R. Brent Wisner
Brent Wisner is an attorney and senior partner in the Los Angeles office of Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman, PC. A Los Angeles native, Brent is driven by a deep-rooted passion for using the law to help those who have been marginalized and hurt by large, and sometimes malicious, corporations. Brent has dedicated his practice to vindicating his client’s rights and holding wrongdoers accountable. He concentrates his practice on pharmaceutical class action litigation, toxic-tort injuries, whistleblower and qui tam claims, and consumer fraud litigation. Brent also oversees the firm’s Medicare Secondary Payer cases, representing Medicare providers who have lost taxpayer funds to pharmaceutical companies and other large defendants.
Brent is one of Baum Hedlund’s lead trial attorneys and manages a highly-trained team of attorneys on all aspects of the cases in his department. He takes pride in personally working up all facets of litigation—from briefing, expert discovery, through trial and, if needed, appeal.
Pharmaceutical Litigation
Law360 named Mr. Wisner a “Titan of the Plaintiffs Bar” for, in part, his role as co-lead counsel in a complex trial that resulted in the first multi-million-dollar jury verdict against a brand-name drug-maker, GSK, holding it liable for injuries caused by a generic version of the drug Paxil. The case has been described as groundbreaking and likely to shape the landscape of pharmaceutical litigation for years to come. Also, because of this cutting-edge verdict, The National Law Journal recognized Brent and the firm as 2018 Elite Trial Lawyers and the first place winner in the category of Pharmaceutical Litigation.
One of the Leading Zantac Lawyers in the Country
In 2019, Brent and his colleagues filed lawsuits against the manufacturers of Zantac (ranitidine) alleging the popular heartburn medication contains a cancer-causing chemical (NDMA) at levels over 3,000 times greater than the FDA’s legal limit. The lawsuits were among the first of what will likely be many thousands. “Based on recent scientific findings, the levels of NDMA in Zantac are staggering,” says Wisner. “Considering how many people took Zantac in the U.S. since 1983, we are staring into the face of a public health crisis, and these defendants—in particular GSK and Pfizer—are to blame.”
The judge overseeing the multi-district litigation (MDL No. 2924) (where all of the cases filed in federal courts are consolidated) appointed Brent to the Practices and Procedures Team to help establish the protocols and methodology for litigating tens of thousands of cases in the years to come. Brent also serves as Co-Chair of the Zantac Litigation Group for AAJ – American Association for Justice.
Brent’s Appearances Discussing the Zantac Litigation
- Lawyer: ‘Real Explosion’ of Lawsuits Predicted Over Zantac – Law.com
- CA Man Says Zantac Medication Caused His Cancer – Spectrum TV News
- Zantac Census Plus, Mass Torts Made Perfect Connect webinar, Apr. 2020
- Zantac: A Major Health Crisis, Mass Torts Made Perfect Connect webinar, Mar. 2020
- Zantac Litigation, Master of Mass Tort Conference, Feb. 2020
- Status of the Zantac Litigation, American Association of Justice webinar, Jan. 2020
- Zantac: Diving into the Science – Harris Martin MDL Conf., Jan. 2020
- The Science: NDMA, Ranitidine, and the Risk of Cancer – Harris Martin’s Zantac Litigation Conference, Jan. 2020
- Key New Mass Torts: Zantac – Harris Martin Multi-district Litigation Conf., Dec. 2019
- Zantac Attack: Over the Counter Carcinogen – Mass Torts Made Perfect Conf., Oct. 2019
Brent Wisner Roundup Cancer Lawyer
Brent Wisner served on all the trial teams for the first three Monsanto Roundup trials. He served as co-lead trial counsel in two of the first three cases, delivering the opening and closing arguments, and cross-examining many of Monsanto’s corporate witnesses.
Brent Wisner in Monsanto Roundup Litigation:
Johnson v. Monsanto Co. | $289.2 Million Jury Verdict | Co-Lead Trial Counsel
Hardeman v. Monsanto Co. | $80 Million Jury Verdict | Trial Team Member
Pilliod et al. v. Monsanto Co. | $2.055 Billion Jury Verdict | Co-Lead Trial Counsel
The juries in the first three trials found that exposure to Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer caused the plaintiffs to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma, awarding more than $2.424 billion in total damages.
