Jonathan S. Tam

Partner San Francisco New York

Jonathan Tam is a partner in the firm’s Product Liability and Mass Torts group and serves as the group’s Diversity Liaison Partner. He represents major pharmaceutical companies, medical device companies and consumer electronic companies, and other innovative products manufacturers in complex and high-stakes mass tort product liability litigations, class actions, and civil cases filed by State Attorneys General. Mr. Tam has led, managed, and handled various aspects of complex litigations in state and federal courts, including serving as trial and appellate counsel. In 2021, for example, his trial work resulted in a defense verdict that earned a shoutout in American Lawyer’s Litigators of the Week.

Mr. Tam has extensive experience litigating the admissibility of expert testimony. His work has led to the dismissal of plaintiffs' experts' general causation testimony under Federal Rule of Evidence 702, which resulted in summary judgment for Pfizer in two major mass torts. See In re Lipitor (Atorvastatin Calcium) Mktg., Sales Practices & Prod. Liab. Litig. (No II) MDL 2502, 892 F.3d 624 (4th Cir. 2018); In re Zoloft (Sertraline Hydrochloride) Prod. Liab. Litig., 858 F.3d 787 (3d Cir. 2017). He helped Allergan to achieve the same result in Daniels-Feasel v. Forest Pharms., Inc., 2023 WL 4837521 (2d Cir. July 28, 2023). These Rule 702 and summary judgment decisions are routinely cited by courts and parties around the country.

Throughout his career, Mr. Tam has been a key member of the team that has repeatedly won the honor of “Products Liability Group of the Year” from leading publications such as Chambers USA, Law360 and New York Law Journal. In 2022, he was recognized by The American Lawyer and named a “Young Lawyer of the Year” finalist for litigation in the publication’s 2022 Industry Award. The award honors lawyers under the age of 40 who have made an impact that goes “above and beyond” in their area of legal practice. Also in 2022, Law360 named Mr. Tam a “Rising Star” in Products Liability. In addition, he was named to the Daily Journal’s 2022 “Top 40 Under 40” list, which recognizes California’s best up-and-coming lawyers. He was also recognized as a “Lawyer on the Fast Track” by The Recorder in its California Legal Awards 2022. In addition, The Legal 500 US has recognized Mr. Tam in the area of Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action – Defense: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices.

Mr. Tam also maintains an active pro bono practice. In 2022, he partnered with the American Civil Liberties Union in filing a federal class action and moving for a preliminary injunction to obtain emergency relief to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Connecticut’s Department of Corrections facilities. He also co-authored an amicus brief in one of the most significant cases in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2019 Term, June Medical Services LLC v. Russo, 140 S. Ct. 2103 (2020). Representing Whole Woman’s Health, the amicus brief argued that medical clinics have third-party standing to protect the constitutional rights of women seeking to have abortions, and the Supreme Court agreed. In 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, he helped file and prosecute a lawsuit in the Oklahoma Supreme Court that challenged two total abortion bans with criminal penalties for healthcare providers.

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

Prior to joining Dechert, Mr. Tam was an attorney at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP.

Pharmaceutical Experience

Pfizer in a California Judicial Council Coordinated Proceeding involving thousands of cases that alleged that Lipitor, a cholesterol-lowering medication, causes diabetes. Obtained the exclusion of plaintiffs' general causation experts under Sargon Enterprises, Inc. v. University of Southern California, 55 Cal. 4th 747 (2012).
GlaxoSmithKline LLC in a California Judicial Council Coordinated Proceeding where it is alleged that Zantac, an acid-reducing medication, causes various forms of cancer.
GlaxoSmithKline LLC in a federal multi-district litigation in the Southern District of Florida involving Zantac, an acid-reducing medication, and product liability claims, class actions, and requests for medical monitoring. Serves as a member of the MDL Court’s Leadership Development Committee.
Purdue Pharma as national counsel in lawsuits in a federal MDL and in state courts across the country concerning its prescription opioid pain medications, OxyContin, including cases filed by State Attorneys General.
Allergan in the Southern District of New York in product liability cases involving claims that maternal use of an antidepressant during pregnancy causes autism in children. Obtained the exclusion of plaintiffs’ general causation experts under Federal Rule of Evidence 702. Daniels-Feasel v. Forest Pharms., Inc., 2021 WL 4037820 (S.D.N.Y. 2021). Secured affirmance of the win in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Daniels-Feasel v. Forest Pharms., Inc., 2023 WL 4837521 (2d Cir. July 28, 2023).
Pfizer in an appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit involving thousands of cases that alleged that Lipitor, a cholesterol-lowering medication, causes diabetes. Obtained the affirmance of the exclusion of plaintiffs' general causation experts under Daubert and summary judgment for the company in all cases. See In re Lipitor (Atorvastatin Calcium) Mktg., Sales Practices & Prod. Liab. Litig. (No II) MDL 2502, 892 F.3d 624, 631 (4th Cir. 2018).
Pfizer in federal multi-district litigation in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania involving claims that maternal use of an antidepressant, Zoloft, during pregnancy causes birth defects. Obtained the exclusion of plaintiffs' general causation of experts under Daubert and summary judgment summary judgment for the company in all cases, and also secured the affirmance of these decisions in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. In re Zoloft (Sertraline Hydrochloride) Prod. Liab. Litig., 858 F.3d 787 (3d Cir. 2017); In re Zoloft (Sertraline Hydrochloride) Prod. Liab. Litig., 2015 WL 7776911 (E.D. Pa. 2015); In re Zoloft (Sertraline Hydrochloride) Prod. Liab. Litig., 26 F. Supp. 3d 449 (E.D. Pa. 2014).

