Sutherland

Kari is a trial attorney and focuses her practice on pharmaceutical and medical device product liability litigation. She represents clients in significant personal injury actions in courtrooms across the country. In 2022, she served as lead trial counsel for Johnson & Johnson in the District of Arizona and won a unanimous defense verdict after a jury trial involving decommercialized pelvic mesh products. Later in 2022, she again served as lead trial counsel for J&J in the District of Arkansas and won a unanimous defense verdict in another pelvic mesh case. Between those two trial wins, she served as trial counsel in the Southern District of Mississippi in a balloon implant case involving serious injuries, and again secured a unanimous defense verdict. Her other pharmaceutical product liability defense verdicts include those resulting from trials in California, Illinois, and Louisiana, and her trial experience includes devices, pharmaceutical and over-the-counter products. She has worked with the absolute best and brightest pharmaceutical and medical device product liability lawyers in the country.

• Drug & Device Litigation
• Drug & Device Litigation - Trials
• Appellate & Written Advocacy
• Groundwater & Chemical Exposure Litigation

Pharmaceutical, Medical Device and Healthcare

Kari is not just a trial lawyer, but pays her dues long before trial begins and also invests in other younger lawyers with professional development work. Her additional experience includes managing a national counsel team consisting of firms across the nation defending prescription medical devices. She also serves as a national expert coordinator in pharmaceutical and medical device litigation. She draws on her broad knowledge of FDA regulatory issues in working with experts to defend litigation and in counseling clients on risk avoidance and management strategies. Kari has worked extensively with over-the-counter regulatory witnesses. Additionally, among other memberships, Kari is a Senior Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America and a member of the Trial Attorneys of America. 

Kari is a former Special Agent with the United States Secret Service. She is recognized by Benchmark Litigation as one of its Top 250 Women in Litigation (2016-2024). She also received a 2017 Burton Award and a 2018 Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association “The Quarterly” Editorial Award for her written work. She frequently speaks and authors articles on litigation and trial-related topics, including for Butler Snow’s Pro Te: Solutio and publications such as Law360.

Kari obtained her J.D., with special distinction, from Mississippi College and B.S., cum laude, from the University of Alabama. She is admitted to the State Bars of Mississippi, Tennessee and Montana.

Significant Trials

• Jarrett v. Ethicon, Inc. and Johnson & Johnson, et al., Eastern District of Arkansas (October 2022) – defense verdict – Lead Trial Counsel. See “J&J Ethicon Unit Prevails In 2 Pelvic Mesh Trials,” Law360, October 13, 2022.
• Knoth v. Apollo Endoscopy US, Inc. et al., Southern District of Mississippi (June 2022) – defense verdict – Trial Counsel. 
• McBroom v. Ethicon, Inc., et al., District of Arizona (March 2022) - defense verdict - Lead Trial Counsel. See “Johnson and Johnson Wins Third Ethicon Pelvic Mesh Trial This Year,” Law.com, July 6, 2022.
• Gardner v. Ethicon, Inc., District of South Carolina (September 2020) – Resolution after jury selection – Trial Counsel. 
• Keshia Hunt v. McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Eastern District of Louisiana (March 2014) involving Children’s Motrin and Stevens-Johnson Syndrome; judgment for defense – Trial Counsel.
• Linda Gross, et al. v. Johnson & Johnson, et al. - Product liability action involving pelvic mesh. Tried in Atlantic County, New Jersey, (2013) – Assisted Trial Counsel. 
• Christopher Trejo v. Johnson & Johnson and McNeil Consumer Healthcare - Superior Court of California, Los Angeles (August-October 2011) involving Children’s Motrin and Stevens-Johnson Syndrome; Trial Counsel; judgment rendered on design defect claims; remanded for new trial on warnings claim. 
• Justice Brakefield, et al. v. McNeil Consumer Healthcare - Superior Court of California, San Francisco (March 2011) involving Children’s Motrin and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis; defense verdict – Trial Counsel.  
• Brianna Maya v. Johnson & Johnson, et al. - Philadelphia trial involving product liability case in connection with Children's Motrin and Stevens-Johnson Syndrome; resulted in plaintiff verdict (2011) – Assisted Trial Counsel.
• Thomas B. Gaines v. Johnson & Johnson, et al. – California wrongful death action involving Children’s Motrin and Stevens-Johnson Syndrome; resulted in defense verdict (2010) – Assisted Trial Counsel. 
• Karen Robinson v. Johnson & Johnson and McNeil Consumer Healthcare - U.S. District Court, N. D. Illinois (August 2009) involving Children’s Motrin and Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, judgment for defense – Trial Counsel.
• Kimberly Zundel, et al., v. Johnson & Johnson, et al. - New Jersey trial product liability action involving Children's Motrin and Stevens-Johnson Syndrome; resulted in defense verdict (2009) – Assisted Trial Counsel. 
• Sabrina Brierton Johnson v. Johnson & Johnson, et. al. - California product liability action involving Children's Motrin and Stevens-Johnson Syndrome; resulted in defense verdict (2008) – Assisted Trial Counsel.

