Shook Hardy names first woman leader of the firm
Photo of Madeleine McDonough provided by the firm.
Shook, Hardy & Bacon has elected its very first female leader in firm history.
On Monday, the firm announced that Madeleine McDonough has been elected chair. McDonough, whose five-year term will begin Jan. 1, 2017, will replace John Murphy, who has led the firm for the past 15 years. McDonough, a former clinical pharmacist who chairs the firm’s Pharmaceutical and Medical Device practice group, has served on the firm’s executive committee for nearly 10 years.
“It has been a wonderful 15-year run, and I am excited to turn the reins over to an individual who is well-equipped to lead Shook into the future,” outgoing chair Murphy said in a press release. “Madeleine is a star, and I am excited to see what she will accomplish.”
The firm is known for its handling of complex litigation matters, especially in the products liability field. According to a Monday story in The Am Law Daily, Shook Hardy recently won a verdict for Ford Motor Company after five women died in a 2013 limousine fire in California. A few months before that, Shook lost a case for Johnson & Johnson after a St. Louis jury ordered the company to pay $72 million to the family of a woman who alleged that the company’s talcum powder caused her ovarian cancer. The firm is, perhaps, best known for its representation of tobacco companies and recently won a string of pelvic mesh products liability cases for Boston Scientific Group.
“I believe Shook is the best law firm for products—from concept and discovery to intellectual property, business and litigation issues, and environmental needs,” McDonough said in a press release. “My first priority as chair will be to continue our focus on state-of-the-art legal services, to ensure Shook remains the best law firm for serving clients’ needs now and as challenges evolve and expand.”
