Lawyers who helped defend a corporation from asbestos litigation are now defending themselves in a putative class-action suit alleging they conspired to conceal evidence.

The six plaintiffs in Williams v. BASF Catalysts, 11-cv-1754, pending in federal court in Newark, are representatives of people who allegedly died from exposure to asbestos-contaminated talc produced by Engelhard Corp. of Iselin, a BASF subsidiary since 2006.