Robert Friedman is a partner with King & Spalding’s Tort Litigation Practice, where he represents foreign and domestic companies in high exposure product liability, personal injury, and commercial cases across the country.
Mr. Friedman’s practice focuses on the pharmaceutical, automotive, and energy industries. His experiences include advising clients confronted with “bet-the-company” litigation involving flagship brands, helping clients respond to congressional and other governmental inquiries, and actively litigating personal injury cases in the country’s most dangerous jurisdictions. He has represented product manufacturers including GlaxoSmithKline, Merck & Co., General Motors, Shell Oil Co., Nissan, The Coca-Cola Company, Purdue Pharma LP, Chevron-Texaco, Isuzu, and Mazda in the federal and state courts of over 20 states.
Mr. Friedman is a frequent speaker and author on a variety of litigation-related topics. Recent publications and engagements include:
- “Analysis of the PLIVA v. Mensing, Oral Argument,” DRI Today, April 1, 2011
- '”My Doctor Threw Me Off the Scent.' Does a Negative or Ambiguous Response by a Doctor to a Causation Inquiry Toll the Statute of Limitations?" DRI's The Voice, Sept. 8, 2010.
- “Pioneer Liability After Conte v. Wyeth, ” Product Liability 360, January 2009.
- “Controlling the Scope of Trial: Excluding Key Evidence in Pharmaceutical Litigation,” In-House Defense Quarterly, Summer 2008.
- “Strategies for Evaluating and Winning Appeals,” King & Spalding e-Learn Series, June 2007.
- “Thinking Outside the Banker’s Box: Proven Strategies for Defensive Discovery in Pharmaceutical Litigation,” Defense Research Institute, Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Conference, Young Lawyer’s Breakout, May 2007.
Mr. Friedman has particular expertise in electronic discovery and is a member of the firm’s E-Discovery Practice Group. He regularly advises clients on a host of E-Discovery issues, including both litigation preparedness and discovery strategy in active litigation. Recent publications and speaking engagements regarding electronic discovery include:
- “Court Clarifies its Own Decision in a Key E-Discovery Case: Reasonable Steps, Not Perfect Result," Executive Counsel Magazine, August/September 2010
- “Developments in E-Discovery,” Ga-CLE conference, January 2010.
- “E-Discovery/Risk Management and Preservation Obligations,” BNA’s E-Discovery for the Enterprise conference, Arlington, VA, September 2008.
- “When Does the Duty to Preserve Attach?” Litigation Readiness Workshop, West LegalWorks, Atlanta, GA, March 2008.
- “What’s in Your Closet? Discovery of Disaster Recovery, Legacy, and Other ‘Inaccessible’ Data,” Defense Research Institute Electronic Discovery Teleconference, June 2007.
- “The New Federal Discovery Rules: An Expository Narrative,” Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, March 2007.
Mr. Friedman is admitted to practice in the state courts of Georgia as well as in the United States District Courts for the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Georgia. He is a member of the American Bar Association’s Litigation and Tort and Insurance Practice Sections, the State Bar of Georgia’s Product Liability and Appellate Sections, and the Defense Research Institute’s Product Liability, Pharmaceutical Litigation, and Discovery Committees. Mr. Friedman has been named to a select list of the nation’s top legal talent under the age of 40 by newsletter publisher Law360 in its “Law360 Rising Stars” series
Mr. Friedman graduated, cum laude, from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He received his J.D., cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1999.
