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Heather is a Commercial Litigation partner and a member of the Firm's four-member global Executive Committee. She has served the Firm in numerous leadership roles in the past, including most recently as the head of the Firm's Global Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Group, which pools the talents of more than 100 senior lawyers with regulatory, litigation, antitrust, M&A, corporate and tax experience.

Heather has significant experience for pharmaceutical, consumer goods and oil and gas clients, among others, in a wide variety of disputes and other matters.

She focuses on complex matters and has litigated cases in state and federal trial and appellate courts throughout the United States.

Heather's representations include:

• A major generic drug manufacturer in a number of cases brought by State Attorneys General and private payers alleging false claims act, fraud and unfair trade practice/consumer protection act claims. The cases were based on contentions that that drug manufacturers reported inaccurate pricing information which allegedly caused state Medicaid agencies to overpay for prescription drugs.
• A global pharmaceutical company in a first of its kind "product-hopping" case brought by the New York Attorney General, and currently represents the client in private actions alleging similar "product hopping" and "reverse payment" claims.
• A leading energy company in a putative consumer class action alleging breach of warranty claims in connection with deliveries of allegedly adulterated heating oil.
• A leading consumer goods company in a purported class action in the Southern District of New York alleging misleading "Naturals" claims for cosmetics.
• A leading pharmaceutical company in putative class and collective action, as well as individual claims, for employment discrimination; obtained favorable settlements of all claims.
• A leading oil and gas company in the defense of an action alleging breach of contract and fraud in connection with the sale of its bunker oil business.

Heather K. McDevitt

Partner, New York

T +1 212 819 8937

    +1 212 819 8200

E hmcdevitt@whitecase.com 

Bars and Courts

New York State Bar

US District Court for the Eastern District of New York

US District Court for the Southern District of New York

US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

US Supreme Court

Education

JD, Albany Law School

AB, Political Science and English, Wellesley College

Awards and Recognition

Life Sciences Star, LMG Life Sciences, July 2017, July 2016, July 2015

Recognized in Top Women in Litigation, Benchmark Litigation, July 2019, July 2018, July 2017, July 2016, July 2015

Two-time recipient of the Thurgood Marshall Award awarded by the Association of the Bar of the City of New 

Elizabeth Allen White retired as a Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court in July 2020 after serving 23 years on the court. She was assigned to serve as a Justice Pro Tem of the California Court of Appeal, 2d District from February – March 2004, and again in March – June 2020. Her judicial career started in the then Los Angeles Municipal Court in 1997, and she was elevated in 2000 upon unification.  She currently serves as an arbitrator and mediator for JAMS.

Judge White graduated from UCLA and obtained her Juris Doctorate from Loyola Law School in 1981. She presided in Department 48, an Independent Civil Calendar Court at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. She served as Chair of the Judicial Education Seminars Civil Law Subcommittee from 2016 through her recent retirement. As such, she chaired a committee which developed judicial education for all civil judges in the County of Los Angeles. Prior to that she chaired the Civil Law Education Committee for the Judicial Council’s Judicial Education and Research Department. She has been a frequent lecturer for judicial education throughout the State of California, served as Adjunct Faculty at USC’s Gould School of Law’s LLM program where she taught Constitutional Law and Professional Responsibility.  She also served as Adjunct Faculty at Loyola Law School where she taught Civil Discovery and as an Instructor for UCLA’s Paralegal Training Program.

She is the author of The Rutter Group’s Paralegal Manual - Civil Procedure Before Trial and co-author of the Paralegal Manual – Civil Trials and Evidence and the Paralegal Manual – Personal Injury.  Judge White is the Vice President of Districts for the National Association of Women Judges (“NAWJ”), an organization dedicated to promoting diversity on the bench, fostering collegiality, and providing quality education for judges. She also served as Chair of NAWJ’s 2019 Conference in Los Angeles, and Chair of District 14 which encompasses both California and Nevada. She will serve as NAWJ’S President Elect in October 2020 – October 2021.

Judge White lived in France and is fluent in both French and Spanish.

The Honorable Randa M. Trapp is a graduate of San Jose State University with a B.A. in Political Science and earned her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1985.  In 2003, after practicing law for nearly 20 years, she was appointed by then Governor Gray Davis to the San Diego County Superior Court, the third largest court system in the United States.  For the last 10 years, Judge Trapp presided over all aspects of complex civil litigation and on March 17, 2021, retired as the Supervising Judge of the Civil Division. 

