John C. Church
Partner
T: (312) 201-2122
F: (312) 416-4824
church@wildman.com
Practice Areas:
Litigation
Antitrust
Commercial Litigation
Product Liability
Toxic Tort
Education:
IIT Chicago Kent School of Law, J.D., 1978
Bradley University, B.S., 1974
Tufts Graduate School, 1990
Graduate Courses in: Scientific Studies Design, Causal Inference, and Advanced Epidemiology
John C. Church
John C. Church is a partner in the Litigation Department of Wildman Harrold. John has successfully defended complex litigation cases in courts worldwide, including the In Re Brand Name Prescription Drugs Antitrust Litigation price-fixing class action lawsuit. He has directed and participated in all phases of major mass tort litigation, and has developed factual and legal defenses on an international, national, and regional basis. John has also conducted large-scale national discovery efforts in mass tort and antitrust cases, and is experienced in recruiting and developing global and regional counsel. John also works with clients on programs to reduce litigation exposure as well as litigation costs. John previously served as Assistant General Counsel, Director of Product Liability Litigation, and Senior Trial Counsel at a large pharmaceutical company, where he defended and managed major litigation in the United States, Europe, Australia, and South America. He has served on the Steering Committee for the Drug and Device Section of DRI and is a past member of the PhRMA Product Liability Subcommittee.
Representative Experience:
- Directed the successful worldwide defense efforts for a major pharmaceutical company that included one of the largest class action lawsuits in the history of Australia as well as numerous trials in the United States. Trained national and international trial counsel in all areas of company defenses, and recruited and developed expert witnesses from England, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, and the United States to testify at trial; these witnesses’ areas of expertise included Chemistry, Biostatistics, FDA Regulatory Affairs, Epidemiology, and Clinical Study Design. Led several production and computerization efforts for the company, each producing millions of documents. Also worked directly with international health agencies to develop trial witnesses. The U.S. litigation involved allegations of defect, failure to test, failure to warn, and fraud, and was led by some of the most aggressive plaintiff firms in the country. The Australian class action was eventually tried in the longest trial in the country’s history that resulted in a defense verdict.
- Developed and led initial defense efforts for a large pharmaceutical company in the In Re Brand Name Prescription Drugs Antitrust Litigation (MDL 997), a class action price-fixing case brought by most of the retail pharmacies in the United States. Served on industry committees to initiate a common strategy for the production of documents from the major pharmaceutical companies doing business in the United States. The client was successfully able to comply with production demands of the class and 3,000 individual plaintiffs at a fraction of the cost incurred by most defendants. Interviewed and retained industry experts for the common defense and prepared and submitted key company executives including the Chairman of the Board and the President of U.S. Operations for pretrial testimony. Client was one of the few companies that went to trial where a directed verdict was returned, in contrast with the balance of the defendants, who had previously settled with plaintiffs for more than $700 million.
- Represented a Fortune 50 company in the Midwest defense of national multimillion-dollar toxic tort litigation. Organized and directed review and production of materials and written responses for several of the company’s major facilities in the Midwest, each having over one million square feet of production space. Prepared and presented plant managers for testimony, and took evidence depositions of many plaintiffs who died prior to trial. In a jurisdiction in which many defendants are routinely sanctioned or even defaulted, the client successfully responded to very demanding discovery requests and was routinely dismissed with minimal or no payment.
- Participated in government affairs activities for a collaborative effort by the pharmaceutical industry which including lobbying in Washington D.C. and testifying at the state level relative to tax reform, unitary pricing, product liability reform, and antitrust issues. Worked with The Assistant Secretary of State on tax issues relating to investment credits in Puerto Rico.
- As in-house counsel, developed programs to reduce litigation costs and avoid lawsuits; initiated and conducted training of regional and local counsel in pharmaceutical product defense cases; presented and developed computerized materials that greatly increased the quality and consistency of early discovery and cross-examination and led to significant savings in defense costs.
Professional Associations:
Chicago Bar Association
Illinois State Bar Association
American Bar Association
Defense Research Institute (DRI)
Bar Admissions:
Illinois, 1978
Personal Information:
Married for 21 years, John has two children. He enjoys off-shore racing and raising roses. John provides volunteer legal representation through Lake County Churches, and is also a volunteer for Public Action to Deliver Shelter and Supportive Services (P.A.D.S.), an organization that provides emergency shelter, permanent housing, and supportive services to people experiencing homelessness. He is also a member of the Liberty Prairie Conservancy.
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