When Abbott Laboratories was hit with a huge jury verdict on a patent infringement suit, no one felt more pressure than general counsel Laura Schumacher. She had to recommend whether the company should settle — or roll the dice on an appeal.
Schumacher was convinced her company was in the right. But she’d felt the same way right up to the day in June 2009 when the jury awarded the plaintiff, Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc., $1.67 billion. “You can’t just be unabashed and say, ‘We’re gonna win.’ You have to consider everything,” says Schumacher.
