Background
Gabriel Assaad grew up in Rochester, New York. After graduating from McQuaid Jesuit High School, he attended the University of Florida and graduated with a BS in Mechanical Engineering in 1996. Afterwards, he worked as a design engineer for a consulting firm in Rochester, NY. Gabriel then decided he wanted to go to law school and moved to Nashville, Tennessee to attend Vanderbilt University Law School.
After graduating from Vanderbilt Law School in 2001, Gabriel accepted a position with Dickstein Shapiro, LLP, a large Washington, DC law firm. At Dickstein Shapiro, he worked primarily on Patent Litigation and Patent Prosecution. In 2004, Gabriel decided to leave the Big Firm practice and pursued his goals of representing individuals in the justice system. Gabriel joined Paulson & Nace, a nationally recognized personal injury law firm in Washington, D.C. There he represented clients in personal injury, medical malpractice and product liability cases. While at Paulson & Nace, Gabriel represented hundreds of victims of negligence and was first chair or second chair in over 15 jury trials.
In 2008, Gabriel opened up his law firm in Washington, DC and continued to represent victims of negligence and medical malpractice. In 2011, Gabriel and his wife Kristin had their first child and decided to relocate to Houston, TX to be closer to family.
In 2012, Gabriel joined Kennedy Hodges LLP. At Kennedy Hodges, he continued his representation of individuals that were victims of malpractice and negligence. In addition, Gabriel also represented individuals in which their employers failed to properly pay them their due wages. In 2015, Gabriel began a Mass Torts practice at Kennedy Hodges. During his tenure there, he was one of the lead attorneys in the Bair Hugger litigation in Minnesota.. In addition, he has been appointed by the court to numerous leadership positions such as in the Smith and Nephew Birmingham Resurfacing litigation and the 3M Combat Arms litigation.
In 2019, Gabriel joined McDonald Worley to head the Complex Litigation practice. Since joining McDonald Worley, Gabriel has continued his leadership positions in Multi-District Litigation and has grown the class action, wage and hour, consumer protection, and product liability practice.
Gabriel is married with two children. Outside the practice of law, Gabriel serves in his church, enjoys traveling with his family, skiing, and home projects.
Areas of Practice
- Products Liability
- Recalled Products
- Commercial Litigation
- Intellectual Property Litigation
- Class Action
- Consumer Protection
- Medical Malpractice
- Birth Injuries
- Wage and Hour
Bar Admissions
- Texas
- District of Columbia
- Commonwealth of Virginia
- Federal Court of Appeals: United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit; United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit; United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit; United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit; United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- Federal District Courts: United States District Court for the District of Columbia; United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia; United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia; Southern District of Texas, Western District of Texas; Northern District of Texas; District of Colorado.
Education
- Vanderbilt Law School (J.D.)
- University of Florida (B.S. in Mechanical Engineering)
Multi-District Litigation Appointments
MDL 2666: In re: Bair Hugger Forced Air Warming Products Liability Litigation
The Bair Hugger litigation involves a forced air warming device used to warm patients during surgery. The Bair Hugger is manufactured by 3M Corporation. Plaintiffs in the Bair Hugger MDL assert numerous claims against 3M including design defect claims and failure to warn claims.
- Member of the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee
- Co-chair of the Discovery Committee and the Science Committee
- Member of the Trial Team
- Member of the Appellate Team which reversed the District Court’s order dismissing the entire MDL
- Member of Settlement Committee
MDL 2765: In Re Smith & Nephew Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR) Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation
Smith & Nephew BHR litigation involves metal-on-metal hip implants. This MDL contains issues of preemption of some of the claims. The case is currently in general causation discovery.
- Member of Plaintiff’s Steering Committee and Science Committee
- Member of Trial Team
- Member of Settlement Committee
MDL 2885: In Re 3M Combat Arms Earplug Products Liability Litigation
- Member of Science Committee
- Member of Law & Briefing Committee
Professional Associations and Memberships
- The College of the State Bar of Texas, Member
- Texas Trial Lawyers Association,
- Houston Trial Lawyers Association.
- Houston Bar Association
- Washington, D.C. Trial Lawyers Association
- Virginia Trial Lawyers Association
- American Association of Justice
- Attorney Information Exchange Group
Awards and Notable Cases
- 2022 Minnesota Trial Lawyer of the Year
- Member of the Bair Hugger Appellate Team that won a reversal of Minnesota District Court dismissal and as a result reinstated over 5000 cases. Amador v. 3M Co. (In re Bair Hugger Forced Air Warming Devices Prods. Liab. Litig.), 9 F.4th 768 (8th Cir. 2021).
- Argued and prevailed on a WARN Act case in the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Fifth Circuit that determined that COIVID is not a natural disaster under the WARN Act. Easom v. US Well Servs., 37 F.4th 238 (5th Cir. 2022).