Robert M. Hanlon Jr.
Partner
Experience
Robert M. Hanlon Jr. co-chairs the firm’s Transportation practice group. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, an honor reserved for no more than 1% of the total lawyer population of any state or province. He concentrates his practice on the defense of product liability, transportation, and catastrophic personal injury litigation. He represents motor carriers, private fleet operators, and their insurers; and he serves as national coordinating counsel for a multi-national trucking and logistics company. In product liability matters, he represents manufacturers of automobiles and trucks, trailers, consumer products, and industrial equipment. He has defended cases involving nearly all aspects of automobile design and manufacture.
Robert is an active trial attorney who has tried more than 30 cases to verdict in nine states, including such challenging venues as Los Angeles County, California; Cook County, Illinois; Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania; Bronx County, New York; and New York County, New York. He has the necessary trial experience to address both the emotional and the technical issues inherent in catastrophic injury litigation. He has deposed, presented, and cross-examined hundreds of expert witnesses. He regularly teaches trial advocacy as a faculty member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) National Trial College. He has served on New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education panels addressing such topics as selecting, vetting, and preparing expert witnesses; the use of accident reconstruction and bio-mechanics experts; establishing the theme of your case through paper discovery; and effectively developing and using demonstrative aids at trial.
Related Areas
Experience Highlights
As Regional Coordinating Counsel for a multi-national trucking and logistics company, Robert oversees and tries the company’s catastrophic personal injury cases throughout the eastern United States. He is often called upon to conduct or supervise rapid response investigations of truck crashes. Recognizing the importance of preserving evidence in the aftermath of a crash, Robert authored the firm’s detailed protocols for attorneys, investigators, and accident reconstruction experts. He also prepared a comprehensive list of commercial motor vehicle documents with cross-references to, and summaries of, applicable federal regulations. He has assisted his clients with safety training and has presented lectures on topics including FMCSR compliance and the consequence of non-compliance; truck accident investigation; crash scene management; the development and use of expert witness testimony in trucking litigation; conducting investigations and discovery so as to avoid surprises; and potential conflicts of interest created by multi-party trucking disputes.
- An automotive product liability action brought on behalf of a two-year-old girl who sustained quadriplegia injuries
- A negligence action stemming from a trucking accident in which one person was killed and 12 others were seriously injured
- A product liability lawsuit involving the collapse of a warehouse racking system that resulted in spinal cord injuries
- An automotive negligence matter stemming from an accident in South Africa that resulted in debilitating traumatic brain injuries
- A product liability action involving an industrial meat mixer-blender and a partial hand amputation
- Office of the District Attorney, Bronx County, New York, 1992-1996
- Violent Crimes Bureau
- Hanlon, Boglioli & Hanlon, 1996-2008
Honors & Awards
AV Preeminent Peer-Review Rating (Martindale-Hubbell)
Best Lawyers in America
- Personal Injury Litigation — Defendants, 2015–25
- Product Liability Litigation — Defendants, 2023-25
New Jersey Super Lawyers, 2013–25
2013 Top Rated Lawyers in Transportation Law
View peer-review methodologies at martindale.com, bestlawyers.com, and superlawyers.com. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
Background
Admissions
- New Jersey
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
- U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida
Education
- George Washington University, J.D., High Honors, 1992
- College of William & Mary, B.A., 1989
Professional Affiliations
