Anne Kimball

Anne Kimball

Attorney in Chicago, IL

Anne's practice is focused on complex litigation, particularly in the areas of defense of consumer products, class actions, emerging theories of liability, and industry-wide defense. She has represented manufacturers and distributors in the pharmaceutical, medical device, alcoholic beverage, firearms, agricultural, and other consumer product industries – locally and nationally. This representation has included trials before state and federal courts around the country and counseling on issues such as product recalls, product warnings, design considerations, and trade association relations.

Anne has secured numerous precedent-setting opinions for diverse clients such as Eli Lilly, Novartis, the Beer Institute, McDonald's, and Smith & Wesson. As primary outside counsel to the Beer Institute, a Washington-based trade association, Anne guided major American brewers through a variety of challenges in the courts and regulatory and legislative forums from the 1980s through 2010. She coordinated the industry's defense of a series of lawsuits involving claims of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, alcoholism, drunk driving, and she successfully led the Beer Institute and brewers through class actions brought by David Boies, Jr. alleging that alcohol advertising causes young people to drink illegally. These lawsuits sought billions of dollars based on consumer fraud theories, unjust enrichment, and conspiracy. As part of this effort, Anne has worked closely with industry representatives in the areas of public relations, assisting in developing public service advertisements, educational campaigns, and public statements.

Anne has defended cases for Novartis involving prescription and over-the-counter products, including several cases involving Novartis's nicotine patch and an over-the-counter diet pill. She defended Cytodyne Technologies in a highly publicized case brought in the Circuit Court of Cook County by the Estate of Rashide Wallace, a Northwestern football player who died suddenly during football practice after allegedly consuming an energy drink manufactured by Cytodyne. For many years, she served as counsel to Smith & Wesson Corp. in numerous high-profile lawsuits alleging a variety of theories. These lawsuits were either dismissed before discovery or on summary judgment. She is currently involved in large-scale litigation on herbicides used in the agriculture industry.

Anne is a graduate, magna cum laude, of Smith College and the University of Chicago Law School. She is a member of the Board of Overseers of the Kent Law School and an Adjunct Professor of Law at Northwestern Law School, where she teaches its trial practice and civil discovery courses. She has served on the Visiting Committee of the University of Chicago Law School.

Anne was recognized as one of the Top Fifty Female "Super Lawyers" in Illinois, in Benchmark's Top 250 Women in Litigation in America, and the 2016 Best Lawyers in America publication for Product Liability. She was recognized by the Law Bulletin Publishing Company in its 2011 "Women Making an Impact" issue as "A master negotiator, a pioneering litigator, and an inspirational mentor."

Articles about Anne's work have appeared in The American Lawyer, the ABA Journal, The Chicago Tribune, and other media.