Fears Nachawati Lawyer a Featured Speaker at Opioid Litigation Conference

Fears Nachawati trial lawyer Jonathan Novak will be a featured speaker at a continuing legal education conference in Austin exploring legal issues surrounding the opioid epidemic.

The May 8 Opioid Litigation Conference, hosted by HarrisMartin Publishing, is titled “The State Court Case Against the PBMs, Retailers and Distributors.” Novak is scheduled to present the 11:15 a.m. seminar “Roadmap for Applying DEA Retail Pharmacy Regulation Strategy to State Claims,” a general discussion on distributor liability theories in the opioid litigation.

A former litigator with the U.S. Department of Justice, Novak’s work focused on controlled substance regulation, policy and compliance, including prosecuting opioid cases and working with the federal ARCOS database, which collects information on controlled substances transactions involving manufacturers and distributors, the firm said in a release.

At the Austin Opioid Litigation Conference, Novak also will participate in the 1:30 p.m. roundtable discussion on ARCOS data.

Novak played a role in an investigation detailing how opioid distributors worked with a handful of lawmakers to push through a law that stripped the Drug Enforcement Administration of its authority. After leaving the DEA, he took part in a high-profile opioid investigation that exposed the slowdown of DEA enforcement and the influence of pharmaceutical companies over agency investigations and prosecutions. His work was featured on “60 Minutes” and in The Washington Post.