Leading Trial Attorney in Mass Tort Litigation
Michael J. Fuller is a founding partner at Farrell & Fuller and a nationally-respected trial lawyer with a reputation for taking on corporations whose misconduct harms the most vulnerable. His career is defined by action. He doesn’t just file cases. He tries them.
Mike has built his practice on the belief that litigation is about more than gathering claims. “A lot of mass tort firms are aggregators. They just group cases together, file them and let them sit while someone else does the work,” he explains. “We are the workhorses. We are the litigators. We have the leadership roles. We do not get involved in a case unless we truly believe in it.”
His legal work spans some of the most consequential mass torts in the country, including the national opioid litigation, Round Up herbicide exposure cases, wildfire litigation, and insulin price fixing. At every stage of his career, Mike has remained focused on protecting the people most affected by systemic wrongdoing. Workers. Families. Communities devastated by corporate negligence.
A former prosecutor, Mike brings the instincts of a courtroom advocate to a field where many attorneys never step inside a courtroom. “Litigators are a bit of a different breed,” he says. “You have to immerse yourself 24/7.” That mentality is evident in the hands-on approach he brings to every case, from trial preparation to resolution.
Mike’s philosophy is simple but relentless. Hold corporations accountable where it counts. Force them to change harmful business practices. Make them compensate the people they have harmed.
Early Career Defined by Trial Law and Public Service
Mike Fuller’s legal career began in the trenches of criminal prosecution at the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office in Florida. As a prosecutor, he honed the trial skills that would come to define his approach as a litigator. Trying criminal cases early on gave him a firsthand understanding of what it means to stand up in court and advocate for people who need someone in their corner.
After leaving the prosecutor’s office, Mike transitioned to civil litigation, focusing on medical malpractice and nursing home abuse cases. These cases sharpened his ability to navigate complex medical records, understand systemic institutional failures, and confront defendants whose actions, or inaction, placed lives at risk.
His work later expanded at a top national law firm, where he continued to develop his litigation skills and broadened his exposure to high-stakes civil cases. That experience gave him valuable insight into how large corporations defend themselves and shaped his approach to holding them accountable.
Fighting for the Vulnerable: Nursing Home Abuse Litigation
Mike Fuller’s early work as a criminal prosecutor shaped his path into nursing home abuse and neglect litigation. He saw elder abuse for what it is: criminal conduct hiding behind corporate walls. His personal experiences, watching his own grandparents age, fueled his drive to protect others from suffering in silence. "Abuse of the elderly is criminal," Mike remarked, a belief that has become a cornerstone of his career.
What Mike uncovered early in his work is that neglect in elder care facilities is rarely about individual wrongdoing by caregivers. Instead, it stems from systemic failures: corporations buying up nursing homes, slashing staff, cutting corners, and pushing inexperienced employees into overwhelming situations, all in the name of profits. Mike understands that the nurses, aides, and frontline staff are often doing their best under impossible conditions. In many cases, they became allies in litigation, stepping forward to testify about dangerous understaffing and harmful policies dictated from corporate boardrooms.
In the courtroom, Mike has been a relentless advocate for elderly residents and their families. His cases have held negligent owners accountable, forcing them to pay for the pain, suffering, and irreparable harm caused by putting profits over people. These verdicts and settlements are not just about compensation. They are about restoring dignity, demanding respect for vulnerable populations, and sending a message that systemic elder abuse will not be tolerated.
For Mike, every case is a fight to shine a light on hidden harm and to protect those who too often have no one else speaking up for them.
Joining the Opioid Litigation: A National Public Health Battle
Mike Fuller’s path into the opioid litigation began with a call from Paul Farrell, Jr., who had filed the first opioid cases in West Virginia. Farrell, already leading the charge against opioid distributors, recognized Mike’s track record in tackling systemic corporate misconduct in nursing home abuse cases. He knew Mike was a trial lawyer who could navigate complex litigation and stay in the trenches until the job was done.
