Biography
Hon. Janice M. Symchych (Former) a lifelong federal courts practitioner, has spent the last twenty years dealing with class/mass actions as arbitrator, mediator, civil litigator, deputy general counsel, and United States Magistrate Judge. She is widely respected for her ability to manage all aspects of this complex litigation.
Representative Matters
- As Magistrate Judge, ruled on class action discovery/pretrial issues and conducted settlement conferences
- As in-house counsel, led strategy and teams of outside and inside counsel on mass tort / MDL class actions in medical device industry, in high-visibility, high-stakes matters. Formulation of litigation theories, critical motion practice and appeals. MDL argument strategy and preparation, as well as post-settlement MDL procedural resolution. Selection and preparation of bellwether trial cases.
- Personally negotiated resolutions with plaintiffs' steering committees. Hands-on experience and leadership in parallel proceedings with such matters, including shareholder class actions, government investigations, regulatory enforcement, qui tam litigation, and insurance coverage disputes
- As lead outside counsel, handled numerous federal class action matters, including nationwide race and gender employment matters, ERISA, product liability, consumer, and fraud matters. Conducted full discovery, as well as litigated motions and privilege disputes. Prepared and argued class certification motions, and prepared and argued class arbitration motions and appeals, conducted settlement negotiations on behalf of clients
- Played oversight and collateral proceedings roles in significant international arbitrations involving insurance coverage disputes secondary to medical device recalls/class actions
- Has first chaired bet-the-company cases over the course of 15 years of outside counsel work, representing clients in nationwide class actions, qui tam matters, parallel proceedings, and complex commercial litigation
- Served on a nationwide asbestos litigation panel (baseball arbitration)
- Served as arbitrator on Pan Am Games panel
- Completed Virtual ADR training conducted by the JAMS Institute, the training arm of JAMS
- Co-Author, What Is…ADR in Health Care Disputes?, ABA Book Publishing (Health Law Section), 2015
- Awards during private practice:
- Chambers USA, American Leading Lawyers for Business
- Best Lawyers in America
- National Federal Investigators Award
- Minnesota Civil Litigation Award
- Fellow, American Bar Association
- Alternative Dispute Resolution (prior to going in-house)
- Member CPR Roster of Distinguished Neutrals
- AAA Roster of Commercial Litigation Neutrals; Appointed Arbitrator for Pan American Games (IOC)
- Manville Trust, National Panel of Arbitrators & Mediators
- Judicial System
- Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Advisory Committee, 1998-2005
- Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Gender Fairness Task Force, 1993-1998
- U.S. District Court MN Local Rules Committee, 1990-2003
- U.S. District Court MN Ombudsman for Employees, 1997-2003
- State of Minnesota Judicial Selection Commission, 1999-2001
- MN Supreme Court Gender Fairness Task Force, 1987-1990
- Bar Associations: Fellow of American Bar Association; General Counsel Roundtable; ACC; MN State Bar Association (Past Chair Civil Litigation Section and Women in Legal Profession Task Force)
- Various health law and criminal law specialty organizations
- Legal Teaching
- Adjunct Professor, White Collar Criminal Justice Studies including Healthcare Fraud, University of Colorado School of Law, Boulder, CO
- Adjunct Faculty, University of Colorado Law School, 2014
- Former Trial Skills Instructor, National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA)
- Minnesota Trial Advocacy Institute (Founder of organization)
- U.S. Department of Justice Advocacy Institute
- Former Adjunct Professor, William Mitchell College of Law
- Frequent Speaker on Litigation Topics such as the 2009 Chief Litigation Officers Conference and Keynote Address on Multidistrict Litigation Strategies
- Deputy General Counsel-Litigation, Medtronic, Inc., 2005-2010
- Partner, Halleland, Lewis, Nilan & Johnson LLP, 2003-2005
- Partner, Dorsey & Whitney LLP, 1989-2003
- United States Magistrate Judge, District of Minnesota, 1985-1989
- Assistant United States Attorney, District of Minnesota, 1981-1985
- Assistant Hennepin County Attorney, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1977-1981
- J.D., magna cum laude, William Mitchell College of Law, 1977 (Valedictorian)
- B.A., magna cum laude, University of Minnesota, 1973
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Practice Areas
- Arbitration
- Business/Commercial
- Class Action/Mass Tort
- Employment
- Federal Law
- Governmental/Public Agency
- Health Care
- Intellectual Property
- International & Cross-Border
- Life Sciences
- Special Master/Discovery Referee
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