Christopher G. Campbell
PartnerChair, Product Liability and Mass Torts practice
Chair, Atlanta Office D&I Committee
Co-Chair, US Product Liability, Mass Torts & Class Actions Litigation Group
Chris Campbell is the Chair of DLA Piper's Product Liability and Mass Tort practice group, which is among the world's largest and most award-winning team of product liability defense counsel.
A graduate of Harvard Law School, Chris has 20 years' experience in all phases of mass tort, class action, and other complex commercial litigation, including trying cases and arguing appeals.
He has served as global, national, and trial counsel for many global companies in the life sciences, food and beverage, automotive, and insurance sectors. In addition, Chris also advises clients on regulatory, communications, and other strategic matters with the potential to impact the clients' business interests or reputations.
Clients say of Chris: "He is great. Period." Others praise the quality of his strategic advice and devotion to client service as "truly indispensable" to their teams, noting their gratitude for "all the help (almost around the clock!) and good advice."
The Legal 500 United States has repeatedly recognized Chris, noting that he "commands respect."
Law360 selected Chris as a "Rising Star" in the area of product liability, citing his "knack for breaking down difficult science into concepts" and "creativity and unorthodox tactics" that "have set him apart."
Chris regularly speaks and writes on the topics of product liability, mass torts, and class action litigation, as well as the attorney-client privilege, expert witnesses, pharmacovigilance, trial tactics, and other topics.
EXPERIENCE
Chris's experience includes a diverse range of mass tort, class action, and other complex commercial matters, where he serves as lead strategic, coordinating, and trial counsel for clients in the life sciences, food and beverage, automotive, insurance, and other sectors.
Recent Experience
- Coordinating and strategic counsel for global life sciences and agricultural company in mass tort litigation involving contraceptive medical device, as well as lead counsel on global regulatory, communications, and litigation matters involving the device.
- National counsel for global life sciences company on environmental and toxic tort exposure litigation throughout the United States.
- National trial counsel for global tire manufacturer for product liability matters throughout the United States.
- Lead counsel on a variety of class action matters involving global life sciences, automotive, and insurance companies.
- Counsel to global medical device manufacturer on regulatory, communications, and compliance issues.
- Counsel to global food and beverage company on product labeling, discovery, and other litigation matters.
- Counsel to global bank in civil litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York involving allegations under the Alien Tort Statute related to terrorism attacks in Israel, including the development of expert motion and trial strategies.
- Counsel to global life sciences company in mass tort and class action litigation in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe involving smoking cessation medication, including the development scientific and expert motion and trial strategies.
- Counsel to global life sciences companies in mass tort and class action litigation involving hormone replacement therapy medications, including the development of scientific and expert motion and trial strategies.
Recent Trial Experience
- Lead trial counsel in representing global manufacturing company in alleged environmental and toxic exposure jury trial, Milton v. A.O. Smith Corp., Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (2023).
- Lead trial counsel representing global tire manufacturer in product liability jury trial involving fatal accident, Davis v. Hankook Tire Co. Ltd., Superior Court of New Jersey, Camden County (2023).
- Lead trial counsel in representing global manufacturing company in alleged environmental and toxic exposure jury trial, Sarenko v. A.O. Smith Corp., Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (2022).
- Lead trial counsel in representing global manufacturing company in alleged environmental and toxic exposure jury trial, Regal v. A.O. Smith Corp., Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (2021).
- Trial counsel representing global tire manufacturer in product liability jury trial involving cement mixer accident, Benedict v. Hankook Tire Co., Ltd., United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (2018).
- Lead trial counsel representing global tire manufacturer in product liability jury trial involving fatal church bus accident, Boyer v. Hankook Tire Co. Ltd., General Court of Justice, Superior Court Division, State of North Carolina, County of Iredell (2018).
- Trial counsel representing global tire manufacturer in product liability jury trial involving fatal cement mixer accident, Cone v. Hankook Tire Co. Ltd., U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee (2017).
- Trial counsel representing global insurance broker in three-month civil jury trial involving allegations of breach of fiduciary duty, conspiracy, theft of trade secrets, and other allegations, Baldwin v. Aon Risk Services Companies, Inc., Superior Court of the State of California, County of Fresno (2017).
- Lead trial counsel representing global tire manufacturer in product liability jury trial involving fatal dump truck accident, Philpot v. Hankook Tire Co. Ltd., Circuit Court of Conway County, Arkansas, Civil Division (2016).
- Lead trial counsel representing global life sciences company in alleged environmental and toxic exposure jury trial, Ricci v. Aluminum Company of America, Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York (2015).
- Lead trial counsel representing the NAACP and other plaintiffs in housing discrimination lawsuit, Fair Housing in Huntington Committee v. Town of Huntington, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York (2014).
Other Experience/Decisions
- Viramontes v. Pfizer, Inc., No. 2:15-cv-01754, (E.D. Cal. Jul. 9, 2018), granting summary judgment and dismissing product liability claim against global life sciences company.
- Ralph Brown V. Michelin North America, Inc., 2015 WL 4757750, *1 (E.D. Okla. Aug. 11, 2015) granting summary judgment to Michelin and Hankook Tire in product liability suit on causation grounds.
- Langston v. Pangborn Corp., 2014 WL 347718, *1 (S.D. Miss. Jan. 31, 2014), granting summary judgment in alleged silica exposure toxic tort case on statute of limitations grounds.
- In re Prempro Products Liability Litigation, 738 F. Supp. 2d 887 (E.D. Ark. 2010), excluding plaintiffs' experts' opinion that estrogen-only hormone therapy causes breast cancer.
- Viramontes v. Pfizer, Inc., 2008 WL 2477443,*1 (Cal. Ct. App. June 20, 2008), affirming summary judgment in pharmaceutical product liability claim based on inadequacy of plaintiff's expert evidence.
- In re: Bextra and Celebrex Marketing Sales Practices and Prod. Liab. Litig., 524 F.Supp. 2d 1166, 2007 WL 4170276, *1 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 19, 2007), excluding as unreliable any expert opinions that pain medication causes heart attacks and strokes at most commonly prescribed dose.
- Zaremba v. Gen. Motors Corp., 360 F.3d 355 (2d Cir. 2004), affirming summary judgment and excluding expert testimony under Daubert in a catastrophic, multi-plaintiff rollover crash.
- J.D., Harvard Law School 2000
Harvard Negotiation Law Review, the International Law Journal and the Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review
Ames Moot Court Competition - B.S., Philosophy and English, Austin Peay State University 1997
Outstanding Young Alumnus of the Year, 2002
Awards
Chambers USA
- Band 6, Nationwide Product Liability & Mass Torts (2023 – 2024)
The Legal 500 United States
- Leading Lawyer, Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices - Defense (2023 – 2024)
- Recommended, General Commercial Disputes (2023)
- Recommended, Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices - Defense (2020 – 2022)
- Recommended, Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action: Consumer Products (including Tobacco) (2019 – 2024)
- Recommended, Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Actions: Toxic Tort - Defense (2016-2017, 2019 – 2021, 2023 – 2024)
- Recommended, Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action: Automotive/Transport (2019 – 2024)
- Recommended, Healthcare: Life Sciences (2020)
Additional Recognitions
- Distinguished Adviser, Financier Worldwide's Power Players: Product Liability 2023 guide
- Selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers for Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants, Product Liability Litigation - Defendants (2023)
Pro Bono
- Lead trial counsel representing the NAACP and other plaintiffs in housing discrimination lawsuit, Fair Housing in Huntington Committee v. Town of Huntington, US District Court for the Eastern District of New York (2014)
Bylines
Chris is co-author of the book Expert Witnesses: Products Liability Cases (West 2d ed. 2012), an in-depth guide to expert witness development in all types of product liability and mass tort matters, including pharmaceutical, environmental and toxic torts, automotive, industrial accidents and children's and consumer products. He co-authored the article "Sacking the Monday Morning Quarterback: Tackling Hindsight Bias in Failure-to-Warn Cases," For the Defense (October 2010), for which he received the Defense Research Institute's G. Duffield Smith Outstanding Publication Award. The award honors DRI's most outstanding defense-related article published that year.
