We are proud to announce that Diandra “Fu” Debrosse, managing partner of our Birmingham office and co-chair of our Mass Torts and Civil and Human Rights practice groups, was named Managing Partner of the Year by ALM and Law.com for their inaugural Southeastern Legal Awards.
According to ALM and Law.com, the Southeastern Legal Awards celebrate the achievements and excellence of “lawyers who have left an indelible mark on the legal community in the Southeast and beyond through their unwavering dedication to the profession.” The Managing Partner of the Year is selected from among numerous “leaders who have had a huge, impactful year, a year that stands out among their peers.”
Fu receives this honor after yet another exceptional year of groundbreaking appointments, fighting on the front lines for civil rights, advocating for survivors of sexual violence, and seeking accountability in the opioid crisis.
In February 2023, Fu was appointed Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel in an MDL against L’Oréal and other makers of disease-causing hair relaxer products marketed primarily to Black and Latina women. She also holds prominent leadership positions in several other significant MDLs, including two separate major MDLS involving prescription opioids on behalf of dozens of counties and cities; the litigation against Chevron and Syngenta for their marketing and sale of the disease-causing herbicide paraquat; and the social media MDL in which the plaintiffs are seeking damages against Meta Platforms, TikTok, YouTube, and others for creating defective products that encourage addictive behavior, resulting in various emotional and physical harms, including death.
Representing victims of the May 2022 racially motivated mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, in a lawsuit alleging that numerous social media companies and firearm and body armor manufacturers contributed to the horrific event, Fu and her colleagues dealt a major blow to the defendants in March 2024, defeating their motions to dismiss in their entirety. Among her many other cases, Fu also serves as Co-Lead Counsel in a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the family of businessman and former professional football player Glenn Foster Jr. and in a gender discrimination putative class action case against automotive manufacturer Rivian.
Fu and other award winners were recognized at the Southeastern Legal Awards ceremony on June 20, 2024, at Flourish in Atlanta, Georgia.