Turner W. Branch established the Branch Law Firm in 1966. From its humble beginnings as a one-lawyer personal injury firm, the Branch Firm has become a nationally known plaintiff's firm with experience in catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases.

Mr. Branch, along with his wife and co-partner Margaret Moses Branch, first became involved with nationwide complex litigation during their representation of the first person diagnosed in Santa Fe, New Mexico, October of 1989, with EMS (Eosinophilia Myalgia Syndrome). This case led to the formation of MDL 865, which was assigned to the United States District Court in Columbia, S.C.

Turner W. Branch served as vice chairman of the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee in that litigation which *was brought to a successful conclusion approximately ten years later. Tamara Stiver, of The Albuquerque Journal, won a Pulitzer Prize for making the connection between the neurological disease, known as EMS, and the ingestion of a bio-engineered amino acid, L-Tryptophan. More success for this New Mexico law firm soon followed.

Named Baylor Law School Lawyer of the Year, Turner Branch has also been instrumental in shaping New Mexico law. Before 1976, individuals could not sue the State of New Mexico because of sovereign immunity. The Branch Law Firm was instrumental in having that holding overturned. More recently, the Branch Law Firm argued successfully that the discovery rule should apply to the statute of limitations governing product liability and medical malpractice cases. *Successfully argued before the New Mexico Court of Appeals, this has become state law.

Margaret Moses Branch, is also a very accomplished attorney in her own right. Voted one of New Mexico's "most influential women" by New Mexico Women Magazine, Margaret Branch was one of five attorneys in the United States who negotiated the settlement of one thousand cases to the benefit of women who had not been properly warned about silicone breast implants. In 1990, Margaret Branch, with two other Albuquerque lawyers, founded the New Mexico Women's Bar, which currently has more than three hundred members.

The Branch Law Firm took a lead role in the discovery and settlement of damages from Omniflox, an inadequately tested synthetic antibiotic that caused liver damage and bodily harm. *This case was successfully concluded in 1999.

Turner W. Branch served as co-chairman of MDL 1208 in the Eastern District of Texas in the Norplant contraceptive litigation brought against American Home Products. *More than forty thousand victims were compensated when the litigation was successfully concluded in 1999. Turner Branch and the rest of the Branch Law Firm Pharmaceutical Litigation Team are amongst the leaders in the nationwide Baycol litigation, and Mr. Branch was elected to the trial team that tried one of the first Baycol cases nationwide.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Branch Law Firm represented more than fifty households in Northern New Mexico whose water supplies were contaminated by methane. The firm proved that drilling by large oil and gas companies into the Fruitland Coalbed caused methane formation contaminated area aquifers. Two of these cases were tried separately and appealed to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Both cases were affirmed by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. *The Branch Law Firm assisted the households in resolving their water contamination.

In 1992, Turner W. Branch was one of the seventeen founding members of the Castano Litigation and serves on its Executive Committee. The firm was one of only two law firms in New Mexico selected by the Attorney General for the State of New Mexico to represent the State in what is referred to as the Attorney General Tobacco Lawsuits. *When these lawsuits were concluded on Nov. 23, 1998, the State received a record $1.2 billion award.

In 1998, Branch was one of five firms in the United States selected to represent the State of New Mexico in massive Superfund cleanup and damage litigation. The first lawsuit was filed on behalf of the State in October 1999, for what is referred to as the South Valley Superfund cleanup site.

Branch Law Firm attorneys represented approximately seven hundred men and women for whom the anorexia-inducing drug known as Fen-Phen was prescribed. Most, if not all, of these drugs were sold under the brand names Pondimin or Redux, and were formulated, manufactured, sold and distributed by American Home Products and their wholly owned subsidiary, Wyeth-Ayerst.

The Branch Law Firm was also involved in representing clients nationally over the pedicle screws used mainly in back surgery (back plate cases) and in litigation against Telectronics over defective wiring in pacemakers. Branch Law Firm attorneys continue to work on catastrophic injury, automobile and truck collision, medical malpractice, nursing home abuse, pharmaceutical product liability and complex litigation cases.

For over 5 years, The Branch Law Firm represented several hundred men and women for whom the diabetic drug known as Rezulin was prescribed. Manufactured, sold and distributed by defendant, Warner-Lambert which was subsequently purchased by Pfizer in 2000, this drug caused severe liver damage. These cases were consolidated as MDL No. 1348 under Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, USDC SDNY. The Branch Law Firm participated in multiple depositions and researched volumes of documents in connection with the successful settlement of this litigation.

Branch Law Firm members take an active role in the American Association for Justice and in the New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association. With over 250 jury trials to his credit, and thousands of past clients, Turner Branch has fueled the Branch Law Firm to its current standing as a pre-eminent law firm as selected by Martindale-Hubbell (derived from a survey of New Mexico attorneys).

Turner W. Branch and the Branch Law Firm are active participants in the MDL Number 1657 Vioxx Product Liability Litigation Settlement. Mr. Branch was appointed by the Honorable U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallen as the state liaison counsel for New Mexico, and then went on to serve with the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee before the Honorable Judge Higbee of Atlantic City, New Jersey on  more than 500 cases that are pending in the state of New Jersey.

Turner W. Branch was admitted to practice on all Vioxx cases before all courts in the state of New Jersey by the Supreme Court of New Jersey and still holds that designation. Turner Branch and the Branch Law Firm are extremely active and instrumental in working on the submission and settlement of the cases they are handling for and on behalf of several 100 clients nationwide. The Branch Law Firm participated in the scientific studies conducted by the PSC, headed by Attorney Weinberg, to determine the causal connection of injuries suffered by Vioxx clients. The Branch Law Firm further participated in the designation and causal connection standards of over 1,000 Vioxx victims.

The Branch Law Firm has been instrumental in working with experts, cardiologists, internists and general practice physicians in their continued quest to prove the relationship between Vioxx use and injuries (including death). The quest and challenge continues as The Branch Law Firm readies its cases for global settlement submission on behalf of their clients.

In addition, Turner W. Branch has spoken to attorneys throughout the U.S. about Vioxx and has attended all hearings in New Jersey with The Honorable Judge Carol Higbee who is overseeing the New Jersey Vioxx cases. He has attended MDL 1657 PSC meetings in the Eastern District of New Orleans and had a member of the firm living in New Orleans, Louisiana so as to enable her geographical presence to be in attendance at the MDL hearings in which negotiations regarding the Vioxx global settlement were finalized during 2007 and 2008. The Branch Law Firm continues to pursue and to look at the various phases of the settlement, the settlement itself and the interrelationship of the Canons of Professional Responsibility, as well as all other ethical requirements, rules and regulations in virtually all 50 states. It is a bare bones summary of The Branch Law Firm's participation and activity in Vioxx litigation over the past 6 years. The time, work and effort continue to be enormous, as well as expensive.

The Branch Law Firm has offices in Albuquerque, NM, Houston, TX and Washington, DC.

* Past successes cannot be an assurance of future successes because each case must be decided on its own merits.