John J. Weinholtz

/My focus

Today I focus my practice on three main areas, leveraging more than 20 years of experience to help clients manage their most complex litigation and significant regulatory compliance issues.

Complex Tort & Commercial Litigation

I represent product manufacturers and sellers in multi-party, multi-district litigation involving serious personal injuries and complex commercial damages. Also, I have extensive experience in complex tort litigation, including cases brought by entire communities, work forces and consumer groups alleging toxic exposure and/or economic damages.

National & Regional Counsel

My team and I have served as national and regional counsel in aggregate litigation and class actions. We help our clients develop consistent approaches to successfully defend cases in a cost-efficient manner. We aim to deliver a “victory” to the client, both in the courtroom and in the boardroom, by structuring an approach to litigation that is designed to put the client in the best legal position possible and also meet the client’s economic goals.

Regulatory & Industry Compliance

I counsel companies on compliance with rules and regulations of government agencies, including the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA). Also, I lead companies through agency investigations and corrective actions, including product recalls.

/Looking ahead

At the state and federal level, we see more regulations being proposed to limit or exclude various chemicals or materials from products and the workplace, require extensive new warnings, and set extremely low exposure levels.

/Insights

• “Are You Recall Ready?” Nixon Peabody Webinar, October 2014 (Presenter)
• “Litigation Management & E-Discovery: New Tools for Cost Containment,” Nixon Peabody CLE Seminar, June 2012.  (Presenter)
• “Asbestos Litigation Update: New Legal & Scientific Frontiers,” Nixon Peabody Webinar, April 2012. (Presenter)
• “CPSC’s Heightened Scrutiny of Chemicals: Potential Impact on Product Liability Trends,” American Conference Institute’s April 2010 Conference on Chemical & Toxic Tort Litigation, Chicago, IL. (Presenter)
• “The Reluctance to Certify Mass Class Under CAFA,” Law 360, November 2009. (Author)
• “The Distracted Driver: What Does it Mean to the Defense of an Auto Product Liability Case,” Auto Liability Conference of the Trial Tort & Insurance Practice Session of the ABA, Phoenix, AZ, March 2004. (Presenter)
• “Defending ‘No Injury…Yet’ Medical Monitoring Claims in Class Action Settings,” The Brief (ABA Publishing, Vol. 30, No. 3), Spring 2001. (Author)
• “Recent Developments in Products, General Liability and Consumer Law,” ABA’s Tort and Insurance Law Journal, Winter 1998 edition. (Author)
• “The Restatement (Third) Adopts a ‘Reasonable Person’ Standard for the Post-Sale Duty to Warn:  What Does It Mean for Product Sellers?” The Network for Trial Law Firms Seminar in Scottsdale, Arizona, April 1998. (Presenter)