Appalachian Prosecutor Proves Formidable Big Law Foe on Opioids

Corporate defense lawyers have learned not to underestimate Randy Ramseyer and his team of federal prosecutors investigating out of a strip mall in rural southwest Virginia.

First came Ramseyer’s successful prosecution of Purdue Pharma and three top executives for deceptive OxyContin marketing two decades ago. More recently, the Abingdon, Va.-based assistant US attorney sent a Big Pharma CEO to prison. His office now is pursuing McKinsey & Co. and Facebook parent Meta Platforms over opioid-related claims.

Ramseyer, 61, doesn’t much care if he incenses the white-collar defense bar by employing aggressive legal theories, treating witnesses less deferentially, or making big ...