John R. Lister

John Lister is a partner of the firm.  He received his undergraduate degree from the University of California at Irvine (B.A., 1979) and received his law degree from the University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law (J.D., 1982).  Mr. Lister specializes in representing manufacturers in products liability actions.  Mr. Lister has represented pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers and other high-tech clients in those actions.

Mr. Lister has defended manufacturers and property owners in cases involving claims of injury from asbestos and silica exposure.  In addition, he has been involved in litigation concerning toxic chemical exposures, and a  variety of medical, industrial and consumer products, including orthopedic implants, cardiac catheters, penile prostheses, breast implants, heart-lung machines, contraceptive devices, and respirators.  For instance, Mr. Lister is Southern California counsel for a major drug company in consolidated complex litigation involving claims that a mercury-containing ingredient in drugs and vaccines has caused harm.

Mr. Lister's practice has focused on the pretrial aspects of complex, mass tort litigation.  Mr. Lister played a key role in the pretrial management and handling of over 500 cases consolidated in Orange County Superior Court for Pfizer Inc. and its subsidiary, Shiley Incorporated, in connection with the Björk-Shiley prosthetic heart valve.  Mr. Lister also was involved in the strategic decisions concerning establishment and operation of Pfizer's heart valve document depository, which involved the storage and production of over eight million pages of documents.  Mr. Lister has also specialized in the protection of trade secrets and other confidential, proprietary information sought in pretrial discovery.

Mr. Lister is a member of the Defense Research Institute, and the American and Orange County Bar Associations.