"The field general for his firm's mass torts group has marshaled $450 million in wins over Vioxx, Bextra, Rezulin and others."
— Lawdragon quote, February 2007

"He's taken on the makers of many troubled medicines, including Baycol, Clelbrex, ephedra, hormone replacement therapy, Rezulin and Vioxx."
— Lawdragon quote, March 2006

Andy Birchfield manages the firm's Mass Torts Section, which is recognized as a national leader in pharmaceutical litigation. The section successfully resolved claims for thousands of clients in the Baycol, Rezulin, PPA and Ephedra litigations. Currently, the Mass Torts Section is handling cases involving Vioxx, Celebrex, Bextra, Welding Rods, and Hormone Replacement Therapy. Andy also serves as a regular speaker at national, regional and state seminars pertaining to mass tort litigation.

After graduating cum laude from Samford University, Andy went on to graduate magna cum laude from Thomas Goode Jones School of Law. Beginning his legal career at a small law firm in Montgomery, Andy gained trial experience in both state and federal courts. His practice encompassed a wide range of legal matters including personal injury and civil rights cases. After joining Beasley Allen in 1996, Andy handled other cases involving consumer fraud and commercial litigation. He later proved to be instrumental in developing the Mass Torts Litigation Section in 2000 and was named Section Head for Mass Torts, which now consists of eleven lawyers and sixty-eight support staff. To date, Andy has been involved in cases resulting in settlements and verdicts totaling in excess of $600 million.

Andy's efforts have been indispensable in heading the firm's Vioxx litigation. In April of 2005, Andy was chosen to co-lead the Plaintiff's Steering Committee for the federal Vioxx Litigation MDL; and he has been lead counsel or co-lead counsel in five trials in the Vioxx MDL, one resulting in a $51 million verdict against Merck.

He has been quoted in a number of publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Lawyers Weekly USA, American Lawyer, Financial Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, U.S. News and World Report, and the New York Times. He has also appeared on Sixty Minutes, CNBC’s “Closing Bell,” National Public Radio, CNN and MSNBC.

Andy is a member of the American Association for Justice and the Montgomery Trial Lawyers Associations. He has served as President of the Montgomery County Young Lawyers and the Alabama Young Lawyers, as well as numerous task forces and committees of the Alabama State Bar. He has served on the Committee for Character and Fitness, which assesses those attributes with respect to applicants for admission to the Bar. Andy also serves as a member of the Board of Governors of the Alabama Trial Lawyers Association and is an active member of the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice.

In addition to his numerous professional duties, Andy is also active in the community. He and his family are members of First Baptist Church of Montgomery, where he has served as Chairman of the Deacon's Board, Prayer Ministry Committee Chairman and prayer leader of his Sunday School class. He is currently serving as the Chairman of the Church Leadership Council. Andy has also incorporated his faith with his professional life, by starting and leading a weekly Bible study and devotional time at the firm. Since its inception in 1997, this weekly devotion has grown from a small gathering of co-workers to a large group of employees, clients and friends.

Andy and his wife, the former Tanya Payne, grew up in Pell City, Alabama. They have two children: a son, Dow, and a daughter, Beth.