- American College of Trial Lawyers: Fellow*, New Jersey State Committee
* “Fellowship is extended only by invitation, after careful investigation, to those experienced trial lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy … Membership can never be more than 1 percent of the total lawyer population of any state or province.” actl.com
- American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA): Co-Chair and Faculty, National Trial College; COVID-19 Task Force; 7th Amendment and Jury Innovation Committee
- Product Liability Advisory Council
- Trucking Industry Defense Association
- Defense Research Institute: Products Liability Committee; Trucking Law Committee
- New Jersey State Bar Association
Community Involvement
- ABOTA National Trial College at Harvard Law School: Faculty, 2010-Present
- Dean, 2014, 2016
News & Knowledge
Publications & Events
- “A Rules-Based Approach to Deposing Expert Witnesses,” For the Defense, DRI, January 2025
- Quoted in “How Trucking Fleets Can Escape the Insurance Squeeze,” Heavy Duty Trucking, February 17, 2021
- “Drinking, Driving, and Work Comp Benefits,” LinkedIn Pulse, February 16, 2021
- “How Much Is Too Much? Drugs, Alcohol and Trucking,” LinkedIn Pulse, January 31, 2021
- “Let the Water Settle,” LinkedIn Pulse, September 20, 2020
- “The Mysterious MCS-90,” LinkedIn Pulse, September 2, 2020
- “Zoomed Out? Rethink Your Meetings,” LinkedIn Pulse, August 2, 2020
- “Conducting Civil Jury Trials During the COVID-19 Pandemic” (Co-Author), ABOTA COVID-19 Task Force, Summer 2020
- “Strive Mightily, But Eat and Drink as Friends,” LinkedIn Pulse, March 28, 2020
- “When a Reptile Crosses the Line,” LinkedIn Pulse, March 26, 2020
- “A Few Thoughts About Fear, Friends, and the Road Ahead,” LinkedIn Pulse, March 24, 2020
- “A Few Thoughts About Staying Productive at Home, Part 1: The Transition,” LinkedIn Pulse, March 23, 2020
- “A Few Thoughts About Staying Productive at Home, Part 2: Time Management,” LinkedIn Pulse, March 23, 2020
- “Keeping In-House Counsel Off the Stand (And Outside Counsel Out of the Doghouse)” (Co-Author), DRI In-House Defense Quarterly, Summer 2012
- “Second Circuit, Spoliation of Evidence: A Compendium of State and Federal Law” (Co-Author), DRI, 2006
- “Driver Discipline: Application of the Subsequent Remedial Measures Doctrine” (Co-Author), For the Defense, DRI, February 2006
- Speaker, “How Qualified Is Your Expert?,” N.J. Institute for Continuing Legal Education, March 11, 2022
- Co-Presenter, “Jury Trials in the Age of Pandemics,” American Board of Trial Advocates, July 21, 2020
- Faculty Member, Civil Trial Advocacy Summer Institute, American College of Trial Lawyers and N.J. Institute for Continuing Legal Education, July 2020
- Speaker, “Figures Lie and Liars Figure: The Use and Abuse of CPSC Data,” DRI Product Liability Seminar, New Orleans, LA, February 6, 2020
- Speaker, “Selecting, Vetting, and Preparing Expert Witnesses,” N.J. Institute for Continuing Legal Education, December 8, 2017
- Dean and Faculty Member, ABOTA National Trial College at Harvard Law School, July 2016
- Faculty Member, Civil Trial Advocacy Summer Institute, American College of Trial Lawyers and N.J. Institute for Continuing Legal Education, July 2016
- Speaker, “Proofs at Trial in a Nutshell,” N.J. Institute for Continuing Legal Education, November 2014
- Dean and Faculty Member, ABOTA National Trial College at Harvard Law School, June 2014
- Speaker, “Recent Developments in Product Liability Law,” N.J. State Bar Association, Product Liability & Toxic Tort Section, February 2013
- Speaker, “Establishing the Theme of Your Case Through Paper Discovery,” N.J. Institute for Continuing Legal Education, November 2012
- Speaker, “A Day of Accident Reconstruction,” N.J. Institute for Continuing Legal Education, August 2012
- Faculty Member, ABOTA National Trial College at Harvard Law School, July 2012
- Faculty Member, ABOTA National Trial College at Princeton University, June 2010
- Speaker, Masters in Trial, ABOTA, December 2009
- “Beyond The Basics: A Deeper Dive into the MCS-90 Endorsement,” (Co-Presenter), GS Webinar Series, June 24, 2025
- “Bringing Offline Online: Return-to-Work Considerations for the Post-COVID-19 Retail Landscape” (Co-Presenter), GS Webinar Series, May 19, 2020