Christopher M. Placitella is a trial lawyer certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court with a nationwide reputation as one of the country’s leading authorities concerning mass torts, class actions, asbestos, defective products and environmental injuries. Chris has served as lead counsel in numerous landmark cases that have changed life in America for the better.
Chris has served as President of the New Jersey Association for Justice and in leadership for the American Association for Justice , The National Trial Lawyers Association, Trial Lawyers of New Jersey & the NJ Public Interest Law Center. Chris’s professional integrity and personal commitment to his clients and community have earned him local, regional and national recognition for his service.
Mr. Placitella’s cases have been reported in the national media by the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg, the Associated Press and the National Law Journal. His career has been commemorated a number of times in written works, including:
- Poison Pills, The Untold Story of the Vioxx Drug Scandal, Tom Nesi;
- Dispensing with the Truth: The Victims, the Drug Companies, and the Dramatic Story Behind the Battle over Fen-Phen, Alicia Mundy;
- Civil Warriors, the Story of the Tobacco Litigation, Dan Zeigart;
- No Contest, Corporate Lawyers & the Perversion of Justice in America, Ralph Nader.
Read more about Mr. Placitella in this attorney profile: How a Red Bank lawyer won a 750 million verdict against Johnson Johnson
Read about Mr. Placitella’s recent work in the $750 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson.
Contact us for your consultation (215) 567-3500
Education
Syracuse College of Law, J.D.
(cum laude; Law Review and Legal Honor Society)
(cum laude; Law Review and Legal Honor Society)
Fordham University, B.S.
(summa cum laude & 1st in his class for Accounting)
(summa cum laude & 1st in his class for Accounting)
Litigation Leadership Positions
- National Asbestos Litigation Group- Co-Chair;
- Asbestos Advisory Committee to New Jersey Superior Court;
- Liaison Counsel , National Talc Litigation;
- Member of Steering Committee, Multi-District Trans Vaginal Mesh Litigation;
- Liaison Counsel New Jersey Trans Vaginal Mesh Litigation;
- Member of Steering Committee, Multi-District Asbestos Litigation;
- Special Counsel to all State Court Litigants, National Diet Drug Litigation;
- Class Counsel, Johns Manville Class Action Litigation;
- Class Counsel, New Jersey Diet Drug Litigation;
- Member of Steering Committee, National 23 Multi-District TMJ litigation;
- Member of Steering Committee, National Rezulin Litigation;
- Lead Counsel, New Jersey Propulsid Litigation;
Speaking Engagements
- Chair for Mass Tort Litigation Update for the NJ Institute of Continuing Legal Education 2007 through Present
- Chair for Annual Asbestos Litigation Conference for the NJ Institute of Continuing Legal Education 2007 through Present
- Co-Chair for Annual Review and Update of the State of Mass Tort Litigation, New Jersey Association for Justice
- New Jersey Attorney General’s Advocacy Institute, Deposing Corporate Representatives to Help Satisfy the Reptilian Brain
- Pound’s Forum for State Appellate Court Judges
- Deposition College, New Jersey Association for Justice
- NJAJ Meadowlands Seminar, Federal Court – Trial Advocacy
- NJAJ Meadowlands Seminar, Trial Evidence
- NJAJ Meadowlands Seminar, Mass Torts Roundtable
- NJ ICLE seminar – Mass Torts: A New Decade for New Classes
- NJ ICLE seminar – Mastering Medicare Set Aside Trust
- NJ ICLE seminar – The Evolving World of Handling Mass Tort Claims
- Harris Martin’s New Jersey Asbestos Litigation Conference: Mass Torts Made Perfect
- HP Litigation Asbestos Seminar – Outline for Punitive Damages Presentation
- Philadelphia Bar Association: Mass Torts Seminar
- PALS – Las Vegas, Asbestos Litigation Seminar
- AAJ seminar – Litigating Toxic Tort (NJ)
- AAJ Seminar in NYC, Litigating Toxic Tort
- AAJ Asbestos Litigation Group – The Case Against VIOXX
Attorney Awards
- Trial Lawyer of the Year- National Trial Lawyers
- Clarence Darrow Award- National Trial Lawyers
- America’s 100 Most Influential Trial Lawyers
- The Best Lawyers in America – Mass Tort Litigation & Class Actions 2001-Present (based on peer review ratings)
- Gold Medal – New Jersey Association for Justice (the highest award that can be bestowed on a New Jersey trial attorney by his peers)
- Super Lawyers – Thomson Reuters From 2005 to present ( based on peer review ratings)
- Preeminent Lawyers in the United States- Martindale-Hubbell (peer review AV®-rated lawyer)
- Top New Jersey Mass Tort Lawyers- The National Law Journal
- Pioneer Award – by Consumers for Civil Justice (for fighting for the rights of consumers and tort victims)
- Meritorious Service Award – White Lung Association for his fight for the rights of asbestos victims.
