Hogan Lovells announced today that Barry J. Thompson has joined its Litigation, Arbitration and Employment practice as a partner in the Los Angeles office.

“Barry’s tremendous talent as a litigator and his deep understanding of the life sciences industry will strengthen our practice on the West Coast and further enhance our global litigation platform,” said Stephen J. Immelt, Global Co-Head of Hogan Lovells’ Litigation, Arbitration and Employment practice.

“We are very pleased to welcome Barry to our team here in Los Angeles,” said Stephen Kay, Managing Partner of Hogan Lovells’ Los Angeles office. “Barry’s pharmaceutical and medical device products liability experience, in particular, is a perfect complement to our litigation bench in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley as well as our global products liability capabilities in life sciences.”

For more than 20 years, Thompson has litigated and tried complex commercial, class action, and product liability cases in federal and state court, with a particular focus on life sciences matters. Serving as national, regional, and local counsel, he has defended manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and medical devices in many high-profile litigations. He has also served as national trial counsel in, among other cases, prominent life sciences mass torts, and has recently tried multiple cases to verdict.

Thompson has also handled a large number of toxic tort cases for chemical and product manufacturers, including several Southern California-based companies. A majority of the toxic tort cases involved claims of workplace exposure to benzene and hydrocarbon solvents allegedly causing various forms of blood cancer, including Acute Myelogenous Leukemia and Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

“Hogan Lovells offers an incredible platform, particularly in the global products liability arena, with exceptional strength in the life sciences sector,” said Thompson. “I look forward to joining my new colleagues at Hogan Lovells as we expand our West Coast presence and enhance our litigation strengths.”

He received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego and his J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law.

Thompson joins Hogan Lovells from Reed Smith, where he was a partner in the Los Angeles office and served as the firm’s Life Sciences Health Industry Group Vice Chair – Litigation.