Martha Harris expects to see a proliferation of joint degrees in law and science because of the push in the Buffalo area's bioinformatics industry.

A partner at Phillips Lytle LLP, she earned a law degree seven years ago after she acquired a doctorate in chemistry, both from the University at Buffalo. Prior to launching her legal career, she was a chemistry professor at St. Bonaventure University.

Why the career switch?

"The time had come to do something else," said Harris, who says she learns something new every day. "My background in chemistry helps from a perception standpoint when talking with expert witnesses. We can roll up our sleeves and dive into the scientific literature."

Harris' practice includes medical device and pharmaceutical products-liability litigation.

"Very few people know about this end of our practice; it's been a well-kept secret," Harris said. "The more you find out, the more you see how the work we do meshes with other fields."

Another Phillips Lytle partner, Nathan Schachtman, found his way to the Buffalo-based law firm after defending Bristol-Myers Squibb during lengthy breast-implant litigation in the 1990s.

Then a partner in a New Jersey law firm, McCarter & English LLP, Schachtman worked on the case with Tamar "Tammy" Halpern, head of Phillips Lytle LLP's pharmaceutical and medical-device practice. Plaintiffs claimed that silicone causes autoimmune disease.

Schachtman today works with Halpern at Phillips Lytle, where he's now a partner. Schachtman lives in Haddon Heights, N.J, and commutes to Phillips Lytle's Buffalo and New York City offices.

"It was a natural place to look - I found a lot of kindred spirits at Phillips Lytle," said Schachtman, who concentrates on chemical exposure, toxic tort, medical device and pharmaceutical matters.

The breast-implant case brought a "tsunami of litigation," Schachtman said.

"It was a wild ride," he recalled. "The nature of lawyers' personalities is to control every aspect of a case. With the implant case, we presented theories on both sides, which showed no evidence that the implants cause disease, but the case created all sorts of ripples before it got done."

A competitive edge

The marriage of law and science is gaining strength at law firms here and around the nation.

More than a decado ago, another Buffalo firm, Jaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel LLP, added an intellectual property group. That practice has grown, said partner Edward Piwowarczyk, to cover "a full range of scientific disciplines." This year, Jaeckle added three attorneys with bioscience backgrounds.

"These attorneys work with our corporate attorneys to assist companies emerging as a result of the research being done at universities and research institutions in Western New York," Piwowarczyk said.

Phillips Lytle has 50 staff members in Buffalo and New York City working in its science-based department.

The firm is involved in highly charged litigation over the alleged connection between children developing autism and a vaccine with a mercury-based preservative. The case is now in a Washington, D.C., government court.

George Hajduczok, who, in addition to his law degree, holds a doctorate in physiology and teaches at the University at Buffalo's medical school, cites his background as an advantage when dealing with key witnesses. He says he can "break in" much quicker with experts, who often prefer to speak with him rather than a layperson.

"We look at issues, claims, and find experts to come in," Hajduczok said. "I view it as a matter of public health."

Brenda Alesii is a Williamsville free-lance writer.