Manufacturing

Goldberg Segalla has long served as a trusted advisor and steadfast protector of the manufacturing industry. Whether seeking proactive counsel to avoid disputes or facing a bet-the-company lawsuit that puts everything on the line, manufacturers count on us because we are driven by the same commitments to quality, thoroughness, and efficiency upon which the manufacturing community is proudly built.

Fueled by these values, our lawyers have handled thousands of complex and high-value matters for clients that range from global enterprises and Fortune 500 companies to start-ups and emerging leaders. Drawing from our team’s vast collective experience representing manufacturers, coupled with the in-house, industry, and technical experience of several members, we speak the language of manufacturing and understand the operations, philosophies, and goals behind every engagement.

We help manufacturers, distributors, and others in the production and supply chain protect their interests — and their bottom lines — with a truly comprehensive suite of litigation and counseling services.

Our Commitment to Manufacturing

Goldberg Segalla works tirelessly to advance the development of caselaw favorable to the manufacturing industry. We accomplish this through consistently achieving favorable results for our clients in a broad array of litigation — even in the country’s toughest, most plaintiff-friendly jurisdictions.

We also contribute extensively to judicial and tort reform efforts. We actively and proudly encourage these efforts through our support of, and membership in, organizations such as Lawyers for Civil Justice and the Defense Research Institute. Our lawyers also prepare and submit amicus briefs on behalf of the Product Liability Advisory Counsel (PLAC).

In fact, our team is proud to have six members of the PLAC, a highly selective group of leading product manufacturers and the most elite product liability defense counsels operating in the U.S. and abroad. Induction into the PLAC requires swearing an oath never to represent a party against a manufacturer.

We also have practical experience on top of our legal abilities. A small sampling of the experience our team members obtained outside their legal careers includes more than a decade working as an industrial hygienist advising large companies on regulatory issues related to occupational exposure, a previous career designing air and spacecraft wing and fuselage structures as an aerospace engineer, and working in global supply chain logistics and freight management.

Our team also includes leaders and members in the Defense Research Institute, the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, the Trucking Industry Defense Association, the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Trial Advocates, and other national and international groups that share our dedication to manufacturing.

Experience Highlights

Law360 ranks Goldberg Segalla on its list of the 100 U.S.-based firms with the most product liability partners globally. Our roster includes some of the foremost practitioners in product liability defense in the United States, including:

Two of the youngest members ever inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers
Recipient of the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Dreier Award for Excellence in Product Liability Law
Past president of the Defense Research Institute
Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator
Authors and editors of numerous journal articles and volumes, including the Products Liability in New York: Strategies and Practice treatise

We have successfully defended high-exposure product liability actions — including those involving catastrophic injuries and death — brought against the makers of products including but not limited to:

Cars and trucks
Appliances
Toys and children’s products
Clothing
Heavy machinery
Sporting goods
Power tools
Food and beverages
Chemicals
Medical devices and pharmaceuticals

We have a long history of aggressively defending the interests of high-profile clients and trying toxic tort cases to verdict. Market-leading companies from a vast array of industries trust Goldberg Segalla to handle their toxic tort litigation and to provide preventive counsel to help minimize the risk of a lawsuit.

Our toxic tort team is more than 50 lawyers strong and has handled the defense of thousands of claims involving alleged exposure to:

Asbestos
Lead
Legionella bacteria
Talc
Mold
Benzene
Zinc
Foodborne bacteria
Pesticides
Diacetyl
Silica
Thimerosal

— as well as cases involving environmental contamination and indoor air quality issues. We regularly defend equipment manufacturers, including makers of pumps, valves, brakes, boilers, electrical products, and aviation-related products; building product manufacturers and sellers, including manufacturers and distributors of insulation, joint compound, gaskets, and furnace cement; and residential product manufacturers, including manufacturers of washing machines and dryers, residential irons, and hair dryers and curlers.

We have decades of experience defending complex class action and consumer fraud litigation involving product manufacturers and distributors. This includes handling national and state class actions for clients that include two of the world’s largest makers of toys and children’s products, one of the most prominent women’s clothing companies, and a market-leading herbicide manufacturer. One of our partners currently focuses his practice on the cutting-edge area of data breach class action defense and incident response litigation.

Our firm is also home to one of the leading authorities on electronic discovery. This gives our clients a stronger and more efficient defense against plaintiffs’ class action lawyers who attempt to use discovery of vast amounts of electronic records in an effort to pester defendants and drive up litigation costs.

