Barbara MackHarding

Partner

Washington + 1.202.879.4681

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Barbara Harding is a nationally recognized trial lawyer and former federal prosecutor who has represented clients in some of the most high-profile, complex legal matters of the past 25 years. She represents clients in civil, criminal, and bankruptcy litigation involving environmental, product liability, and toxic tort issues, and she regularly counsels clients in crisis preparedness and response.

Barbara represents clients in matters involving alleged liability caused by herbicides, pesticides, asbestos, talc, explosions, water and air pollutants, food and drugs, and nanotechnology. She represented CSX in the Rosedale, Maryland train derailment and subsequent explosion and also the collapse of 26th Street in Baltimore. She acted as lead trial counsel for R.J. Reynolds in arbitration trials involving the Master Settlement Agreement. Prior to joining Jones Day, Barbara represented W.R. Grace against criminal charges filed by DOJ/EPA involving a vermiculite mine in Montana. She and the defense team secured a not guilty verdict on all charges for Grace and all individual defendants. Barbara also represented BP in litigation emanating from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Barbara served as Deputy Director of the Treasury Department's White House Security Review. At DOJ, she was responsible for the first federal prosecution of crimes involving violence toward Muslims, and she currently chairs Jones Day's Anti-Hate pro bono initiative. Barbara was an All-American gymnast at the University of Alabama, the first woman to receive the distinguished Paul W. Bryant Alumni Athlete award, and was featured in the SEC's 75th Anniversary "Stories of Character" ad campaign.

Experience

  • Victim of hate crime awarded $350,000Jones Day represented Shareese Mone, a transgender woman, who was the victim of a brutal hate crime in the summer of 2019.
  • Charlottesville City Councilors obtain pro bono summary judgment win granting statutory immunity in Charlottesville monument caseJones Day achieved victory on behalf of four Charlottesville City Councilors who voted to relocate the Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. Jackson statues at the center of the violent rally in Charlottesville in August 2017.
  • PAG invests in Key Safety Systems to finance acquisition of global assets of Takata CorporationJones Day represented PAG Asia Capital Ltd. and PAG Asia II LP in connection with its investment in Key Safety Systems, a subsidiary of China-based Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corporation, to finance the acquisition of substantially all of the global assets of Takata Corporation out of bankruptcy in the U.S. and Japan and certain non-bankruptcy transactions elsewhere in the world.
  • Newell Brands acquires Jarden Corporation for $16 billionJones Day advised Newell Brands Inc. in connection with its acquisition of Jarden Corporation in a cash and stock transaction valued at $60 per share, or approximately $16 billion in equity value.
  • Newell Rubbermaid acquires Elmer's for $600 millionJones Day advised Newell Rubbermaid Incorporated in its $600 million acquisition of Elmer's Products, Inc. from an affiliate of Berwind Corporation, a family-owned investment management company.
  • CSXT defends class action lawsuits related to train derailmentJones Day represents CSX Transportation, Inc. ("CSXT") in multiple class action lawsuits and a mass action lawsuit relating to a chemical fire and evacuation in connection with the July 2015 derailment of a CSXT train traveling from Ohio to Georgia.
  • CSXT seeks counsel regarding collapsed street and retaining wallJones Day represents CSX Transportation, Inc. ("CSXT") in connection with an accident involving a street and retaining wall that collapsed in Baltimore, Maryland.
  • Man choked and shot by Baltimore police officers wins $2 million judgment on retrialOn August 11, 2014, a civil jury in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City awarded FenYanga Muhammad $2 million in compensatory damages for malicious prosecution by Baltimore Police Department Officer Donald Muir, Jr.
  • CSXT seeks advice regarding claims and NTSB investigation arising from derailment following grade crossing accidentJones Day represents CSX Transportation, Inc. ("CSXT") in connection with a railroad crossing accident that occurred in a mixed industrial residential area in Baltimore, Maryland.
  • R.J. Reynolds seeks reduction in 2003 settlement paymentsJones Day represents R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in a pending arbitration under the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement with various U.S. States and Territories in which R.J. Reynolds and other tobacco company signatories seek an over $1 billion reduction in their 2003 settlement payments.

    • The following represents experience prior to joining Jones Day:

    Represented BP in Deepwater Horizon litigation.

    Represented W.R. Grace in U.S. v. Grace.

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    March 2022 Alert

    Prioritizing Emerging Technologies: DOT Seeks Comments on NETT Council's Future Work

    March 2022 Commentary

    The Regulatory Fast Lane: Final Rule Updates Federal Safety Standards for Highly Automated Vehicles

    September 2021 White Paper

    Diversity in Monitorship Selection

    September 2021 Commentary

    Secrets on the Road: Protecting Trade Secrets of Highly Automated Vehicles Against Public Disclosure

    July 2021 Commentary

    Hands Off No More: Incident Reporting of Highly Automated Vehicles to DOT

    May 2021 Commentary

    Fighting Hate: Jones Day Attorneys Combat Historical Racism and Modern Threats

    May 2021 White Paper

    Autonomous Vehicles: Legal and Regulatory Developments in the United States

    October 2020 Commentary

    Paving the Way for Autonomous Commercial Vehicles

    July 2020 Video

    Jones Day's Hate Crimes Task Force: Changing the World One Person at a Time

    April 2020 Alert

    NHTSA Calls for Comment on New Rules of the Road
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