The Essure contraceptive was marketed as a way to give women highly reliable birth control and millions of women trusted the product to give them peace of mind. When the product failed, leading to pain, suffering, surgeries, even reports of deaths, addressing its failure and delivering resolution to those affected would require more than mass tort litigation.

Attorneys involved in medical device mass tort litigation often are accustomed to and most comfortable in the courtroom, at the mediation table, or within the judge’s chambers. It became clear, however, that a labyrinth of court precedence, obscure federal regulations protecting the device manufacturer, and uncharted territory meant that if some plaintiffs and others injured had any hope of prevailing, they needed a commitment often not covered in law school and uncommon to the practice of law itself.