigation resolved for approximately $1.5 billion in settlements.
• Member of Lead Counsel Committee for Economic Loss Committee, Toyota Motor Corp. Unintended Acceleration MDL 2151; Litigation resolved for over $1 billion in settlements.
• Co-Chair of Environmental Testing Committee, Oil Spill by the Oil Rig “Deepwater Horizon” MDL 2179; Litigation resolved for approximately $2 billion in settlements.
• Co-chair of Plaintiffs’ Law and Briefing Committee in Yasmin and Yaz (Drospirenone) Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2100; Litigation resolved for approximately $1.6 billion in settlements.
• Co-counsel and member of Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee,  In Re:  DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. Pinnacle Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL Docket No. 2244; National litigation on-going, verdicts awarded in bellwether cases totaling more than $1 billion.
• Member of Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee, MDL No. 2672, In Re: Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” Marketing, Sales Practices, And Products Liability; Litigation resolved for approximately $15.9 billion in settlements.

Between 2008 and 2010, Mr. Hanly served as lead counsel to a small, publicly-traded company in its antitrust suit against an industry giant, resulting in a settlement of $32 million for the company.

Between 2010 and 2013, Mr. Hanly spent substantial time on Chambers v. Merrill Lynch, a class action on behalf of Merrill financial advisors claiming lost deferred compensation benefits, resulting in a $20 million dollar settlement. The defendants were ordered to pay a separate amount for attorneys’ fees.

Paul Conroy’s Leadership Positions:

• Co-lead Counsel, In Re National Prescription Opiate Litigation, MDL 2804 (N.D. Ohio 2018)
• Member of Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee, Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001, MDL 1570; Litigation resolved for millions of dollars in settlements.
• Member of Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee, Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001, No. 21 MC 97l; Litigation resolved for millions of dollars in settlements.
• Chair of Plaintiffs’ Discovery Committee, DePuy Pinnacle Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2244; litigation ongoing