Lisa Ann T. Ruggiero

Lisa Ruggiero acts as lead counsel in complex litigations filed in federal and state courts in multiple jurisdictions throughout the country and is the Managing Partner of Locke Lord’s New York and Newark offices. She has extensive experience representing clients in consumer fraud and other putative class actions. She also manages the defense of mass tort actions and other personal injury cases often involving catastrophic injuries and deaths arising from allegations of professional negligence, product liability and toxic exposures. She represents clients in litigation arising from unprecedented public crisis as well. She routinely serves as national coordinating counsel for her clients who are facing high stakes litigation in parallel cases across the country as well as multi-district litigation involving both class and individual claims.

Lisa represents high-profile clients across various industries nationwide, including telecommunications, chemical, pharmaceutical, industrial, financial services, health care and consumer product companies, in disputes relating to state consumer fraud and deceptive business practices statutes as well as in cases involving the following:

• DES
• PCBs
• Agent Orange
• Benzidene
• Benzene
• Acrylonitrile
• Asbestos
• Industrial dust
• Medical devices
• Telecommunications equipment
• Consumer and juvenile products
• Heavy equipment

In defending “first responder” litigation and cases involving public emergencies, she addresses issues of state and federal immunities, the relevant standard of care under “emergent conditions,” causation, and the sensitivities and negative press associated with defending claims during a public crisis. Also, as national counsel for clients, she sets and oversees national defense strategy for clients across a broad practice spectrum involving a breadth of issues.

Lisa engages in extensive motion practice involving class certification, Daubert, discovery, dispositive and pre-trial matters. In addition, she has managed many large-scale electronic and hard copy document collections, reviews and productions in complex federal and state litigations. She has wide-ranging experience in fact and expert depositions, settlement negotiations, arbitrations, mediations and identification and preparation of experts for trial.

In 2016, Lisa was named as a Top Women in Law by the New Jersey Law Journal. Lisa was recognized in 2008 as a Super Lawyers® New Jersey Rising Star and included in the New Jersey Law Journal’s 40 under 40 listing in 2007.

Lisa is presently a member of the Diversity Committee at Locke Lord.

Lisa experience includes:

• National COVID-19 Counsel for nationwide insurance company providing ‎‎advice and coordinating and managing litigation arising from the COVID-19 ‎‎pandemic impacting the company and its insureds
• National GranuFlo/NaturaLyte Dialysis Litigation. Served as National ‎Coordinating Counsel for ‎DaVita Healthcare Partners, one of the nation’s ‎largest dialysis providers, for more than five years, ‎defending the company in a ‎federal putative class action involving patients and family members of ‎deceased ‎patients alleging numerous claims, including violations of various consumer ‎fraud acts under ‎laws of various states and professional negligence, with regard ‎to the dialysis that the patients ‎received. In addition, she managed the ‎company’s defense in various state court actions filed ‎throughout the country by ‎coordinating and overseeing local counsel in those cases and ensuring ‎uniform ‎positions were taken with regard to pleadings, defense strategy, discovery ‎responses, ‎deposition testimony, motion practice, settlement and trial strategy. ‎She assisted the company in ‎managing related federal multi-district litigation as ‎well. Class certification of a class of as many of ‎‎300,000 members was defeated. ‎Claims and plaintiffs were also trimmed during the course of the ‎litigation by ‎motion practice and settlement
• Y2K Class Action Litigation. Served as Counsel to AT&T, Lucent Technologies ‎and Avaya in actions ‎filed in New York, New Jersey, California and West ‎Virginia alleging consumer fraud in sale of ‎business communications systems. ‎Briefed motion to dismiss in New York and New Jersey and ‎achieved a class ‎action settlement in California and West Virginia
• Naomi R. Henderson v. The Hertz Corporation. Served as counsel for the Hertz ‎Corporation in a ‎putative class action alleging that its sale of insurance services ‎was unlicensed, unlawful and a consumer ‎fraud. The action was dismissed on ‎motion ‎
• Saffer v. The Hertz Corporation. Served as Counsel for the Hertz Corporation in ‎a putative consumer ‎fraud class action brought in New Jersey Superior Court, ‎alleging, inter alia, that Hertz defrauded ‎consumers by collecting sales taxes on ‎its fuel and service charge. The action was dismissed on ‎summary judgment
• WTC Debria Removal Litigation. Defense of the City of New York and over 150 ‎contractors in the ‎state and federal court against more than 10,000 personal ‎injury claims arising from the rescue, ‎recovery, debris removal and cleanup ‎operations following the 9/11 terrorist attacks
• Krajina Class Action Litigation. Defense of a private military contractor against ‎claims of genocide, war ‎crimes and crimes against humanity brought via the ‎Alien Tort Statute in federal court
• DES Litigation. Defended pharmaceutical company in numerous product ‎liability actions involving ‎manufacture of DES in New York, Ohio, Washington ‎and Kentucky
• Renewed Agent Orange Class Action Litigation. Represented a biotechnology ‎company against a ‎class of Vietnamese Citizens alleging war crimes and crimes ‎against humanity brought via the Alien ‎Tort Statute in connection with the ‎manufacture and use of military herbicides used during the ‎Vietnam War
• Defense of several securitized student loan trusts in class action litigation
• Defended chemical and other manufacturers against numerous toxic tort ‎actions alleging damages for ‎personal injuries and death and seeking medical ‎monitoring in cases involving PCBs, asbestos, ‎acrylonitrile, benzene and ‎benzidene in various state and federal courts
• Served as health and science counsel for major sports Entrainment Corporation ‎in connection with respiratory claims allegedly incurred during the renovation of ‎its landmark sporting arena
• Defended manufacturer of consumer products, children’s toys and playground ‎equipment in product ‎liability actions in various jurisdictions
• Defended company in federal action brought by individuals seeking class ‎certification based on alleged ‎violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection ‎Act
• Managed all New Jersey commercial litigation for an international real estate ‎development company