Mara Cusker Gonzalez

Mara Cusker Gonzalez is a litigation partner who specializes in defending complex product liability and mass tort cases in federal and state courts. With more than 15 years of experience representing life sciences companies and other manufacturers, Ms. Cusker Gonzalez has particular expertise in cases involving the marketing and labeling of FDA-approved pharmaceuticals and biologics. She regularly helps clients mitigate risks and successfully defend against claims relating to product safety, warnings, efficacy, advertising and promotion.

Ms. Cusker Gonzalez and her team have a long track record of winning pretrial legal and expert motions that have led to the dismissal of entire product liability mass tort litigations, including federal multidistrict litigations (MDLs). She has extensive experience defending companies in large scale personal injury, consumer fraud, RICO and False Claims Act cases filed by individuals, third-party payors, class action lawyers and attorneys general. She brings deep knowledge of MDLs and state court coordinated proceedings. Ms. Cusker Gonzalez has taken a lead role on national counsel and legal strategy teams. Her experience includes managing pretrial proceedings in litigations with thousands of cases involving statins, antidepressants, anticonvulsants, antacids, pain medications, and chemotherapy.   

Ms. Cusker Gonzalez has also represented a COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer in successfully asserting dispositive defenses under the federal Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act). Her work also includes representing large chemical manufacturers and home builders in cases alleging environmental exposure. She also represented a major manufacturer in a large product liability litigation alleging that a product sold to the military was related to hearing loss.

Ms. Cusker Gonzalez has also led successful appellate briefing defending various wins, including securing affirmance of summary judgment orders that shut down an MDL involving more than 3,000 cases in In re Lipitor (Atorvastatin Calcium) Marketing, Sales Practices & Products Liability Litigation (No II) MDL 2502, 892 F.3d 624 (4th Cir. 2018), and summary affirmance of an important federal preemption ruling in Gayle v. Pfizer, Inc., 452 F. Supp. 3d 78 (S.D.N.Y. 2020), aff’d 847 Fed. Appx. 79 (2d Cir. 2021).

Ms. Cusker Gonzalez is a member of Dechert’s nationally recognized team of product liability and mass tort lawyers, ranked Band 1 for Nationwide Product Liability & Mass Torts: The Elite by Chambers USA and Litigation Department of the Year for Product Liability by New York Law Journal in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.

Ms. Cusker Gonzalez has been recognized by Legal 500 US in the area of Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Actions – Defense: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices. In 2022 and 2023, she was appointed to Law360’s Product Liability Editorial Board. She co-authored the Mass Torts chapter of the American Bar Association’s comprehensive treatise, Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts (5th ed. 2021), and Lexology Panoramic: Product Liability 2024. She also contributed to Duke Law School’s Guidelines and Best Practices for Large and Mass-Tort MDLs (2018).

Ms. Cusker Gonzalez serves as co-hiring partner for Dechert’s New York office. She has been recognized for her dedication in training and mentoring junior lawyers, including with a Dechert STARS Exceptional Teacher award. She is also active in Dechert’s Global Women’s Initiative and serves on the firm’s Innovation Committee. She has maintained an active pro bono practice throughout her career, with a focus on representing individuals in immigration, employment and housing cases.

Ms. Cusker Gonzalez is also a member of the Editorial Committee of the product liability and mass torts group’s newsletter, Dechert Re:Torts.

Prior to joining Dechert, Ms. Cusker Gonzalez was of counsel at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and an associate with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.