NJL rejects a staffing philosophy of creating layers of associates and junior partners, opting instead for a lean staffing model:

• NJL seeks out opportunities to team up with other firms where the demands of a case call for it.
• Our firm is a member of an international network of law firms (ALFA), the members of which are available to augment NJL’s expertise and experience in other jurisdictions.
• We have also  participated in and welcome the opportunity to be part of a “virtual law firm,” dividing responsibilities with other firms who represent the same client.
• We effectively use the talents of our paralegals and other non-attorney professionals on our client teams.

Also, our trial expertise and experience have led to efficiencies not only in trying cases but in providing day-to-day advice and counseling to clients and in pre-trial preparation.  Our firm’s attorneys employ their substantive expertise to provide counseling on a variety of matters, always mindful of potential litigation risks.  We also conduct discovery with a mind’s eye on the effect and use of discovered information at trial.

Our litigation support team is able to create effective databases that allow our attorneys to access the information they need, where they need it, and when they need it. In many of the cases where NJL represents only one of the defendants in industry-wide litigation, the NJL-created litigation databases have become the “go to” resource for all defense counsel.  We frequently utilize and offer our clients Extranet capability in which we can securely share calendars, host pleadings, status reports and other attorney work product.

At trial, we are also skilled at using sophisticated computer-generated graphics, demonstrative evidence and other innovative visual aids to help jurors actually see — and believe — otherwise obscure scientific and technical matters.

As further described below, our expertise and experience permit us to offer alternative fee arrangements that ensure that the interests of our clients and those of the firm are aligned.  Depending on the nature of the matter, we offer flat fee, contingent fee, and combinations and modifications of both, in addition to or as an alternative to hourly billing.

Several of our lawyers practicing in this area boast college degrees and/or non-legal work experience in biology, chemistry, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, industrial hygiene and similar areas.  We also understand the product design and engineering concerns in bringing a product to market.  Furthermore, we know experts.  Not only have we deposed and cross-examined our opponents’ experts, we also maintain internal databases on whom we encounter so we continue to be familiar with our opposition.  On the defense side, we know the world’s best experts in many different fields including, but not limited to various medical and engineering disciplines, risk assessment and regulatory compliance.

Our Attorneys bring a wide range of trail experience:

• NJL trial teams try cases in federal and state courts across the country.
• Three of the firm’s attorneys have been inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers, an honor given to only 2% of the trial lawyers in the United States.
• Four attorneys are Certified Trial Specialists.
• All of the senior litigators are seasoned trial attorneys and the more junior attorneys and litigation paralegals are trained and given trial experience early.
• NJL also serves as national and regional trial counsel and coordinating counsel

• Class-action and mass tort defense
• Daubert evaluation and presentation
• Expert witness management
• Jury research
• Master case strategy
• Product recall advice and coordination
• Multidistrict litigation
• Workplace safety issues/OSHA investigations

We represent a variety of clients on a national and regional level in the trucking and transportation industry including truck and bus companies, automotive manufacturers and airlines. Examples of our effective defense in accident cases involving catastrophic injuries, contract actions and other tort and regulatory claims include:

• Representation of national freight carriers in catastrophic accident involving complicated brain injury of plaintiff. Jury verdict resulted in significant cost savings for client far below plaintiff’s demand throughout trial;
• Minnesota counsel for transportation investigation and litigation for multiple trucking companies. We have performed all aspects of accident investigation and assisted companies with document preservation and litigation holds. This includes retention of accident reconstructionists from wide network and collaboration during EOBR and ECM downloading, accident analysis and computer simulations;
• Representation of school bus operator in numerous litigation and administrative proceedings involving serious motor vehicle accidents, competitive bid protests, land use and zoning issues for facilities and general liability;
• Representation of national bottling distributor in accident fatality involving accident reconstruction with national experts and computerized CRASH software analysis. Accident investigation involved analysis of trip logs and reports for compliance with federal regulations. Immediate and thorough investigation prevented filing of lawsuit against company;
• Representation of “Big 3” automobile manufacturer in all aspects of automotive product liability litigation including significant personal injury claims as well as warranty work.