Other Products Liability Experience

3M in a federal multi-district litigation in the Northern District of Florida that has been characterized as the largest MDL in history, where plaintiffs allege that an earplug sold to the U.S. military causes hearing loss and other injuries.
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. at trial in Washington Superior Court involving the da Vinci, a robotic surgical device. This was the first products liability trial in the country involving the da Vinci.
Washington Legal Foundation in the U.S. Supreme Court as counsel of record on amicus briefs in products liability cases concerning Rule 702 and the admissibility of expert testimony, and the application of non-mutual, offensive collateral estoppel in MDLs.

Class Action Experience

GlaxoSmithKline LLC in a putative, nationwide class action filed in the Northern District of California that involves claims that Chapstick products were misleadingly labeled as “100% Natural” and containing “Naturally Sourced Ingredients.”
High-technology company in a putative, nationwide class action filed in the Northern District of California that involved consumer electronics and claims of misleading marketing and for medical monitoring. Obtained summary judgment on all claims based on federal preemption.
High-technology company in putative, nationwide class actions filed in the Northern and Central Districts of California that involving claims that an app disclosed consumers’ private data, in breach of contract and in violation of various privacy laws.

Includes matters handled at Dechert or prior to joining the firm.

Law360 – “Rising Star” in Products Liability (2022)
The American Lawyer – “Young Lawyer of the Year” finalist (2022)
Daily Journal – “Top 40 Under 40” (2022)
The Recorder – "Lawyer on the Fast Track" (2022)

Daily Journal - Autonomous vehicles: the new frontier in products liability automotive litigation

Daily Journal - California Appellate Court Decision Reaffirms the Vital Gatekeeping Responsibility of Trial Courts

Thomson Reuters - Product Liability Breach of Warranty Claims: California

Thomson Reuters - Product Liability Negligence Claims: California

Thomson Reuters - Product Liability Strict Liability Claims: California

Thomson Reuters – Drafting and Exchanging Exhibit Lists for a Federal Civil Trial

Thomson Reuters - Presenting and Handling Exhibits in a Civil Trial

Law360 – 9th Circ. Jurisdiction Ruling Guides On Class Action Strategy

Reuters/Westlaw – Juries can handle the truth: Why courts should bring back evidence of FDA clearance in medical device trials

Bloomberg News – Making Partner in a Pandemic: Dechert’s Jonathan Tam

Daily Journal – Federal court: Expert’s testimony doomed by misuse of data

Practical Law – Jury Selection in Federal Court

ABA’s Current Issues in Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Litigation Conference, Panel on “Hot Topics in Products Liability Litigation” (Nov. 14, 2013).
Knowledge Group’s Product Liability: Practical Tips and Strategies in Handling Multiple Fronts of Litigation (Apr. 30, 2020).

Offices

San Francisco

One Bush Street, Suite 1600, San Francisco, CA, United States of America 94104-4446

+1 415 262 4518
+1 415 262 4555

New York

Three Bryant Park, 1095 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY, United States of America 10036-6797

+1 646 731 6172
+1 212 698 3599

Services

Product Liability and Mass Torts

Appellate

Class Actions

Complex Commercial Litigation

Litigation

Trials

Industries

Health Care

Life Sciences

Education

University of California, Berkeley, B.A., 2004, with Distinction
Duke University School of Law, J.D., 2009

Admission

California
New York