Shayna S. Cook
Partner / Chicago

P: 312-881-5947
F: 312-380-7002

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"Shayna Cook is increasingly recognized for her expert handling of high-stakes multidistrict litigation on behalf of pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers. Sources praise her for 'figuring out strategically how to take apart experts on the other side,' as well as describing her as 'a natural trial lawyer." - Chambers USA (ranked 2018-2022)

"[Shayna Cook] is a really impressive lawyer, knowledgeable, reliable and dependable." - Chambers USA (ranked 2018-2022)

"She's a very good trial lawyer and does standout work." - Chambers USA (ranked 2018-2022)

“The excellent Shayna Cook is highly thought of by sources and is well known for her expertise handling complex multi-district litigation proceedings.” - Who’s Who Legal (recognized 2015-2022)

Shayna’s extensive litigation experience, whether as lead counsel in large multidistrict litigation or as trial counsel in individual courts throughout the country, enables her to craft and execute a legal strategy tailored to get her clients the best results. Those results have included successful Daubert challenges leading to the elimination of thousands of cases nationwide and trial wins across the country. Shayna has also successfully argued key dispositive motions and taken/defended critical fact and expert witness depositions all over the world. Given her track record, it is no surprise that Shayna is entrusted to represent multinational clients across a wide range of high-stakes product liability, intellectual property, and general commercial litigation matters.

Hatch-Waxman Litigation
Lead trial counsel for Merck in Hatch-Waxman patent infringement action brought against sixteen groups of defendants related to Merck’s Bridion® medicine for reversal of neuromuscular block. December 2022 trial led to judgment in favor of Merck.
In re Roundup Products Liability Litigation
Trial counsel for Monsanto in Roundup litigation nationwide. Trial in St. Louis County in fall 2022 resulted in a complete defense verdict.
Union Carbide Corporation Asbestos Litigation
Trial counsel for Dow Chemical Company subsidiary Union Carbide in litigation involving asbestos. Trial in Cook County in spring 2022 and a second trial in summer 2022 both resulted in deadlocked jury before the case settled favorably on the eve of a third trial.
PFAS Environmental Litigation
National counsel and trial counsel for chemical manufacturer in thousands of environmental and products liability claims in state and federal courts nationwide brought by individuals, municipalities, and states alleging groundwater contamination and personal injury as individual claims, consolidated proceedings, and class actions.
Mirena IUD Products Liability Litigation
Lead counsel for Bayer in thousands of lawsuits in two federal multidistrict litigations in New York and state courts around the country involving the Mirena® intrauterine device. Both MDLs resulted in the respective Courts excluding all of Plaintiffs’ general causation expert testimony and granting summary judgment to Bayer.
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. Trial in Miami federal court in January 2020 resulted in a complete defense verdict.
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, a bellwether trial resulted in a complete defense verdict for AbbVie.
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.
- Partner, Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP
- Partner, Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott LLP
- 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
- Honorable Sam Sparks, United States District Judge for the Western District of Texas
- Member, International Association of Defense Counsel
- Member, Board of Directors, Friends of Prentice
Shayna Cook, Symone Shinton, Updates on E-Cigarette Litigation and Practitioner Takeaways Related to Social Media Marketing, Product Liability IADC Committee Newsletter
- Notable Litigators and Trial Attorneys, Crain’s Chicago Business (2023)
- IADC Trial Academy Faculty (2023)
- Recognized in Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders: USA (2023)
- Named Practice Area Star by LMG Life Sciences for Product Liability (2020-2022)
- Selected for Crain’s Chicago Business‘ Notable Women in Law (2020)
- Ranked by Chambers USA as a Nationwide Leading Individual in Product Liability & Mass Torts (2018-2023) and as a Leading Individual in Illinois General Commercial Litigation (2023)
- Ranked by Chambers USA as a Nationwide Leading Individual in Litigation Trial Lawyers (2023)
- Ranked by The Legal 500 as a Leading Lawyer in Product Liability and Mass Tort Defense: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices (2021-2022)
- Ranked by Benchmark Litigation as a National Practice Area Star (2018-2023)
- Recognized as Benchmark Litigation’s Top 250 Women in Litigation (2017, 2019-2023)
- IADC Midyear Meeting, Taking a Class Action to Trial (Santa Barbara, CA, February 2019)
- IADC Annual Meeting, There Is No ‘I’ in ‘Team’: Embracing the Virtual Law Firm (Quebec Canada, July 2017)
- Duke Law Center for Judicial Studies, Emerging Issues in Mass-Tort MDLs, Expanding Extent of Information Provided Initially for Individual Claims Review (Washington, DC, October 2016)
- Recognized in Who’s Who Legal: Life Sciences Defence Lawyers (2015-2022)
- Recognized in Who’s Who Legal: Product Liability Defence Lawyers (2017-2022)
- Selected by Super Lawyers as an Illinois Super Lawyer (2016-2023)
- Selected by Lawdragon as among the “all-star litigators” “who excel at representing principally corporations and other organizations” in complex litigation, especially product liability, in the 500 Leading Litigators in America guide
- Selected by Super Lawyers as an Illinois Rising Star (2013-2015)
- Recognized by Diversity MBA Magazine as one of 2013 Top 100 Under 50 Diverse Executive and Emerging Leaders (2013)
- ACI Drug and Medical Device Litigation Conference, Avoiding New Litigation Pitfalls Arising from Emergent Social Media (New York, December 2011)
- International Association of Defense Counsel Webinar, The Relevance of the FDA in Pharmaceutical Products Liability Trials in the Post-Levine World (October 2011)
- State of Illinois
- State of Texas (inactive status)
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Federal Circuit, Eleventh Circuit
- U.S. Court of Federal Claims
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
- Federal Bar Association
- U.S. Department of Justice, Attorney General’s Honors Program, Trial Attorney

Shayna S. Cook Partner / Chicago

Shayna S. Cook
Partner / Chicago