Paul R.Reichert

Counsel

Washington + 1.202.879.5444

Paul Reichert has broad experience counseling and defending clients in nationwide and statewide mass tort and product liability litigation. His extensive product liability and putative class action practice focuses on developing cost-effective legal strategy and real-time metrics for business decision-making, identifying litigation alternatives, controlling the flow of discovery and pretrial proceedings, managing multiple trial settings, and briefing significant legal issues at the trial and appellate levels.

For the past 10 years, Paul has managed the defense of thousands of "Engle progeny" lawsuits in state and federal courts across Florida for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, one of the nation's largest exposure mass tort litigations. He provides advice and counsel at all stages of the Engle litigation. Paul also has represented Firm clients in all aspects of complex tort and commercial litigation in federal and state courts across the country, including (among others) R.J. Reynolds in class actions and health care cost recovery lawsuits by state attorneys general, unions, and foreign governments; the Alderwoods Group and Security Plan Life Insurance in class actions involving thousands of insureds and the settlement of class actions alleging race discrimination in insurance premiums; Dole Food Company in class actions by foreign agricultural workers; and Bridgestone/Firestone in class actions arising from product recalls. He also has substantive experience in the areas of consumer and accounting fraud and employment law.

Prior to joining Jones Day, Paul worked for an independent law firm in Washington, D.C., where he had broad experience in the firm's legislative practice.

Experience

  • R.J. Reynolds wins jury verdict in federal Deshaies ''Engle progeny'' lawsuitOn February 3, 2014, following six days of trial and approximately 90 minutes of deliberation, a jury in Tampa, Florida returned a verdict in favor of Jones Day client R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in a personal injury action finding that the smoker was not an Engle class member.
  • R.J. Reynolds wins jury verdict in Rohr ''Engle progeny'' lawsuitIn October 2010, Jones Day client R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company was lead defendant for the industry in this wrongful death case where a state court jury in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida returned a verdict in favor of R.J. Reynolds and three other defendants in this "Engle progeny" lawsuit.
  • R.J. Reynolds wins jury verdict in Budnick ''Engle progeny'' lawsuitJones Day successfully represented R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in an "Engle progeny" lawsuit.
  • R.J. Reynolds secures the industry's first defense verdict in Gelep ''Engle progeny'' lawsuitOn March 24, 2009, after two and a half weeks of trial, a state court jury in St. Petersburg, Florida returned a verdict in favor of Jones Day client R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in Reynolds' first trial of an "Engle progeny" lawsuit (Gelep v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Case No. 98-006584-CI-13 (Fla. 6th Cir. Ct.)).
  • EDS resolves consolidated securities fraud action and ERISA class actionJones Day represented Electronic Data Systems Corporation and certain of its current and former officers and directors in a consolidated securities fraud action arising out of EDS' disclosure in September 2002 that its earnings would be lower than anticipated.
  • Colt's defends against product liability litigation brought by the District of ColumbiaJones Day represented Colt's Manufacturing Company, Inc. and served as coordinating defense counsel in municipal cost-recovery litigation against the firearms industry in D.C. Superior Court and the D.C. Court of Appeals.
  • Dole defends against multiple cross-border mass tort cases alleging injuries from pesticide exposureJones Day defended Dole Food Company, Inc. in multiple toxic tort lawsuits brought by agricultural workers from 13 countries claiming that the use of the pesticide dibromochloropropane (DBCP) on banana farms in Latin America, Africa, and the Philippines during the 1970s caused adverse health effects.