Liza M. Walsh is a highly sought-after litigator with experience representing some of the country’s largest and most prestigious companies. She focuses her practice on federal and complex commercial litigation, with an emphasis on intellectual property, antitrust and class action defense matters. In her more than 30 years of experience, Liza has defended major pharmaceutical companies in significant patent litigation and acted as liaison counsel to groups of defendants in multi-party litigation. She has more than 150 published decisions and represents clients from a diverse range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, health and title insurance, financial services, life sciences, technology, and other service and product industries. She has also served as an arbitrator in major commercial proceedings, amid a growing demand for more female representation in the field. Liza is also counsel to Senator Torricelli in his capacity as the Special Master in the enforcement of the largest court-ordered environmental cleanup in the country, involving CERCLA, RCRA, and other state and federal regulations and addressing soil, groundwater, and sediment contamination.
Liza has been ranked in Chambers USA 2020 Guide as a Leading Lawyer in the Litigation: General Commercial (New Jersey) category. She was presented with the 2019 James J. McLaughlin Award by the Civil Trial Bar Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association for civility, competence, and professionalism in civil trial law. She has also been named in “Best Lawyers in America“ for Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Patent Litigation and ERISA Litigation in 2020, following similar recognition for thirteen prior consecutive years. She was a New Jersey Trial Attorney Honoree for 2016 and named in New Jersey Law Journal’s “Top Women in Law.” In 2016, she was honored by the Executive Women of New Jersey as one of the “Women of Achievement.” NJBIZ also selected Ms. Walsh as “Top 25 Leading Women Entrepreneurs of New Jersey“ and “New Jersey’s Best 50 Women in Business.” Other honors and credits include “New Jersey Super Lawyers” for ten years, “New York’s Best Lawyers” and “New York’s Women Leaders in the Law” by New York Magazine. A graduate of Seton Hall University School of Law, she received the school’s Distinguished Graduate Award in 2012. (Awards referenced are not approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Selection methodology is available.)
Before founding Walsh Pizzi O’Reilly Falanga LLP, Liza led the litigation practice that was named “Intellectual Property Litigation Group of the Year” by the New Jersey Law Journal in 2014. At the start of her legal career, she served clerkships for the Hon. Clarkson S. Fisher, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, from 1985 to 1986, and for Hon. Charles Harrington, J.S.C. of the New Jersey Superior Court, from 1984 to 1985. An active community advocate, Liza is a member of the Board of the US-Asia Institute, the New Jersey Ballet Board of Directors, and Seton Hall Law School Board of Visitors and serves on the Finance Committee for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. She is a Fellow of the American Bar Association.
- Represented Sanofi, Sanofi US Services Inc., sanofi-aventis U.S., LLC and three individual defendants, in a purported class action asserting violation of various state consumer protection and unfair practice statutes, unjust enrichment, conspiracy, and aiding and abetting.
- Represented Pfizer Inc. and Takeda in their pursuit of patent infringement damages against Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. in which Pfizer and Takeda sought damages resulting from Teva’s and Sun’s “at-risk” launches of generic Protonix® in the United States prior to the 2011 expiration of the patent for pantoprozole. A settlement was reached in the amount of $2.15 billion after a federal jury in Newark rejected arguments by the companies that the patent covered an obvious variation of earlier patented compounds in the same family as Protonix®.
