Edward Casmere

Illinois

Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP
1045 W. Fulton Market
Suite 1200
Chicago, IL 60607

Tel: +1 312 964 7778

Email: ed.casmere@nortonrosefulbright.com
Web: www.nortonrosefulbright.com

Edward Casmere is a Partner in the Chicago office of Norton Rose Fulbright and Co-Head of the Litigation & Disputes practice.

Ed is a trial lawyer with decades of experience litigating, negotiating and managing high-stakes legal issues and solving clients’ hardest and most sensitive problems. He is a true general litigator and courtroom lawyer in every sense, with experience in complex litigation, product liability, commercial disputes, RICO, conspiracy, class action, catastrophic injury and wrongful death, mass tort, toxic tort,  and environmental matters.

Clients have looked to Ed to wear many hats in cases across the country – trial lawyer, negotiator, litigator, high-level risk manager and strategic advisor. He is often asked to negotiate extraordinarily delicate and difficult claims or to join client trial teams comprised of lawyers from law firms across the country for trial duty. From cryptocurrency to carcinogenesis, and Shakespeare to sharks, Ed has turned his diverse interests and love of lifetime learning into the backbone of his professional practice.

Ed has been named one of Chicago’s Notable Litigators & Trial Attorneys by Crain’s Chicago Business (2023), and one of Chicago’s Notable Gen X Leaders in Law by Crain’s Chicago Business (2021).  Ed is admitted in the Illinois, New York, and Missouri, as well as federal courts in the Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana; Northern, Central, and Southern Districts of Illinois; Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin; Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri; Southern and Eastern District of New York.

Education

  • The Harvard Negotiation Master Class, Harvard Law School, 2019
  • JD, magna cum laude, University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, 2001
  • BS, Illinois State University, 1995

Memberships & Activities

  • American Bar Association Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section, Toxic Torts and Environmental Law Committee, Chair (2017‐2018); Toxic Torts and Environmental Law Committee, Vice-Chair; Products Liability Committee, Vice‐Chair
  • Defense Research Institute (DRI)
  • Illinois State Bar Association, Bench & Bar Section Council, Chair (2024-2024), Vice-Chair (2023-2024), Secretary (2022-2023)”
  • Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, Toxic Torts and Environmental Law Committee, Vice-Chair
  • Successfully defended wearable technology company against product liability claim and enforcement of its arbitration clause in user agreement.
  • Defended client against mass damages actions, putative class action and civil RICO claims stemming from alleged environmental contamination to a freshwater aquifer.
  • Member of the mediation team that successfully negotiated a more than US$600m resolution of a company’s future lifetime mass tort liabilities stemming from a legacy product line.
  • Led litigation, negotiations and successful settlement of suit brought by a state Attorney General’s Office against a public utility relating to alleged environmental contamination claims.
  • Won the dismissal, with prejudice, of a nationwide putative class action complaint alleging deceptive advertising of a consumer product filed on behalf of all New York and California consumers against his client.
  • Successfully litigated and mediated a wrongful death case from a collegiate sporting event injury.
  • Led litigation related to cryptocurrency in a private equity investment dispute.
  • Served as first-chair trial lawyer and lead litigation counsel in numerous catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases in state and federal courts nationwide.
  • Acted as lead counsel in litigation and mediation of complex investment dispute involving national retail business.
  • Successfully counselled a major aviation industry supplier through pre-litigation supply chain management negotiations due to COVID-19 disruptions.
  • Defended transportation company in commercial lease disputes and serious personal injury cases in various states.
  • Secured dismissal of a novel patent license product liability claim in federal court, and successfully defended the dismissal on appeal.
  • Functions as chief negotiation and settlement counsel for clients in product liability and mass tort litigation nationwide.
  • Led team that successfully prosecuted securities fraud claims on behalf of investors in New York federal court securing a favorable settlement.
  • Successfully prosecuted several commercial lease actions on behalf of a national transportation company relating to force majeure COVID-19 pandemic claims.
  • Counselled private equity firm in its analysis of the product liability and litigation portfolios of target companies as part of the due diligence conducted at various points in the negotiations of the transactions.

Our global product liability lawyers provide legal advice to an international roster of clients facing product liability issues, product recalls and related crisis management matters.

Whether the strategy calls for proactive risk management, the vigorous defense of claims or a negotiated settlement, we provide sound advice and creative solutions to clients throughout the supply chain, including advice designed to help minimize legal costs and the risk of reputational damage. As part of our 24/7 incident support service, our global team is always available to provide immediate advice and assistance in the event of a product safety or product liability incident. Our “one-stop shop” means we can manage and coordinate a global response through our network of offices and specialist teams.

As the number and complexity of proceedings is increasing across the world, clients need a legal team that can combine solid legal experience with deep knowledge of sectors in which such claims arise, such as life sciences and healthcare (including pharmaceuticals and medical devices), energy, transport (including automotive, aerospace and recreational vehicles), construction and engineering, consumer products, retail, food and beverage and manufacturing. Our global product liability lawyers have extensive experience providing legal advice across these sectors.

Many product liability issues can turn into class actions or multi-district litigation spanning several states, regions or countries. Our global team is skilled at seamlessly handling cross-border actions and is equally experienced in defending individual product liability lawsuits, having acted as both local and coordinating counsel. We also represent manufacturers as plaintiffs, particularly relating to products they purchase for use in their own businesses.

We provide the world’s preeminent corporations and financial institutions with a full business law service. We have more than 3,500 lawyers and other legal staff based in Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, the Middle East and Africa.

Recognized for our industry focus, we are strong across all the key industry sectors: financial institutions; energy, infrastructure and resources; consumer markets; transport; technology; and life sciences and healthcare. Through our global risk advisory group, we leverage our industry experience with our knowledge of legal, regulatory, compliance and governance issues to provide our clients with practical solutions to the legal and regulatory risks facing their businesses.

Wherever we are, we operate in accordance with our global business principles of quality, unity and integrity. We aim to provide the highest possible standard of legal service in each of our offices and to maintain that level of quality at every point of contact.

Norton Rose Fulbright Verein, a Swiss verein, helps coordinate the activities of Norton Rose Fulbright members but does not itself provide legal services to clients. Norton Rose Fulbright has offices in more than 50 cities worldwide, including London, Houston, New York, Toronto, Mexico City, Hong Kong, Sydney and Johannesburg.