Releases

Merck & Co.'s agreement to pay $950 million and plead guilty to a criminal charge related to its illegal marketing of the pain medication Vioxx is welcome news to Houston attorney Mark Lanier, founder of The Lanier Law Firm. "This agreed judgment is largely possible because of the hard work of lawyers in the private sector," says Lanier, who served as lead counsel in the first courtroom trial involving Vioxx. "Civil lawyers spent thousands of hours and millions of dollars to develop the case, review millions of pages of documents, and pursue Merck in court." Without this effort, he says, much of the evidence of Merck's wrongdoing would never have come to light. "We are constantly reminded that lawyers have potential to do harm, so we also should be reminded of their important role in securing safety for the public." For more information, contact Alan Bentrup at 800-559-4534 or alan@androvett.com.