December 15, 2017
Edward Soto, Managing Partner of Weil’s Miami office and Co-Head of the Firm’s global Complex Commercial Litigation practice, has been named a Class Action MVP by Law360 for 2017.
Among his notable victories over the past year, Law360’s profile highlighted Mr. Soto’s summary judgment win for new client Dometic, a manufacturer of appliances for RVs and other vehicles, in a proposed class action in Florida federal court regarding an alleged design flaw in the company’s gas-absorption refrigerators. Law360 also praised Mr. Soto for winning a complete victory for Procter & Gamble in a long-running product liability multi-district litigation regarding the company's denture adhesive, as well as for extracting HVAC manufacturer Nortek from several putative class actions alleging that there were defective copper coils in the company’s air conditioning units. Recalling the Nortek victory, Mr. Soto explained, “They had never been sued before and all of a sudden found themselves in a copycat suit to nine other actions that had been filed against one of their competitors.”
When asked how he became involved in class action law, Mr. Soto explained it was a natural development based on the make-up of the Firm’s client base, as Weil represents many public-facing consumer product companies, which often face these types of claims. “We have been lucky to be representing a number of companies who do business with the public in large volumes across the country and international in some instances,” Mr. Soto said. “And when those products are involved in claims that indicate a common source, plaintiffs’ counsel will frequently try to figure out if there’s a way to bring a class.”
Law360's MVPs are attorneys who have distinguished themselves from their peers over the past year through high-stakes litigation, record-breaking deals and complex global matters. A team of Law360 editors selected the 2017 MVP winners after reviewing more than 1,000 submissions.
