At the same time the February 2020 merger of Faegre Baker Daniels and Drinker Biddle & Reath created a new member of the Am Law 50, it forged what has to be considered by any measure one of the biggest product liability and mass tort groups in the country. According to a recent report from Lex Machina, the firms that merged to form Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath combined to defend 21,235 product liability cases filed between 2018 and 2020. That’s more than any firm besides Shook, Hardy & Bacon, which handled 21,308.

The Litigation Daily recently caught up with Joe Tanner, the Indianapolis-based practice leader of the merged practice group, and the practice’s deputy leader Mike Zogby, based in New Jersey. Tanner, who came from the Faegre side of the shop, and Zogby, who was a longtime Drinker partner pre-merger, discussed the efforts they’ve been making to integrate the Faegre Drinker team. The following has been edited for length and clarity.