Gary McConnell, former associate general counsel of Bayer Corporation, has joined the law firm of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott as partner, whose practice will focus on product liability, mass tort and commercial litigation matters.

For more than 15 years as a senior-level attorney in a publicly traded global company, McConnell led many important strategic initiatives for Bayer, where he played a major role in the management of mass tort litigation cases against the company. He had direct responsibility for the development and implementation of defense and settlement programs for mass tort and product liability litigation involving a large number of lawsuits, government investigations and insurance issues. McConnell also participated in the mediation of numerous cases and supervised the handling of U.S. employment litigation.

Prior to joining Bayer, McConnell was engaged in private practice, with a concentration in the defense of product liability, medical malpractice and admiralty cases. Before becoming a lawyer, McConnell was a law enforcement officer in Missouri for more than six years. He served as a detective and was involved in several high-profile cases, including two which resulted in the successful prosecution of corrupt public officials.