James E. Tyrrell, Jr.
is Co-Chair of the Mass Tort Practice Group and a Member of the
Litigation and Product Liability Practice Groups. His practice focuses on toxic
tort, product liability, hospitals and medical devices, intellectual property, antitrust and general
commercial litigation.
In the area of toxic torts, Mr. Tyrrell served as lead counsel
for the City of New York, and 150 of its contractors, in the World Trade Center
Litigation. He acted as Chief Trial
Counsel for Monsanto in the Agent Orange Litigation. He represented SEACOR in the Deepwater
Horizon Litigation. He was lead counsel
for Engility in an Alien Tort Statute litigation arising out of alleged
genocide during the Balkan Wars. He
represented Exxon in litigation arising from alleged environmental
contamination in Puerto Rico. And, he
served as defense counsel for Madison Square Garden in claims arising from the
reconstruction of that iconic sports facility.
In the broader area of product liability, Mr. Tyrrell served
as lead trial counsel for AT&T, Lucent Technologies and Avaya in multiple
class actions comprising the national Y2K Litigation. He represented Glaxo in the DES
Litigation. He acted as counsel for
General Electric in the Breast Implant Litigation. He also represented General Electric in
connection with an explosion at a nuclear power plant. He was lead counsel for Brown Forman in the
National Alcohol Litigation. Mr.
Tyrrell led the defense of SunOpta, a manufacturer of natural foods, in the
largest product recall in the history of the Campbell Soup Company. He served as chief trial counsel for DaVita
Healthcare Partners (one of the country’s largest providers of dialysis
services) in the National Dialysis Litigation.
And, he represented the Toyota North American Quality Advisory Panel in
connection with the Unintended Acceleration Litigation. Mr. Tyrrell’s product liability experience
spans multiple clients and industries, including: chemicals (Monsanto),
consumer products (Newell-Rubbermaid), food (SunOpta), pharmaceuticals (Glaxo),
construction (Turner), technology (Lucent), heavy equipment (General Electric)
and toys (MEGA Brands).
In the related area of consumer fraud class actions, Mr.
Tyrrell has served as lead counsel for such companies as: IDT (telephone
calling cards); Benecard (pharmacy benefits); and, CNA (insurance services).
Beyond the toxic tort, product liability and consumer fraud
class action arenas, Mr. Tyrrell has wide experience in a broad range of
commercial litigation: Antitrust – price fixing in the paper industry,
monopolization in the food and telecommunications industries. Banking – alleged money laundering for
terrorist organizations. Securities –
hostile takeovers, interlocking directorates and securities fraud. Trade Secrets – theft of technology and
trademark violations.
Before joining the Firm, Mr. Tyrrell was the Managing Partner
of the New Jersey office of Latham & Watkins. He was the Regional Managing Partner of the
New York and New Jersey offices of Patton Boggs and a member of that firm’s
Executive Committee. Most recently, Mr.
Tyrrell was a partner with the New Jersey office of Locke Lord. At all three firms, Mr. Tyrrell served as
Chair or Co-Chair of each firm’s Product Liability and Toxic Tort Practice
Group.
Upon graduation from Harvard Law School, Mr. Tyrrell served as
a Lieutenant in the JAG Corps of the United States Navy. He clerked for the Honorable Leonard I. Garth
of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Mr. Tyrrell is a Harvard trained mediator who brings his extensive experience in settling major cases to clients and other lawyers seeking to resolve controversies before and during pending litigation.