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Mary R. Pawelek

Mary R. Pawelek

Firm Vice Chair and Executive Managing Partner
Phone:512-874-3838

Mary Pawelek has more than 25 years’ experience in product liability litigation and focuses her practice on defending global pharmaceutical manufacturers in mass tort litigation and individual matters throughout the country. She currently serves as national counsel in two pharmaceutical mass tort litigations, and was national counsel of sales representatives in two recent large-scale litigations.

Mary has extensive experience in the organization and administration of pharmaceutical mass tort litigation, particularly in developing corporate defense strategies and evaluating complex medical, legal, and scientific matters including discovery issues. She also has worked with clients on litigation risk assessments and management strategy. Mary has handled numerous pharmaceutical cases through dispositive pre-trial motions and has negotiated non-suits. Throughout her career, she has worked on many discovery and document production issues including national responsibility for company documents in several mass torts.  She has also prepared and defended company witnesses in the areas of drug safety, regulatory, medical/scientific affairs and marketing, including sales representatives. Mary has extensive experience working with experts in many different disciplines on both causation and regulatory issues.  Mary has also been a member of several high-profile trials. 

Mary joined Bowman and Brooke in 2011 to establish the firm’s second Texas office in Austin, is the firm’s Vice-Chair and a member of the six-person Executive Committee.

Bar Admissions

  • Texas, 1993

Court Admissions

  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas, 1997
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, 1997
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas, 1998
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, 1996

Education

  • The University of Texas School of Law, J.D., 1993

    with honors

    Board of Advocates

  • The University of Texas at Austin, B.A., 1990

    with high honors

    Phi Beta Kappa

    Phi Kappa Phi

Professional Associations

    • Travis County Bar Association
    • Texas Association of Defense Counsel
    • Defense Research Institute
    • Texas Bar Foundation
      —Fellow

Distinctions

    • The Legal 500
      —Named in Product Liability and Mass Tort Defense: Medical Device and Pharmaceutical Category, 2018
    • Super Lawyers Magazine
      —Texas Super Lawyers - The Top Women, (1 of 4 women named in Products' Defense) 2018, 2019
      —Texas Super Lawyers, 2016 – 2019
      Texas Rising Stars, 2005, 2006

Recent News, Events and Blogs


Speaking Engagements

  • “Client Management and Development,” Presenter, Travis County Women’s Lawyer Association, January 2022
  • “A View From The Inside: Key Considerations in Managing Large-Scale Litigation, Expectations of Outside Counsel to Enhance the Client Relationship," Moderator, ABA TIPS-Life Sciences, October, 2019
  • “Sales Reps and Life Sciences Litigation,” Co-Presenter, Client Seminar, December 2018
  • "The Company’s Front Line: Sales Representatives and Life Sciences Litigation,” Co-Presenter, Webinar, September 2018
  • "Prescription Opiates Past, Present, and Future," Co-Presenter, Client Webinar, February 2018
  • "MDL Trends and Considerations for Reform,” Co-Presenter, American Tort Reform Annual Conference, November 2017

Publications

  • "Avoiding the “Causation Conflation” Trap in a Pharmaceutical Case," Co-Author, Chapter in DRI’s Science Basics for the Drug and Medical Device Lawyer, 2020