Shayna S. Cook
Partner / Chicago

Mirena IUD Products Liability Litigation

Lead counsel for Bayer in thousands of lawsuits in a federal multidistrict litigation in New York and state courts around the country involving the Mirena® intrauterine device. After years of fact and expert discovery, the MDL Court excluded all of Plaintiffs’ general causation expert testimony and granted summary judgment to Bayer in July 2016, dismissing more than 1200 cases.

Lead counsel for Bayer in a separate federal multidistrict litigation in New York. After a multi-day Daubert hearing, the Court excluded all of the Plaintiffs’ general causation experts in October 2018. In June 2019, the Court granted summary judgment for Bayer and dismissed all cases in the MDL.

Ethicon Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation

Trial counsel for Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon, Inc. in cases alleging personal injuries from the use of pelvic mesh products for the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse and stress incontinence. Delivered a successful result for Ethicon in trial in federal court in Chicago in August 2017. Days before trial was set to begin in Philadelphia in May 2019, the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed her claims with prejudice. Upcoming trial in Fort Lauderdale in January 2020.

Testosterone Replacement Therapy Litigation

Trial counsel for AbbVie in multidistrict litigation in Chicago claiming personal injuries allegedly caused by AbbVie’s testosterone replacement product, AndroGel. In June 2018, Shayna served as second-chair trial counsel for AbbVie in Rowley v. AbbVie, a bellwether trial where the plaintiff claimed AndroGel caused his deep vein thrombosis. The jury returned a complete defense verdict for AbbVie. Now serving as Lead Counsel for AbbVie.

Elliott Associates v. AbbVie Inc.

Defending AbbVie against fraud allegations brought by multiple hedge funds relating to its abandoned acquisition of Shire Plc.

Merck v. Apotex

Represented Merck in patent litigation against Apotex in federal court in New Jersey related to nasal spray.

SynchroMed Litigation

National counsel for Medtronic, Inc. in products liability cases nationwide involving the SynchroMed® II Programmable Drug Infusion System.

Berg v. Johnson & Johnson, et al.

Lead trial counsel for Imerys Talc America, Inc. in personal injury case involving ovarian cancer. Court granted summary judgment to Imerys shortly before trial.

Tula Foods v. Kroger et al.

Represented plaintiff Tula Foods, the maker of Better Whey of Life®Greek yogurt, in a 6-week jury trial in Ohio state court. Tula Foods asserted claims of fraud, breach of contract, and misappropriation of trade secrets in suit against The Kroger Co. and Weber Flavors.

Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation v. United States

Trial counsel for Sikorsky in $80 million accounting dispute with the federal government. Won bench trial in Court of Federal Claims.

YAZ/Yasmin Litigation

Trial counsel for Bayer in federal multidistrict litigation, where thousands of plaintiffs alleged personal injuries related to their use of YAZ® and Yasmin® birth control pills. Prepared bellwether trial cases for first MDL trials.

Trasylol Litigation

Trial counsel for Bayer in product liability cases involving Trasylol®, a drug used during coronary bypass surgery to prevent excessive bleeding. Prepared cases for trial, including taking and defending key expert and fact witness depositions and arguing motions. Successfully argued summary judgment motion in bellwether trial case, which the Eleventh Circuit affirmed.

Sensormatic Electronics Corp. v. The TAG Company US LLC et al.

Trial counsel for Sensormatic (a subsidiary of Tyco International) in patent infringement, trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract suit. Following a three-week bench trial, the Court entered judgment in favor of Sensormatic on all counts and enjoined defendants from continuing to infringe Sensormatic’s patents. Affirmed on appeal by the Federal Circuit.

Vioxx Litigation

Defended Merck & Co., Inc. against allegations that its anti-inflammatory medication Vioxx® caused heart attacks. Trial counsel for Merck in multiple federal MDL trials and California state court trial, resulting in defense verdicts.

Svoboda v. Bayer Corp.

Trial counsel for Bayer in Florida state court trial in PPA litigation, where plaintiff alleged Alka Seltzer Plus® cold medication caused his stroke. Jury verdict for Bayer.

• University of Michigan Law School (J.D., magna cum laude)
  • Executive Note Editor, The Michigan Law Review
  • Order of the Coif
  • Clarence Darrow Scholar
• Trinity University (B.A., summa cum laude)
  • Murchison Scholar
  • Commencement Speaker
  • President, Trinity University Voluntary Action Group
  • Phi Beta Kappa