John P. Freedenberg
Partner
John P. Freedenberg, a founding partner of the firm, concentrates his practice in the areas of product liability, fire science litigation, aviation law, and catastrophic personal injury litigation. He has handled scores of trials to verdict over thirty-five years of practice, and has had numerous summary judgments granted making trial unnecessary.
Jack has served as national coordinating counsel to both publicly-traded and privately-held manufacturers, and has handled the defense of product liability actions around the United States. These cases have involved both catastrophic personal injuries and major fire damage, and they have involved appliances, household products, electronic controls, power generating and manufacturing equipment, materials handling equipment, electrical systems, and aircraft engines. He has also defended several multi-fatality aviation accident cases.
Jack has had the unique opportunity to depose plaintiffs’ experts in a wide range of specialties, and he has developed proven techniques for disqualifying “junk science” purveyors under applicable rules of evidence. He utilizes cutting-edge technology and unique strategies in order to, for example, enter into high/low agreements, and achieve the best possible outcome for clients.
Related Areas
Industries
Experience Highlights
As a Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI), Jack provides Goldberg Segalla clients with a strong competitive advantage in litigation involving damage and injury from fires. He is actively and deeply involved in the investigation phase of each fire case, and in the courtroom, he brings the weight of fire investigation credentials that often match or exceed those of opposing expert witnesses. He has participated in dozens of fire scene inspections and more than 100 laboratory inspections of fire scene artifacts, and he has conducted hundreds of depositions and dozens of trials in fire-related cases. Administered by the National Association of Fire Investigators through its National Certification Board, CFEI is the largest fire investigator certification program in the world.
Honors & Awards
Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating: AV Preeminent
Best Lawyers in America
- Aviation Law, 2013–23
- Personal Injury Litigation — Defendants, 2018–23
- Product Liability Litigation — Defendants, 2013–23
- Lawyer of the Year (Buffalo), Product Liability Litigation (Defendants), 2019
Upstate New York Super Lawyers, 2007–22
Top Rated Lawyer in Litigation, American Lawyer Media and Martindale-Hubbell, 2014
Super Lawyers, Corporate Counsel Edition
Business First’s Legal Elite of Western New York (Litigation)
Admissions
- New York
- U.S. District Courts for the Western, Eastern, Northern and Southern Districts of New York
Education
- State University of New York at Buffalo Law School, J.D., 1984
- Robert J. Connelly Trial Technique Award
- State University of New York at Buffalo, B.S., magna cum laude, 1981
Professional Affiliations
- National Association of Fire Investigators: Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI)
- Defense Research Institute: Products Liability Committee (Immediate Past National Chair, Steering Committee)
- New York State Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- Erie County Bar Association: Special Service Award, 1998; Bar Revue
- Propane Gas Defense Association
Publications & Events
- Co-Editor-in-Chief, Preparing for and Trying the Civil Lawsuit, 2d Ed., 2016 Rev., New York State Bar Association; Co-Author, “Expert Discovery, Depositions, and Motions to Exclude Experts”
- Mentioned in “Nonprofit Notes: A New Foundation, Outside Exhibit and STEM Programs,” Buffalo Business First, October 28, 2019
- Quoted in “Have a Cow: Lessons Learned as a Litigator,”Buffalo Law Journal, July 18, 2011
- Presenter and Author, “Optional Features for the Safely-Designed Product – Defeating Claims Against the Manufacturer and Dealer,” Defense Research Institute, 2010
- Co-Author, “Frye ‘Em: Jury Psychology Can Undermine Plaintiffs’ Expert Witnesses,”For the Defense, Defense Research Institute, December 2007
- Presenter and Author, “Using Combustion Toxicology in the Defense of Fire Cases,” Defense Research Institute, 2006
- Co-Author, “Expert Discovery, Depositions and Motions to Exclude Experts,” Chapter 6, Preparing For and Trying the Civil Lawsuit, second edition, New York State Bar Association, 2004
- Co-Author, “Expert Depositions and Motions to Exclude Experts,” For the Defense, Defense Research Institute, 2003
- Chair and Co-Author, “Defending the Catastrophic Burn Injury Case,” Defense Research Institute, 2002
- Chair and Co-Author, “Products Liability Post-Kuhmo Tire: Strategy and Practice,” New York State Bar Association Seminar, 1999
- Chair and Author, “Products Liability in New York: Strategy and Practice,” New York State Bar Association Seminar, 1997
- Co-Author, “Defense Counsel’s Approach to Cross-Examination in the Post-Daubert Era,” For The Defense, Defense Research Institute, 1996
- Co-Author, “Finding the Facts in Products Liability Litigation,” For The Defense, Defense Research Institute, 1996
- Co-Presenter, “Lessons Learned,” DRI Trial Tactics Appellate Advocacy, Las Vegas, NV, March 15, 2018
- Presenter, “Defending Product Liability Claims: For Appliance Manufacturers,” Charlotte, NC, November 15, 2017
- Co-Presenter, “Strategies for Containing Liability Cases and What You Need to Know About Jury Behavior to Do So,” Catastrophic Injury Joint Seminar, Chicago, IL; New York, NY, November 7, 2017
- Co-Presenter, “Defending Product Liability Claims: For Appliance Manufacturers,” Charlotte, NC, November 2, 2017
- Presenter, “Advanced Fire Science: Applying the Scientific Method to Fire Scene and Evidence Investigations,” Fighting Fire With Fire, Chicago, June 22, 2016
- Presenter, “Beaded Wire Crossfire,” DRI Fire Science and Litigation Seminar, Scottsdale, AZ, November 6-7, 2014
- Presenter, “Lift Truck Design Litigation: Manufacturer’s Role in Developing Methodologies and Legal Strategies,” DRI Product Liability Plan and Prepare Conference, Phoenix, AZ, April 11, 2014
- Presenter, “2014 Fire Loss and Fire Code Litigation — Civil and Criminal Implications,” International Association of Arson Investigators 2014 Conference — Ontario Chapter, Niagara Falls, ON, April 1, 2014
- Presenter, “Flash! Tackling Questionable Origin and Cause Determinations in Flammable Vapor Fires,” DRI Fire Science and Litigation Seminar, January 2013
- Presenter and Author, “Optional Features for the Safely-Designed Product – Defeating Claims Against the Manufacturer and Dealer,” Defense Research Institute, 2010
- Presenter and Author, “Using Combustion Toxicology in the Defense of Fire Cases,” Defense Research Institute, 2006
- Presenter, “Daubert v. Merrell Dow: A Decade of Developments in the Admissibility of Expert Testimony,” Defense Research Institute, 2004
- Presenter, The Rhode Island Nightclub Fire: Mass Tort and Federal Jurisdiction Implications, Defense Research Institute, 2004
- Presenter, “Effective Strategies for Excluding Plaintiffs’ Experts,” Defense Research Institute, 2003
RECENT INSIGHTS
We use cookies to enhance your experience on our website. If you prefer to disable the use of cookies, or would like more information about our use of cookies, please visit our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. By pressing “ACCEPT” to use this website, you agree to our use of cookies, unless you have disabled them, and our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.