Brent also holds a judge-appointed leadership role as administrator and co-lead counsel for the Roundup Judicial Council Coordination Proceedings (JCCP), which consists of hundreds of Roundup cases consolidated before the California Superior Court for the County of Alameda (state court). He also serves as Liaison Counsel to the Federal MDL-2741 (multi-district litigation) In Re: Roundup Products Liability Litigation for Roundup JCCP 4953 Alameda County.
Following the groundbreaking verdicts in the Monsanto trials, Brent has been honored with numerous awards and accolades in recognition of his skill in the courtroom:
- 2019 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyer of the Year, National Trial Lawyers and ALM
- Winning Litigators Titans of Industry, 2019, National Law Journal
- Top 40 Under 40 Attorneys in California 2019, Daily Journal
- Daily Journal Top Verdicts 2019 (Pilliod et al., v. Monsanto listed #1)
- 2020 Elite Trial Lawyers Mass Tort Law Firm of the Year Finalist, The National Law Journal and The Trial Lawyer Magazine
- 2019 Trial Lawyer of the Year Finalist, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles
- 2019 Elite Trial Lawyers Mass Tort Trial Team of the Year, The National Law Journal and The Trial Lawyer Magazine
- America’s 50 Most Influential Trial Lawyers 2019 – Trial Lawyer Magazine and The National Law Journal
- Top Plaintiffs Lawyers in California 2019, Daily Journal Trial T
- eam of the Year 2019, The National Trial Lawyers Top 100
- The Round Table: America’s Most Influential Trial Lawyers 2018, National Trial Lawyers
- Top 100 Lawyers in California 2018, Daily Journal
- Daily Journal Top Verdicts, 2018
- Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyer
- Top 10 Verdicts, Personal Injury, 2018
- Top Plaintiffs Lawyers in California, 2020, Daily Journal
- Listed, The Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers™
- Nation’s Top One Percent, National Association of Distinguished Counsel
- Avvo.com Superb Score 10 out of 10
- Selected: Southern California Super Lawyers® – Rising Stars, 2016 – 2020
- The National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40
- Top List: Up-And-Coming-100, 2018 and 2019 Southern California Rising Stars
- Top 100 Product Liability Verdicts in the U.S. in 2017, Topverdict.com (Dolin v. GSK)
- Top 10 Product Liability Verdicts in Illinois in 2017, Topverdict.com (Dolin v. GSK)
- Law360 Titan of the Plaintiffs Bar (lifetime award)
- Top 100 Lawyers in California 2018, Daily Journal
- 2018 Elite Trial Lawyers, Winner Pharmaceutical Litigation, The National Law Journal
- CVN’s Top 10 Most Impressive Plaintiff Verdicts of 2018
- Top 100 Verdicts 2018, ALM, National Law Journal, Verdict Search (Johnson v. Monsanto Co.)
- Top 10 Personal Injury Verdicts in the U.S. in 2018, Topverdict.com (Johnson v. Monsanto Co.)
- Number 1 Product Liability Verdict in California in 2018, Topverdict.com (Johnson v. Monsanto Co.)
- Daily Journal Top Verdicts, 2018
- Trial Team of the Year 2019, The National Trial Lawyers Top 100
- The Round Table: America’s Most Influential Trial Lawyers, Trial Lawyer Magazine and The National Law Journal
- Top Plaintiffs Lawyers in California, 2019, Daily Journal
- 2019 Elite Trial Lawyers Mass Torts Trial Team of the Year, The National Law Journal and The Trial Lawyer Magazine
- Top 10 Verdicts in California in 2019, Topverdict.com (Pilliod et al. v. Monsanto Co.)
- Number 1 Verdict in California in 2019, Topverdict.com (Pilliod et al. v. Monsanto Co.)
- Top 40 Under 40 Attorneys in California, 2019, Daily Journal (lifetime award)
- Winning Litigators 2019, The National Law Journal
- Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyer
- 2019 Trial Lawyer of the Year Finalist, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles
- 2020 Elite Trial Lawyers Mass Torts Law Firm of the Year, Finalist, ALM and National Law Journal
- America’s 50 Most Influential Trial Lawyers, 2019, Trial Lawyer Magazine and The National Law Journal
- 2019 Civil Plaintiffs Trial Lawyer of the Year, National Trial Lawyers and ALM
- Top Plaintiffs Lawyers in California, 2020, Daily Journal
Los Angeles, California 90024
