The Daubert Exclusion Just Got Reversed: Defending Causation Experts Under Amended Rule 702

Jessica Benson Cox, Partner | Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Jessica Benson Cox is a trial attorney based in Indianapolis who defends clients in personal injury matters built on complex questions of science and medicine, including cases involving traumatic brain injuries, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, consumer products, and digital platforms. She serves as co-chair of Faegre Drinker’s pharmaceutical and medical device practice team and brings more than 15 years of experience in mass tort litigation, where she currently co-leads an MDL in the Southern District of Indiana and has directed science and expert strategy in litigation over local anesthetics, orthopedic products, and cardiovascular devices.

• Education & Credentials

Jessica earned her J.D., cum laude, from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 2006, where she served as articles editor of the Law Review, and her B.S. in Child Development and Psychology, magna cum laude, from Vanderbilt University in 2003. She is admitted to the Indiana bar and to the U.S. District Courts for the Central District of Illinois and the Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana.

• Recognition & Leadership

Jessica is ranked in Chambers USA for Indiana Litigation: Product Liability (2026) and was named a Law360 Rising Star in Product Liability in 2019, in large part for her bellwether trial work. Her honors also include the Indianapolis Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 (2018), the Indiana State Bar Association’s Outstanding Young Lawyer award (2015), and Indiana Super Lawyers Rising Star recognition in General Litigation (2015, 2017–20) and Personal Injury – Products: Defense (2016). She serves as co-chair of Faegre Drinker’s pharmaceutical and medical device practice team.

• Professional Involvement

Jessica is active in the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation, where she participates in the Pharmaceutical, Medical Device, and Biotech Subcommittees, and she belongs to the Indiana State Bar Association and the Defense Research Institute. She served on the Law360 Product Liability Editorial Advisory Board in 2020 and has served on the board of directors of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Indiana State Chapter since 2012.

• Experience

Jessica has developed bellwether trial selection strategies, pursued screening orders that led to the dismissal of hundreds of cases, overseen inventory and individual settlement negotiations, and helped streamline discovery and motion practice in large-scale litigation. She has tried cases involving complex medical issues in jurisdictions across the country, including work on the Cook Medical IVC filter national MDL and the trial team that secured a complete defense verdict for the NCAA, and her team has achieved dismissals through motion practice under the laws of 21 states. She also advises pharmaceutical companies on product liability considerations for biologics and biosimilars and on compliance with state and federal restrictions on pharmaceutical marketing.

Eric M. Friedman, Associate | Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Eric M. Friedman is an Indianapolis-based product liability defense attorney whose practice centers on the scientific and expert witness issues that arise in tort litigation. A biochemist before becoming a lawyer, he moves comfortably between medical literature and case law, defending the science behind clients’ products, developing defense theories, and identifying weaknesses in opposing experts’ opinions. He serves as co-chair of Faegre Drinker’s Product Liability and Mass Torts Science & Experts Team and writes frequently on developments in expert witness discovery and admissibility.

• Education & Credentials

Eric earned his J.D., magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 2011, where he served as senior articles editor of the Hastings Law Journal. He also holds an M.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley (2007) and a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin – Madison (2003). He is admitted to the bars of California and Indiana and to the U.S. District Courts for the Southern District of Indiana and the Central and Northern Districts of California.

• Recognition & Leadership

Eric has been named to the Best Lawyers “Ones to Watch” list for Product Liability Litigation – Defendants each year from 2022 through 2025 and recognized by JD Supra as a “Top 10 Product Liability Author” in its Readers’ Choice Awards from 2023 through 2025. He has appeared on Faegre Drinker’s Pro Bono Honor Roll from 2020 through 2025 and serves as co-chair of the firm’s Product Liability and Mass Torts Science & Experts Team.

• Professional Involvement

Eric is a member of the Indianapolis Bar Association and the Defense Research Institute, and he contributes regularly to the Faegre Drinker on Products blog, writing on developments in expert witness discovery and admissibility.

• Experience

Eric defends companies against a wide variety of tort claims, with particular depth in the scientific and expert witness issues that arise in product liability litigation, including work on the Cook Medical IVC filter national MDL. Before joining the firm, he practiced with a defense firm in the San Francisco Bay Area, assisting clients on hundreds of California tort cases from pre-litigation through settlement and trial. He also works pro bono to help veterans obtain disability benefits.

SESSION 1 – Rule 702 and the December 2023 Amendment: Relevant History and Current Landscape | 12:00pm – 1:00pm

This session walks defense counsel through the history that led to the December 2023 amendment to Federal Rule of Evidence 702, the language and intended impact of the amendment itself, and an overview of case law applying Rule 702 as amended. Attorneys will learn how the December 2023 amendment’s explicit preponderance standard and reliability-of-application requirement inform both deposition strategy and motion practice, drawing on recent rulings in the Zantac, Onglyza, Paraquat, Roundup, and acetaminophen litigations. Participants will leave with a legal framework for spotting and structuring Rule 702 arguments.

BREAK | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

SESSION 2 – The Rule 702 Playbook: Identifying Arguments and Developing the Evidence | 1:10pm – 2:10pm

This session offers practical guidance on how to identify potential Rule 702 arguments upon receiving an opposing expert’s report, develop those arguments at deposition, and frame those arguments in a Rule 702 motion. The discussion will also feature tips on how to safeguard one’s own experts from Rule 702 challenges. Attorneys will learn how Rule 702 as amended informs deposition and motion practice. Attendees will leave with a concrete framework for setting up strong Rule 702 attacks on opposing experts and blunting attacks on their own experts.