Biography: Product Liability Defence

For more than 35 years, Justs N Karlsons, partner at Carroll, Burdick & McDonough, has focused his practice on the representation of automobile and automotive parts manufacturers, successfully defending in cases involving automotive design and manufacture. He has also acted as national coordinating counsel for the defence of class action and unfair trade practices, and has supervised defense appellate activities relating to products liability and discovery issues, including those specific to foreign corporations, such as jurisdiction, service of process and foreign discovery.

Mr Karlsons has defended actions involving trademark protection, patent infringement, medical malpractice defence, and defence of manufacturers of medical equipment in products liability cases. He has represented a variety of manufacturers in mass tort litigation cases, involving asbestos and asbestos-containing components, such as automotive friction products including brake linings and brake pads and serves as national coordinating counsel on phenolic resin compounds.

In addition, Mr Karlsons has acted as counsel to the Government of Latvia and participated in cross-border litigation in negotiation of oil licenses on its behalf. He is active in the Latvian business community and a member of the Latvian Lawyer's Society and Latvian Advocates College. Fluent in German, Latvian and Russian, Mr Karlsons also defends consumer product, recreational equipment, forklift, man lift and other material handling equipment manufacturers. He has been listed in The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers since 2006. Mr Karlsons received his JD from Stanford University Law School and his BA, cum laude, from Yale University.