The award recognizes Conroy's three decades of landmark litigation against corporate wrongdoing, from the first cases against Purdue Pharma to leadership of the national opioid and social media addiction litigation.
NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / July 23, 2026 / Simmons Hanly Conroy is proud to announce that Named Partner Jayne Conroy is the recipient of the 2026 "David Egilman Make the World a Better Place Award," presented in recognition of her service to the legal community and the world.
Conroy was chosen by the award's selection committee, which is headed by Attorney Mark Lanier. The award honors the legacy of Dr. David Egilman of Brown University, a double board-certified physician who saved countless lives over his career through his unwavering quest to seek and proclaim the truth.
"As a doctor, I can treat one cancer patient at a time," Dr. Egilman once said of his work, explaining why he devoted his career to expert testimony in over 600 trials. "But by being here, I have the potential to save millions."
Created upon Dr. Egilman's passing in 2024, the award is now in its third year, and Conroy is its third recipient.
For more than 30 years, Conroy has done from the counsel table what Dr. Egilman did from the witness chair: building the cases that tell the truth to juries and holding powerful corporations accountable for concealing harm.
In 2003, with the support of firm partners Paul Hanly and John Simmons, Conroy was the first to take on Purdue Pharma over OxyContin - decades before the opioid crisis dominated national headlines. Her work uncovering the documents and the pharmaceutical industry's role in the epidemic laid the foundation for the national opioid litigation, which has now amassed more than $60 billion for communities across the country.
Following Hanly's death, Conroy stepped forward as co-lead counsel in the national opioid litigation, representing tens of thousands of American communities and helping secure the first nationwide opioid verdict in U.S. history.
Her selection also reflects her powerful and impactful leadership roles in dozens of other cases, including the Pinnacle hip implant litigation, the Volkswagen emissions MDL, and litigation on behalf of families impacted by the September 11th terrorist attacks.
Today, Conroy is active in the social media adolescent addiction litigation, where she recently helped bring the first social media addiction case against Meta and Google to a successful conclusion.
"David Egilman treated one patient at a time and decided that wasn't enough. Jayne Conroy could have built a comfortable career and decided that wasn't enough either," Lanier said. "Both of them looked at the suffering of people they would never meet and said: That one's mine to fight for too. That is what it means to make the world a better place. Not a verdict. A vow."
Conroy worked directly with Dr. Egilman for decades over the course of her career. In accepting the award, she reflected on his legacy: "David Egilman pushed and challenged those around him. David always spoke and found the truth. He would find every lie, every failure, and every misrepresentation. I hope I continue what he did, which was to uncover and illuminate every bad deed."
About Simmons Hanly Conroy LLP
Simmons Hanly Conroy, with over 300 employees, including over 100 attorneys practicing nationwide, is one of the country's largest plaintiff law firms dedicated to holding corporations responsible for wrongdoing. Primary areas of litigation include mesothelioma and asbestos, pharmaceutical and medical device injuries, consumer protection class actions, environmental injuries and protection, and complex personal injury. The firm's attorneys have been appointed to leadership in numerous national multidistrict litigations, including prescription opioids, Vioxx, Yaz, Toyota unintended acceleration, BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, DePuy Pinnacle, Uber Rideshare sexual assault, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Norfolk Southern East Palestine train derailment, social media adolescent addiction, hair relaxer products injury, and the Volkswagen emission scandal. For over 25 years, the firm has successfully secured $11 billion in verdicts and settlements for thousands of clients nationwide and is a major supporter of asbestos-related cancer research. Offices are located in Alton, Illinois; Boston; Los Angeles; Miami; New York City; San Francisco; and St. Louis. Read more at www.simmonsfirm.com.
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SOURCE: Simmons Hanly Conroy
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