Judge Trapp has been active in all aspects of her community.  She is a past president of the Earl B. Gilliam Bar Association and past Regional Director of the California Women Lawyers. She was formerly a member of the Board of Directors of the California Association of Black Lawyers and Lawyers Club of San Diego. For five consecutive years, Judge Trapp was president of the J. Clifford Wallace Inn of Court and chair of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers Judicial Advisory Board.  Judge Trapp also served as treasurer of the National Association of Women Judges and chair of the National Bar Association Judicial Council. She currently serves on the Lawyers Club Advisory Board and the Association of Business Trial Lawyers Board of Governors.

Judge Trapp, a veteran of the United States Navy, was an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of San Diego School of Law for nearly 20 years and has served on numerous boards and commissions.  She has also received many awards and tributes including "Randa Trapp Day" in the City of San Diego on October 15, 2001, “Woman of the Year” for the 79th Assembly District in 2004, the California Association of Black Lawyers  “Bernard S. Jefferson Judge of the Year Award” in 2008,  the National Bar Association’s prestigious “Sankofa” Award in 2009, the 2017 “Unsung Hero Award” from the San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper, the 2018 “Belva Lockwood Award” from Lawyers Club of San Diego, and the 2020 “Excellence Award” from the Earl B. Gilliam Bar Foundation.  On March 21, 2021, Judge Trapp was inducted into the San Diego County Women’s Hall of Fame and on May 21, 2021, Judge Trapp will receive the San Diego County Bar Association’s Outstanding Jurist Award.

Robin S. Rosenbaum was appointed as a United States Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on June 3, 2014.

Prior to becoming a United States circuit judge, Judge Rosenbaum served as a United States district judge and a federal magistrate judge in the Southern District of Florida.  Before joining the bench, Judge Rosenbaum served as the Chief of Economic Crimes at the Broward County office of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.  She has also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Stanley Marcus, United States Circuit Court Judge for the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.  In addition, Judge Rosenbaum worked in private practice for Holland & Knight LLP and served as staff counsel to Independent Counsel Daniel S. Pearson in the investigation of former United States Secretary of Commerce Ronald Brown.  Judge Rosenbaum began her legal career in the United States Attorney General’s Honors Program, where she served as a trial attorney in the Federal Programs Branch of the Civil Division of the United States Department of Justice.

Judge Rosenbaum earned her undergraduate degree at Cornell University and her law degree at the University of Miami.

Hon. Wendy C Li was elected as judge of the Civil Court of the City of New York in 2018. She grew up in China and immigrated to the United States after obtaining her first law degree at Peking University. After receiving her law degree in the United States on a full merit-based scholarship, Wendy went on to attend Oxford University, where she obtained her Master of Science in Law and Finance degree, and then Harvard University where she received a graduate certificate in International Relations.

As a New York licensed attorney for the past 18 years and a law partner for the past seven years before taking the bench at the beginning of 2019, Wendy had worked on a wide array of matters at several prestigious law firms in Manhattan. Throughout her private practice legal career, she had continuously made it her duty to engage in pro-bono work and public service. In addition to being a full-time attorney, Wendy was a member of her community board where she routinely devoted her time to making our city a better place to live for all of us. 
For the past two years, Wendy has published 21 judicial decisions and has presided over thousands of cases. She is a lifetime member of National Association of Women Judges and serves as Board Director of Asian American Judges Association of New York, as well as Secretary to the National Association of Women Judges New York Chapter. Despite her demanding schedule, Wendy has always felt compelled to continue serving her community. She mentors young lawyers through local bar associations, served as presiding judge at the Yale Mock Trial – American Mock Trial Association Connecticut Regional Tournament, and sat as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice during the American Bar Association Law Student Division National Appellate Advocacy Competition. 

As a Civil Court Judge, Wendy believes that the court system needs to be accessible to everyone, no matter their background. The values of fairness, compassion, and equal treatment for all have guided Wendy’s entire life, and they are the values she has proudly bought to the bench.

Renee Stackhouse is a trial lawyer focusing on military defense and plaintiff's personal injury. She is board certified in Civil Trial Law by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. She teaches trial skills nationally through the prestigious Trial Lawyers College. Renee is is AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell, and has been recognized by SuperLawyers, Best Lawyers, and numerous other organizations.