We represent numerous manufacturers of FDA-regulated pharmaceuticals, medical devices, vaccines and over-the-counter products in individual and consolidated product liability actions for personal injury, medical monitoring and consumer fraud. Some of the highlights of our work in this area include:

• Bellwether trial counsel in 2008 and 2010 for the manufacturers of Mirapex (MDL 1836) and Levaquin (MDL 1943) in consolidated multidistrict litigation proceedings;
• Creation of a precedent-setting federal preemption defense for manufacturers of veterinary biologics, eliminating most tort liability;
• MDL counsel in several multidistrict actions venued in Minnesota, including Levaquin (MDL 1943), Mirapex (MDL 1836), Baycol (MDL 1431) and Silzone (MDL 1396);
• Regional and local counsel for pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers in numerous mass tort cases, involving such products as fen-phen, PPA, HRT, Vioxx, Fosamax, Ortho-Evra, Paxil, heart valves, implantable cardiac devices, artificial joints and many others. Many of these cases involve preemption, class action and other complex litigation issues.

We defend product manufacturers against a wide variety of personal injury claims involving environmental and workplace exposure to such hazardous substances as benzene, lead, chlorinated solvents and other chemicals and metals. Some of our more notable representations in this area include:

• National counsel for a former manufacturer of lead paint and pigment in industry-wide conspiracy, fraud and public nuisance litigation throughout the United States. We served as trial counsel in public nuisance and product liability cases in Rhode Island (2005-06, the longest civil jury trial in Rhode Island history) and Wisconsin (2007) and obtained dismissals of lead personal injury and abatement claims in more than 100 other actions across the country;
• National counsel for a major multinational consumer and industrial products manufacturer in trace benzene mass tort cases. During 2010, we obtained a defense verdict in a two-week trial of a personal injury case in Madison County, Illinois;
• Lead counsel for a multinational manufacturer of defense products in connection with personal injury, medical monitoring, “cancerphobia” and class action litigation arising out of contamination of a regional drinking water aquifer with trichloroethylene and other chlorinated solvents;
• Trial counsel for a gasoline retailer involving personal injury and property damage claims arising out of leaking underground storage tanks;
• Trial counsel for a major Minnesota municipality involving multiple claims for personal injury, property damage and economic loss based upon allegedly toxic airborne releases from municipality’s wastewater treatment plant.

We represent premises owners in all industries defending a wide variety of personal injury claims. We have assisted clients in death and catastrophic injury claims throughout the county. What follows are some examples of our premises liability defense:

• Representation of significant health plan and hospital in wrongful death case by employee. The case involved complex compensation issues and resulted in a favorable settlement for the client;
• Successful defense of national, outdoor products retailer after presenting evidence to the jury that they fully complied with handicap accessible parking designs;
• Personal injury counsel for electrical utility. Additional representation as safety counsel on workplace safety issues and OSHA matters.

Nilan Johnson Lewis attorneys have handled many fire and explosion cases with favorable results for our clients through experienced litigation strategies and skillful resolution techniques. Examples of the variety of fire and explosion cases include:

• Equipment explosion case in which a power turbine exploded, severely damaging a power plant in Texas. Obtained substantial settlement for the property insurer;
• Successful defense (established the miss-use of the product by the plaintiff) of an industrial equipment manufacturer whose product was alleged to have caused the fire;
• Full  jury award recovery for damages and costs for one of the nation’s largest food companies in two consolidated cases involving fires that destroyed several of the company’s animal production facilities;
• Natural gas explosion and fire case resulting in 4 deaths and destruction of significant portion of hotel property. Obtained favorable settlements on death cases and a full recovery for the property insurer;
• Successful defense of an engineering company against claims that a gas valve was defectively designed, causing explosion and serious burns to plaintiff. After extensive discovery, plaintiff dismissed all claims.

We represent major food industry companies in the defense of personal injury, economic loss, transportation issues, and consumer fraud cases arising out of the production, processing and distribution of food products. Cases we are currently handling, or have handled in the past, in this area include:

• Representation of our client in negotiations regarding losses due to food contamination during transportation and the related coverage dispute;
• Representation of numerous food industry clients in catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases resulting from accidents involving tractor trailers;
• Representation of our client, a wild game sausage supplier, in breach of contract and breach of warranty claims based on failure to prepare a food product per regulation and in the related coverage dispute;
• Summary judgment obtained for our client, an industrial food processing cleaning company, on claims of invasion of privacy related to handling of employee confidential information;
• Successful resolution of claims brought against major food manufacturing client alleging that the manufacturer wrongfully terminated a distributorship agreement involving several of the manufacturer’s products;
• Favorable settlement reached for our client, a food manufacturer on personal injury claims related to product distribution;