Contributor

Edward F. Blizzard

Partner at Blizzard, McCarthy & Nabers

Ed is originally from Chester, Pennsylvania. His family moved to Texas in 1971 shortly after he graduated from high school. At the University of Texas at Austin, Ed excelled at his undergraduate studies, graduating with honors. Ed earned his law degree from Baylor University School of Law, graduating cum laude and garnering several awards, including American Jurisprudence Awards for Property, Federal Courts, Administrative Law, Property and Practice Court. Additionally, Ed was inducted into the Order of the Barristers, one of the most prestigious legal honor societies. During law school, Ed perfected his trial advocacy skills as a member of the Baylor mock trial team. Ed's exceptional oratory skills allowed him to excel in several competitions, including as a finalist in Baylor Law School Mock Trial Competition.

Ed founded Blizzard, McCarthy & Nabers in 1981 after working for three years as a litigator at Fulbright & Jaworski, L.L.P- a well-known nationwide litigation firm. Over the past 25 years, Ed has been a part of some of the largest pharmaceutical injury verdicts and settlements in the country. Not only has Ed helped obtain 9 billion dollars in settlements and verdicts for thousands of clients, but he has also become a leader in mass tort litigation. Some of Ed's leadership roles include:

- appointed to six member Negotiating Plaintiff's Committee (NPC) in Vioxx MDL 1657 and helped negotiate a 4.85 billion dollar settlement
- member of the Fee Allocation Committee in the Vioxx MDL 1657
- served as the chair of the Plaintiff's Steering Committee in Ephedra Litigation, MDL 1598
- one of five lawyers appointed to negotiate Sulzer Hip Implant Litigation MDL 1401
- member of Steering Committee in the Diet Drug Litigation, MDL 1203
member of Texas Steering Committee in Silicone Breast Implant Litigation.
- one of the chief negotiators of the $3 billion Dow Corning settlement
- appointed to the State Liaison Committee in the Baycol Proceedings.
- member of Plaintiff's Steering Committee in the New York ReNu and MoistureLoc proceedings
- member of Plaintiff's Steering Committee in Digitek Litigation MDL 1968

Ed's leadership role in mass tort litigation has prompted his participation as a frequent speaker at continuing legal education seminars where he teaches other practicing attorneys about mass tort litigation. Some of the recent notable classes and seminars that Ed has taught include:

- Deconstructing the U.S. Supreme Court's Decision on Preemption in Wyeth v. Levine (2009 AAJ Teleseminar)
- Vioxx: An Overview and Maneuvering Through the Settlement Process (2008 AAJ San Juan Winter Convention)
- "Hot Topics in Pharmaceutical & Medical Device Litigation", (2008 AAJ Faculty Seminar)
- "Pushing Cases in Litigation to Achieve Resolution", (AAJ June 2008)
- "Winning in Depositions: Victory through Killer Depositions, (AAJ February 2008)

As one of the most prominent Pharmaceutical litigation attorneys in the country, Ed has won several awards including the Clarence Darrow Award, Top 100 Lawyers in Texas, Super Lawyers, Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum and The Best Lawyers in America 2007 in the field of Personal Injury Litigation (Copyright 2006 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.).

Ed's significant verdicts and success has garnered widespread media attention from prominent media outlets such as, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and ABC News. Additionally, Ed has made several television appearances including, A Current Affair with Maury Povich, MSNBC's Squawk Box and CNN Financial News.

Ed is married to his college sweetheart, Cindy, and they have a lovely daughter, Anna, who is the pride and joy of their life together. In his spare time, Ed loves to play golf.