One of the preeminent litigators of the nation’s plaintiffs’ bar, Conroy was appointed by U.S. District Judge Mary M. Rowland to the hair relaxer products PEC. The case is In re: Hair Relaxer Marketing Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.

Studies have shown that chemical hair relaxers and straighteners contain multiple dangerous additives and chemicals that are known to be carcinogenic and can also disrupt a woman’s hormones. The hair relaxer products litigation alleges that use of chemical hair relaxers results in reproductive system cancers of the ovaries, uterus, and the endometrium, the lining of the uterus.

Due to complex issues that are anticipated throughout the duration of the litigation and the multiple different defendant manufacturers of the products, as well as common questions of fact and law involved in each of the claims, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation decided in February to consolidate and centralize all hair relaxer lawsuits as part of an MDL.

In addition to the PEC for the hair relaxer products injury MDL, Conroy serves or has served on dozens of other court-appointed leadership committees in complex legal actions of national scope. Currently, these include:

•    Co-lead of the ongoing National Prescription Opiate Multidistrict Litigation before U.S. District Judge Dan A. Polster in the Northern District of Ohio;

•    A member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee Leadership in In re: Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation, which alleges social media platforms encourage addictive behavior in adolescents.

Conroy oversees practice areas in Simmons Hanly Conroy’s Complex Litigation Department. Under her leadership, the firm has become one of the country’s largest plaintiff law firms dedicated to helping those injured by corporate wrongdoing. Conroy has helped secure billions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for thousands of individuals, families, and communities across the country. With more than three decades of legal experience, she focuses her practice on helping plaintiffs exclusively in mass torts, class actions, product liability, pharmaceutical and sexual abuse litigation.

In 2022, Law360 named Conroy a “Titan of the Plaintiffs’ Bar.” Previous honors also include induction into the National Trial Lawyers Association’s Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame, election as a member of the exclusive American Law Institute, recognition as an “Elite Women of the Plaintiffs Bar” Winner by the National Law Journal, and the American Association for Justice’s Lifetime Achievement Award.