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.