Overview
CHICAGO (July 7, 2015) — Continuing a hiring streak that has seen 16 partners join the Firm since April 1st, McDermott Will & Emery announced today that distinguished, first-chair trial lawyer Terrence (Terry) Dee has joined as a partner in its Trial Practice Group, based in Chicago.
Mr. Dee, a longtime partner in the litigation practice at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, concentrates his practice in product liability, class action, securities, post-closing disputes and other complex litigation. He has tried cases in federal and state courts throughout the country, and has handled numerous commercial arbitrations. He has also served as coordinating or liaison counsel in several multi- district litigation matters involving telecommunications companies where he developed the national strategy and coordinated the joint defense of those cases. Mr. Dee has also represented corporations, officers and directors in SEC investigations and securities matters.
For the last several years, Mr. Dee has led the defense of Motorola and the wireless telephone industry in a series of cases claiming that wireless telephones cause adverse health effects. Collectively the plaintiffs seek billions in damages. Recently he led the joint defense group in a month-long evidentiary hearing in those cases challenging the admissibility of the plaintiffs’ experts’ opinions that wireless phone use causes brain cancer. In a previous case involving the same issue in federal court in Maryland, Mr. Dee was one of the lead lawyers in a five-day Daubert hearing in which the court granted defendants’ motion to exclude all of plaintiffs’ experts in an $800 million case. Later this year he will argue on behalf of the wireless industry in the D.C. Court of Appeals en banc in a landmark appeal to replace the Frye admissibility standard in D.C. with Federal Rule 702 and Daubert.
“Terry is a first-chair litigator in the products liability space with an impressive pedigree and deep experience,” said Lazar P. Raynal, Firm-wide head of McDermott’s Trial Practice Group. “He is a strong leader with a long record of winning mass-tort, product liability cases for his clients. With his long record of success inside and outside the courtroom, he will play a key role in building McDermott’s Chicago Trial practice and mentoring our next generation of lawyers.”
Mr. Dee has represented clients in significant jury trials involving automobile roll-over and ground water contamination matters. In both matters, the juries returned complete defense verdicts after multi-week trials. His client representation experience also extends into the pharmaceuticals, asbestos, agricultural and energy spaces. Mr. Dee also has extensive experience in products liability and consumer fraud class action litigation, successfully leading large defense groups in multi-district litigation involving claims that Bluetooth Headsets cause hearing loss, the compliance of cellphones with FCC emergency 911 call processing, and federal preemption of claims challenging the safety of cell phones.
“It would be difficult to find a more well-respected and well-liked corporate lawyer in Chicago,” said McDermott co-chair Jeffrey E. Stone, referring to Mr. Dee. “Terry’s skills and experience present unique opportunities for collaboration among our partners in Chicago and in other offices. Additionally, with Terry on board, McDermott can field a broader, more experienced and deeper bench in complex commercial litigation matters.”
“We are very happy to welcome Terry to the Firm,” said McDermott co-chair Peter J. Sacripanti. “As we considered our clients’ growing litigation needs, we saw the need for the type of first-chair product liability litigator that Terry embodies. He is a natural leader who can comfortably oversee major matters from start to finish. His arrival at the Firm is sure to add a spark to our Trial team.”
Mr. Dee graduated from Washington University School of Law after obtaining his undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University. Following law school, he spent two years clerking for U.S. District Judge Howard Sachs of the Western District of Missouri. He is a member of the Illinois and Missouri bars and is admitted to practice in United States District Courts and United States Courts of Appeals throughout the country.
McDermott’s Trial Practice Group delivers full litigation service from resident trial partners and associates throughout its U.S. offices. It is regularly engaged in all aspects of civil, regulatory and white-collar criminal defense litigation in U.S. and international forums. McDermott’s Trial Practice Group includes several members of the American College of Trial Lawyers, former Assistant U.S. Attorneys and Department of Justice lawyers, as well as former members of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Department of Commerce. More than 50 McDermott lawyers have previously served as judicial law clerks.
About McDermott
McDermott Will & Emery is a premier international law firm with a diversified business practice. Numbering more than 1,000 lawyers, we have offices in Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Dallas, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Milan, Munich, New York, Orange County, Paris, Rome, Seoul, Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. Further extending our reach into Asia, we have a strategic alliance with MWE China Law Offices in Shanghai.
