Tom Griffin, a partner in the firm’s Litigation Department, has extensive experience in products liability and toxic tort litigation. Mr. Griffin specializes in both traditional and complex products liability litigation, predominantly on the defense side. Other industries or product lines for which Mr. Griffin has been trial counsel in products liability litigation include: asbestos, surgical blades, aerial lift devices, textile machinery, motorcycle and marine engine components, industrial valves and flow-monitoring devices, industrial grinders and cutters, and die presses.

Mr. Griffin also provides products liability counseling to clients on matters such as the organization and conduct of product recalls; Consumer Product Safety Commission issues; the content and dissemination of product warnings; the content of product literature, advertising and manuals; products liability prevention; claims investigation; warranty issues; insurance coverage; litigation and settlement strategy; and expert witness or consultant assistance.

Mr. Griffin has practiced before the American Arbitration Association and handled matters before various federal and state agencies and offices, including the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities and the state Attorney General’s Enforcement Division, the U.S. Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission.

Work for Clients

Mr. Griffin, currently national trial counsel for Philip Morris, Inc., has represented Philip Morris in local, regional and national litigation brought by individuals and governmental entities relating to smoking and health matters, and has served as coordination/liaison counsel on behalf of the industry in that litigation. Mr. Griffin also served as counsel for Sherwin-Williams Company in the defense of litigation brought in Massachusetts federal and state courts alleging claims against various paint and lead manufacturers for injuries from lead paint ingestion. Further, Mr. Griffin was for a number of years trial counsel in Massachusetts for Harris Corporation, Harris Graphics Company and AM International in the defense of products liability suits involving printing presses, graphic arts equipment and other industrial machinery manufactured or sold by these companies.

Mr. Griffin also has extensive litigation experience in personal injury and negligence cases other than products liability suits. He has defended medical malpractice claims against physicians, represented plaintiffs in railroad accident litigation and automobile accidents, and represented SmithKline Beecham (now GlaxoSmithKline) and SmithKline Bio-Science Laboratories in the defense of cases concerning drug screening and clinical laboratory testing.

Professional Activities

Mr. Griffin is actively involved in continuing legal education programs outside the firm, both as a contributor to course materials and as a member of the teaching faculty. In 1987, he developed the curriculum and course materials and presented as faculty leader the inaugural Deposition Skills Training Program for Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education. In 1988, he chaired the program, which is now an annual event. From 1987-1991, Mr. Griffin directed the Litigation Department’s Training Program for the firm’s litigation associates.

Mr. Griffin is a member of the City of New York, Boston, Massachusetts and American Bar Associations, and a member of ABA’s Civil Litigation and Tort and Insurance Practice Sections. He has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America.

Bar and Court Admissions

Mr. Griffin is a member of the bar of the states of Massachusetts and New York and is admitted to the federal and state courts in both states. In New York, he has practiced before the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the New York Supreme Courts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens Counties, and various Appellate Divisions of the New York state court system.

In Massachusetts, Mr. Griffin is admitted and has practiced before the U.S. District Courts in Boston and Springfield, the First Circuit Court of Appeals, the Supreme Judicial Court of the Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, various Superior Court Departments of the Trial Court, and the Massachusetts District Courts. Mr. Griffin is also admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court and has been specially admitted in federal and/or state cases pending in California, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Florida and Indiana.

Education

J.D., New York University School of Law, 1971
B.A., Boston College, 1968 (magna cum laude)

Mr. Griffin was a Root-Tilden Scholar at New York University School of Law.