Partner

Craig A. Woods

Product Liability & Mass Torts, Trademark Litigation, Chemicals

Overview

Craig Woods is an experienced litigator whose practice focuses especially on complex product liability and commercial litigation and arbitration matters.  He represents national and multi-national corporations in technically oriented litigation and arbitrations, including toxic tort, chemical and biotechnology product liability litigation; information technology disputes; patent litigation; and other engineering and technology-related disputes.

Craig has extensive experience organizing multidisciplinary expert teams and mounting expert testimony admissibility challenges under Daubert/Frye, and he is highly skilled in the use of court-appointed experts and expert analysis, testing and simulations to support litigation. Craig’s practice also encompasses matters such as fraud, defamation, negligence, contract disputes, malicious prosecution, insurance disputes, trademark controversies, unfair competition and other critical areas of business litigation.

Prior to joining Mayer Brown in 1995, Craig served as Law Clerk to The Honorable William C. Conner, US District Court for the Southern District of New York (1994–1995).

Experience

  • Asbestos Litigation — Currently serving as national counsel to Fortune 100 company in connection with toxic tort product liability litigation arising out of former sales of asbestos-containing products.  Responsible for developing, implementing, and coordinating science defense and multi-disciplinary expert teams — including areas of pulmonology, occupational medicine, pathology, industrial hygiene, material science, microscopy, toxicology, and epidemiology — simultaneously in multiple jurisdictions around the United States.   Recently succeeding in Daubert challenge to exclude testimony of plaintiff expert witness that every exposure to asbestos, no matter how small, contributes to causing asbestos-related disease.
  • Isocyanate Litigation — Currently serving as counsel to Fortune 100 company in connection with 1300 plaintiff consolidated product liability case pending in Alabama state court arising out of sales of isocyanates for use in coal mine roof and ventilation control polyurethane products.  Responsible for developing, implementing, and coordinating science defense including mounting Frye challenge to admissibility of testimony from pulmonology and toxicology expert witnesses.  
  • Diacetyl Litigation – Serving as national counsel to manufacturer of diacetyl involved in numerous personal injury lawsuits around the country relating to exposures to butter flavoring products.  Responsible for developing, implementing, and coordinating science defense, including mounting challenges to admissibility of expert testimony.   

Education

  • University of Kansas, BSEE, with highest distinction
  • Georgetown University Law Center, JD, cum laude
    Associate Editor, Georgetown University Law Journal

Admissions

  • California
  • Illinois

Courts

  • US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

Languages

  • English
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