About Us
The Center for Public Health Litigation, a project of the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) at Northeastern University School of Law, uses litigation to help those affected by public health problems. We work with the families of ailing and deceased smokers to identify and pursue new tobacco lawsuits in Massachusetts.
The goal of the Center is to use litigation to help shape public policy through law, specifically in the areas of tobacco control and children’s health. The proceeds from our cases go to victims and into our future work. Have you been harmed by smoking or by false claims about the safety or effectiveness of health care products? If so, please contact us to share your experience.
Meet the Team
Meredith Lever
Meredith K. Lever is a 2014 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law where she focused on litigation skills and applying findings from cognitive psychology and behavioral economics to law and public policy. She now serves as senior litigation associate for PHAI’s Center for Public Health Litigation. She was part of the trial team in the US Virgin Islands that won verdicts of $113.3 million for the families of Newport cigarette smokers in 2019 and the trial teams in Massachusetts that resulted in a judgment of over $36 million dollars in a lung cancer case involving Marlboro as well as a wrongful death verdict of over $17 million in a trial involving Winston cigarettes.
ShanShan Guo
ShanShan Guo is a graduate of Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, MA. She interned with the Center for Public Health Litigation as a law student and joined the Center full-time as an associate litigation attorney in 2020.
Andrew Rainer
Andrew Rainer serves as PHAI’s Litigation Director, and Director of its Center for Public Health Litigation. Mr. Rainer brings over 30 years of experience as a lawyer and litigator, having worked previously both as a prosecutor and as a civil trial lawyer. Immediately prior to joining PHAI in 2014, Mr. Rainer served as Assistant Attorney General and Chief of the Massachusetts Environmental Strike Force, where he oversaw the investigation and prosecution of environmental crimes as well as a number of important public health cases. Mr. Rainer has also served as an Assistant District Attorney, a partner in two Boston law firms, and as Counsel to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee. An AV-rated lawyer and a Massachusetts Superlawyer, he has tried dozens of cases to verdict and negotiated numerous public impact settlements. Mr. Rainer is also a frequent presenter at environmental, public health, and trial advocacy programs. In 2019, Mr. Rainer served as lead trial counsel in Greene v. Philip Morris which, in 2021, resulted in a judgment in excess of $36 million.
Madeline Edelstein
Madeline is a Junior Litigation Associate for the Center for Public Health Litigation. She graduated from Northeastern University School of Law in 2023 and joined our litigation team that same August. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland.
Mark Gottlieb
Mark Gottlieb joined the staff of the Public Health Advocacy Institute in 1993 after graduating from Northeastern University School of Law. He is the executive director of the Institute. Mark’s legal career has largely focused on developing successful tobacco litigation strategies to promote public health. He is an adjunct professor at Northeastern University School of Law where he teaches and operates the Public Health Advocacy Clinic. For more than 20 years, Mark has been widely quoted in the media on the topic of tobacco litigation. His scholarly publications can be seen here.
Lissy Friedman
Lissy Friedman, senior staff attorney, holds a J.D. cum laude from Suffolk University Law School in Boston, MA and a BA in Political Science magna cum laude from Boston University in Boston, MA. Her research specializes in examining the internal records of cigarette manufacturers and their trade associations.
Jacob Wolk
Jacob is a Litigation Attorney for the Center for Public Health Litigation. Jacob returns to us almost eight years after serving as an intern while in law school. He brings a wealth of litigation experience to our Center.
In The News
“Jury Awards Foxborough Woman’s Family $17.5 Million for Dying of Lung Cancer from Smoking Cigarettes” (Boston Globe)
“U.S. Virgin Islands Juries Deliver $113 Million Verdicts Against R.J. Reynolds to families of Deceased Newport Smokers” (Public Health Advocacy Institute)
“Jury Hands Down $9.7M Verdict Against Philip Morris for Massachusetts Smoker’s Cancer” (Courtroom View Network)
“Group’s Lawsuits Aim to Boost Public Health” (Boston Globe)