FaegreBD Product Liability Lawyers Receive 2 Indiana State Bar Association Awards

At the Indiana State Bar Association (ISBA) 2015 Awards Luncheon, Jessica Benson Cox of Faegre Baker Daniels received the Outstanding Young Lawyer Award, and Jim O’Neal and John Schlafer of FaegreBD were honored with the Donald R. Lundberg Writing Award.

The Outstanding Young Lawyer Award, sponsored by the ISBA Young Lawyers Section, recognizes an attorney who exemplifies the virtues embodied in the Indiana Oath of Attorneys.

A product liability litigator, Cox has built a thriving practice defending pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers and other industry leaders. She is skilled in complex technical issues, making her a go-to attorney on matters involving medical and science issues, and she has taken initiative to understand the complex regulatory issues faced by pharmaceutical and medical device clients.

Cox is a community leader who has volunteered countless hours to pro bono legal work and local nonprofits such as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Indiana Chapter and Dress for Success Indianapolis.

The Donald R. Lundberg Writing Award, sponsored by the ISBA Young Lawyers Section, recognizes the authors of an outstanding substantive legal article.

O’Neal, a partner, and Schlafer, an associate, on FaegreBD’s product liability team, were recognized for their June 2015 article, “Amendments to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: Is the Discovery Problem Solved?” The article described changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that were approved by the United States Supreme Court in April 2015 and analyzed resulting changes to the scope of discovery, their importance for product liability and employment cases, and potential roadblocks to implementation.

The awards were presented at a luncheon on October 7, 2015, during the ISBA’s Annual Meeting in French Lick, Indiana.