People
Geoffrey Drake is a partner in our Trial and Global Disputes Practice, for which he serves as the Operations Partner. He is also Chair of our Pharmaceutical/Medical Device Litigation Team, which Legal 500 recognized in 2020 and 2021 as one of the top five such practices in the country, as well as a member of the firm's seven-person Life Sciences/Healthcare Business Leadership Team. Geoffrey represents companies in the life sciences and healthcare, automotive and transportation, energy, and technology sectors in high-profile product liability and mass tort litigation. He has extensive experience litigating all phases of individual, multidistrict and class action cases, as well as serving as coordinating and strategic counsel in connection with large dockets of cases at both the federal and state levels. He also has an active trial practice, having represented clients in several recent high-stakes trials. Geoffrey has significant experience with legal project management, having helped structure, lead and manage several large, cross-practice, cross-office matters, including to design and implement sophisticated budgets and alternative billing arrangements and manage the organization, workflow and staffing plans to deliver the client exceptional and efficient services.
An experienced litigator, Geoffrey represents clients in nationwide, high-exposure product liability, mass tort, class action, toxic tort and whistleblower litigation, along with internal and government investigations. He litigates all phases of cases in federal and state courts nationwide, including in the most challenging jurisdictions for corporate clients. From the start, Geoffrey handles each matter with a view toward trial, considering how to communicate effectively to a jury a host of complex scientific, technical and regulatory issues. In addition to litigation, he advises manufacturers on issues such as risk assessment, liability avoidance, product labeling, government regulation and indemnification. Geoffrey is Chair of our national-recognized Pharmaceutical/Medical Device Litigation Team, has been recognized by Legal 500 as a Key Lawyer in pharmaceutical and medical device litigation, and recently co-authored the leading treatise, Drug and Device Product Liability Litigation Strategy, 2nd Edition (Oxford Univ. Press). Geoffrey also has active automotive and toxic tort litigation practices, having represented a number of clients in significant matters. In 2018, Law360 selected Geoffrey to serve on its Product Liability editorial advisory board. Before that, in 2016, Law360 listed Geoffrey as a “Rising Star” in product liability litigation, recognizing him as among top legal talent under the age of 40. He was named to the Benchmark Litigation "40 & Under Hot List” for five consecutive years, was named by Benchmark Litigation as a "Future Star" in 2018, was named in 2018 to the Daily Report’s “On the Rise” list of attorneys under the age of 40 who are expected to go far in the field, and was for eight consecutive years recognized as a “Georgia Super Lawyer – Rising Star” in product liability defense by Super Lawyers and Atlanta Magazine. Geoffrey also served as a member of the inaugural Next Generation Advisory Board for Emory University's Institute for Complex Litigation and Mass Claims.
J.D., Vanderbilt University
B.A., University of Virginia
Court of Appeals of Georgia
Georgia
Supreme Court of Georgia
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
June 10, 2021
Legal 500 United States 2021 Ranks King & Spalding Practices Among the Top in the Nation
August 10, 2020
Benchmark Litigation Names Seven King & Spalding Partners to its 40 & Under Hot List
Represented Merck in multidistrict litigation (MDL) involving allegations of injuries from use of the company’s osteoporosis medication, including in three bellwether trials in two different MDLs. In Glynn v. Merck, the jury returned a complete defense verdict, after which the court granted judgment based on federal preemption.
Serving as one of a core group of partners leading the national coordinating and trial counsel team representing GlaxoSmithKline in nationwide litigation concerning allegations of suicidality and birth defects from use of the company’s antidepressant.
Representing Renco Group and Doe Run Resources in mass tort litigation in federal court in St. Louis concerning personal-injury allegations by several thousand Peruvian children allegedly exposed to contaminants from a smelter in the Andean Highlands.
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February 3, 2022
Upcoming Rulings Key To Defining PREP Act Protections
January 26, 2022
Taking a “Hard Look” at Expert Witness Testimony Under Rule 702
July 22, 2021
Autonomous Vehicles Speed Read – July 2021
June 10, 2021
Legal 500 United States 2021 Ranks King & Spalding Practices Among the Top in the Nation
August 10, 2020
Benchmark Litigation Names Seven King & Spalding Partners to its 40 & Under Hot List
Represented Merck in multidistrict litigation (MDL) involving allegations of injuries from use of the company’s osteoporosis medication, including in three bellwether trials in two different MDLs. In Glynn v. Merck, the jury returned a complete defense verdict, after which the court granted judgment based on federal preemption.
Serving as one of a core group of partners leading the national coordinating and trial counsel team representing GlaxoSmithKline in nationwide litigation concerning allegations of suicidality and birth defects from use of the company’s antidepressant.
Representing Renco Group and Doe Run Resources in mass tort litigation in federal court in St. Louis concerning personal-injury allegations by several thousand Peruvian children allegedly exposed to contaminants from a smelter in the Andean Highlands.
See more
February 3, 2022
Upcoming Rulings Key To Defining PREP Act Protections
January 26, 2022
Taking a “Hard Look” at Expert Witness Testimony Under Rule 702
July 22, 2021
Autonomous Vehicles Speed Read – July 2021
June 10, 2021
Legal 500 United States 2021 Ranks King & Spalding Practices Among the Top in the Nation
August 10, 2020
Benchmark Litigation Names Seven King & Spalding Partners to its 40 & Under Hot List
J.D., Vanderbilt University
B.A., University of Virginia
Court of Appeals of Georgia
Georgia
Supreme Court of Georgia
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia