Wesley Prichard is a partner and trial lawyer whose practice focuses on class-action defense, mass actions, and business disputes.
Wes has diversified experience that includes industrial incidents, emerging chemicals such as ethylene oxide, deal litigation, mass torts, environmental claims, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duties, closely held businesses, and construction disputes for clients in a variety of industries, with a particular focus on manufacturing and specialty chemicals. He has represented clients in state and federal courts across the nation, including numerous cases in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas’s Civil / Commerce and Complex Litigation Center.
Wes also has significant experience representing companies on both sides of the “v.” in business disputes and deal litigation, and in defending class actions and mass actions regarding medical monitoring, diminution of property value, permitted and unpermitted emissions, and nuisance. He serves as a lead member on trial teams, where he focuses on developing trial narratives and strategy at the earliest stages of litigation, developing an evidentiary record to support trial objectives with the assistance of a deep expert network, breaking down complex issues into straightforward arguments, and litigating with his clients’ objectives in mind. In developing his clients’ claims and defenses, Wes has prepared and deposed numerous expert witnesses and argued and authored many Daubert and Frye motions across various disciplines, including exposure, injury, causation, damages, mass appraisal, air modeling, toxicology, epidemiology, and standard of care.
Wes also maintains an active counseling practice, advising clients on internal and external risk management and resolving disputes through cost-effective strategies.
Prior to joining the firm, Wes worked in chambers for the Honorable D. Michael Fisher of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the Honorable Maurice B. Cohill Jr. of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
- Recognized by The Legal 500 United States as a Recommended Lawyer for General Commercial Disputes, 2025
- Board Member, Noah's Legacy Foundation (Local Childhood Cancer Advocacy Non-Profit), 2023-present
- K&L Gates Complex Commercial Litigation and Disputes Editorial Board
- Member, 2023-2024
- Co-Chair 2022-2023
- “ESG Workforce Class Actions,” Under the Wire: Coloring Within Shifting Lines-2023 Workforce Edition, K&L Gates, 6 April 2023
- “Mass Arbitrations,” Class Action Money & Ethics 2020: Aligning Interests & Optimizing Outcomes in Class Action Litigation, Beard Group, 21 September 2020
- “Investigating, Litigating, and Avoiding Issues under the False Claims Act Applied to Healthcare Providers,” K&L Gates, 20 February 2019.
- “Emerging contaminants: Defending litigation,” Westlaw Today, May 2025
- “Emerging contaminants: Minimizing and insuring litigation risk,” Westlaw Today, April 2025
- “Litigation minute: Emerging contaminants: What’s on the horizon?” Westlaw Today, March 2025
- “Using Rule 23(f) To Review Class Certification Orders,” Law360, 22 April 2024
- “Class Action Defense: Don't Give Up On Bristol-Myers Squibb,” Law360, 25 October 2023
- ALI's Medical-Monitoring Proposal May Encourage Claims, Law360, 28 June 2023
- EPA Accepting Public Comments on Amended Ethylene Oxide Regulations, Washington Legal Foundation, 9 June 2023
- How To Navigate Class Incentive Awards After Justices' Denial, Law360, 7 June 2023
- What 5-Year BIPA Time Limit Means For Class Action Defenses, Law360, 6 March 2023
- 5th Circ. Class Action Rulings Reflect Post-TransUnion Trends, Law360, 1 December 2022
- Survey of Pennsylvania Privacy and Related Claims Against the Media, MLRC 50-State Survey: Media Privacy and Related Law, 2018-2019, Articles, 2018-2019
- What You Don't Know Can't Hurt You, Right? Resolving the Inherent Tension between the Yates Memo and the Collective Knowledge Doctrine in Environmental Criminal Enforcement Actions, 39 Energy & Min. L. Inst. 255, 2018
- Mentioned in “5th Circ. Rejects Late Claims Over Arkema Plant Explosions,” Law360, 31 October 2025
- Mentioned in “Nippon, US Steel Hit Back With Suits After Biden Blocks Deal,” Law360, 6 January 2025
- Mentioned in “Plant Gas Emissions Suit Tossed For Lack Of Injury Standing,” Law360, 14 May 2024
- Quoted in “CORRECTED: Pittsburgh Dentist Told To Give Back $1.25M, For Now,” Law360, 14 November 2023
- Mentioned in “Samsung Biometric Data Door Opens New Mass Arbitration Front,” Bloomberg Law, 21 October 2022
