Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership | This website contains attorney advertising.

Susan M. Sharko

Partner

This attorney has been selected for the recognitions mentioned herein, which have been conferred by the corresponding publications and/or organizations noted. An overview of the award selection methodologies for these recognitions can be found here. Links to certain specific methodologies are embedded in individual entries. Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Overview

Susan Sharko is a certified civil trial attorney who concentrates her practice on products liability and mass torts. She has significant experience managing pharmaceutical and medical device litigation in federal and state courts throughout the United States, including the successful strategic development of Daubert motions and Daubert hearing presentations and arguments. Susan is highly regarded for her experience as global and national coordinating counsel in multidistrict pharmaceutical and medical device litigations. She also has significant experience in the design, negotiation and implementation of large national settlement programs. She has been appointed as lead and liaison counsel in MDL and state court litigations in New Jersey and around the country many times.

Susan received the Trial Attorneys of New Jersey’s Trial Bar Award, the highest honor given to trial attorneys in New Jersey in 2018. She is consistently recognized by Chambers USA, Benchmark Litigation, and Best Lawyers in America as a leading lawyer in the area of Products Liability. 

Susan is a frequent author and speaker at conferences for both lawyers and the judiciary, and actively participates in the Bolch Judicial Institute at Duke Law School. She volunteers her time with RAICES (Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services), which promotes justice by providing free and low-cost legal services to underserved immigrant children, families and refugees in Central and South Texas.

She was a law clerk to the late New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Robert L. Clifford.

Appointments

  • New Jersey Supreme Court Board on Trial Attorney Certification (Past Chairperson)
  • District X Fee Arbitration Committee (Past Chairperson)

Credentials

Bar Admissions

New Jersey

Court Admissions

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado

Certifications
Certified Civil Trial Attorney—New Jersey Supreme Court with regular recertification
Education

New York University School of Law
J.D. (1979)

Lehigh University
B.A. with highest honors, Phi Beta Kappa (1976)

Insights & Events

Latest
Speaking Engagement Recap September 28, 2023

2023 MDL Bench-Bar Leadership Conference

MDL Settlements and the Proposed Rule Amendment to FRCP 16
1 min read  
Speaking Engagement Recap June 26, 2023

Multicounty Litigation — Mass Torts: 2023

Where Is Talc Litigation Going Locally and Nationally?
1 min read  
Speaking Engagement Recap October 24, 2022

Tulane Law School Class: Preparation of Company Witnesses for Deposition

1 min read  
Speaking Engagement Recap October 20, 2022

Product Liability Advisory Council (PLAC) 2022 Fall Conference

1 min read  
Speaking Engagement Recap July 21, 2022

NJICLE Recent Developments in NJ Law: 2022 Update

1 min read  
Speaking Engagement Recap June 03, 2022

The Ins and Outs of Handling Multicounty and Multi-district Litigation

1 min read  
News June 2022

Faegre Drinker Practices and Lawyers Ranked Among Leaders in Chambers USA 2022 Guide

14 min read  
Published Articles May 2022

Why Patentees Should Learn to Love Multidistrict ANDA Suits

15 min read  
Speaking Engagement Recap February 24, 2022

George Washington School of Law’s Advanced Strategy Mass-Tort MDL Certificate Course

JPML Centralization Process
1 min read  
Speaking Engagement Recap December 08, 2021

26th Annual Conference on Drug & Medical Device Litigation - New York, NY

2 min read  
Recorded Webinar November 30, 2021 CLE

Faegre Drinker Life Sciences Month 2021 - Webinar

4 min read  
Speaking Engagement Recap October 25, 2021

Tulane Law School’s Mass Torts Class

1 min read  
News October 2021

Faegre Drinker Attorneys Recognized as Leading Lawyers in 2021 by LMG Life Sciences

1 min read  
News August 2021

174 Faegre Drinker Attorneys Recognized in Best Lawyers in America 2022 Edition

12 min read  
News May 2021

Chambers USA Recognizes Faegre Drinker Practices and Attorneys in 2021 Guide

12 min read  

Leadership & Community

Professional Associations

  • Trial Attorneys of New Jersey (Past President)
  • American Bar Foundation (Fellow)
  • Association of the Federal Bar of the State of New Jersey (Past Trustee)
  • American Law Institute (Elected Member)
  • International Association of Defense Counsel (Elected Member)
  • Products Liability Advisory Counsel (Sustaining Member)
  • William J. Brennen, Jr. – Arthur Vanderbilt Inn of Court (Former Master)

Honors

  • Forbes — America’s Top 200 Lawyers, 2024
    This award is conferred by Forbes. A description of the selection methodology is available here. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
  • Faegre Drinker — Pro Bono Honor Roll, 2022-23
    This award is conferred by Faegre Drinker. A description of the selection methodology is available here. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
  • Who’s Who Legal — Product Liability Defense, 2023
    This award is conferred by Lexology. A description of the selection methodology is available here. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
  • Trial Attorneys of New Jersey — Trial Bar Award, 2018
    This award is conferred by the Trial Attorneys of New Jersey. A description of the selection methodology is available here. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
  • New Jersey Law Journal — Top Women in the Law, 2018
    This award is conferred by American Lawyer Media. A description of the selection methodology is available here. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
  • Best Lawyers® — Mass Tort Litigation/Class Action - Defendants, 2020-25; Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants (Lawyer of the Year, 2020), 2020-25
    This award is conferred by Best Lawyers. A description of the methodology is available here. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
  • Benchmark Litigation — "Litigation Star," 2017-19
    This award is conferred by Benchmark Litigation. A description of the selection methodology is available here. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
  • Chambers USA — Band 1, New Jersey, Litigation: Products Liability, 2005-24
    This award is conferred by Chambers & Partners. A description of the methodology is available here. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
  • Chambers USA — Band 3, Nationwide, Product Liability & Mass Torts, 2020-23
    This award is conferred by Chambers & Partners. A description of the methodology is available here. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
  • Chambers USA — Band 4, Nationwide, Product Liability & Mass Torts, 2018-19, 2024
    This award is conferred by Chambers & Partners. A description of the methodology is available here. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
  • Chambers USA — Band 5, Nationwide, Product Liability & Mass Torts, 2015-17
    This award is conferred by Chambers & Partners. A description of the methodology is available here. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
Awards Methodology
No aspect of these recognitions has been approved by the highest court of any state.