Janet Gilligan Abaray

Janet G. Abaray acts as managing shareholder for the Cincinnati Ohio office of Burg Simpson. She has litigated extensively in the area of pharmaceutical products liability and represents plaintiffs in employment, insurance and contract disputes. She was appointed Co-Lead Counsel for Plaintiffs in the Depakote Products Liability Cases (SDIll); served as Science Co-Chair in the Yasmin MDL (SDIll); member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in the Heparin MDL (NDOH); appointed National Co-Lead Counsel in the Orthro Evra MDL (NDOH), and served as National Liaison Counsel for the Ephedra MDL (SDNY) She also served as Chair of the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission Sub-Committee on the Judicial Branch and Administration of Justice. She counseled with the Kentucky Attorney General to represent the Commonwealth in consumer claims against Bayer Pharmaceuticals. Best Lawyers named Ms. Abaray Lawyer of the Year for Personal Injury in Cincinnati 2020 and 2015 Top 15 Business Women in Ohio by the National Diversity Council. She has been recognized as a Super Lawyer, 2005-2020. She was named 2014 Lawyer of the Year by Carl B. Rubin Legal Society. She earned her B.A. (1979) and J.D. (1982) degrees from the University of Cincinnati, graduating Summa Cum Laude from the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences and Order of the Coif from the College of Law. Ms. Abaray received the 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Cincinnati College of Arts and Sciences. She has published in Trial Magazine, the American Bar Association Litigation Journal, the University of Cincinnati Law Review, the University of Dayton Law Review and the American Bar Association Products Liability Newsletter. She serves as Chair of the AAJ Preemption Litigation Group and is a member of the AAJ Legal Affairs Committee. She lectures frequently in the areas of products liability litigation, trial techniques, civil procedure and epidemiology.