Katherine Davis

Kate Unger Davis concentrates her practice on product liability and mass tort matters with particular experience in appellate litigation. She has represented Fortune 500 companies in several multi-jurisdictional mass tort actions involving claims of personal injury, consumer fraud, and public nuisance, and in other commercial disputes.

Ms. Unger Davis manages all stages of a dispute from discovery to appeal. She has defended expert and company witnesses at deposition and prepared them for trial. She participated on several trial teams that secured victories for a major pharmaceutical manufacturer in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

In 2022, Ms. Unger Davis was named among Pennsylvania’s “Lawyers on the Fast Track” as part of The Legal Intelligencer’s Professional Excellence Awards. She was named a 2020 Young Lawyer of the Year by the American Lawyer in recognition of the depth or her experience and leadership representing major pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

Ms. Unger Davis maintains an active pro bono practice. She has represented several indigent clients in appeals before the Third Circuit related to their unconstitutional convictions. She has advised the City of Philadelphia in connection with litigation and legislation concerning “sanctuary cities.” Ms. Unger Davis also represented a class of indigent defendants arguing that the county public defender system was so underfunded and overworked that they were being denied their constitutionally protected right to adequate representation.

Ms. Unger Davis is a member of the Editorial Committee of the product liability and mass torts group’s newsletter, Dechert Re:Torts.

Prior to joining Dechert, Ms. Unger Davis clerked for the Honorable Marjorie O. Rendell of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and for the Honorable William H. Yohn Jr. of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Ms. Unger Davis earned her JD summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2011. While at Penn Law, she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Law and Social Change.

Prior to earning her law degree, Ms. Unger Davis served as a Teach for America corps member in Philadelphia, where she taught the third and fourth grades.

Representation of an American manufacturer of organic baby and toddler food in nationwide consumer fraud and product liability litigation alleging presence of unsafe levels of heavy metals.
Representation of Getinge AB and Atrium Medical Corporation in more than 2,800 personal injury lawsuits that have been filed involving their hernia mesh products, including an MDL in New Hampshire.
Representation of a major pharmaceutical company in jury trials in Pennsylvania state court resulting in defense verdicts for the manufacturer of anticoagulant medication.
Representation of Johnson & Johnson as lead appellate counsel in Pennsylvania mass tort litigation claiming personal injury from use of Risperdal, a prescription atypical antipsychotic medication.
Representation of AbbVie in national product liability litigation related to its product Androgel, a testosterone replacement therapy. This litigation comprised an MDL in Chicago and additional cases in state courts in Mississippi, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Missouri.
Representation of a casino in litigation before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Representation of a major pharmaceutical company in multi-jurisdictional mass tort litigation and single plaintiff personal injury actions in Pennsylvania state and federal courts involving antidepressant medications.
Represent and advise a major online retailer of over-the-counter supplements in multi-jurisdictional mass tort litigation and single plaintiff personal injury actions in federal court.
Representation of a pharmaceutical company on appeal from a multi-million dollar jury verdict involving over-the-counter pediatric pain reliever.
Representation of directors and officers of a financial services company with respect to massive claims brought by the FDIC.
Representation of a pharmaceutical company in litigation involving a medicine used to combat a variety of gastric and esophageal indications.
Representation of officers and directors of a former pharmaceutical corporation in an appeal of the dismissal of shareholder derivative claims.

How I Made Partner: 'My Ability to Anticipate, Empathize and Execute,' Says Kate Unger Davis of Dechert - Law.com (August 9, 2022)

Navigating the Interplay of MDLs and Parallel State Court Proceedings - American Conference Institute's Drug and Medical Device Conference, Panel (December 6, 2023)

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Honorable William H. Yohn, Jr.
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Honorable Marjorie O. Rendell

Katherine Unger Davis

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Philadelphia

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Education

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