Missouri State University,
Certification for Mediation Training for Civil Cases, 2016
University of Iowa College of Law,
J.D., 1991
Southern Methodist University,
B.A., Russian Studies, 1988
Illinois
Missouri
Illinois Supreme Ct
Missouri Supreme Ct
Illinois USDC, Southern District
Missouri USDC, Eastern District
Missouri USDC, Western District
US Ct Appeals, 7th Circuit (IL, IN, WI)
US Ct Appeals, 8th Circuit (AR, IA, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD)
DRI
Product Liability SLG, Vice Chair for Hand and Power Tools Section
ACI, Speaker, Women Leaders in Life Sciences Law
NITA - Trained Thompson Coburn associates skills for effective depositions
Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® (by BL Rankings), 2022-2024
Thompson Coburn LLP
Partner, 2019-Present
Fox Galvin, LLC
Of Counsel, 2001-2019
Armstrong Teasdale
Associate, 1997-2001
Barnes-Jewish hospital system
Risk Manager, 1995-1997
St. Louis Children’s Choir
Board Member, 2011-Present
New Commandment Ministries
Co-Founder and Board Member, 2004-Present
FEMA Certified Chaplain in disaster response counseling
2007-2017
Legal Advocates for Abused Women
Board Member, 1996-2004
Suzanne is a versatile litigator who finds creative solutions for clients facing difficult and protracted legal battles. She has particular experience in matters involving medical issues, medical products, pharmaceuticals and complex environmental litigation.
Suzanne has been invited as part of the national trial teams in a variety of products, from pelvic mesh implants to pharmaceuticals to lithium ion battery fires. She has also served as lead medical counsel in addressing personal injury aspects of numerous environmental torts, particularly groundwater contamination cases.
In one class action, Suzanne led the deposition of the class representative. The case was dismissed immediately thereafter. In another case, Suzanne was part of a team that developed a creative way for their client to get dismissed from the class action without pay, saving the company from certain bankruptcy. Suzanne is currently defending a uranium processing facility in Illinois against claims it affected property values and alleged medical issues of its facility. Suzanne also consults businesses on environmental litigation and its implications to business decisions and practices.
Suzanne has extensive experience in pharmaceutical litigation. Early in her career, she was part of the national trial team that represented the makers of a biologic medicine designed to treat hemophilia through which thousands of hemophilia patients contracted HIV. Suzanne assisted in crafting a litigation strategy that led to its successful resolution. She has also served on the national trial team for pharmaceutical cases involving a diabetes medication that was alleged to have caused bladder cancer and worked on a team representing a manufacturer of hip implants. Currently, Suzanne serves on the national trial team for transvaginal mesh implant cases remanded from an MDL and is also representing a pharmacy in opioids litigation.
As the former Counsel and Risk Manager for one of the Midwest's largest teaching hospitals, where she was responsible for litigation, Suzanne has deep experience in the health care industry and uses her network to serve clients. For example, after a catastrophic trucking accident, two law firms told a client no expert could be found, but Suzanne, part of a team hired just before trial, was able to retain a local expert. The case settled on the courthouse steps for a favorable amount. Suzanne was instrumental in developing the "express regret when appropriate" strategy for the healthcare system, which 20 years later was recognized in the NY Times as a "new trend" in healthcare.
With her husband, John Galvin, Suzanne has served as a chaplain certified in disaster response counseling. Suzanne and John have traveled around the U.S. and the world providing counseling to people affected by natural disasters, terrorism and political unrest, including Yazidi women and children who were former captives of ISIS. The couple also founded a nonprofit, New Commandment Ministries, that helps at-risk children in the U.S. and Nairobi, Ukraine, and Haiti with projects that provide education, medical care, vocational training, and freshwater.
Representing a national retailer in opioid litigation proceedings.
Defeated class certification against automotive manufacturer.
Led affirmative discovery on environmental claims relating to a release from a gasoline pipeline; worked to marshal evidence related to exposure and medical causation for over 90 plaintiffs.
Primary responsibility for developing evidence and briefing opposition to a class certification motion related to horsepower labeling on power equipment, leading to a nominal settlement on class actions claims in St. Clair County, Illinois.
Serves on a national trial team for a pelvic mesh implant manufacturer.
Summary judgment for various products including fire suppression system manufacturer, motorcycle manufacturer, physicians, hospitals, tissue collection agency, pesticide manufacturer, and hip implant manufacturer.
A brief primer on PFAS litigation: Trends and future disputes
Are you ready for remote depositions? Adjusting to the new normal of litigation
Adding COVID-19 to the informed consent process: A Q&A for health care providers
Quoted, "3M’s Revised PFAS Settlement Includes Atypical Liability Terms"
Bloomberg Law, September 5, 2023
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