Lowenstein Sandler LLP

Michael Dore

Of Counsel

Local Time: Sat. 10:47

Respected as a leading authority on mass torts, Mike has built a substantial practice advising corporate clients on complex environmental, pharmaceutical, and insurance matters. Clients value his strategic perspective, which combines academic rigor and significant practical experience handling major cases.

Mike is the author of the standard treatise on mass torts, the five-volume Law of Toxic Torts: Litigation, Defense, Insurance (Thomson Reuters/West, 2016), which has been cited by courts throughout the United States and in the Federal Judicial Center's Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, as have many of his law review articles on expert evidence and other litigation topics. He has also written extensively on New Jersey's mass tort coordination procedures, innovating a way to handle cases that was adopted by the state's courts.

An elected member of the American Law Institute, Mike has taught classes on both environmental law and mass torts as an adjunct professor at Rutgers Law School since 1984.

Mike has also been involved in a number of landmark personal injury cases in New Jersey. He served as trial counsel for Napp Chemical Co. following a plant explosion that resulted in five worker deaths and all but closed the city of Lodi. Mike also served as lead defense counsel in criminal and administrative proceedings involving industrial emissions that resulted in the hospitalization of more than 50 middle school students. In addition, he defended personal injury and property damage claims brought against Bristol-Myers Squibb by more than 150 neighbors of the company's New Brunswick manufacturing facility. Mike's influential writing about the state's handling of mass torts led to his taking part in numerous multicounty litigation matters involving both pharmaceutical products and environmental claims.

Recognized statewide and throughout the legal profession for his depth of knowledge, experience in big cases, and understanding of New Jersey court procedures, Mike is the first choice for any corporation facing complex mass tort litigation.

Bar Admissions

New York

New Jersey

Pennsylvania

Education

Rutgers Law School (J.D. 1975), Editor, Rutgers Law Review; National Moot Court Team
Amherst College (B.A. 1972), cum laude

Areas of Practice

Professional Career

Significant Accomplishments

In re Bristol-Myers Squibb Environmental Claim: Defended a multicounty litigation in New Jersey involving personal injury and property damage claims brought by more than 150 neighbors of BMS' New Brunswick, New Jersey, manufacturing facility.

Devoe v. The P.F. Laboratories, Inc., et al.: Served as New Jersey counsel for a class action and individual claims involving the distribution of OxyContin.

In re Able Energy Explosion: Counsel for a company president in connection with criminal, civil, and regulatory matters arising out of a Newton, New Jersey, propane explosion.

In re Actonel Litigation: Defended Sanofi-Aventis and Procter & Gamble in consolidated Actonel litigation pending before Judge Higbee in Atlantic County, New Jersey.

In re Napp Technologies: Served as lead counsel with respect to OSHA and civil claims arising out of a multiple-fatality chemical plant explosion in Lodi, New Jersey.

In re Vioxx Litigation: Served as counsel to the Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers Association in the appeal of a decision certifying a nationwide class of Vioxx purchasers under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act.

Served as counsel for product and environmental insurance coverage claims of SmithKline Beecham, Hoechst Celanese Corp., Hoechst Marion Roussel, Crane Co., The BOC Group, and Georgia-Pacific Corporation.

In re HRT Litigation: Defended Sanofi-Aventis in New Jersey mass tort hormone replacement therapy cases.

Rubanic v. Witco Corp., 125 N.J. 421: Served as trial counsel in a PCB injury claim that established the New Jersey standard for admission of expert testimony in toxic tort litigation.

Professional Associations

Adjunct Professor of Law, Rutgers University Law School (1984 - present)American Law Institute (Elected Member)Founding Chair, Defense Research Institute, Environmental Law Committee

Professional Activities and Experience

Accolades

Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business - (2006-2016)
The Best Lawyers in America - Dore
New Jersey Super Lawyers (2005-2016, 2018) - Michael Dore

Blogs

Articles

CHCI: A Path to a Rewarding and Deeply Personal Career
Lowenstein Sandler LLP, February 2017

The morning we arrived at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Newark, New Jersey, the line stretched around the block. I was 11 years old, the son of Cuban immigrants and the grandson of a former political prisoner who had sought refuge in the United States—part of the first generation of my family born in this country...

Additional Articles

A New Actor in the Government's Response to Chemical Emergencies, June 1998

Arbitrating Complex Litigation, February 19, 2007

Be Ready to Respond to Critical Incidents, September 3, 2001

CCA - Claims Why They Will Be The Next 'Big' Toxic Tort And What Target Defendants Can Do About It, December 21, 2001

Conducting Internal Corporate Investigations, February 25, 2002

Consolidating the Crowd of Cases, December 6, 2004

Customs-Manufacturing Agreements Used in the Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industries Raise Unique Regulatory, Operational and Health-and-Safety Concerns, August 1998

Dealing With Public Relations Concerns in Products Liability and Toxic Tort Litigation, February 2002

Environmental Class Actions: Where We Have Been and Where We May Wind Up in the Future, 2012

EPA Revises Audit Policy, June 2000

Law of Toxic Torts: Litigation, Defense, Insurance, 2012

Limiting the Designated Felon Rule: The Proper Role of the Responsible Corporate Officer Doctrine in the Criminal Enforcement of New Jersey's Environmental Laws, Fall 2000

Mass Tort Book Clarifies Procedure, December 11, 2006

Nanotechnology: Evaluate the Product Liability Risks, December 14, 2009

New Jersey’s “Mass Tort Resource Book”, February 2007

OSHA and Chemical Safety Board to Share Data Under Coordination Pact, January 1999

Passaic County Facilities Subject to New Law Permitting Residents to Conduct Inspections, January 1999

Protecting Individual Corporate Executives From Liability - Ten Cardinal Rules For Risk Managers, Winter, February 2002

Recent U.S. Supreme Court Decision May Open Door to Challenging the Retroactive Application of CERCLA, January 1999

Reforming Mass Tort Coordination Procedures, December 8, 2003

Reforming the New Jersey Supreme Court's Procedures for Consolidating Mass Tort Litigation: A Proposal for Disclosing the Rules of the Game, Winter 2003

Ten Cardinal Rules for Protecting Individual Corporate Executives from Criminal or Civil Liability, April 2001

The Future of CCA Claims…and What Target Defendants Can Do About Them, March 2002

The New Jersey Mass Tort Designation Process, August 2011

The Use of ‘Science Days’ and Other Expert Tutorials in Mass Tort Litigation, December 15, 2008

The Use of Summary Jury Trials as a Technique for Resolving Mass Tort Claims, November 22, 2010

When Process Safety Efforts Fail: The Risks to Corporate Executives, September 2010

You Too Could Be A "Responsible Corporate Officer", July 2001