Significant Representation – Medical Device and Pharmaceutical Experience

• National Litigation Manager, Remanded and Newly Filed Cases, Pelvic Mesh Litigation, Johnson & Johnson
• National Regulatory Expert Coordinator, Pelvic Mesh Litigation, Johnson &Johnson. 
• Regulatory Expert Coordinator, NSAID Litigation, Johnson & Johnson.
• Foreign Litigation Liaison, Pelvic Mesh Litigation, Johnson & Johnson.

Significant Briefing

• Steede v. General Motors LLC, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 184628 (W.D. Tenn. 2012). 
• Steede v. General Motors LLC, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 184873 (W.D. Tenn. 2012), aff’d 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5557 (W.D. Tenn. 2013). 
• Steede v. General Motors LLC, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81103 (W.D. Tenn. 2012), aff’d 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79465 (W.D. Tenn. 2012). 
• Steede v. General Motors LLC, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81292 (W.D. Tenn. 2012), aff’d 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79467 (W.D. Tenn. 2012). 
• Murray v. General Motors LLC, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 11323 (5th Cir. 2012). 
• Austin v. Will-Burt Co., 361 F.3d 862 (5th Cir. 2004); wrongful death/product liability action in which the Fifth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for firm’s client, the manufacturer of a news van’s telescoping mast.
• Betterton v. Evans, et al., 351 F.Supp.2d 529 (N.D. Miss. 2004); granting summary judgment to pacemaker manufacturer under preemption principles of Medical Device Amendments.
• Willow Creek Exploration LTD v. Tadlock Pipe & Equipment, Inc., et al., 186 F.Supp.2d 675 (S.D. Miss. 2002); granting motion to dismiss of manufacturer of well tubing for lack of personal jurisdiction.
• Piotrowski v. City of Houston, 237 F.3d 567 (5th Cir. 2001); Section 1983 claims, reversed in favor of city.
• Breaux v. City of Garland, 205 F.3d 150 (5th Cir. 2000); First Amendment retaliation claims, reversed in favor of city.

• Special Agent, United States Secret Service, 2004-2007
• The Legal 500 US
  • Recognized in the editorial for nationwide Dispute Resolution: Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices – Defense, 2023
• The Burton Foundation and Law360, The Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing, March 2017
• Super Lawyers®
  • Mid-South Super Lawyers, Personal Injury – Products: Defense, 2013-2020
• Benchmark Litigation
  • Local Litigation Star, 2012-2016, 2018, 2021
  • Top 250 Women in Litigation, 2016-2024
• Best Lawyers in America®
  • Product Liability Litigation – Defendants, 2021-2025