- Co-author, "8 Childhood Lessons That Can Help You Be A Better Attorney," Law360, October 10, 2024
- Co-author, "Protecting Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product in a Generative AI World Checklist," Lexis (February 05, 2024)
- Co-author, "California Bill Barring Privacy Protections in Litigation Would Have Significant, Negative Consequences," Law.com (August 08, 2022)
- Co-author, "An overview of recent FDA activity on materials in medical devices," RAPS (August 13, 2021)
- Author, "Ensuring Intellectual Rigor: Three Reasons for Amending the Expert Admissibility Standard," American Bar Association (July 22, 2021)
- Contributor, "What COVID-19, Social Issues Mean For Pharma Case Juries," (June 29, 2021)
- Co-author, "Safeguarding Privileged Communications In A Remote World," Law360 (March 29, 2021)
- Co-author, "The Privilege Implications Of Using Online Collaboration Tools," Law360 (2020)
- Author, "Corporate Conversation: An Interview with Novo Nordisk's Michael W. King," For The Defense, Think Globally column (April 2015)
- Co-author, "Science, Simplified: Five Tips for Presenting Scientific Evidence That Will Resonate With Juries in Drug and Medical Device Cases," Bloomberg BNA, Toxics Tort Reporter (July 31, 2014)
- Co-author, "Motions In Limine in New York Products Liability Litigation," chapter in the book New York Products Liability: Strategy and Practice (2d ed., 2013), with Loren H. Brown and Jennifer A. Fuerch
Seminars
- Speaker, "Attorneys' Complete Guide to Experts in Georgia Civil Litigation," NBI (May 21, 2024)
- Speaker, "Evidence of Subsequent Remedial Measures: Strategies and Practical Considerations Under FRE 407," Strafford (July 19, 2023)
- Presenter, "Excluding Epidemiological Evidence Under FRE 702 in Toxic Tort, Medical Device, and Pharmaceutical Cases," Strafford Webinar (March 14, 2023)
- Presenter, "Act Naturally" with Genetics and Genomics: New Answers in Drug and Medical Device Litigation," Conference, Nashville, TN (September 8, 2022)
- Speaker, "Attorney-Client and Manager-Employee Privilege and Confidentiality," Lorman webinar, (July 22, 2021)
- Presenter, "Personal Injury Trial Strategies: Arguing Pain and Suffering, Pre-Impact Damages, Conscious Suffering Before Death," Strafford webinar (April 21, 2021)
- Presenter, "FSS Economic Damages Section Coffee Chat: The Privilege Implications of Using Online Collaboration Tools," CalCPA Education Foundation, California Society of CPAs, Virtual Course (August 5, 2020)
- Presenter, "Best Practices for Preserving Privilege While Using Remote Collaboration Tools," Federal Bar Association and MyLawCLE, Virtual Course (August 6, 2020)
- Presenter, "Medical Device Product Liability Litigation," American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, NV (November 15, 2018)
- Presenter, "Daubert Data Dredge: A Statistical and Strategic Look Back at Daubert Through the Years and Now," Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association Annual Meeting, Boston, MA (June 1, 2018)
- Presenter, "How Experts Can Use Demonstratives to Improve Their Performance and Win New Clients," SEAK Expert Witness Conference, Clearwater, FL (May 6, 2018)
- Panelist, "Documenting and Seeking Solutions to Mass-Tort MDL Problems Conference," Bolch Judicial Institute, Duke Law School, Atlanta, GA (April 26-27, 2018)
- Presenter, "Daubert Data Dredge: A Statistical and Strategic Look Back at Daubert through the Years and Now," DRI Drug Medical Device Conference, Chicago, IL (May 18, 2016)
- Presenter, "Simplifying Scientific Evidence for Jurors: Strategies for Presenting Scientific Information in an Understandable, Memorable, and Persuasive Manner," Strafford Webinar (April 10, 2013)
Memberships And Affiliations
- Publications Vice-Chair, DRI Drug and Medical Device Steering Committee
- Law360 Product Liability Editorial Board (2022-2023)
- American Bar Association
- New York State Bar Association
- Georgia Bar Association
- Defense Research Institute
- Lawyers for Civil Justice
- US Chamber of Commerce