John Chester
Partner
Experience
With more than eight years of experience as corporate counsel for an international technology product company and over 15 years in private practice, John Chester brings a rare blend of in-house corporate insight and deep litigation experience to the firm’s Product Liability practice. He has navigated the very challenges his clients face daily, leveraging broad-based experience in complex litigation, commercial transactions, product sales and marketing, and corporate compliance and governance to help organizations manage risk and resolve issues proactively.
John advises clients across the manufacturing, technology, consumer products, pharmaceutical and medical device sectors, drawing on a career that spans high-stakes product liability, mass tort and class-action litigation for multinational companies operating in highly-regulated industries, including life sciences, chemicals and consumer products. He has also managed litigation and worked with outside counsel across the United States in state and federal courts, including significant appellate matters as well as cross-border litigation in the UK and EU. He excels at building trusted relationships and fostering cross-functional communication, ensuring that his guidance is pragmatic, business-focused, and aligned with clients’ operational realities.
John’s combined in‑house and outside counsel experience enables him to deliver practical, solutions-oriented advice that anticipates risk, supports innovation, and advances his clients’ business goals.
Related Areas
Background
Admissions
- New Jersey
Education
- Rutgers Law School, J.D.
- Edward J. Bloustein Fellow, Program in Jurisprudence
- The University of Texas, Austin, B.A.
Professional Affiliations
- New Jersey Defense Association
- Products Liability Committee, Former Chair
- DRI: Association of Lawyers Defending Business
- Commercial Litigation Committee, Class Action Specialized Litigation Group, Publications Subcommittee, Former Chair
- Drug and Medical Device Litigation Committee
Community Involvement
- New Jersey District XB Ethics Committee
- Municipal Planning Board, Bethlehem Township, NJ
- Skylands Preservation Alliance, Board of Trustees
News & Knowledge
Publications & Events
- “A Second Bite at the Apple? CAFA Jurisdiction After Class Certification Denial,” Defense Research Institute, The Business Suit, Commercial Litigation Newsletter, February 2014
- “New Jersey Supreme Court Rejects Vioxx Medical Monitoring Class Action,” New Jersey Defense, Volume 25, Issue 1, March 2009
- “No Harm, No Foul in New Jersey: No-Injury Monitoring Rebuffed,” Washington Legal Foundation Legal Backgrounder, Vol. 23, No. 46, October 24, 2008. (Reprinted in Andrews Pharmaceutical Litigation Reporter, Vol. 24, Issue 11, January 2009)
- “Courts Reject Two Nationwide Consumer-Fraud Class Actions,” Washington Legal Foundation Legal Backgrounder, Vol. 22, No. 50, November 30, 2007
- “Courts’ Misapplication of FDA Preemption Policy Creates Quandary for Drug Producers,” Washington Legal Foundation Legal Backgrounder, Vol. 22, No. 9, March 9, 2007 (Reprinted in Mealey’s Antidepressant Drugs Litigation Report, Vol. 3, Issue 8, March 2007, and in Andrews Pharmaceutical Litigation Reporter, Vol. 23, Issue 5, July 2007)
- “Preemption: Standoff at the Crossroads of Federal Drug Labeling Regulation and State Product Liability Law,” BNA Pharmaceutical Law & Industry Report, Vol. 4, No. 49, December 22, 2006
- “Between a Rock and a Hard Place—Off Label Communications in an Era of Clinical Trial Registries, Continuing Medical Education Scrutiny and Medicare Part D,” Regulatory Affairs Focus, Vol. 11, No. 11, November 2006
- “Like Water and Oil: Consumer Fraud Act Claims Should Not Be Viable in Prescription Drug Product Liability Actions,” New Jersey Law Journal, December 5, 2005
- “The Ins and Outs of Social Media in Litigation,” ALFA International Product Liability and Complex Torts Practice Group Seminar, Tucson, AZ, September 2019
- “What’s New? Hot Topics in Statutes, Regulations, and Rules Impacting Product Litigation,” NJDA Products Liability Seminar, Woodbridge, NJ, September 2014
- “Beyond the Indemnification Clause: Other Strategies to Protect the Company,” NJDA & NJCCA’s Products Liability Defense: Updates and Strategy to Protect the Company Seminar, Woodbridge, NJ, March 2012
- “Wyeth v. Levine: What You Should Do Now Regarding Preemption,” Thompson Interactive Audio Conference, April 2009
RECENT INSIGHTS
February 2, 2026