Kathy Owen focuses her practice on complex litigation. Ms. Owen's practice includes pharmaceutical, medical device, environmental, toxic tort, product liability and premises liability litigation. A significant amount of her practice is spent advising national and international clients in all phases of information management and electronic discovery. She serves as co-chair of DLA Piper's Electronic Discovery Readiness and Response Group.

Ms. Owen's pharmaceutical and medical device experience includes cases involving breast implants, "Phen-Fen," Enbrel®, methotrexate, phenylpropanolamine (PPA), Cox-2 inhibitors and gadolinium-based contrast agents. Her environmental, toxic tort and premises liability experience includes handling cases involving alleged exposures to substances such as acetaldehyde, acrylates, asbestos, benzene, betapropiolactone, butadiene, chromium, formaldehyde, methyl ethyl ketone, perchloroethylene, pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, silica, styrene and sulfur dioxide. Her product liability experience, in addition to the product liability aspects of pharmaceutical, medical device and chemical cases, includes cases involving automobile, tire and polyethylene pipe.

Ms. Owen's experience in managing mass tort litigation includes the development, analysis and/or use of document management and case management databases. She has also handled cases involving claims of negligence, strict liability, intentional torts, wrongful death, wrongful termination, breach of contract, class action and the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA).

Ms. Owen is the Pro Bono Coordinator for the Dallas office.

Significant Engagements

• Managed the collection and review of documents that has resulted in the production of over 40 million pages of documents as national discovery counsel in pharmaceutical litigation, including the training and management of review attorneys.
• Managed the international and domestic preservation, collection, and processing of electronic and paper documents for pharmaceutical client as national coordinating counsel.
• Managed the collection, review, and production of company databases for various pharmaceutical companies as national coordinating counsel.
• Prepared company 30(b)(6) witnesses on information technology and electronic discovery issues.
• Handled litigation involving a chemical plant explosion and the subsequent toxic tort case in which some 1,000 plaintiffs sued a chemical company client alleging $1 billion in actual and exemplary damages for chemical exposures. The primary chemicals at issue in the case were chromium, benzene, formaldehyde, methyl ethyl ketone, betapropiolactone, and acrylates. Illnesses alleged included most forms of cancer, heart problems, birth defects, developmental delays, autoimmune disorders and fear of cancer. Ms. Owen was responsible for organizing, supervising, and training teams of attorneys to conduct discovery, including depositions for the 1,000 plaintiffs, and was responsible for overseeing the epidemiological study conducted on the plant population. Her results were the cornerstone of the defense evidence and later were published in a peer-reviewed journal so that the epidemiological study would pass a Daubert/Robinson/Havner challenge. Among the 1,000 who sued, a group of 10 plaintiffs' cases were tried. After one month of trial, these plaintiffs non-suited their cases.
• Worked with computer consultants to set up a sophisticated document management system for a client for use in litigation. Appointed by the same client to act as coordinating counsel for this management system. Worked with consultants to design a web-based case management program.
• Handled a property contamination case in which a plaintiff who had purchased property from the client sought some $34 million in damages for future clean-up costs and diminution in property value allegedly cause by environmental contamination. After five weeks of trial, the jury returned a defense verdict.
• Participated in trial and appeal of a wrongful termination case involving the president of a failed savings and loan institution. Obtained favorable ruling for the client in the court of appeals.
• Participated in a five-week trial on behalf of a client involving product liability and Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA) claims concerning polyethylene pipe. The plaintiff recovered less than 1/20^th of the damages sought.
• Responsible for setting up case management procedures for coordinating and handling Fen-Phen litigation firmwide. Served on the Dallas and Tarrant Counties Fen-Phen defense steering committees.
• Obtained a dismissal with prejudice, based upon no causation evidence, in a case involving allegations of damages from ingestion of Enbrel®.
• Represented the client in a case in which a plaintiff's pancreatic cancer was allegedly caused by exposure to chromium and a plaintiff's chronic lymphocytic leukemia was allegedly caused by exposure to benzene discharged/emitted by client. The Communications Workers of America Union (CWA) was also a plaintiff in this case. After expert depositions, plaintiffs acknowledged they could not meet their burden under Havner. Resolution of the case included CWA printing a retraction on its web site relative to libelous statements they had made about the client.
• Succeeded in obtaining summary results in toxic tort cases involving agenesis of the corpus callosum with hydrocephaly, acute myelogenous leukemia, cancer of unspecified origin, chronic myelogenous leukemia, encephalopathy, kidney cancer, lung cancer and severe dermatitis.

Honors and Appointments

• Supreme Court of Texas, Board of Disciplinary Appeals (2000-2006, 2008-2014) (Vice Chairman 2005-2006)
• State Bar of Texas, District 6A Grievance Committee (1996-2000)
• Ranked No. 3 of The Best Lawyers Under 40 in Dallas, D Magazine ( May 2002)
• The Best Lawyers Under 40 in Dallas, D Magazine (2004)
• Texas Rising Star, named by Law and Politics Media, Inc. and published in Texas Monthly(2004 and 2005)