- Represented Aetna entities in defending a putative class action that challenges under ERISA, the practices of Aetna’s internal fraud investigations employed to recover overpaid health benefits claims and successfully moved for the dismissal of RICO claims challenging that practice
- Represented Wyeth Inc. entities in defending putative class actions from direct and indirect purchasers of the pharmaceutical product Effexor XR®, which assert antitrust violations arising from Wyeth’s patents regarding Effexor XR® and related patent litigation with pharmaceutical companies seeking to sell generic versions of the product
- Represented carriers and serving as liaison counsel to carriers and brokers in defending a putative class action asserting antitrust and RICO claims relating to the practice of paying contingent commissions to brokers in both the District Court of New Jersey and the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- Represented UBS entities and individual defendants in defending a putative class action brought pursuant to the PSLRA arising out of purchases of certain mortgage-backed assets and successfully moved for the dismissal of the Amended Consolidated Complaint
- Represented Aetna entities in defending a putative class action challenging the use of certain databases to determine “usual and customary rates” for reimbursing plan members for visits to out-of-network providers
- Represented sanofi-aventis US entities in state-court class action asserting that certain pharmaceutical companies allegedly reported false and inflated average wholesale prices for certain types of outpatient drugs, related to pending Multi-District Litigation
- Represented Prudential and individual defendants in defending a putative class action brought pursuant to the PSLRA arising out of a public offering of junior subordinated notes
- Represented Perdue Farms, Inc. in defending a putative class action asserting consumer fraud allegations relating to Perdue’s labeling and sales of certain of its chicken products
- Represented a variety of pharmaceutical companies as local counsel in prosecuting or defending patent litigation claims arising under the Hatch-Waxman Act
- Represented Ideavillage Products in defending a putative class action that asserted claims of consumer fraud, unjust enrichment and the like relating to the advertising, marketing, and sales of the Kinoki Foot Pads products
- Represented clients in the snack food industry in defending against putative class actions in the District of New Jersey and Eastern District of Pennsylvania based on consumer fraud allegations that the caloric and fat content of certain snack foods were mislabeled
- Represented life sciences entities and serving as liaison counsel to approximately 100 pharmaceutical, technological, and other life sciences entities in defending claims of patent infringement in both the District of New Jersey and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- Represented Mosaid Technologies in patent litigation regarding circuits on DRAM chips and achieved major victory through, in part, a landmark legal decision on e-discovery
- Represented Texas Instruments as local counsel in patent and antitrust litigation that resulted in the entry of a jury verdict in excess of $100,000,000 on behalf of the client
- Represented sanofi-aventis entities in defending qui tam litigation arising out of the False Claims Act
- Represented directors and officers of a real estate developer in defending claims of consumer fraud and violations of the New Jersey Planned Real Estate Development Full Disclosure Act in connection with the development, offering and sale of certain condominiums
- Immunex Corp. v. Sandoz Inc., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 135022 (D.N.J. Aug. 9, 2019)
- In re Lipitor Antitrust Litig., 855 F.3d 126 (3d Cir. N.J. Apr. 13, 2017)
- Eisai, Inc. v. Sanofi Aventis U.S., LLC, 821 F.3d 394 (3d Cir. N.J. May 4, 2016)
- Aventis Pharms., Inc. v. Amino Chems. Ltd., 715 F.3d 1363 (Fed. Cir. 2013)
- In re N.J. Title Ins. Litig., 683 F.3d 451 (3d Cir. 2012)
