Walsh Pizzi O'Reilly Falanga LLP

Managing Partner: Liza M. Walsh

Senior Partners: Peter J. Pizzi, Tricia B. O’Reilly, Stephen V. Falanga, and Marc D. Haefner

Number of lawyers: 29

Languages: English, Spanish, Albanian, Farsi 

Firm Overview: 

Based in Newark, New Jersey, with additional offices located in New York City and Philadelphia, Walsh lawyers lead in many areas of practice including intellectual property & trade secret litigation, financial services & risk management, business & commercial litigation, and class action defense. Their team of seasoned attorneys brings over 150 years of combined experience in a law firm poised to deliver high-quality, sophisticated legal services, with the personal attention and responsiveness more common to smaller organizations. As a majority women-owned business, certified by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Counsel (WBENC) and the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF), Walsh is focused on building a diverse law firm of the highest caliber.

Intellectual Property & Trade Secrets: 

Contact: Liza M. Walsh

Tel: (973) 757-1101

Email: [email protected]

• Represented plaintiff non-profit car donation organization in three-week trial against defendant’s use of a trademark to solicit charitable donation of used motor vehicles to benefit children in need, and the client largely prevailed on its claims.
• Trial team succeeded on breach of contract and copyright claims for defendant client, obtaining a $14.4 million jury verdict on the client’s counterclaims. A decision is pending on client’s post-verdict request for an injunction.
• Represented a privately held pharmaceutical company in final settlement of patent infringement claims against client’s OxyContin product.
• Represented numerous Fortune 500 companies in six patent infringement trials.

Key Clients: Sanofi U.S., Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries, Purdue Pharma L.P., CNA Insurance Co., Allergan PLC, Amgen, Inc., LG Electronics, Inc.

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Financial Services & Risk Management: 

Contact: Stephen V. Falanga

Tel: (973) 757-1107

Email: [email protected]

• Serves as primary outside counsel for large regional bank in connection with all borrower loans.
• Represented chapter 11 trustee in connection with the $39 million sale of a large senior care facility center.

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Labor & Employment: 

Contact: Tricia B. O’Reilly

Tel: (973) 757-1104

Email: [email protected]

• Representing a multi-national insurance company and several of its employees in a wrongful termination suit, and obtained a federal court order compelling arbitration and enjoining the earlier-filed state court action.
• Through an investigation which included public records, revealed that the plaintiff had made misrepresentations regarding a medical condition, leading to a settlement for a fraction of anticipated litigation costs following the completion of the plaintiff’s deposition.

Key Clients: Prudential Financial, Inc., ACE American Insurance Co., Chubb

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Higher Education: 

Contact: M. Trevor Lyons

Tel: (973) 757-1014

Email: [email protected]

• Defending university and its football program in single school/single sport putative class action, which is part of the NCAA student-athlete concussion injury MDL.
• Defended a prominent public university against claims of sexual harassment, achieving a favorable settlement during cross-examination of the plaintiff at trial.
• Obtained summary dismissal of a university executive’s claim that her removal from an at-will administrative position triggered Constitutional procedural due process rights.

Key Clients: Rutgers, Fairleigh Dickinson, Fordham, NJIT, Caldwell

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Construction Law: 

Contact: Thomas J. O’Leary

Tel: (973) 757-1045

Email: [email protected]

• Defended Fortune Global 500 company against delay and disruption claims totaling more than $9 million that arose out of the construction of a tower in Newark, NJ. The litigation settled after extensive motion practice related to contractual indemnity obligations and the economic loss doctrine.
• Defending a Fortune 500 company in a pending arbitration arising out of the construction of a 130,000 square foot office building in Princeton, NJ.
• Served as counsel to a leading energy producer in resolving multiple construction lien claims filed in connection with the demolition of a New Jersey power plant.
• On behalf of a leading solar manufacturer, enforced on appeal a mandatory arbitration and class action waiver provisions, defeating putative consumer class action claims arising out of the sale and installation of residential solar systems.

Key Clients: NRG Energy, Inc., Consolidated Asset Management Services, LLC

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Class Action Defense: 

Contact: Liza M. Walsh

Tel: (973) 757-1101

Email: [email protected]

• On behalf of a leading insulin producer, obtained dismissals of RICO and state consumer protection law claims in multiple putative class actions relating to insulin pricing practices.
• In multiple putative class actions, defeated class certification for consumer food producer in lawsuits challenging the “pure” claim on its beverage packaging.
• Achieved summary judgment dismissing a purported consumer class action regarding their client’s portion sizing.
• Successfully defended an alleged co-conspirator in a RICO business-to-business class action involving the pricing practices of the nation’s largest food distribution firm, with the case settling for $299 million and no contribution by the firm’s client.

Key Clients: Sanofi U.S., Tropicana Products Inc., NRG Energy, Inc., Pfizer, Inc. and multiple privately-held retailers and manufacturers