Ann Marie Walsh

Ann assists clients with breach of contract disputes, contract termination, warranty issues, and regulatory compliance. She represents major manufacturers in the automotive, agricultural, plumbing, HVAC, construction, consumer, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, electrical, mining, recreational, chemical, and industrial sectors. Ann has extensive experience defending motions for temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions.

Ann has extensive trial experience, acting as lead trial counsel in numerous jurisdictions and handling cases in more than 45 states. She serves as national, regional, and local counsel in nationwide litigation. Ann helps clients navigate complex legal challenges by conducting root-cause analyses and managing product recalls.

Ann utilizes a comprehensive approach to legal representation, which includes contract drafting, negotiation, and product liability prevention. Her involvement in pro bono work and community leadership further underscores her commitment to serving clients and the broader community.

• Extensive contract drafting and contract negotiation in the automotive industry, including supply contracts, product investigations, and root cause analyses.
• Serve as product liability counsel for a major manufacturer and distributor of plumbing and HVAC products, including copper tube, valves, fittings, plastic products, and other components.
• National counsel with one other attorney for a major automotive parts supplier in cases involving complex mechanical and electrical products and often catastrophic injuries or death. Developed database and program for an efficient approach to written discovery, expert testimony, legal issues, and key trial issues.
• Lead trial attorney on behalf of a variety of product manufacturers resulting in defense verdicts or nominal settlements, including trials involving issues of crashworthiness, airbag design, sensor technology, unwanted acceleration, vehicle handling, pharmaceutical warnings, and contaminated food and beverage.
• Represented a parts supplier in a breach of contract suit relating to a manufacturer’s early termination of a supply contract and defended against a motion for a temporary restraining order.
• Prosecuted and defended warranty claims arising from products in a variety of industries.
• National counsel for a mining company in its silicosis litigation and supervised the development and publishing of cutting-edge scientific work for use in the defense of the litigation.
• Product liability counseling to a major food processing equipment company, consumer goods retailer, and automotive parts supplier manufacturers, including product liability prevention and regulatory compliance.
• Conducted recalls on behalf of manufacturers, retailers, and distributors.
• Regional counsel for a product manufacturer in its asbestos litigation.
• Handled several matters involving marine products, including engines, intermodal tank containers, transmissions, and cargo slings in both domestic and international applications.
• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a consumer product manufacturer for the plaintiff’s failure to properly preserve the evidence. Summary judgment was affirmed on appeal, and it established the law in Wisconsin on the spoliation of evidence in a product liability case.
• Represented a generic pharmaceutical manufacturer in a case involving catastrophic injuries and developed a manufacturer identification defense.
• Handled appeals in numerous states after defense verdicts or summary judgments for the client.

• Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyer, (2023-2024)
• Best Lawyers in America®: Commercial Litigation (2023-2026)
• AV Rating® by Martindale-Hubbell
• Leading Lawyers, Products Liability Defense Law
• Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind, Certificate of Merit
• Super Lawyers® Illinois, Business Litigation (2012-2015)