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David Ferrera, Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP Photo

David L. Ferrera

Chair, Product Liability Practice Group / Boston

Overview

David L. Ferrera is a partner in Nutter’s Litigation Department and chairs Nutter’s Product Liability practice group. Fortune 500 medical device and pharmaceutical companies rely on David’s expertise and experience in presenting complex product liability issues to lay juries and courts. Through his work with company research and development engineers and outside expert witnesses, David is versed in many fields of medical science, including orthopaedics, biomechanics, biomaterials, epidemiology, and pathology. In-house and outside counsel in Canada, Europe, and Asia-Pacific frequently seek David’s counsel on litigation issues affecting their multi-national clients.

David’s in-depth knowledge and understanding of sophisticated medical devices and pharmaceutical products enables him to advise in-house counsel on anticipating and preventing potential trigger events which often lead to mass tort litigation. When needed, David assembles the proper strategies, team members, and resources. His leadership, ability to quickly issue-spot, and leverage efficiencies through web-based technologies, helps to optimize outcomes and achieve business objectives on behalf of his clients.

Massachusetts Courtroom Knowledge

In addition to a national product liability practice, David draws upon his more than 25 years of experience in Massachusetts federal and state courts to deliver business solutions in a wide variety of civil commercial matters. Whether serving as lead trial or local counsel, David’s personal knowledge of the Greater Boston-area judiciary and opposing trial attorneys provides both in-state and out-of-market clients with a strategic advantage to meet their goals. In particular, he frequently assists commercial real estate developers, landlords, and tenants in complex contractual disputes.

In Best Lawyers, a client described David as "a great lawyer with a wide range of substantive expertise. He is a highly efficient and responsive legal partner, a valuable counselor and advisor whose advice is accurate and at the same time practical."*

Notable Experience and Client Impact

  • Global representation of a manufacturer of prosthetic hip, knee, and spinal implants
  • New England representation for manufacturers of such diverse products as surgical instruments, natural rubber latex gloves, contact lenses, contraceptive patches, DES, pediatric painkillers, quinolone antibiotics, migraine medication, and other pharmaceuticals
  • Management of local counsel and third-party discovery vendors, including preparation and analysis of large document productions in an era of electronic discovery
  • Successfully assisting the Special Assistant Attorney General representing the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in connection with all claims arising from the alleged “sick building” status of the former home of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (the Ruggles Center)
  • Jury and bench trials, arbitrations, and mediations in both national and Massachusetts forums

Thought-Leadership and Community Engagement

Frequently sought by the media for his in-depth knowledge on issues involving drug and medical device litigation, David has appeared on New England Cable News (NECN) and been quoted repeatedly by The Boston Globe, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, and Bloomberg Law. He has published articles on product liability topics in The Boston Globe, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, The National Law Journal, Bloomberg Law, Inside Counsel, Mass High Tech, and For the Defense. David serves as the Editor of the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education textbook Massachusetts Courtroom Advocacy, for which he also authored the chapter entitled “Cross Examination.” He is often called upon to speak at programs on legal issues to business professionals and in-house counsel at both national and regional conferences sponsored by the American Bar Association, International Association of Defense Counsel, American Conference Institute, New England Corporate Counsel Association, Boston Bar Foundation, and Boston Bar Association.

David’s community engagement outside the firm includes involvement in public service initiatives throughout Massachusetts. Notably he serves as a Trustee, Chair of the Grants Committee, and former Treasurer of the Boston Bar Foundation, the charitable affiliate of the Boston Bar Association that awards over a million dollars a year to legal services grantee organizations. In 2021, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly acknowledged David with an “Excellence in Pro Bono” award for his many years of service to the Greater Boston community. David is particularly proud of his pro bono representation of residential tenants facing loss of their homes on both an individual basis and through the Massachusetts Eastern Housing Court’s “Lawyer for the Day” program.

Internally David has served in a variety of leadership positions within Nutter, including as a former member of the firm’s Executive Committee, Co-Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Chair of the Legal Personnel Committee, Litigation Department Manager, and Partner for Pro Bono Matters.

David is an invitation-only member of the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) and a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America. He served as the Drug, Device and Biotechnology Committee’s Vice-Chair of CLE for the 2019 Annual Meeting. He is also a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

* This comment was originally published by Best Lawyers®.

Experience

Experience

  • Medical Device Companies in Multi-District Litigations

    Nutter repeatedly represents medical device companies in multi-district and “one-off” product liability litigations involving orthopaedic implants. The team has served as both national counsel and as part of a “virtual law firm” responsible for such diverse tasks as analysis of the science (including orthopaedics, biomechanics, biomaterials, epidemiology, and pathology), retention of expert witnesses, analysis of company documents, and development of narrative themes for company witnesses. Nutter also works with the company’s in-house and outside counsel in Canada, Europe, and Asia-Pacific on these related issues.

  • Major Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Corporations

    Nutter has represented and is representing major corporations in lawsuits involving diverse pharmaceutical and medical device products, such as surgical instruments, contact lenses, contraceptive patches, pediatric painkillers, quinolone antibiotics, migraine medication, and tissue morcellators.

  • Obtained favorable settlement in connection with all claims arising from the alleged “sick building” status

    Successfully assisted the Special Assistant Attorney General representing the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in connection with all claims arising from the alleged “sick building” status of the former home of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (the Ruggles Center).

  • Obtained favorable jury verdict in real estate contract dispute

    Successfully trying before a state court jury a real estate contract dispute for a nationally known paper company.

  • Obtained favorable jury verdict in land damage claim

    Successfully trying before a state court jury a land damage claim for a residential homeowner.

  • Obtained favorable arbitration ruling

    Successfully represented a paper mill in an arbitration hearing involving breach of a construction contract.

News & Insights

News

Speaking Engagements

Publications

Honors

Honors

  • Denis Maguire Award, Volunteer Lawyers Project, 2023
  • Excellence in the Law, "Excellence in Pro Bono", 2021
  • The Best Lawyers in America, 2012-2024
  • Massachusetts Super Lawyers, 2010-2023
  • Massachusetts Super Lawyers Rising Stars 2005-2008
  • Super Lawyers Business Edition, 2011-2015

Education & Admissions

Education

New York University School of Law, J.D.
College of the Holy Cross, B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Sigma Nu

Admissions

  • Massachusetts
  • New York
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin

Industry Expertise

David is an invitation-only member of the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

Noteworthy

  • Denis Maguire Award, Volunteer Lawyers Project, 2023
  • Excellence in the Law, "Excellence in Pro Bono", 2021
  • The Best Lawyers in America, 2012-2024
  • Massachusetts Super Lawyers, 2010-2023
  • Massachusetts Super Lawyers Rising Stars, 2005-2008
  • Super Lawyers Business Edition, 2011-2015
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