Donald F. Zimmer, Jr. (Fritz)

Donald F. “Fritz” Zimmer, Jr. is a partner in our Trial and Global Disputes practice in San Francisco, where he served as Office Managing Partner for 10 years. Fritz defends companies in high profile pharmaceutical, medical device and environmental/toxic substances litigation, and also handles complex commercial disputes.

Fritz has served as national, regional, and trial counsel for a variety of pharmaceutical, chemical, medical device, and other product manufacturers in mass tort litigation. He has been named a “Lawyer of the Year” for Product Liability Litigation by Best Lawyers in America, a Northern California “Super Lawyer” for the past two decades, and has been rated highly by Legal 500 in Product Liability and Mass Tort Defense Litigation. “Who's Who Legal” (WWL) recently named Fritz as their top pick of 10 “Global Thought Leaders” for Products Liability Defense in North America, noting that clients and peers describe him as “a real trial lawyer who is very smart and thorough with knowledge of all the details of a case.” WWL also selected Fritz as one of the top 10 most highly regarded individuals in the U.S. for Product Liability Defense in 2015, noting that “peers and clients are effusive, claiming he has an exhaustive knowledge of the market and is peerless in court” and in 2014 observed that he is “counsel of choice for some of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, and a ‘leading light' in this field.”

Fritz is a past member of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), served as Director of the 2016 IADC Trial Academy at Stanford University Law School, and is an active member of the Defense Research Institute (DRI). He is a current board member and former Chairman of the Board of the American Diabetes Association’s Bay Area Chapter and is a frequent speaker and writer on topics related to litigation strategy.

Publications and Presentations

• “Medical Device Litigation – What Really Matters” – Medical Device Summit, Speaker, Washington, DC, October 2016.
• “Pharma Innovation and Litigation Avoidance Strategies” – Pharma U West, Speaker, San Francisco, CA, March 2015.
• “Evaluating Evidence Used for Pharmacovigilance Signal Detection and Legal Causation Assessments”–  – ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section – Life Science Legal Summit, Speaker, San Francisco, CA, March 2015.
• “Product Liability Trends and Hot Topics” – Medical Device Summit, Speaker, Palo Alto, CA, September 2014.
• “Duty to Warn in a Digital Age” – Pharma U West, Speaker, San Francisco, CA, March 2014.
• “Showing Leadership in a High Profile Case” – IADC International Corporate Counsel College, Speaker, Paris, France, November 2013.
• “View From the Bench: Current Judicial Views on Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Litigation” -- ACI Drug and Medical Device Litigation Conference, Moderator, New York, December 2012
• “Social Media – A Double-Edged Sword in Managing Crises” – IADC International Corporate Counsel College, Speaker, London, England, October 2012.
• “Not Your Product?  I Still Say You are Liable: Plaintiffs’ Efforts to Target Branded Manufacturers When Generic Medications Are Used” – IADC Drug, Device and Biotechnology Committee Webinar, Speaker, August 2012.
• “The Learned Intermediary Doctrine Under Attack” - DRI Drug & Medical Device Seminar, Speaker and author of paper, San Francisco, May 2010
• “Hot Topics: Preemption, HIPAA, CAFA, State AG Investigations, and E-Discovery” - DRI Drug & Medical Device Seminar, Speaker and author of paper, San Francisco, May 2007
• “Who Pays for Electronic Data Translation?  A Case Analysis of FRCP 34 and CCP 2031”-  IADC Drug, Device and Biotech Committee Newsletter, March 2005
• “Lessons Learned in 10 years of Mass Torts” - Panel Presentation on MDL coordination procedures - IADC Annual Meeting; Maui, HI, July 2003
• “Hot Topics: Federalism, Privacy, Preemption and Discovery”- DRI Drug & Medical Device Seminar, Speaker and author of paper, San Francisco, May 2002
• “California Summary Judgment Standards in Toxic Tort Cases: Look Before You Leap” - IADC Toxic and Hazardous Substances Committee Newsletter, January 2001
• “A Medicolegal Evaluation of Reversible Contraceptives” - Contemporary OB/GYN, Vol. 45, No. 5, May, 2000
• “California’s Anti-SLAPP Statute and Pharmaceutical Free Speech” - IADC Drug, Device and Biotech Committee Newsletter, April, 2000
• “How to Avoid, Control and Limit Depositions of Top Executives” - American Conference Institute (ACI) Drug & Medical Device Litigation Seminar - New York, December, 1997
• “Dealing with the Co-Defendant Physician: A Manufacturer’s Perspective” - American Conference Institute (ACI) Drug & Medical Device Litigation Seminar, New York, December, 1996