FRANCES M. PHARES, of counsel
FPhares@BaumHedlundLaw.com
Media Interview Request: RMcCall@BaumHedlundLaw.com

Class Actions, Complex and Multi-District Litigation, Personal Injury Law, Pharmaceutical Drug >
Product Liability, Product Liability, Wrongful Death Law

Born:

• Jackson, Mississippi, 1953
  

Education:

• Louisiana State University (B.S., 1975)
  
• Tulane Law School (J.D., 1981)
• National Institute for Trial Advocacy, 2006
• Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, 2006

Admissions:

• Louisiana, 1981
  
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, 1996
• U.S. District Court, Middle District of Louisiana, 1998
  
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 2003
  
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana, 2005
• U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan, 2007
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin, 2007
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, 2007
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit, 2009

Magistrate Ad Hoc:

• Support Enforcement Division, 22nd Judicial District Court, Louisiana 1990-2003

Member:

• Louisiana State Bar
  
• Louisiana State Bar Association
  
• Greater Convington Bar Association
• Assistant District Attorney, New Orleans Parish, Louisiana, 1981-1983
  
• Law Clerk, 22nd Judicial District Court, St. Tammamy Parish, Louisiana, 1983-1990

Awards and Honors:

• AV® 5.0 out of 5 Peer Review Rated through Martindale Hubbell
• Listed, Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers
  
• Who's Who in America
• Who’s Who in American Law

Pro Bono & Civic Activities:

• Certified St. Joseph Hospice volunteer
• Certified LOSS volunteer (counseling to suicide survivors)
  

Published Cases:

• State v. Paquette 423 So. 2d 797 (La. App. 4th Cir., 1982)
• State v. Marquer 446 So. 2d 1258 (La. App. 4th Cir., 1984)
• Doe v. Parauka 714 So. 2d 701 (La., 1998)
• Smith v. Cutter Biological 770 So. 2d 392 (La. App. 4th Cir., 2000)
• Grisham v. Philip Morris USA 403 F. 3d 631 (9th Cir., 2005)
• Tucker v. GlaxoSmithKline 2006 WL 753128 (S.D. Ind., 2006)
• Grisham v. Philip Morris USA 40 Cal.4th 623, 151 P.3d 1151, 54 Cal.Rptr.3d 735 (2007)
• Grisham v. Philip Morris USA 482 F. 3d 1131 (9th Cir., 2007)
• Tucker v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 596 F.Supp.2d 1225 (S.D.Ind. 2008) (granting plaintiff's motion for reconsideration and holding that plaintiff's claims are not preempted by the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act)
• Knipe v.SmithKline Beecham, 583 F.Supp.2d 553 (E.D.Pa 2008) (Denying Defendant's motion for summary judgment and holding that plaintiffs' failure to warn claims are not preempted by the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act)
• Knipe v. SmithKline Beecham, 583 F.Supp.2d 602 (E.D.Pa. 2008) (Denying defendant's motion for summary judgment and holding that defendant had a duty to issue warnings regarding off-label uses and also allowing plaintiff's claims for punitive damages to proceed to the jury)
• Cunningham v. SmithKline Beecham, 255 F.R.D. 474 (N.D.Ind. 2009) (ordering defendant to produce documents and awarding sanctions)
• Forst v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 602 F.Supp.2d 960 (E.D.Wis. 2009) (denying defendant's motion for summary judgment; confirming that Wisconsin has not adopted the learned intermediary doctrine; and allowing all of plaintiffs' claims, including, negligence, fraud and punitive damages to proceed to the jury)
• Forst v. Smithkline Beecham Corp., 639 F.Supp.2d 948 (E.D.Wis.,2009) (denying defendant's motion for summary judgment and holding that plaintiffs' claims are not preempted by the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act) 
• Tucker v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., __ F.Supp.2d __, 2010 WL 1266487 (S.D.Ind., March 30, 2010)

Practice Areas:

• Class Actions
• Complex and Multi-District Litigation
  
• Personal Injury Law
• Pharmaceutical Drug Liability
• Product Liability
  
• Wrongful Death Law