Davies

There are not many lawyers in America that have taken billion-dollar cases, involving complex scientific issues and experts, from inception through trial. I have done that several times and now enjoy guiding the next generation of lawyers through that process.

Overview

Marc Davies is an experienced litigator, currently focused on developing evidentiary strategies in the firm’s PCB cases, primarily against Monsanto.

Also an environmental scientist who has taught environmental litigation, business and writing at Rutgers Law School, Marc now particularly enjoys advising on strategy and collaborating with colleagues who may be working their first big cases, helping them to figure out a case’s “guts” and maximize every stage of its life cycle. One of his particular strengths is deposing or defending experts.

Marc has worked on some of the largest environmental litigations in the world—including a landmark PCB case, Appleton Papers Inc. & NCR Corp. v. George A. Whiting Paper Co., that uniquely looked beyond merely those who were discharging PCBs into a river, and in what respective proportions, and instead to the party that knew and hid the fact that paper being recycled contained PCBs. Marc also has experience litigating pharmaceutical matters, e.g., in the Vioxx litigation defending the employees of Merck.

When running his own firm for almost a decade, Marc represented NFL players who had suffered concussions and other injuries, and had their settlements stolen for them. Immediately to prior joining G&E, Mr. Davies was a shareholder at a Philadelphia law firm practicing environmental litigation involving PCBs.

As an educator, Marc imparts two main lessons. One is to take a long-term approach, thinking ahead to the position one will need to take in 10 years, and then putting consistent, real-science systems in place to ensure data is properly and consistently gathered until then. The second is to pressure your defendant to react to you, ideally after you’ve bludgeoned them with unimpeachable facts, instead of waiting to react to what they do.

Outside the Office

I grew up entranced by science fiction books, from Asimov’s “Empire” to Frank Herbert’s Dune series.  The characters looked beyond what people said, to how their actions showed their true intentions, and used this intelligence to predict likely future thoughts and actions.  I spent years travelling extensively as an itinerant volleyball coach and occasional ski bum, developing my own predictive sense, and then began to use that as a guide for matching my current decisions with my long-term goals.  Beyond that, I love to play team sports; the shared effort and post-game beers are worth the effort it takes to keep my body going.

Credentials

Education

  • Temple University Beasley School of Law (JD, cum laude, 1997)
    • Temple Environmental Law and Technology Journal, Associate Member
  • University of Pennsylvania (MA, Environmental Science, 1994)
  • University of Pennsylvania (BA, 1990)

Admissions

  • Pennsylvania