Richard Meadow:
Hi, this is Rick Meadow. I began in the personal injury area of the law in 1984, right after I graduated law school. Since that time, I’ve been involved with mass torts since 1996 and have been associated with some of the largest and most prestigious firms in that area. But in 2004, I decided to discuss an opening a New York office with Mark Lanier, in my opinion at that time, and remains to this day, the best trial lawyer that I have ever seen.
And because of that, Mark and I collaborated, opened this New York office. And since then, the success of the firm has grown exponentially. I was the 15th lawyer. We are now over 50 lawyers with support staff closing in on 200. What I liked, or what I was most attracted to at The Lanier Law Firm was the resources that Mark, and the firm will put into any case that they take to trial.
Many firms are limited by overhead or by costs. Mark will spare no expense. We are able to finance all our litigations, and we will go to the ends of the earth to uncover the best experts, the best witnesses, and we will not stop until every stone is unturned.
Personal Background
Richard “Rick” Meadow is the National Mass Tort Leader as well as the Director of Business Development for The Lanier Law Firm. His responsibilities include overseeing all the firm’s pharmaceutical mass tort litigation in addition to promoting, recruiting and maintaining associated outside relationships at a national level. Mr. Meadow has represented the rights of individuals who have been injured by pharmaceuticals, medical devices, asbestos, medical malpractice, defective products, construction defects, lead poisoning, and motor vehicles, as well as the negligence of premises owners and municipalities for over 30 years. He further has extensive experience in the representation of large national insurance companies as an insurance defense attorney. This experience provides a 360-degree perspective of the practice of tort law in the United States.
Mr. Meadow has developed an extensive practice in mass tort and aggregate litigation. He has been nominated and selected to a variety of leadership positions by both his peers and courts across the country. He has served in leadership positions in many cases that have resulted in nationwide settlements.
Mr. Meadow is often called on as a featured lecturer at legal forums and conferences. In 2008, Mr. Meadow was given the high honor to testify before the United States Congress. His testimony was based on his expertise regarding the Sunshine in Litigation Bill, which would have effectively amended the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure regarding the use of protective orders in discovery and the use of confidentiality provisions in settlement agreements. He has been appointed to many committees that explore issues germane to the medical and legal communities and he is a distinguished member of The Sedona Conference.
Mr. Meadow has been regularly interviewed by, and quoted in, a variety of international, national and local media outlets regarding class action and mass tort cases including the following:
- The New York Times
- Bloomberg News
- Reuters
- CBS
- ABC
- Wall Street Journal
- Law 360
Representative Cases
- Meadow has successfully tried over 25 cases to verdict.
- He was an integral part of the winning Lanier Law Firm team that obtained the record-setting plaintiffs’ verdicts in the Vioxx litigation.
- While at his former firm, he helped win two significant jury awards recognized by The National Law Journal among the nation’s largest verdicts in 2002 and 2003.
- He has settled claims for clients in the tens of millions.
- Meadow has also argued appeals before the New York and New Jersey Appellate Divisions.
Rick has served or is currently serving in a leadership capacity in the following litigations:
- In re: Levaquin Prod. Liab. Litig. – MDL 1943
- In re: Chantix Prod. Liab Litig. – MDL 2092
- In re: Yasmin and Yax (Drospirenone) Marketing Sales Practices Prod. Liab. Litig. – MDL 2100
- In re: Zimmer Duron Hip Cup Prod. Liab. Litig. – MDL 2158
- In re: DuPuy Orthopaedics, Inc. ASR Hip Implant Prod. Liab. Litig. – MDL 2197
- In re: DuPuy Orthapaedics, Inc. Pinnacle Hip Implant Prod. Liab. Litig. – MDL 2244
- In re: Zimmer Nexgen Knee Implant Prod. Liab. Litig. – MDL 2272
- In re: American Medical Systems, Inc., Pelvic Repair System. Prod. Liab. Litig. – MDL 2325
- In re: Boston Scientific Corp. Pelvic Repair Sys. Prod. Liab. Litig. – MDL 2326
- In re: Propecia (Finasteride) Prod. Liab. Litig. – MDL 2331
- In re: Mirena IUD Prod. Liab. Litig. – MDL 2434
- In re: Bextra – MDL 1699
- In re: Zyprexa Prod. Liab. Litig. – MDL 1596
- In re: Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Products Marketing Sales Practices and Prod. Liab. Litig. – MDL 2738
Admissions and Certification
- Meadow is admitted to practice in Texas, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Washington, DC, in addition to numerous Federal Courts.
- Admitted to the Bar of the United States Supreme Court.
Education
- J.D. – California Western School of Law (1984)
- BA – Rutgers University
Awards
- Best Lawyers 2024 – Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs
- Best Lawyers 2024 – Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
- Best Lawyers 2025 – Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs
- Best Lawyers 2025 – Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
- Houston Lawyer of the Year, Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs, Best Lawyers, 2022
- Meadow has been recognized on the annual New York Super Lawyers list for six years straight as one of the top attorneys and further has received the Super Lawyer distinction for the State of Texas, after his relocation there.
- Honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award in New York.
- Earned a Martindale-Hubbell® AV Preeminent™ Rating.
- Recognized by Law Dragon as one of the Top 500 Lawyers in the Country.
- Named to the Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers.
- Acknowledged on the U.S. News and World Report’s Best Lawyers list for multiple years.
Community and Professional Activities
- Vice President, Board of Directors, Royal Oaks Country Club
- Board of Directors – Guatamala SANA
- Member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum
