Neelum Wadhwani is a litigator with expertise in commercial and governmental litigation in the healthcare and environmental industries, as well as internal investigations. Neelum has significant experience as national lead and trial counsel representing the world’s leading manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors of food products, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and chemicals at both the trial and appellate levels, including numerous federal multidistrict litigation (MDLs) and coordinated state proceedings across the United States. In recent years, Neelum has secured numerous victories for her clients on summary judgment on a wide variety of issues such as federal preemption, causation, statute of limitations, and the learned intermediary doctrine. She has been recognized as a “Next Generation Partner” by The Legal 500.
Neelum also has led internal investigations for Fortune 20 companies on issues as diverse as alleged employment discrimination, trade-secret theft, and insider trading. She also has substantial experience in government investigations and criminal defense. She successfully represented Senator Ted Stevens in a federal corruption trial, the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board in an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and corporations in federal grand jury proceedings. The American Lawyer described the firm’s work on the Stevens case as “one of the best criminal defense performances in memory, resulting in a heightened scrutiny of prosecutors that will affect the Justice Department for years to come.”
Neelum chairs the firm’s Associate Steering Committee and is a member of the Associate Evaluation Committee. Neelum also spent several years serving on the firm’s Hiring Committee.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Neelum primarily grew up in Wisconsin. She received her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 1996 an M.A. from the University of Texas – Austin in 2003, and a J.D. from University of Texas School of Law in 2006. Neelum joined Williams & Connolly in 2006.
In 2023 and 2024, The Legal 500 recognized Neelum as a “Next Generation Partner” in the category of Products Liability, Mass Tort & Class Actions - Defense: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices. Neelum was selected for inclusion in the 2014 through 2016 Washington, DC Rising Stars list in litigation by Super Lawyers.
Representative Experience
- National counsel for Cardinal Health in opioids litigation, including in federal multi-district litigation and numerous state courts and state-court coordinated proceedings. Neelum was part of a trial team that obtained a complete defense verdict after a landmark 3-month long bench trial. The West Virginia federal district court issued a nearly 200-page opinion in favor of Cardinal Health.
- Lead counsel for Hospira in a federal MDL and associated state court proceedings alleging personal injury relating to the chemotherapy medication, docetaxel. The MDL court granted summary judgment to Hospira in all three trial-set cases.
- National counsel for Pfizer Inc. in a federal MDL and associated state court proceedings alleging personal injury relating to the medication Viagra. The MDL court granted Pfizer’s motion to exclude all of plaintiffs’ general causation experts.
- Lead and trial counsel in a California state coordinated proceeding and multiple federal proceedings in a products liability case on behalf of Genentech. In 10 bellwether cases selected for trial, the California state court granted Genentech summary judgment in seven cases, leading to a favorable global settlement.
- Lead counsel for a global digital industrial company in environmental litigation alleging property damage and medical monitoring related to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and trichloroethylene (TCE).
- National counsel for several major pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers in federal MDL and state-court litigations involving product liability claims.
- Lead counsel for one of the country’s largest Pharmacy Benefits Managers (PBMs) in False Claims Act matter in federal court. In December 2016, relator’s claims were dismissed with prejudice, and the result was upheld on appeal before the 3rd Circuit.
- Lead counsel for Japanese and German inventors and brand manufacturers of a pharmaceutical nasal spray in a Hatch-Waxman action.