McGuireWoods partners Davis M. Walsh and Samuel L. Tarry are editors of a timely new book providing practical guidance for handling infectious disease litigation, from COVID-19 pandemic disputes to localized outbreaks that require specialized knowledge. “Infectious Disease Litigation: Science, Law & Procedure” is published by the American Bar Association and becomes available Feb. 26.
“Public health concerns have permanently changed some of the ways we hold each other accountable, and professional litigators, business leaders, and litigants need a new reference map — one that better acknowledges the intersection of law and science,” Walsh and Tarry wrote in the book’s introduction.
Walsh and Tarry are partners in the firm’s Products, Environmental & Mass Tort Litigation Department. Litigators from multiple McGuireWoods practices contributed chapters covering products and premises liability, foodborne outbreaks, quarantines and government restrictions, force majeure, insurance disputes, and building and trying cases. The book also includes a chapter on employment disputes and begins with two scientific chapters on microbiology and epidemiology.
“The book examines legal issues that are important, and occasionally unique, to these types of cases,” Walsh said. “We want to help practitioners and provide legal analysis to GCs and executives in industries facing the threat of litigation, including medical services, hospitality, transportation, and consumer products.”
“While we began this project before COVID-19 emerged, the pandemic has made us all painfully aware of the risk found in tiny bacteria and viruses,” Tarry added. “Now more than ever, practitioners need to think like scientists in building a case.”
McGuireWoods is a national leader in defending environmental, products and mass tort litigation. The firm has represented clients in high-stakes matters in state and federal courts throughout the country, including matters involving infectious diseases and foodborne illnesses. McGuireWoods was recognized as a leading law firm in six practice categories, including product liability and class actions, in BTI Consulting Group’s 2021 litigation survey, based on feedback from corporate counsel.