The two shared a commitment to holding corporations accountable, and their partnership marked the start of a seven-year legal campaign that would grow into one of the largest and most consequential mass torts in U.S. history. Together, they pursued justice for the countless communities ravaged by the opioid epidemic, confronting some of the most powerful pharmaceutical and distribution companies in the world.
Mike brought his courtroom instincts and litigation skills to every phase of the fight, helping to shape legal strategies that forced these companies to reckon with their role in fueling the public health crisis. Mike remarks, “The federal government tried to address the opioid epidemic. The DEA tried to address the opioid epidemic. Even our presidents declared the opioid epidemic a crisis. The best change we’ve seen is due to the legal system. And that’s because you hit them where it hurts—their pockets.”
Their collaboration eventually led to the founding of Farrell & Fuller, a firm built on the belief that justice requires more than filing cases. True justice demands leadership and relentless advocacy. Mike’s work was instrumental in helping secure a $26 billion national opioid settlement and over $50 billion recovered, a historic result that has begun to funnel critical funds into treatment, recovery, and abatement programs nationwide.
For Mike, the opioid litigation was never just about a number on a settlement check. It was about saving lives, holding corporations responsible, and proving that trial lawyers can be a force for public good.
A Trial Lawyer Shaping National Litigation
Mike Fuller brings the instincts and presence of a trial lawyer to mass tort litigation, a distinction in a field where many attorneys never argue before a jury. His ability to take complex cases all the way to trial gives him an edge when confronting corporate defendants on behalf of workers, families, and entire communities.
His advocacy has left a mark across a range of critical national cases. From representing lead-exposed workers and their families in the Gopher Resource litigation to holding chemical manufacturers accountable in the Round Up herbicide cases, Mike has consistently fought for those who bear the brunt of corporate negligence. In the wildfire litigation, he presses utilities to answer for preventable environmental disasters. In the insulin price-fixing cases, he takes aim at practices that make essential medications unaffordable for millions of Americans.
Mike's litigation style is defined by meticulous preparation and unrelenting focus. He draws from a broad background across multiple areas of the law, blending knowledge of public health, regulatory frameworks, and courtroom strategy. His goal is always twofold: obtain full compensation for clients and drive systemic changes to prevent future harm.
Mike stands out because he does more than file cases. He tries them. He leads them. And he forces defendants to the table on terms that matter.
A Nationally Trusted Advocate in Complex Litigation
Fuller’s legal career has been defined by versatility and leadership, with a practice that spans jurisdictions across the United States. Licensed in fourteen jurisdictions including but not limited to the District of Columbia, Florida, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia, Mike brings a national perspective to mass tort litigation, allowing him to effectively manage complex cases in diverse courtrooms.
His ability to adapt to differing state laws and procedural rules has made him a critical force in some of the country’s most consequential cases. Mike’s presence at the negotiating table and in the courtroom underscores his role as both a strategist and trial lawyer, delivering results for clients who face uphill battles against powerful corporate interests.
Mike’s early years as a criminal prosecutor shaped his passion for advocating on behalf of those harmed by systemic failures. Representing victims of crime gave him firsthand insight into the deep vulnerabilities individuals face when powerful entities violate public trust. Yet, as Mike’s career progressed, he recognized the broader scale at which corporate misconduct endangers entire communities. That realization propelled him toward mass tort litigation, where he could help effect change on a national level. This progression from prosecuting individual wrongdoers to confronting corporate actors reflects Mike’s unwavering commitment to justice for those who often lack a voice.
As a founding partner of Farrell & Fuller, Mike helps lead a firm that is committed to reshaping the legal system to better serve everyday people. His impact is not just measured in verdicts or settlements. It is found in the broader reforms his cases have helped spark and in the message sent to corporations nationwide: You will be held accountable.
Mike Fuller is more than a litigator. He is part of a new generation of trial attorneys fighting to transform the practice of law into a vehicle for real-world change.