An attorney and legal consultant covering mass torts and product liability at Hartford’s Shipman & Goodwin are part of a four-person team joining Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, the national litigation powerhouse with offices in Hartford.

The new group is led by Robert R. Simpson, whose 25-plus years of experience includes serving as lead trial counsel and national counsel for numerous pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Last year at Shipman, he successfully defended makers of the blood-thinning drug Pradaxa, and he has handled litigation related to other medications, hip implants, pelvic mesh and other products. Simpson served as a member of Shipman’s seven-person management committee and led its product liability team.