Julia A. López

Julia practices in the areas of products liability and commercial litigation. She primarily defends manufacturers of prescription drugs, OTC drugs, and medical devices. Her experience includes working on single plaintiff matters, coordinated cases, and multidistrict litigation in both federal and state courts. Representative products in her mass tort litigation experience include contraceptives, breast implants, and vaginal mesh. She has counseled clients in all aspects of litigation, from early case assessments and initial filings through resolution, including trials. Julia has extensive experience in mass tort discovery, including written discovery, voluminous document productions, e-discovery, and taking and defending plaintiff, fact witness, treater, and expert depositions. She has also worked with medical, engineering, and other technical experts in developing litigation themes. In addition, she has experience with other types of complex litigation, including consumer fraud and class claims.

Julia is a diversity and inclusion leader. Committed to Reed Smith’s diversity initiatives, Julia is the firm’s nationwide partner chair for the Hispanic/Latinx business inclusion group known as UNIDOS. She served as the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey’s (HBA-NJ) 39th President and founded the first Scholarship Endowment for the organization. Julia currently serves as the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) Vice President of Programs, where she chairs a General Counsel talent pipeline program for Hispanic/Latinx seasoned in-house attorneys known as PODER25™. The program seeks to get 20 Hispanic/Latinx General Counsels by 2025. She also serves on the Merit Selection Committee for the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. Julia is also an active member of the New Jersey State Bar Association and has served on various committees. She has also served on the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Minority Concerns, as well as the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Civil Practice.

For her leadership, sponsorship of others, and legal acumen, Julia has received numerous awards and recognitions. She has been recognized by NJBIZ as one of the top 50 influential attorneys in New Jersey and on ROI-NJ’s Influencers List of the most impactful People of Color in New Jersey. The HNBA has also recognized her work in the legal profession as a Top Lawyer Under 40, as well as her leadership at the HBA-NJ with the Affiliate of the Year Award.

Prior to joining Reed Smith, Julia served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Esther Salas, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, and to the Honorable John E. Wallace, Jr., Retired Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Julia received her B.S.B.A. from Georgetown University and her J.D. from Rutgers School of Law–Newark. While attending law school, Julia was Editor-in-Chief of the Rutgers Law Review, President of the Association of Latin American Law Students, and a judicial intern for the Honorable James R. Zazzali, Retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey. She is a proud Rutgers MSP graduate. Julia is admitted to practice in New Jersey and New York.

Experience

Representative matters

Member of national counsel team for generic pharmaceutical manufacturer against claims that active ingredient degraded into carcinogen.

Member of national counsel team for manufacturer in MDL and related state court cases involving prescription contraceptive product and allegations of thromboembolic injuries and wrongful death. Assisted in conducting extensive fact discovery, expert witness preparation, and successful motion practice. Achieved 11-0 defense record on summary judgment in the initial bellwether pool.

Member of national counsel team in nationwide product liability litigation involving pelvic mesh devices.

Recognitions

Recognized by Executive Women of New Jersey on its 2024 Executive Women of Color of New Jersey honoree list. A description of the selection methodology can be found at ewnj.com. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
Named as a 2023, 2024, and 2025 INvolve/EMpower Top 100 Executive Role Model. The EMpower Top 100 Executives List is issued by INvolve/EMpower. A description of the selection methodology can be found at empower.involverolemodels.org. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
Presented with the 2023 Pillar of Justice Pro Bono Award by the New Jersey State Bar Association, along with M. Geist and J. McDonald for pro bono leadership in Reed Smith’s Princeton office.

Credentials

Education

Rutgers School of Law, 2006, J.D.
Georgetown University, 1999, B.S.B.A.

Professional admissions & qualifications

New Jersey
New York

Court admissions

U.S. District Court - District of New Jersey
U.S. District Court - Eastern District of New York
U.S. District Court - Southern District of New York
U.S. Supreme Court

Professional affiliations

Vice President – Programs, Su Carrera, Hispanic National Bar Association
Appointed member, Merit Selection Panel, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
Trustee, Advisory Committee, Kids In Need of Defense
Leadership Council on Legal Diversity 2020 Fellow
39th President, Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey
National Finance Director, Hispanic National Bar Association
Trustee, New Jersey Hispanic Bar Foundation
Member, New Jersey State Bar Association
Former appointed member, New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Minority Concerns
Former appointed member, New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Civil Practice
Former appointed member, Scholarship Committee, New Jersey State Bar Foundation