KARA McCALL focuses her practice on defending companies in toxic tort and product liability and mass torts, involving, for example, claims alleging personal injury, wrongful death, economic loss, and punitive damages arising from the manufacture, sale, and use of chemicals, household products, consumer goods, and building materials. Kara is particularly skilled at teaching complex science principles to jurors. As an example, she recently represented Sterigenics in a complex litigation, regulatory, and legislative matters arising from its use of ETO as a sterilizing agent for millions of critical medical devices and surgical kits. Leading a successful trial team, Kara made the closing argument and secured a full defense verdict after an eight-week trial in Cook County, Illinois. The work for Sterigenics earned Sidley the title of “Illinois Powerhouse” by Law360 (2021). This trial work also led Kara to be recognized by Chambers USA in Illinois Litigation. As part of this litigation, Kara worked with scientific experts in fields of toxicology, epidemiology, oncology, reproductive endocrinology, and more, showcasing her knowledge in handling complete toxic tort cases.
Beyond ETO litigation, Kara is experienced in defending companies in class action litigation and commercial litigation and disputes matters. Her extensive experience includes defending life sciences companies including pharmaceutical drugs and medical devices, and has successfully participated in the defense of pharmaceutical manufacturing companies in class actions and multi-district proceedings. She has also helped companies deal with “battle of the form” issues and other contractual issues relating to indemnity, warranties, and limitations on liability or damages. She is also actively involved in the defense of foods, beverages, nutritional supplements, and construction products in class action litigation arising out of alleged mislabeling or other deceptive trade practices. She is also experienced in defending companies facing personal injury, wrongful death, and property damage lawsuits arising out of fires, explosions, train derailments, and other crises.
Clients often come to Kara with their most important product liability, mass tort, and toxic tort class actions, as well as personal injury, wrongful death, and property damage arising out of fires, explosions, or chemical exposure. Kara works closely with a multidisciplinary crisis management team to quickly and effectively address issues arising out of recalls, natural disasters, equipment failure, and environmental leaks and spills. She works closely with regulatory lawyers at Sidley to harness their knowledge of the regulatory and litigation issues facing manufacturers of regulated products like foods, beverages, and supplements. Kara has also developed experience in the various state consumer protection statutes, having handled class action consumer fraud cases pending all over the country.
Kara is instrumental in the development of discovery plans and protocols to minimize discovery prior to the class certification phase, and has successfully defeated class certification in state and federal courts. Kara has also handled class action arbitration proceedings, and has briefed issues of first impression regarding the appropriateness of class actions in the context of American Arbitration Association proceedings. Where settlement is appropriate, Kara has helped her clients negotiate nationwide class action settlements that have been approved by federal courts.
Kara’s leadership and relationships with her clients have earned her recognition by Chambers USA, Benchmark Litigation, Who’s Who Legal, Law360, the National Law Journal, The Legal 500, and BTI Consulting. Kara has been ranked in Chambers USA since 2021. Chambers USA 2023 and 2024 ranked Kara for Litigation: General Commercial in Illinois, as well as for Nationwide Product Liability and Mass Torts, with clients in the 2021 edition noting that “Kara is outstanding” and “responsive and technically sound.” In addition, Benchmark Litigation selected Kara as a “Litigation Star” in Illinois for Product Liability (2024–2025), and she has been repeatedly recognized in Who’s Who Legal: Product Liability Defence and Who’s Who Legal: Life Sciences - Product Liability, most recently in 2024. Her product liability work was also selected by the Daily Journal as a “Top Defense Result” in its 2020 “Top Verdicts” feature. In 2016, Chicago Lawyer selected Kara for their 40 Under Forty listing. Law360 named Kara as a “Rising Star” in the publication’s 2013 annual list of the top lawyers nationwide under 40, one of only five products liability lawyers named. Additionally, the National Law Journal named Kara a “Rising Star” in Chicago’s 40 Under 40 Special Report and shares clients comments that she is “a calm, tough, creative problem solver. She gets results for us. We’ve been working together for four years on a products liability class action in addition to other products liability issues…[McCall] consistently stakes out defensible positions and is very persuasive in her advocacy with the court, our opposition and internal stakeholders.” Kara has also been recognized by The Legal 500 US 2010–2017. She is described as “an unusually skilled writer and an engaging advocate.” In the same publication, in connection with the defense of consumer product companies, she was noted to have “extensive litigation experience” and recommended as “actively involved in consumer fraud cases.” She was also lauded for being a “very smart lawyer” and, along with former group head Mike Davis, was praised for “tak[ing] on their clients’ problems as their own” in the pharmaceutical and medical device defense category. Kara was also named a 2014 “Client Service All Star” by BTI Consulting Group.
Kara joined the firm in 2001 after having served as a law clerk for the Honorable Diane P. Wood of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. She earned her law degree from the University of Chicago Law School, where she graduated Order of the Coif and served on Law Review. She graduated summa cum laude from Butler University.