Kenneth J. Parsigian
Areas of Practice
Ken Parsigian, a partner in the Goodwin Procter’s Litigation Department, represents clients in both civil and criminal matters, with a primary focus on complex mass tort and RICO litigation. Mr. Parsigian also advises clients on compliance with state, federal and international laws and regulations concerning product safety, import-export procedures and anti-money laundering programs. He is chair of the firm’s Products Liability & Mass Torts Group.
Work for Clients
For the past ten years, Mr. Parsigian has served as Lead Counsel for Philip Morris USA, and National Coordinating Counsel for the tobacco industry in more than 60 mass tort and RICO suits across the country involving claims for more than $100 billion in damages, including nationwide class actions and other aggregated suits by union health and welfare funds, hospitals, and insurers seeking to recover medical costs for injuries suffered by hundreds of thousands of individual member and patients. Mr. Parsigian has also won dismissals for Philip Morris in multi-billion dollar suits by foreign governments seeking to recover the costs of providing medical treatment to millions of their citizens who smoke; nationwide consumer class actions based on claims of deceptive marketing; and suits by governments, seeking to recover lost tax revenues based on claims of smuggling and money laundering. Mr. Parsigian also served as national counsel for Deloro Stellite Company Inc. in more than 90 products liability suits, including individual cases and class actions in Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana and Illinois. Mr. Parsigian has argued appeals in the First, Second, Third, Sixth and Eleventh Circuits, as well as in state appellate courts in Massachusetts, Florida, Tennessee, Delaware and Michigan. Other mass tort work has included cases for Eli Lilly, Estee Lauder, Playtex, Curtice Burns, CBS, Zoll Medical, CR Bard, and Boston Scientific. In addition, Mr....more » For the past ten years, Mr. Parsigian has served as Lead Counsel for Philip Morris USA, and National Coordinating Counsel for the tobacco industry in more than 60 mass tort and RICO suits across the country involving claims for more than $100 billion in damages, including nationwide class actions and other aggregated suits by union health and welfare funds, hospitals, and insurers seeking to recover medical costs for injuries suffered by hundreds of thousands of individual member and patients. Mr. Parsigian has also won dismissals for Philip Morris in multi-billion dollar suits by foreign governments seeking to recover the costs of providing medical treatment to millions of their citizens who smoke; nationwide consumer class actions based on claims of deceptive marketing; and suits by governments, seeking to recover lost tax revenues based on claims of smuggling and money laundering. Mr. Parsigian also served as national counsel for Deloro Stellite Company Inc. in more than 90 products liability suits, including individual cases and class actions in Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana and Illinois. Mr. Parsigian has argued appeals in the First, Second, Third, Sixth and Eleventh Circuits, as well as in state appellate courts in Massachusetts, Florida, Tennessee, Delaware and Michigan. Other mass tort work has included cases for Eli Lilly, Estee Lauder, Playtex, Curtice Burns, CBS, Zoll Medical, CR Bard, and Boston Scientific. In addition, Mr. Parsigian was Associate Independent Counsel in the Iran Contra investigation conducted by Independent Counsel Lawrence Walsh, where he headed the investigation of former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese. Prior to joining Goodwin Procter in 1988, Mr. Parsigian clerked for the Hon. Stephen G. Breyer on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. less »
Professional Activities
Mr. Parsigian is a member of the Product Liability Advisory Council (PLAC) and has spoken and authored articles on mass tort issues for the Manhattan Institute, ATRA, Defense Research Institute and Washington Legal Foundation, and taught Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education courses in civil litigation and professional responsibility classes at Boston University School of Law. He serves on the Board of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and maintains an active pro bono practice, including his current representation of an inmate on death row in Ohio in his death penalty appeals. In addition, Mr. Parsigian is listed in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, The Best Lawyers in America, Lawdragon’s Top 3000 Lawyers and The World’s Leading Litigation Lawyers.
Bar and Court Admissions
Mr. Parsigian is a member of the Massachusetts bar, as well as the bars of the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the First, Second, Third, Sixth, Eleventh and Federal Circuits, and the Supreme Court of the United States.
Education
J.D., Boston University School of Law, 1987 (magna cum laude)
B.A., University of Michigan, 1983
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