Michael Heaviside

Michael W. Heaviside, Esq. has extensive experience in personal injury, worker’s compensation and complex pharmaceutical litigation including mass tort litigation. He was formerly a senior equity partner with Ashcraft & Gerel, LLP in Washington DC.  Possessing unparalleled expertise in complex civil litigation, Michael has served as court-appointed lead, co-lead in scores of federal multi-district.  

Mr. Heaviside graduated from Georgtown University in 1975, where he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree. He went on to graduate and receive his Juris Doctor degree from the College of William & Mary’s Marshall Wythe School of Law in 1980. From 1980-1981 he was a law clerk for the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Mr. Heaviside is a licensed member of the bar in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the District of Columbia and the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia, as well as the Supreme Court of the United States, Fourth Court of Appeals, and Ninth Court of Appeals. He is a member of the American Bar Association, Virginia Trial Attorneys Association, American Association for Justice and the District of Columbia Trial Attorneys Association.

Mr. Heaviside is recognized as a leader before the bar in the area of mass torts, specializing in pharmaceutical and product liability cases.  He has represented hundreds of individuals in various state and federal courts across the country who have filed suit against pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers. His experiences have added to his expertise in developing and coordinating the scientific, medical, clinical trial, regulatory, marketing, discovery and trial aspects of litigations.

He has been a member of the Discovery Committees for In Re: Propulsid Product Liability Litigation, MDL 1355 (E.D.La.) and In Re: Rezulin Product Liability Litigation, MDL 1348 (S.D.N.Y) and the Plaintiffs’ Negotiation and Discovery Subcommittee for the Dexatrim Settlement for In Re: Phenylpropanolamine Product Liability Litigation, MDL 1407 (W.D.Wa) He also served as Class Counsel with respect to the Dexatrim/Chattem Settlement in MDL 1407 and a member of the Plaintiffs’ Creditors’ Committee with respect to Delaco (Dexatrim) Bankruptcy proceeding.  He was a member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee (PSC) for In Re: Zyprexa Products Liability Litigation, MDL 1596 (E.D.N.Y), a member of the Discovery Committee In Re: Vioxx Products Liability Litigation, MDL 1657 (E.D.La.), a member of the Delaco Trust Advisory Committee and a member of the Plaintiffs’ Liaison Committee in Metabolife Ephedra Litigation.  He is published the area of white collar crime in the pharmaceutical industry and vocational rehabilitation.

Mr. Heaviside’s distinguished career as a champion for individuals’ rights has earned him the distinction of being selected by his peers for inclusion in the “Best Attorneys in America.” In February 1997, Mr. Heaviside was identified as one of the “Best Attorneys in Washington, DC” by the Washington Magazine.  He has been listed in the prestigious “Best Attorneys in America” each and every year from 1995 to 2019, and published in the Lawdragon as one of the leading Plaintiff’s lawyers in America.  Mr. Heaviside has been awarded the highest accolade in Martindale-Hubbell, AV/Preeminent rating, which signifies and confirms that Mr. Heaviside is highly respected, his legal abilities are of the highest standard and his professional ethics are unquestioned.  Mr. Heaviside has been called upon extensively to lecture at seminars and conferences for both legal and business professionals.

- Virginia

-  U.S. District Court of Eastern of Virginia

-  U.S. District Court of Western Of Virginia

-  U.S District Court of Columbia 

-  U.S. Court of Appeals for Ninth 

-  U.S. Court of Appeals for Fourth 

-  U.S. Court of Appeals for District of Columbia

-  U.S. Supreme Court

- American Bar Association

- American Association for Justice

- Trial Attorneys for Public Justice