650.328.9500
Elpidio “PD” Villarreal, Esq,
Arbitrator, Mediator, Expert, Corporate Investigations
Download Bio Contact Case ManagerElpidio “PD” Villarreal is a seasoned litigator who brings 35 years of practical dispute resolution experience to his role at FedArb. Previously, he served as a partner at a major law firm, as a Senior Litigator at the General Electric Company, and as Chief Litigator for three major pharmaceutical companies, Schering Plough (now part of Merck), Glaxo Smith Kline and Allergan (now part of Abbvie).
“PD” Villarreal has been responsible for the litigation, management, disposition and settlement of thousands of lawsuits involving a vast array of subject matters and legal issues, and has worked on all aspects of litigation from formulation of the initial claim to final appeal. He has a particularly in-depth knowledge of the pharmaceutical and life sciences field. He has very broad experience in internal and government investigations, class actions, product liability, intellectual property and general commercial and contractual litigation.
Throughout his career, PD Villarreal has maintained a keen interest in alternatives to litigation such as mediation and arbitration and has resolved large volumes of cases through these methods, becoming personally involved in the mediation and arbitration process. He has served on the Board of the CPR International Institute for Dispute Resolution.
He has written about innovative conflict management practices, see, e.g., Harvard Law School case study:
- GlaxoSmithKline Sourcing, Complex Legal Services, 2016;
- GE’s Early Dispute Resolution System, 2001.
He has taught ADR at Harvard, Stanford and Notre Dame.
PD has been defending clients in significant litigations in Courts throughout the Country, including the US Supreme Court, in diverse areas of the law, including:
Commercial and contractual disputes
- Fraud claims
- Insurance coverage disputes
- Intellectual property
- Product liability
- Securities law
A significant part of PD’s practice involved conducting internal investigations and cooperating with various governmental authorities in government initiated criminal investigations
Education:
- Graduated from Columbia University and earned his J.D. from Yale University.