We understand that avoiding a lawsuit is more important than winning one. Clients frequently turn to us for proactive help minimizing and managing the risks associated with designing, manufacturing, and selling products. We regularly advise on the scope and application of industry and governmental standards, and we guide clients through preparing appropriate owners’ manuals, warnings, and instructions regarding the proper use — and dangers of misuse — of products. We also help manufacturers implement practical and effective document management policies, a risk avoidance component that is essential in today’s trigger-happy litigation climate.

We provide comprehensive transportation litigation services and counsel to help insured and self-insured manufacturers reduce risk and minimize exposure or the interruption of business in the event of an accident.

Leading manufacturers and transportation providers regularly retain our attorneys to try their most serious cases, based on our extensive experience handling multimillion-dollar traumatic injury matters involving virtually all aspects of vehicle design as well as road design and other defense-critical issues. We maintain a 24/7 Emergency Response Team to manage the initial response to an accident, when every second is critical for building the foundation of a stronger defense. Whether the matter involves delivery cars, long-haul tractor-trailers, rail cars, or aircraft — and no matter where it occurs — our team is ready and equipped to protect the company.

To every transportation-related matter we bring an exceptional understanding of the myriad issues involved, including the relationship of the parties involved, contractual relationships, additional insured status of various parties, property damage, underinsured motorist coverage, excess/primary insurance obligations, permissive use, and scope of employment.

In addition, manufacturers often turn to us for matters involving the business and commercial aspects of developing and maintaining their distribution networks and contractual relationships with other companies. Whether in an advisory role or as litigation counsel, we help manufacturers keep their products moving to their destinations.

With one of the most highly acclaimed insurance coverage teams in the world, we help manufacturers analyze and implement insurance policies and other business relationships aimed toward building a seamless and comprehensive blanket of risk protection. Our team has extensive experience assisting policyholders and self-insured entities in analyzing risks and exposures and assisting with the procurement and placement of insurance coverage, with recommendations tailored for their specific needs and rooted in our understanding of manufacturing operations.

Manufacturing businesses are major employers that rely upon a broad range of professionals and employee types to succeed. To address these needs, we provide comprehensive employment and labor services to manufacturers, including day-to-day human resources counseling and representation in matters involving:

Discrimination
Retaliation
Harassment
Whistleblowing
Family leave
The Americans With Disabilities Act as amended
Public accommodations
Labor law and union avoidance
Workers’ compensation
Wage and hour audits
Professional misconduct reviews
Employment agreements
Restrictive covenants

Our team also provides staunch advocacy in litigation, arbitration, and National Labor Relations Board and other administrative proceedings.

Every day, we successfully represent clients from numerous industries in workers’ compensation litigation. Our team is well-versed in the full range of cases involving both major and minor injuries, in the accident as well as occupational disease contexts. Our unique practice model involves handling each claim from beginning to end, staying abreast of even the most minor changes in interpretive language used by the courts, and developing strategies tailor-made for each unique situation — an approach our clients find leads to better results and greater efficiency.

We take pride in our productive working relationships with governmental agencies and in our creative resolution of compliance issues. We regularly counsel and advise clients on numerous issues concerning compliance with safety regulations, mandatory reporting requirements, and the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. Our lawyers represent product manufacturers and importers before the Consumer Product Safety Commission, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, and other federal and state regulators in product defect investigations, investigations regarding civil penalties, enforcement proceedings, and product recalls.

Our firm helps companies effectively manage the wide range of risks associated with data use and storage, cloud computing, and social media. This includes developing preventive measures and providing proactive counseling on how these evolving issues impact employment concerns, insurance coverage, business agreements, regulatory compliance, and more. If needed, we are well equipped to advise and protect our clients in the aftermath of data spills, hacking, and other exposures, including emergency response and notification management.

We provide manufacturers with practical legal advice and transactional guidance to help them achieve strategic growth. Leading this team is a former inside counsel who spent 20 years in that role for a multibillion-dollar global company, and many of our team members have decades of experience advising on a broad spectrum of business matters and disputes, both in-house and as outside counsel. Our experience covers all types of corporate law and contractual issues; growth, finance, and asset protection; and intellectual property.

Our commercial real estate and development team combines years of multi-disciplinary experience with in-depth knowledge of state and federal real estate regulation to guide corporations of all sizes through the real estate transaction process.

Our commercial rest estate and development team is here to help you with:

Drafting and negotiating Purchase Agreements
Environmental concerns, including Phase I and Phase II environmental audits
All types of commercial loan agreements and ancillary documentation
Land use and zoning issues, including New York Article 78 actions
Commercial leases (gross leases; single, double, and triple net leases; and modified gross leases)
Construction agreements focusing on AIA contracts, owner-architect, contractor and sub-contractor, and development agreements

In addition, our Real Estate Litigation and Title Disputes practice offers a full range of real estate litigation services to help property owners (as well as lenders and title insurance companies). These services include: