Allen Waxman is the Chair of Kaye Scholer’s Life Sciences Group, which is ranked as one of the top five Life Sciences firms in the United States by Legal 500 2011. His practice focuses on complex litigation, government investigations, and the challenges that the convergence of litigation, compliance and regulation pose to clients. Mr. Waxman has represented senior officers in complex government investigations, conducts internal investigations, advises clients on compliance and risk management matters, and is serving as national counsel in mass-tort pharmaceutical litigation involving hormone replacement therapy medications and Reglan®.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Waxman was General Counsel at Pfizer Inc. In that role, Mr. Waxman was responsible for leading a multinational legal department, with a diverse array of practice areas, including Litigation, Employment Law, Intellectual Property, Corporate Governance, Compliance, Regulatory Law, Environmental Health & Safety, Global Security, and Mergers & Acquisitions. Mr. Waxman was a member of the company’s Executive Leadership Team, which was the principal governing management committee for Pfizer, and participated in Board of Director and Audit Committee meetings.
Mr. Waxman has a keen appreciation of what clients are looking for in legal services from the board room to the public relations office, from managing teams to managing budgets. He recognizes the need for promptly achieving winning, cost-effective solutions that further a company’s mission while minimizing disruption to its business.
Prior to Pfizer, Mr. Waxman was a Partner at Williams & Connolly, LLP where he tried both criminal and civil cases. He served as national counsel in the Norplant, Fen-Phen and Baycol litigations. His trials included the first case to go to verdict (a defense win) in the Norplant mass-tort litigation in Brownsville, Texas, as well as a first degree homicide case in Morristown, New Jersey.
Minimizing Risk and Exposure
Mr. Waxman has designed compliance systems, product stewardship programs and has enhanced medical governance structures to address risk/benefit issues. These approaches successfully mitigate the risks inevitably confronting corporate defendants.
In addition, when litigation arises, Mr. Waxman has led diverse teams, challenged and sponsored expert witnesses, and has tried complex cases successfully to mitigate exposure. Mr. Waxman’s experience also includes cost containment efforts designed to reduce the expenses of litigation.
Recent Matters
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National counsel in Reglan litigation
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National counsel in Hormone Therapy litigation
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Project lead on compliance counseling for a major pharmaceutical company
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Representation of a major financial services company executive in government investigation
Professional Affiliations
Mr. Waxman has been active in many professional and philanthropic groups, serving as Chairman of the Board of Equal Justice Works and as a Board Member of the New York lawyers chapter of the Anti-Defamation League. Mr. Waxman is a member of the BNA Pharmaceutical Law and Industry Report Advisory Board.
Previously Mr. Waxman served on the PhRMA Law Section Executive Committee, the Association of General Counsel, the Civil Justice Reform Group, the Rand Center’s Advisory Group on Corporate Ethics and Governance, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute of Legal Reform, and the Business Council of New York State. Mr. Waxman has been an adjunct professor of law at the Georgetown University Law Center, and is past Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Thurgood Marshall Academy Charter High School in Washington, DC.
Mr. Waxman is a graduate of Dartmouth College, and earned his law degree from Harvard Law School. After law school, he was a clerk for the Honorable Thomas Penfield Jackson of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.