A boutique law firm is caus ing Big Pharma deep labor pains that no pill can ease. The firm not only earned a record amount in a sex discrimination class action last year, it’s awaiting a trial on damages after winning a key legal precedent in an overtime suit. The victories have sparked an onslaught of litigation across the industry. And counsel from a variety of businesses might be wise to consider the impact it could have on them.
The 25-lawyer firm that’s casting such a long shadow is Sanford Wittels & Heisler. Its first major win against a global drug giant came last July, when SWH won the largest jury award ever—$250 million—in a sex discrimination case against New Jersey–based Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. Before Novartis appealed, SWH settled for $175 million and major reforms in how the drug company treats its employees. Law professor Marcia McCormick, of the St. Louis University School of Law, says while the heads of most companies tend to support diversity and fairness, the Novartis case will cause some serious “corporate soul-searching.”
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