Barnes & Thornburg Further Expands Product Liability Practice With Litigators Brett Clements and Nora Wolf

The ongoing investment reflects a broader strategy to bolster the firm’s litigation capabilities in key markets. Clements joins the Washington, D.C., office from one of the nation’s leading litigation firms, and Wolf joins the New York office from an Am Law 200 national firm. 

“We are delighted to welcome Brett and Nora to the firm,” said Kristen Richer, incoming chair of Barnes & Thornburg’s Litigation Department. “Their addition is an important step in the continued growth of our Litigation Department and the ongoing investment in building a nationally connected litigation practice equipped to handle clients’ most complex and consequential disputes.” 

Jim Murdica, chair of the Product Liability and Mass Torts practice, said: “Brett and Nora are strong additions to our group. Brett combines a deep command of the science and discovery issues that drive modern product cases with real courtroom judgment, and Nora pairs mass tort experience with a proven ability to design complex resolution strategies. Together they strengthen our ability to defend companies facing complex mass tort claims.”

Clements defends companies across numerous industries in product liability, toxic tort and environmental matters, including high-profile multidistrict litigation, mass torts, consumer class actions and individual product liability cases. He advises clients from case inception through trial and handles all facets of eDiscovery, from document collection to negotiating ESI protocols and overseeing productions. Clements also has experience taking expert depositions on complex and novel scientific issues. 

Clements becomes the latest in a long line of new hires in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office this year. Other recent lateral partners include Adeyemi Adenrele, David Last, Jeffrey Lehtman, Michael Mancusi, Andre Monette, Marissa Perlmutter, Brittney Powell and Matthew West. 

“Our Washington office has had a year of real momentum, and Brett is another important step in that growth,” said Roscoe C. Howard Jr., managing partner of the Washington, D.C., office. “D.C. is where so many of the regulatory and scientific questions in product liability cases are shaped, and Brett’s experience defending companies in multidistrict litigation and mass torts adds depth to our litigation bench. We are building an office that can serve clients on their most complex matters, and Brett helps us do that.”

Wolf manages complex medical device product liability litigation, with a focus on mass torts.

She has significant experience negotiating high-stakes settlements in consolidated federal and state litigation and structuring and implementing large-scale resolution programs that have successfully resolved thousands of claims across the United States and Canada. 

Wolf joins a New York office that has grown more than 300% in attorney headcount since opening in 2020. In 2026, the office added partners Neil Begley, Christopher Isaacs and Philip Cooke, among others. In July, the office was named to The Lawyer’s inaugural New York 100, a list of New York’s leading law firms. 

“Nora is a first-rate litigator and a skilled negotiator who can help the firm keep building out this important practice,” said Rob Boller, managing partner of the New York office. “Her medical device and life sciences mass tort experience, along with her work on settlement programs, expands what we can offer. New York is a market where the best litigators want to be, and we are excited to add someone of Nora’s caliber.”  

Clements received his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law and his B.A. from Georgetown University. Wolf received her J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law and her B.A., with high honors, from The College of William & Mary.

Barnes & Thornburg has experienced significant growth across the firm, hiring more than 160 lawyers this year, including 80 partners. Among the new hires were five lateral groups, including a 39-lawyer public finance and infrastructure practice, a 14-lawyer healthcare group, and a 12-lawyer insurance recovery team.