Renee is the 2021 San Diego County Bar Association President. She also currently serves as Co-Chair to the National Association of Women Judges Mothers in Court Committee, Immediate Past Chair to the California Lawyers Association Solo & Small Firm Executive Committee, Co-Chair of the CLA & CJA Joint Task Force on Remote Proceedings, and the CLA Strategic and Long-Range Planning Committee. Renee is a Past President of California Women Lawyers, San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association, and Thomas Jefferson School of Law Alumni Association, and Past Vice President of Lawyers Club of San Diego. She was recently invited to become a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

Renee graduated magna cum laude from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in 2008 and received an Executive Certificate in Women in Leadership from Cornell University in 2019. 

A partner in Lieff Cabraser’s San Francisco office, Sarah R. London is a determined, skilled, and experienced advocate for the injured, employees, and consumers.

In February of 2020, Sarah was appointed to the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in the Gilead HIV Drug Kidney & Bone Injuries Litigation. In December of 2019, she was appointed to serve as Co-Lead Counsel and Liaison Counsel for plaintiffs in the nationwide multidistrict Juul e-cigarette fraud and injury litigation. In September of 2019, Sarah was appointed by Judge Judith E. Levy to serve as Subclass Settlement Counsel in In re Flint Water Cases, the federal class action lawsuit seeking justice for the over 100,000 residents of Flint, Michigan who were exposed to seriously elevated levels of lead as a result of insufficient water treatment.

Sarah also serves in lead roles in women’s health cases, including work as court-appointed Liaison Counsel and Interim Class Counsel in the federal class action filed on behalf of families in May 2018 against San Francisco’s Pacific Fertility Center over the Center’s March 2018 allegedly negligent destruction of hundreds of frozen eggs and embryos as a result of a leak in a cryogenic storage tank. Sarah also served in a leadership role in successful litigation recovering millions of dollars on behalf of women who suffered serious injuries due to complications from allegedly defective trans-vaginal surgical mesh.

Sarah has been directly involved in several recent California environmental disaster cases, including litigation against Plains All American Pipeline arising out of the 2015 oil spill in Santa Barbara, and two important class action cases on behalf of homeowners and businesses that suffered economic injuries in the wake of the massive Porter Ranch gas leak, which began in October of 2015 and lasted into February of 2016.

Sarah has distinguished herself as an active member of fourteen trial teams, and is experienced in all aspects of trial work, from drafting and arguing motions in limine, opposing Daubert challenges to plaintiffs’ experts and deposing defendants’ experts, and serving as lead trial counsel to writing successful post-trial and appellate briefs. In 2015, Sarah served as Lead Trial Counsel in a lawsuit in the Florida smokers litigation, obtaining a $3 million judgment for the plaintiff. The previous year, she second chaired a trial in the same litigation that secured a $41.1 million jury verdict. The trial successes of Sarah and other Lieff Cabraser trial lawyers contributed substantially to convincing the tobacco industry defendants to agree, for the first time ever, to a mass settlement of individual smoker lawsuits.

Sarah was also deeply involved in preparing one of the initial cases in the Yaz birth control injury litigation – a “bellwether” case – selected for trial. She deposed fact witnesses and physicians and successfully opposed motions filed by defendant Bayer Corporation to exclude certain damaging scientific evidence. Sarah assisted our clients outside the courtroom, including accompanying one of Lieff Cabraser’s clients whose 19-year old daughter died suddenly while taking Yaz to testify before a scientific advisory committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration convened to review the safety of Yaz.

Sarah’s expertise in pre-trial motions includes successfully overcoming statutes of limitations defenses in personal injury cases. In the Toyota Sudden Acceleration litigation, the Court denied Toyota’s motion to dismiss cases where Lieff Cabraser’s clients were unaware of Toyota’s alleged fraud and defective design until several years after their vehicles inexplicably sped out of control and caused permanent and, in some cases, fatal injuries.

Sarah’s trial successes also include class action litigation. In the Norvir antitrust case, a group of pharmacies alleged that Abbott Laboratories monopolized the market for HIV medicines used in conjunction with Abbott’s prescription drug Norvir. Sarah worked extensively on the case’s trial preparation, researching and drafting motions in limine, voir dire questions, jury instructions, and trial stipulations. In 2011, the case settled during trial for $52 million.

A Super Lawyers Rising Star for eight consecutive years and 2015 finalist for the Consumer Attorneys of California Streetfighter of the Year Award, Sarah has held multiple leadership positions in CAOC, including her current position on the Board of Governors. In September 2019, Sarah was appointed Chair of the Resource Board of the National Association of Women Judges.

Areas of Practice

• Class Actions
• Mass Torts
• Personal Injury

Education

• University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Berkeley Law), Berkeley, California
  J.D. - 2009
  Honors: Order of the Coif
• Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
  B.A. (Cum Laude) - 2002