Bar Admissions
- New Jersey
- New York
- United States District Court, District of New Jersey
- United States District Court, Southern District of New York
- United States Supreme Court
Professional Memberships
- The Board of Governors of the American Association for Justice
- Leaders Forum American Association for Justice
- New Jersey Trial Lawyers (now NJAJ), Former President (2001-2002)
- National Trial Lawyers Association-Executive Committee
- NJAJ PAC, Former Chair
- Trial Lawyers of New Jersey (TANJ) – Board of Governors
Community Service
- Veterans Career Transition Program Co-Founder
- Holidays for the Homeless and Underprivileged, Inc. -Trustee.
- New Jersey Public Interest Law Center- founding Board Member
- 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund- helped organize national pro bono effort to provide free legal assistance for families who lost loved ones in the 9/11 tragedy
Landmark Cases
- Barden v. Johnson & Johnson – $750,000,000 Co-lead counsel in the largest punitive damage verdict in New Jersey History;
- McNeal v Johnson & Johnson – $16,000,000 compensatory verdict concerning mesothelioma caused by exposure to baby powder;
- Williams v. BASF et al – $72,000,000 national class action settlement for fraudulent concealment of evidence concerning exposure to asbestos containing talc;
- Tobacco Litigation – $7.6 billion dollars. Co-lead counsel representing the State of New Jersey against the tobacco industry;
- In Re Diet Drug – $3.75 billion-dollars. Co-lead counsel responsible negotiating a settlement involving the diet drugs Pondimin® and Redux®
- Trial counsel in the largest consolidated asbestos trial in New York City history;
- In Re Ciba Geigy – $38.5 million dollars. Co-lead counsel in the largest environmental tort settlement on behalf of individuals in New Jersey history;
- Whalen v. Ford et al – Argued case before NJ Supreme Court which changed the law holding equipment companies responsible for asbestos related injuries.
- In re Acctutane Argued case before NJ Supreme Court setting the standards for expert testimony in toxic injury cases
- Sun Chemical (2020) Argued case before NJ Supreme Court allowing injured consumers to bring cases under the Product Liability Act & the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act
Articles & Publications
- New Jersey Mass Tort & Class Action Treatise- Co-Editor In Chief
- A 30,000 Foot Look at Cosmetic Talc Cases, TRIAL MAGAZINE
- Interview with Ron Motley on How to Approach a Case, TRIAL MAGAZINE
- A Closer Look at Asbestos Cases, TRIAL MAGAZINE
- Why Are Mesothelioma Cases in New Jersey Still on the Rise, NEW JERSEY LAWYER,
- The Civil Justice System Bridges the Great Divide in Consumer Protection, 43 Duq. L. Rev. 219
- Beshada v. Johns Manville Products Corp.: Evolution or Revolution in Strict Products Liability, 51 Fordham L. Rev. 801
- 9-11: The Agony and the Aftermath, THE JOURNAL, Sept. 2011.