Leslie A. Benitez is a partner in Gordon & Rees’ Drug & Medical Device and Tort & Product Liability practice groups, representing clients in statewide and national litigation. She has spent decades representing pharmaceutical companies in a wide variety of products liability litigation and mass torts around the nation.
She also has handled products liability cases for a diverse range of products that includes prescription and over-the-counter drugs, talc used in cosmetic products, cosmetics, child safety seats, farm equipment, automobiles and their components, as well as defended health care liability claims against health care facilities.
She has extensive motion and appellate experience in product liability and tort cases involving chemical and toxic exposures, and has coordinated legal defenses of her clients at trial and on appeal.
She has argued in Texas appeals courts as well as the United States Courts of Appeal and the United States Supreme Court. She is well known as a legal strategist in error preservation in litigation and at trials.
Prior to entering private practice, Ms. Benitez served as General Counsel to the Governor of Texas. She also served as Assistant Attorney General for the State of Texas, where she was Chief of the Law Enforcement Division. She also served as a Briefing and Research Attorney for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
EDUCATION :
- J.D., with honors, The University of Texas School of Law, 1977
- B.A., with honors, The University of Texas at Austin, 1974
Admissions :
- Texas
- U.S. District Court, Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of Texas
- U.S. District Court, Eastern and Western Districts of Oklahoma
- U.S. Supreme Court
Memberships :
- DRI-The Voice of the Defense Bar
- DRI-The Voice of the Defense Bar, Drug & Medical Device Steering Committee
Community Involvement : The University of Texas School of Law Alumni Association, former Executive Committee Member; Co-chair, Law School Class of 1977 Alumni.
EXPERIENCE :
- She has handled and argued appeals in state and federal appeals courts, and the United States Supreme Court.
- Ms. Benitez has been a key legal strategist in positioning legal defenses in nationwide litigations, including coordinating motion practice, and appellate strategies in cases throughout the United States.
- Ms. Benitez has acted as appellate counsel on the ground at trial for many product manufacturer defendants, in order to position the cases for appeal, planning and executing appellate strategy at trial.
- She has directed and overseen teams handling mass tort motion practice, including pretrial motions, Daubert challenges to the reliability of scientific evidence, and summary judgment motions.
- She planned and implemented the removal to federal court of thousands of cases, establishing fraudulent joinder of improper parties in order to preserve her clients’ interests in federal forums.
Cost
Rate : $$$