- In re Tropicana Orange Juice Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., 867 F. Supp. 2d 1341 (J.P.M.L. 2012)
- In re Lipitor Antitrust Litig., 856 F. Supp. 2d 1355 (J.P.M.L. 2012)
- In re Ins. Brokerage Antitrust Litig., 282 F.R.D. 92 (D.N.J. 2012)
- Pieczenik v. Bayer Corp., 474 Fed. Appx. 766 (Fed. Cir. 2012)
- New Jersey Dental Ass’n v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., 424 N.J. Super. 160 (App.Div. 2012)
- In re Charles R. Bobo Patent Litig., 829 F. Supp. 2d 1374 (J.P.M.L. 2011)
- In re Ins. Brokerage Antitrust Litig., 618 F.3d 300 (3d Cir. 2010)
- In re Ins. Brokerage Antitrust Litig., 374 Fed. App’x 263 (3d Cir. 2010)
- In re Title Ins. Litig., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 80582 (D.N.J. Oct. 5, 2009)
- Devito v. Aetna, Inc., 536 F. Supp. 2d 523 (D.N.J. 2008)
- Appaloosa Inv., L.P.I. v. J.P. Morgan Sec., Inc., 398 N.J. Super. 52, 939 A.2d 257 (App. Div. 2008)
- Broadcom Corp. v. Qualcomm Inc., 501 F.3d 297 (3d Cir. 2007)
- Aventis Pharm., Inc. v. Barr Lab., Inc., 411 F. Supp. 2d 490 (D.N.J. 2006)
- In re Aventis Pharm., Inc., 372 F. Supp. 2d 430 (D.N.J. 2005)
- MOSAID Tech. Inc. v. Samsung Elec. Co., 362 F. Supp. 2d 526 (D.N.J. 2004)
- MOSAID Tech. Inc. v. Samsung Elec. Co., 348 F. Supp. 2d 595 (D.N.J. 2004)
- Di Giorgio Corp. v. Mendez and Co., 230 F. Supp. 2d 552 (D.N.J. 2002)
- Bio-Tech. Gen. Corp. v. Duramed Pharm., Inc., 174 F. Supp. 2d 229 (D.N.J. 2001)
- Biovail Corp. Int’l v. Hoechst Aktiengesellschaft, 49 F. Supp. 2d 750 (D.N.J. 1999)
- Eli Lilly and Co. v. Roussell Corp., 23 F. Supp. 2d 460 (D.N.J. 1998)
- Bryant v. N.J. Dept. of Transp., 1 F. Supp. 2d 426 (D.N.J. 1998)
- Chambers USA Guide for Best Lawyers (2019-2020)
- Best Lawyers “Lawyer of the Year” (2020)
- Best Lawyers in America (2007-2021)
- James J. McLaughlin Award, Civil Trial Bar Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association (2019)
- American Institute of Legal Counsel “10 Best Attorney Client Satisfaction in Intellectual Property Division” (2018-2019)
- Best Lawyers “2017 Women of Influence” (2017)
- Executive Women of New Jersey “Women of Achievement” (2016)
- New Jersey Law Journal “Top Women in Law” (2016)
- New Jersey Trial Attorney Honoree (2016)
- NJBIZ Magazine “Top 25 Leading Women Entrepreneurs of New Jersey” (2015)
- New Jersey Law Journal “Intellectual Property Litigation Group of the Year” (2014)
- “New York’s Women Leaders in the Law” as seen in New York Magazine (2014)
- “New York’s Best Lawyers,” Commercial Litigation and Intellectual Property Law (2013)
- Seton Hall Law School’s Distinguished Graduate (2012)
- “New Jersey’s Top-Rated Lawyers” as seen in Inside Jersey magazine (2012)
- “New Jersey’s Best 50 Women in Business,” NJBIZ Magazine
(Awards referenced are not approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Selection methodology is available.)
- Member, Third Circuit Lawyers Advisory Committee
- Member, Local Patent Rules Advisory Committee, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
- Member, New Jersey State Bar Association’s Equity Jurisprudence Committee
- Essex County Representative, New Jersey Bar Association Judicial and Prosecutorial Committee (2007-2013)
- Fellow, American Bar Foundation
- Trustee, Board of Advisors, Federal Bar of the State of New Jersey
- Trustee, New Jersey District Court Historical Society
- Member & Patron Fellow, Fellows of the American Bar Foundation
- Member, Advisory Council, Columbia Bank
- Member, Board of Visitors, Seton Hall Law School
- Member, Finance Committee, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark
- Member, Vice President Board of Directors of the New Jersey Ballet
- Trustee, Board of Trustees, US-Asia Institute
- Member, Executive Women of New Jersey
- Member, Newark Regional Business Partnership
- Member, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council
- Member, The National Association of Minority & Women Owned Law Firms
- Chairperson, Outside Compensation Committee; Member, Board of Directors, Bally Total Fitness Corporation (1996-2003)