HarrisMartin's New Jersey Asbestos Litigation Conference Speaker Profiles

Mr. Garde practice focuses primarily in the area of products liability litigation, with an emphasis on the national defense of pharmaceutical products liability litigation and the coordination of mass tort products liability litigation involving occupational exposures. He is also experienced in appellate practice in the state and federal courts.

Mr. Garde has been part of the national counsel team managing litigation for a major pharmaceutical company, asbestos litigation for a national corporation, and insurance sales-practices litigation for a major life insurance company. Regionally, he manages products liability litigation for numerous clients.

Mr. Garde regularly appears in state and federal courts around the nation at the trial and appellate level, addressing issues involving scientific and medical causation, exposure, and the application of statutes of limitations and damages. He has been involved in the development of national litigation strategies for the defense of products liability claims in both the mass tort and pharmaceutical products liability context.

David Katzenstein is a litigator with over 30 years of experience in the defense of personal injury and commercial cases in the New Jersey and New York having tried cases in these states as well as Delaware and Maryland. David has also served as Joint Medical Counsel in New Jersey and currently is National Coordinating Counsel for several clients mass tort cases. David has substantial trial experience in the "low dose" and epidemiology-based defenses of asbestos cases, having tried more than 15 such cases to verdict in New York and New Jersey. In addition, he has experience with the State of the Art defense of asbestos cases in several jurisdictions. In addition to his mass tort experience, David has handled complex federal and state environmental cases in New Jersey and New York courts.

Christopher M. Placitella is a shareholder in the law firm and an accomplished trial lawyer with a nationwide reputation as one of the country’s leading legal authorities on mass tort, class actions, and cases about asbestos-related diseases. He represents individuals injured by defective products and drugs, toxic substances, and environmental contamination.

Mr. Placitella has developed an award-winning reputation for his commitment to those who have been harmed due to the wrongful conduct of others. His professional integrity and personal commitment to his clients and his community have earned him local, regional and national recognition for his work and service. He is continuously recognized by his peers for his contribution to mass tort litigation.

As a member of the plaintiffs’ bar, Mr. Placitella is known for helping to establish a national asbestos litigation group dedicated to successfully and effectively representing individuals suffering from asbestos-related diseases and their families.

Mr. Clark is a skilled and dedicated attorney specializing in insurance defense. His areas of practice include ERISA, environmental and toxic tort litigation. Mr. Clark has also served as the acting Municipal Prosecutor for the Township of Dumont located in Bergen County, New Jersey. He received his Juris Doctor Degree from Western New England College School of Law and received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Notre Dame.

Presently, Mr. Clark is a senior partner with the firm and is defending asbestos and chemical exposure cases in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He also serves on the Asbestos Advisory Committee, which comprises representatives from the major plaintiff and defense firms litigating in New Jersey. Mr. Clark oversees the firm’s New Jersey asbestos practice and is the face of MKC&I in the Middlesex County Courthouse in front of both the Asbestos Special Master and Asbestos Judge. He has lectured and moderated panels on topics pertaining to asbestos litigation in various jurisdictions for firm clients and at CLE Seminars. Mr. Clark has also been instrumental in the organization of the annual Harris Martin New Jersey Asbestos Litigation Seminar.

Mr. Clark also heads MKC&I’s Life, Health, Disability & ERISA practice. This practice group represents some of the nation’s largest insurers in state and federal litigation involving claim issues, eligibility disputes, and fraud, among other things. Mr. Clark focuses on ERISA litigation while managing the practice group’s other skilled attorneys.

Mr. Clark is admitted to practice before the New Jersey and Pennsylvania State Courts, as well as the U.S. District Courts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He is a member of the New Jersey Bar Association, Environmental Law Section and the Defense Research Institute. Mr. Clark has also been recognized as a “Top Young Lawyer” in New Jersey as published in “New Jersey Monthly” magazine’s “Super Lawyers-Rising Stars” section in 2006 and 2007.