• Mississippi, 1996
• Tennessee, 2002
• Montana, 2023
• U.S. District Courts
  • Tennessee: Eastern, Western, Middle
  • Mississippi: Northern, Southern
• U.S. Court of Appeals
  • 5th Circuit
• U.S. Supreme Court

• Mississippi College, J.D., with special distinction, 1995
  • Editor-in-Chief, Mississippi College Law Review
• University of Alabama, B.S., History, cum laude, 1992

• Clerkship, Judge Glen Davidson, U.S. District Court, Northern District, Mississippi
• Clerkship, Judge E. Grady Jolly, U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit

• Senior Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
• International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC)
  • Faculty, Trial Academy, Stanford Law School, 2024
• Mississippi Bar Association
• Tennessee Bar Association
• Defense Research Institute (DRI), 2010-2023
• Fifth Circuit Bar Association
• Lafayette County Bar Association
• Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association
• National Rifle Association
  • Lifetime Member
• Trial Attorneys of America
• Montana Bar Association

• Author, "Rule 104(c)(3): When Justice So Requires," Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 16, No. 4, January 2024.
• Panelist, "Discovery of Litigation Funding and What to Do With It," American Property Casualty Insurance Association Virtual National General Counsel Conference, September 29, 2021.
• Co-Author, "The COVID Trilogy: The One About the Pandemic," Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 14, No. 2, June 2021.
• Panelist, "Life After Remand," DRI Drug & Medical Device Virtual Seminar, April 30, 2021.
• Panelist, “Defending Against Punitive Damages,” International Association of Defense Counsel, 2020 Midyear Meeting, Pebble Beach, Calif., February 23, 2020. 
• Co-Author, “What We Wish We Knew Ten Years Ago,” Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 11 No. 1, July 2018. 
• Author, "My Time on the Inside:  A Juror’s Tale," MDLA Quarterly, October 26, 2017.
• Presenter (Plaintiff Closing Argument), “DRI Trial Tactics,” Defense Research Institute Seminar, Las Vegas, Nev., March 2017.
• Author, “Funding Litigation and Treatment: Leveling The Playing Field?” Law360, August 29, 2016.
• Author, “Funding Litigation and Treatment: Leveling the Playing Field or Exploiting the Little Guy?” Pro Te Solutio, Vol. 8, No. 5, Spring 2016.
• Presenter, “Opening Statements:  Case-maker or Case-breaker?” MDLA Chapter at the University of Mississippi Law School, October 16, 2014.
• Author, “Medical Devices: The Modern Age,” Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 7 No. 3, Fall 2014. 
• Author, “Medical Devices: The Beginnings,” Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 7 No. 2, 5-13, June 2014.
• Presenter, “Trial: Objections and Evidence,” MDLA Chapter at the University of Mississippi Law School, November 20, 2013.
• Presenter, “New OTC Labeling Guidances,” FDANews webinar, August 8, 2013.
• Author, “Forecast for the Physician Payments Sunshine Act: Partly Cloudy,” Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 5 No. 4, November 2012. 
• Author, “The Quest for the Holy Grail: The Fully Informative, yet Fully Understandable, OTC Label,” Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 3 No. 3, 12-19, August 2010. 
• Author, “Reducing Verdicts: Who’s Up First?” MDLA Quarterly, Spring 2010. 
• Author, “The Thorny Problem of Advertising,” Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 3 No. 1, 6-10, January 2010. 
• Author, “Case Law: A Fifty State Survey Concerning the Admissibility of Expert Testimony,” Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 2 No. 1, 14-15, February 2009. 
• Author, “Risk Management Prior Approval for New Drugs,” Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 1 No. 3, 12-16, July 2008. 
• Presenter, “Daubert Your Expert,” Greater Memphis Paralegal Alliance, March 2008. 
• Author, “Fifth Circuit Reporter,” Quarterly Civil Procedure Update, approximately 2000-2002. 
• Author, “Expert Testimony: Frye is Dead; Long Live Frye,” 15 Miss. C.L. Rev. 163 (1994).