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Mary M. Thomson is the head of the Advocacy Group in Gowlings' Toronto office and the national leader of the Firm's Product Liability Practice Group. She is one of Canada’s pre-eminent practitioners in the areas of class actions, mass tort litigation, products liability, pharma litigation, health law, consent law and privacy issues. Mary has extensive experience in representing clients with respect to pharmaceutical products, medical devices, natural health products, food, cosmetics as well as an array of consumer products (LED lighting, light fixtures, heating pads, alarm systems, label makers, fibreglass, headphones, insulating foam, BPA products to name a few).
Mary has 30 years of experience representing clients before the courts, public inquiries, professional regulatory bodies and other administrative tribunals. Mary also acts as Canadian national coordinating counsel in class actions, managing complex litigation across Canada. She combines her substantial courtroom experience with an ability to supervise high functioning teams. Legal teams directed by Mary develop thorough legal analysis, deliver solid value and provide dedicated client service. Mary works closely with clients, assisting them in defining and implementing a strategic plan for their litigation. She counsels clients on risk assessment, mitigation and management.
Mary has taught both trial advocacy and negotiation theory throughout her career. She served for more than a decade as an adjunct professor in the graduate department of Health Administration in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto, instructing in ethical and legal issues in the health law field. She currently teaches legal and ethical aspects of bio-medical research at the Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. Class Actions
- Lead counsel for a major pharmaceutical client with respect to a diabetes medication.
- Lead counsel for the manufacturer of a leading dental adhesive.
- Lead counsel for major standards organization with respect to modular home claims.
- From 2004 to 2009, lead counsel for a major pharmaceutical client with respect a leading coxib medication.
- Lead counsel and national coordinating counsel for a major pharmaceutical client with respect to bisphosphonate litigation based in Saskatchewan.
- Lead counsel for a leading energy drink manufacturer.
- Lead counsel in a tuberculosis notification case including successfully defeating plaintiffs' claims for mental distress.
- Lead counsel on a major privacy breach class action for a public entity.
- Senior counsel to local litigation teams on diagnostic-related class actions, responsible for strategy and outcomes on class certification matters.
Mass Torts
- Counsel to all physicians in Canada with respect to Krever Inquiry and "blood litigation" throughout the 1990s.
- Trial counsel on Canadian litigation involving transfusion associated AIDS and related HBV, HCV claims.
- Responsible for product recall and patient notification regarding surgical instrumentation and possible transmission of infectious diseases.
- Act for a number of manufacturers of medical devices and pharmaceutical products with respect to threatened litigation.
Mary has authored a number of articles and papers on a variety of topics, including contributing a chapter to Law and Ethics in Biomedical Research: Regulation, Conflict of Interest, and Liability, published by University of Toronto Press, 2006, and Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics: The Use of Statistical Evidence in Criminal and Civil Law, published in the proceedings of the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, 2000.
Mary is a sought-after speaker in her areas of legal expertise. |
