Biography: Product Liability Defence

Thomas E Riley is head of the litigation department at Chadbourne & Parke, LLP, and has more than 25 years of experience in the products liability area. Mr Riley has served as coordinating counsel in the defense of products liability cases throughout the United States and worldwide, including class actions, claims for medical monitoring, and consumer protection lawsuits. He has successfully defended manufacturers in numerous trials and appeals around the country, and on a regular basis provides advice to US-based and foreign clients regarding litigation avoidance.

According to The Legal 500, Mr Riley is highly rated by clients for "great strategic analysis," as well as "vast experience and good judgement, whether trying or managing a case".

Mr Riley's recent experience includes the defense of BAT Industries plc in a purported class action involving the marketing of "light" cigarettes, and the defense of an electronics manufacturer in alleged class actions based on fraud and other claims in connection with the sale of laser printers. In another recent case, he successfully argued an appeal to an intermediate New York appellate court, which reversed a jury's award of $20 million in punitive damages against the defendant manufacturer. Mr Riley also successfully represented a cigarette manufacturer in a recent appeal to the New York Court of Appeals (the state's highest court), in which the Court reversed a jury verdict in the plaintiffs' favour and dismissed the plaintiffs' claim for defective design.

Mr Riley is a co-author of 'An Overview of Products Liability Law in the United States,' published in International Product Law Manual (Kluwer Law International 2010). He is involved in a variety of pro bono activities, and serves as a member of the board of directors of the National Veterans Legal Services Program, representing United States veterans and veterans groups seeking disability and other benefits.

Mr Riley received his BA from Binghamton University in 1976 and his JD from New York University School of Law in 1979, where he was a research editor and staff member of the New York University Journal of International Law and Politics. He served as a law clerk to the Honorable John T Elfvin, US District Court Judge for the Western District of New York, before joining Chadbourne in 1982.

Mr Riley is a member of the amicus curiae committee of the International Association of Defense Counsel, and also belongs to the New York State Bar Association and the American Bar Association.

Chadbourne & Parke LLP has a long and successful history in defending product liability cases in a variety of sectors, including pharmaceuticals, tobacco, distilled spirits and electronics. According to The Legal 500 (2010), the firm's products liability practice group is "truly excellent in every respect" and "the best in this area." The practice provides "superb knowledge, advice, responsiveness and value", and exhibits "sound business acumen and commercial sense," says The Legal 500.